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When can I book for Alsa?

dutchwalkagain

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Donating Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances 2015,2016,2017,2018,2022, 2023, april 24.
I always was able to buy Alsa tickets (and renfe) online prior to the start of my Camino's.
Right now I am only 6 weeks away from leaving and there are barely any routes available for purchase. For example, renfe doesn't have a train to book from Burgos to Leon, which is a pretty busy route. I was able to book Santiago to Madrid and Madrid to Pamplona. Are there just less busses and trains due to Corona or will they become more available little by little ?
Thanks
 
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I wanted to by a train ticket from Santiago to Madrid in June and couldn't find it on renfe... But I think it is because renfe wanted me to know the stopovers... Which i did not know. So I bought the ticket from Omio. Maybe you can try there?
 
MilenaS said:
I wanted to by a train ticket from Santiago to Madrid in June and couldn't find it on renfe... But I think it is because renfe wanted me to know the stopovers... Which i did not know. So I bought the ticket from Omio. Maybe you can try there?
Click to expand...
Thanks. I already tried Omio and Rome2Rio. No luck there
 
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I just had a quick look on Trainline and there seems to be tickets available for Burgos-Leon for about 6 weeks away. Maybe try that website?

I live in Spain and trains and buses seem back to pre-Covid levels (as far as I can tell anyway!). Renfe can be slow to load trains on their website. In general, they are supposed to be open for booking 60 days in advance but sometimes it's not until 30 days for some routes. If Trainline doesn't work for you, maybe hold off until a month away. I also like to have things planned well in advance but sometimes it's just not possible here...
 
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could it be that you are trying to book too far in advance?
 
Could there be a problem with Trainline? I've never seen it successfully offer a ticket. Just now, I checked about 20 dates at random in April and May for Leon to Santiago and every time it said there were no tickets available. Not all the trains are fully booked, are they?

I just checked RailEurope for April 26 and it showed two itineraries for that trip.
 
MilenaS said:
I wanted to by a train ticket from Santiago to Madrid in June and couldn't find it on renfe... But I think it is because renfe wanted me to know the stopovers... Which i did not know. So I bought the ticket from Omio. Maybe you can try there?
Click to expand...
I just tried the Renfe website and had no trouble viewing multiple trains available and scheduled on various days in June from ScQ to MAD!
 
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Sometimes the Renfe website is quirky. But you usually get the best prices and all available trains with them.
 



To answer our question I put in dates of June 15 and 16th for the route between Burgos and Leon and found 3 weekday buses which were bookable through Alsa - a very, very early bus, an afternoon bus and an evening bus. My guess would be that the afternoon bus will likely be quite full,so if you want that time frame, consider booking it, if you are sure of the date you will leave Burgos.
 
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Marbe2 said:
I just tried the Renfe website and had no trouble viewing multiple trains available and scheduled on various days in June from ScQ to MAD!
Click to expand...

Marbe2 said:
Sometimes the Renfe website is quirky. But you usually get the best prices and all available trains with them.
Click to expand...

I was probably a little bit too early... Learning for next time. Hopefully I didn't pay to much to Omio
 
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dutchwalkagain said:
I am only 6 weeks away from leaving and there are barely any routes available for purchase. For example, renfe doesn't have a train to book from Burgos to Leon, which is a pretty busy route.
Click to expand...
I had a look.

Renfe shows one train from Burgos to Leon, from today until July - well over six weeks from now. The train leaves Burgos at 15:34. The Renfe website does not propose any other train connections but third party websites do. You need to change trains in Palencia.

Alsa shows three buses daily from Burgos to Leon, from today until the middle of June, and tickets can be purchased for any day until then.
 
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This map may assist those struggling with RENFE https://www.renfe.com/content/dam/renfe/es/Viajeros/Secciones/pdf/mapa_general_ServiocioPublico.pdf

You'll note that all travel by train from Burgos to Leon passes through Palencia. Searching on RENFE for Burgos - Palencia; Palencia - Leon produces plenty of connections. Similarly the journey Madrid to Sarria frequently involves a change at Ourense and sometimes Medina del Campo. RENFE's website will not tell you this, you have to work it out yourself.

Those who consider this a little arcane in the internet world should consider https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/spain-and-portugal/author/baedeker/first-edition/
 
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