High-speed Spain:  An S103 AVE about to leave Madrid Atocha for Barcelona, now taking just 2 hours 40 minutes... Buy train tickets for Spain Buy a Spain Pass www.renfe.com or www.petrabax.com

See Spain by train...

Once upon a time, Spain had one of the most backward train networks in western Europe.  Now, they have one of the best, indeed, one of my favourite rail systems.  High-speed AVE trains (Alta Velocidad Española) link major cities at up to 300 km/h (186mph), and if you book in advance online you can find some great cheap fares.  This page will give you a heads-up on how to travel cheaply around Spain by train.

A guide to taking the train in Spain

  Spain by train, in a nutshell - the key points.

  Railpasses for Spain & the Renfe Spain Pass

  Spanish train classes explained

  What are Spanish trains like?

  How to buy train tickets for Spain

  How to use www.renfe.com

  How to transfer between Madrid Atocha & Chamartin

  Train services between Barcelona & Madrid

  Madrid Atocha station guide

  Madrid Chamartin station guide

  Barcelona Sants station guide

  Tours & vacations to Spain by train

  Travel insurance, mobile data, VPN & other tips

  Hotels & accommodation in Spain

International trains to & from Spain

  UK to Spain by train, the no-fly way...

  Trains from Barcelona to other European cities

  Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Alicante to other cities

  Trains from other European cities to Spain

  Madrid to Lisbon by train

  Paris to Barcelona by high-speed train

Other train travel information

  Eurail passes - for overseas visitors

  Interrail passes - for European residents

  General European train travel information

  Luggage on trains & Left luggage at stations

  Taking your bike & Taking your dog

Useful country information

Spain by train, the key things to know

• Where do the trains go? 

  The network links all the major towns & cities.  For a zoomable train route map of Spain see www.openrailwaymap.org.  For the best printed map of European rail routes, see here.

  Spain's high-speed AVE trains...  Madrid to Barcelona by train takes as little as 2h30, Madrid to Seville 2h30.  There's no need to fly anywhere in Spain!  This is a pair of S100 AVEs at Madrid Atocha...

• Who runs the trains?

  The Spanish national train operator is Renfe (pronounced Ren-fay), originally Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles but now a brand name in its own right.  Its website is www.renfe.com.  Renfe runs Spain's superb high-speed AVEs and other mainline trains, as well as local and suburban trains nationwide.

• Local operators FEVE, Euskotren, FGC

  In addition to Renfe there are several regional train operators which it's useful to know about.  FEVE runs a rambling narrow-gauge network along the coast of Northern Spain from Bilbao & Santander to Gijon & Ferrol.  FEVE has been absorbed into Renfe but now features on the Renfe website, www.renfe.com.  Euskotren (www.euskotren.eus) runs narrow-gauge local trains from the French border at Hendaye & Irun to San Sebastian & Bilbao.  And in Barcelona, you might want to use the FGC local railway to reach the famous monastery at Montserrat, www.fgc.cat.  However, this page is mainly concerned with travel on Renfe mainline trains.

• Competing high-speed operators

  Since 2021 there are several open access operators competing with state-owned Renfe on the high-speed network, all bookable at www.thetrainline.com so you can compare prices:

  Avlo is a lo-cost subsidiary of Renfe which runs Barcelona-Madrid, other routes planned.  Their trains are one class only, with no-catering.

  Ouigo Spain is a lo-cost subsidiary of SNCF (French Railways) which runs Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Valencia & Madrid-Alicante, other routes planned.  Two class, with basic catering.

  Iryo is a joint venture of Trenitalia & Air Nostrum using Italian-designed Frecciarossa trains) which runs Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Valencia and Madrid-Cordoba-Seville.  Full-service, with 3 classes and quality catering.  More info on Iryo trains here.

• Do you need a reservation?  Should you pre-book?

  Yes!  All long distance trains in Spain and even some shorter distance regional ones require a seat reservation, you cannot just turn up and hop on.  There are usually places available even on the day of travel, but at peak times such as Christmas and Easter trains can get full.  It also pays to pre-book:  If you book ahead there are cheap advance-purchase fares, for example Madrid-Seville from €28, but if you wait to buy your tickets on the day you'll pay the full-price fare, for example Madrid-Seville €75.

• When does booking open?

  This is a major problem with Renfe.  In theory, tickets should go on sale 60 days ahead for all trains other than AVE trains which should open 90 days ahead.  In practice, Renfe is a law unto itself and loads what it likes when it likes, in blocks of dates, sometimes as little as 30 days before departure and often loading some trains and not others.  If you go online and don't see the complete train service which you're expecting to see and it's over a month before departure, WAIT, as the chances are that all trains are not yet loaded.  Renfe is particularly lax in opening bookings for dates after the timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December.

• Standard & Comfort class

  Renfe offers two classes, Standard (= 2nd class) and Comfort (= 1st class).  These are the new terms from July 2021, until then they were called Turista & Turista Plus and before that, Turista & Preferente.  Don't get the new class names mixed up with the new ticket type names!  More explanation about classes & fares on Spanish trains.

• Fare types

  Renfe introduced a new fares structure for long-distance trains including the high-speed AVE in July 2021:

  Básico (Basic) =  The cheapest fare, for travel in Standard (2nd) class.

  Elige (Choice) = A semi-flexible fare, you can choose between Elige (2nd class seat) or for a higher price, Elige Confort (1st class seat).

  Premium  = The most flexible fare, you get a Comfort (1st) class seat & lounge access. A meal & wine is included on AVE & EuroMed.

• Children & infants

  Children under 14 pay the child fare.

  Infants under 4 travel free as long as they don't occupy a seat, but it's mandatory to get a free infant ticket before you travel.

  This was introduced in 2014, a first for any European train operator outside Russia.  You'll get the necessary free infant ticket If you add your infant with their correct age to a booking made at www.thetrainline.com, www.raileurope.com or www.renfe.com.  However, you cannot book a free infant ticket on its own, so if you forget to add them to your booking you'll need to get one at a Renfe ticket office before you board.

• Seniors over 60: Tarjeta Dorada

  Anyone over 60 of any nationality can buy a Tarjeta Dorada card for €6 valid for one year.

  Renfe's Tarjeta Dorada (Golden Card) gives a 25% discount on all fares types for Renfe long-distance trains including AVE, EuroMed, Alvia & Intercity trains.  It gives a 40% discount on Renfe medium-distance trains, and a 25% discount on weekdays, 40% discount at weekends on short-hop high-speed Avant trains.

  Now for the catch, and it's some catch that Catch 22:  You can only buy a Tarjeta Dorada in person at a Renfe station when you get to Spain.  You cannot buy it online.  But you can't buy tickets online in advance with the Tarjeta Dorada discount until after you've bought the card because you need to enter the card number to get the discount.  So if you're planning a trip to Spain, it's better to forget about being senior and just buy a normal adult advance-purchase ticket now for perhaps €30 without any Tarjeta Dorada discount, than to wait until you get to Spain to buy a Tarjeta Dorada to get 25% off a fare which by that time (on or close to departure date) might have risen to €90.  Just let that sink in...

  You'll find full details for the Tarjeta Dorada at www.renfe.com, switch it to English, click Travel, click Discounts then look for Over-60s to find the Tarjeta Dorada page.  You can buy the card over the counter at any staffed Renfe station, just present your passport as proof of age.

• How to buy tickets & check train times

  You can buy tickets at any Renfe station or online at www.renfe.com, but see the advice on using Renfe.com below.  There's no booking fee, but Renfe.com is a pain to use with some confusing translations and quirks, it's also known for sometimes rejecting overseas payment cards.  It's far easier (and quicker!) to buy tickets in plain English using www.thetrainline.com (in €, £ or $, small booking fee, works for anyone from any country) or www.raileurope.com (various currencies, small booking fee), Omio.com (various currencies, small booking fee) or www.petrabax.com (in US$, with a small mark-up).  These websites all connect to Renfe's ticketing system and sell the same trains at the same prices with no payment problems and the same official Renfe print-at-home tickets.

  	X-ray baggage checks.  In this photo you can see the pair of X-ray machines at the entrance to platforms 1-6 at Barcelona Sants.  It's not like an airport - only your bags are checked, not you! It usually takes a few minutes.
  	Sala Club lounges...  This is the lounge in Madrid Atocha.  There are also lounges at several other major stations including Barcelona Sants, Seville Santa Justa, Madrid Chamartin, Cordoba, Alicante.  Can be used only if you pay the Premium fare.

• Real time information

  You can see whether a train is on time and which platform it will leave from, if you download thetrainline.com's app and run an enquiry for today. Trainline's app show real time information for all operators, Renfe, Avlo, Iryo & Ouigo.

• Combinado Cercanias: Free suburban travel with a long-distance ticket

  When you buy a ticket for one of Renfe's long-distance trains (AVE, EuroMed, Alvia, Intercity) of any fare type in any class for a journey within Spain, you get free travel from any Renfe suburban station at the start of your journey and free travel to any Renfe suburban station at the end of your journey, in the following cities:

  Asturias, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia/Alicante, San Sebastian, Santander, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza.  You also get free travel from/to any FEVE local station in Asturias, Santander, Bilbao & Cartagena.

  If your ticket includes this, it will say Combinado Cercanias in the corner with a reference number.

  At your starting city, you must use the suburban ticket within 3 hours of your long-distance train departure, and at your destination you must use the suburban ticket within 4 hours of your long-distance train's arrival.

  You can travel to or from any suburban station within that city's numbered zones, but not outside the zones (so longer routes such as Barcelona to Portbou or Latour de Carol are not included).

  Different cities have slightly different processes:  To access the suburban (cercanias) platforms in Madrid or Malaga, place the QR code of your long-distance ticket against the scanner on the automatic ticket gates and they should open.  In Barcelona, you must show your long-distance ticket at the information desk and ask for a ticket to open the cercanias ticket gates.

  The Combinado Cercanias offer applies to any Spanish domestic long-distance tickets bought directly from Renfe.com or from websites connected to Renfe such as www.thetrainline.com, www.raileurope.com, www.petrabax.com.  It does not apply to international tickets such as Paris-Barcelona as these won't print any Combinado Cercanias reference on the ticket.

  Competing high-speed operator Iryo offers a similar free suburban connection with their long-distance tickets, too.

• Luggage & luggage weight limits on Spanish trains

  You take your bags with you onto the train, putting them on the racks above your head and at the end of each car.  Renfe is unusual in specifying a 25Kg weight limit for passengers' baggage, which is a nonsense, first because a weight limit is totally unnecessary on a train as it does not have to take off, and second because your bags will not be weighed at any stage, so as long as you don't take the Mickey, this weight limit is pretty much irrelevant and can be taken with a pinch of salt.  It's probably the result of employing an ex-airline senior manager.  For information about left luggage at Spanish stations, see the luggage on trains page.

• X-ray baggage check at Spanish stations

  Before boarding any high-speed train at any Spanish mainline station, you must pass through an X-ray baggage check.  This usually only takes a few minutes, a bit longer at busy times, but don't turn up for your train with only 30 seconds to spare!  Sometimes this is at the entrance to the departures area, as at Madrid Atocha, sometimes at the entrance to a platform or group of platforms, as at Barcelona Sants or Algeciras.  The security check applies to high-speed trains and the platforms these use, not usually for regional or suburban trains.  You may or may not need to walk through a metal detector.  Security staff may confiscate things like penknives.

• Food & drink

  On most long-distance trains there's a cafe-bar serving tea, coffee, drinks and snacks.  Of course, you're also free to take your own food and even wine or beer onto the train.

  Add a snack box to your booking in Elige Confort on AVE & EuroMed.  You can add a snack box to your booking if you buy an Elige fare for Confort class on an AVE or EuroMed train at Renfe.com.  You can add it when you book or afterwards, at least 12h before the train leaves its origin station.

  Meal & drinks included with a Premium fare on AVE & EuroMed:  An airline-style hot tray meal with wine is usually included if you pay the Premium fare on Renfe's AVE & EuroMed trains on Mondays-Fridays & Sundays.  It's a hot tray meal at meal times, but only a snack box with a sandwich on some late-morning & mid-afternoon trains.  Unfortunately, there's no way to check which trains only offer a snack box (although a noticeably cheaper Premium fare on a mid-morning or mid-afternoon train may well indicate ones with the snack box), but after you buy your ticket it will have the word Desayuno, Almuerzo or Cena printed on it if breakfast, lunch or dinner is included.  It will say Merienda ('snack') if only a snack box is included.  Incidentally, if the person sitting next to you in Confort class doesn't get fed, they probably paid the Elige fare, not the Premium fare - only Premium passengers get the meal, the staff have a list!

• First class lounges at stations:  If you pay the Premium fare you can use the Sala Club (1st class lounge) at Madrid Atocha, Madrid Chamartin, Barcelona Sants, Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, Alicante, Zaragoza and several other major stations, opening hours and full list on the Renfe website.

• WiFi:  Renfe's front-rank AVE trains are being fitted with WiFi.  You should now find free WiFi on AVE trains between Madrid and Seville, Malaga, Granada, Alicante, Barcelona.  And between Barcelona and Malaga, Seville, Granada, Madrid.

• Bikes:  See the bikes by train page.

• Taking dogs & pets:  See the dogs & pets section on the Europe by train page.

Railpasses for Spain

• If you just want to go from A to B cheaply, forget railpasses, just book a cheap ticket online in advance.  That's the cheapest & easiest option!  But if you want to buy your train travel in bulk, and retain flexibility without having to commit to a specific train way in advance to get a cheap fare, it's worth considering a railpass, especially Renfe's own Spain Pass.

• Eurail & Interrail passes

  You can buy a one-country Interrail or Eurail pass for Spain, see the Interrail guide if you live in Europe or the Eurail pass guide if you live outside Europe.  However, Interrail & Eurail passes have lost their convenience factor in Spain because every Spanish long-distance train requires a passholder reservation costing around €10 for AVEs and similar front-rank trains or €7 for lesser trains which must be factored into your budget.

  The next problem is that Interrail & Eurail reservations for Spanish trains can't always be made online, which means you have to go to a station when you reach Spain or contact an agency, see my advice on how to make Interrail or Eurail passholder reservations in Spain.  However, there's another type of pass which can be better value than Interrail or Eurail, Renfe's Spain Pass...

• Renfe's Spain Pass

  Renfe now offer its own Spain Pass to anyone resident outside Spain which can be better value as it includes all reservations, no hidden costs.  You can buy a Renfe Spain Pass giving either 4, 6, 8 or 10 individual one-way train journeys of any length in a one-month period on all of Renfe's long-distance & medium-distance trains, including AVE, EuroMed, Alvia, Intercity, Media Distancia & Avant.  Unlike Interrail & Eurail passes it does not give unlimited travel.  One journey = 1 train ride, if you change trains, that's 2 journeys.

  The Renfe Spain Pass includes all reservations, there are no extra fees or quotas - if there are empty seats on the train, you're entitled to one with your Spain Pass.  With Renfe's Spain Pass it's all included, reservations are free.  You have up to 6 months to make your first trip after you buy the pass, then one month to use the remaining trips after that first trip. 

  You can buy a Spain pass online at www.renfe.com/es/en.../renfe-spain-pass (cheapest, but has a few quirky translations and sometimes struggles with some credit cards).  After setting up an account and buying your own pass, you can buy passes for your travelling companions as separate transactions.

  You can also buy in plain English and with no payment card problems at www.internationalrail.com (UK-based), although there may be a fee to pay.  The pass is emailed to you.  If you live in the UK, you can also buy a Spain Pass by phone and make any associated reservations by calling www.internationalrail.com on 0844 248 248 3, small booking fee.

• How to make reservations with a Renfe Spain Pass

  You can make reservations to go with a Spain pass either at stations as you go or at www.renfe.com, but the online method isn't obvious!  Here's how to make Renfe Pass seat reservations at www.renfe.com:

  After buying your Renfe pass, log into your account.  For English, click the globe logo and select Ingles.

  Select the tab called My passes which should then show each Renfe Spain Pass you have bought.  Click See all, which takes you to another page.  Then click New validation against a pass and make a reservation to go with that pass.  Feedback appreciated!

  You can only make reservations for one pass at a time, in other words, for one person at a time.  But if you click Choose seats you can select your seat from a seat map, use this feature to select seats next to each other.

  If for any reason you end up needing to do it in Spanish, select the tab called Mis abonos which should show your Renfe Spain Pass.  Then click Detalles or Ver todos, which takes you to another page.  Then click Nueva formalizacion and make a reservation.

  Important:  When you make your first reservation, Renfe assumes that this is the first train you want to take with your pass and automatically starts the one-month pass validity from that date.  This now prevents you from making reservations on any earlier date.  So make sure that the first reservation you make is for the day you intend to start using the pass.

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Spanish train fares & classes explained

In July 2021, Renfe introduced a completely new fares structure for all its long-distance trains including the high-speed AVE, and also changed the terms it uses for 1st & 2nd class.  It's easy to get confused between what's a class of accommodation and what's a fare type, so here's a run-down of Renfe's new classes & fares.

Standard & Comfort class

• Standard = 2nd class, Estándar in Spanish, formerly called Turista.  Seats are usually arranged 2+2 across the car width.

• Comfort = 1st class, Confort in Spanish, formerly Turista Plus or Preferente.  Seats usually arranged 2+1 across the car width.

  On the premier high-speed AVE or EuroMed trains an at-seat meal & wine is included, see the food & drink section here, but only if you've paid the Premium fare, not if you only paid the Elige fare.

Básico, Elige & Premium fares

• Básico (Basic).  The cheapest fare, only for travel in Standard class (2nd class).  Básico tickets are non-refundable & non-changeable unless you pay a hefty extra fee to make them so.

• Elige (Choice).  A semi-flexible fare.  If you select this you get a choice of Elige to travel in Standard (2nd) class or Elige Confort at a higher price to travel in Comfort (1st) class but without any included food or access to lounges.  Elige & Elige Confort tickets are refundable & changeable for a fee.

• Premium.  The most flexible fare.  You travel in Comfort class (1st class) and on Renfe's premier AVE or EuroMed trains an airline-style hot tray meal with wine is included - although on some departures you get a snack box instead, see the food & drink section to learn more.  You can use the Sala Club lounges at major stations with complimentary drinks & snacks.  Changeable without fee, refundable for a minimal fee.

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AVE trains

AVE or Alta Velocidad Española is Spain's front-rank high-speed train.  Reservation is compulsory, and all trains have a cafe-bar.  AVEs are now being fitted with free WiFi.  If you pay the Premium fare, an airline-style hot tray meal with wine is included although on some departures you get a snack box instead, see the food & drink section above.  AVE trains come in various types.

S100:  The original French-designed AVE used between Madrid & Seville and also now used into France, see the photos below.

S102 & S112:  The Spanish Talgo-designed AVE used between Madrid & Malaga, Barcelona & Malaga/Seville, a classy train indeed, see S102/S112 photos here.

S103:  The German-designed AVE used between Barcelona & Madrid plus some Madrid-Malaga trains, see S103 photos here.

All aboard!  This is an S100 AVE from Madrid to Seville.  All AVE trains have a cafe-bar serving drinks and snacks, or you feel free to bring your own food, wine or beer on board.		Cafe-bar.  All AVEs and most Intercity & Alvia trains have a cafe-bar serving snacks, hot & cold dishes, tea, coffee, beer & wine...  This is an S100 cafe-bar.

AVE Comfort (former club seats) with reclining seats, power sockets for laptops & mobiles.		A hot meal & wine is included in Comfort class, but only if you pay the Premium fare, see above.

AVE Comfort (former preferente seats) with reclining seats, power sockets for laptops & mobiles.		AVE Standard (2nd class) with comfortable seats, power sockets for laptops & mobiles.

Alvia & EuroMed trains

These S130 trains operate the EuroMed services linking Barcelona with Valencia & Alicante, as well as Alvia trains from Madrid to Cadiz & Huelva.  They consist of little articulated coaches built by the Talgo company sandwiched between two duck-billed power cars.  There are other Alvia services operates by similar trains with a diesel power-car added, and a few Alvia trains (including Barcelona to Bilbao, Pamplona & San Sebastian) operated by the wedge-nosed S120 type, of similar high quality.  All Alvia trains have a cafe-bar.  On EuroMed services a hot meal with wine is usually available in Comfort class on weekdays & Sundays if you buy a Premium ticket or add the meal to an Elige ticket, see the information above.

An Alvia train at Barcelona Franca.  It's a type S130 nick-named patito or little duck, for obvious reasons!		Standard (2nd class) seats on an Alvia train...

Comfort (1st class) seats on a EuroMed train.		An S130 EuroMed train at Barcelona Franca.

Intercity trains

These run on many long distance routes, including Madrid-Ronda-Algeciras, Madrid-Granada, Madrid-San Sebastian.  Most (including Madrid-Algeciras) are former Altaria trains, little articulated trains built by the Talgo company and hauled by a separate locomotive, they have adjustable axles so they can run at up to 200 km/h on the high-speed AVE lines (which are standard European gauge) then go though a gauge-changing shed to emerge on traditional Spanish broad gauge to complete their journey on the classic Iberian gauge network.  A few Intercity trains have been created by rebranding former Alvia trains built by CAF, for example on the Madrid-San Sebastian route, which also have gauge-changing wheels.  All Intercity trains have a cafe-bar.

An Intercity train built by Talgo at Madrid Atocha.		Comfort (1st class).

Standard (2nd class) seating.		An Intercity train at Algeciras, about to leave for Madrid.

Avlo, Iryo, Ouigo...

Spain's high-speed lines have been opened up to competition.  Renfe now has a lo-cost brand called Avlo, and competitor operators Iryo & Ouigo now operate on key routes including Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Valencia, Madrid-Cordoba/Seville/Malaga.  See the Barcelona-Madrid page for a run down of these 3 operators.

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Option 1, buy at Raileurope.com

The quickest & easiest way to buy Spanish train tickets is at Raileurope.com with cheap advance-purchase fares & print-at-home or collect-at-station tickets.  You can choose to pay in €, £ or $. There's a small booking fee.

Raileurope.com links directly to Renfe's (Spanish Railways) ticketing system and charges the same price as Renfe themselves with the same print-your-own ticket delivery.  Unlike Renfe's own site it's in plain English without any of Renfe.com's quirky translations and no credit card rejection problems.

Raileurope.com can book the lo-cost Barcelona-Madrid Ouigo Spain trains as well as the normal Renfe trains, but cannot book lo-cost Avlo trains

Anyone from any country can use Raileurope.com as international credit cards are welcomed.  It can also sell international trains between Spain and Portugal or France, as it links to the French, German, Italian & British ticketing systems.  Who are Raileurope.com?

Important:  If you have a baby or infant, remember to add them as a child and enter their age, they'll still go free but will get the free infant ticket which is now necessary in Spain.

Option 2, buy at Thetrainline.com or Omio.com

www.omio.com & www.thetrainline.com also connect to Renfe's ticketing system to sell Renfe tickets at exactly the same prices as Renfe with the same print-your-own or collect-at-station tickets, very easily, all overseas credit cards accepted.  Both charge a small booking fee.  They can also book Ouigo Spain trains & Avlo trains.  Who are Thetrainline.com?

Option 3, buy at Petrabax.com, easy to use, in US$

If you'd rather pay in USD, use www.petrabax.com.  This is a US-based agency which also links directly to the Renfe ticketing system to sell the same trains as Renfe.com with the same print-at-home tickets.  They add a small mark-up, but it's easy to use in plain English and it avoids the English translation and credit card acceptance problems people can experience with Renfe.com.  Anyone from any country can use Petrabax, including the United States, Canada, Australia, India & Singapore.

Option 4, buy at Renfe.com

You can of course buy tickets direct from Spanish Railways at www.renfe.com, in € with print-your-own tickets.  Unfortunately, Renfe.com has more than its fair share of quirks and a reputation for rejecting a significant proportion of overseas credit cards.  It's very fiddly to use.

Pretty much the only reasons to battle with renfe.com rather than buying easily from www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com is that you avoid paying any booking fee and it may allow you to select a specific seats from a seating plan for an extra fee.  However, www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com allow you to specify seating options and they both show you your seat numbers before you pay, so you can always compare them with a seating plan then run multiple enquiries if you don't like the first ones you are given, adding seats to your basket until you get ones you like.  Then cancel the ones you don't need and pay for those you do.

If you want to try using Renfe.com please read the advice on using Renfe.com below.  It frustrates many people, though I have to say it has always worked fine with my own credit card and it now also accepts PayPal.

Renfe.com also doesn't handle connections well, so if you want to book (say) from Bilbao to Seville you'll have to guess that this involves a change in Madrid, then book as two journeys, Bilbao to Madrid and Madrid to Seville - whereas Raileurope.com can generally book from anywhere to anywhere as one transaction, even if connections are involved.

So if you want a quick and easy transaction, use www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com, but if you really want to avoid their small booking fee and are prepared to overcome confusing translations and a website which keeps slipping back into Spanish, try using Renfe.com with the help of the advice below.

• Spanish train bookings usually open 60 days ahead, AVEs may open up to 90 days ahead.  You can't book before reservations open!

  The 60 days isn't exact, Renfe loads trains in blocks of dates as and when it feels like it, often less than 60 days, sometimes more, and sometimes certain trains appear on the system before others.  If you don't see the whole complete train service you're expecting to see, and it's over a month before departure, the chances are that not all trains have been loaded yet, so wait a bit!

  If you see Train blocked in the search results it means that date or train hasn't opened for booking.

  Renfe are also usually late opening reservations for dates after the twice-yearly timetable change in mid-June and mid-December.

• There are several alternatives to Renfe.com which are much easier to use:  Buying direct from Renfe means you pay no booking fee, their site works OK for me and has always accepted my credit card.  But it's fiddly to use and I reckon up to 25% of overseas travellers have their credit card rejected when using Renfe.com, especially Americans or Australians, so if you have any problems there are several easy alternatives, www.thetrainline.com, www.raileurope.com & www.omio.com (same price as Renfe with small booking fee) and www.petrabax.com (prices in US$, with a small mark-up).  All these sites link directly to Renfe's ticketing system to sell the same trains with the same fares and the same print-at-home tickets (although they can't sell Mesa fares).  Renfe now also accepts PayPal.

• OK, so go to www.renfe.com, click the globe symbol top right & select Inglés to switch it to English.

• It's worth registering before you start to book - because if you have any problems receiving your .pdf tickets later, you can log in to your account and see your bookings.  To register, click the head-and-shoulders account symbol top right and click the I want to sign up link.

• Use the journey planner:  For a one-way trip, change Return to one-way.  Leave Promotional cards & codes alone.  Enter journey details...

• For Madrid, select MADRID (TODAS), for Barcelona select BARCELONA (TODAS) as this means all stations and the system will work out whether trains on your chosen route use Madrid Atocha, Madrid Chamartin, Barcelona Sants or Barcelona Franca.  For Seville, use Sevilla Santa Justa.  For Malaga you want Malaga Maria Zambrano.  For Lisbon use LISBOA (TODAS).

• The system can't handle changes of train, it will only show direct trains plus a few popular connecting services that Renfe's sales department has manually programmed in, marked con enlace or con transbordo.  So if you ask it for San Sebastian to Algeciras it won't show any trains at all as there are no direct ones and no 'con enlaces' have been programmed in, but of course you'll see several trains if you ask it first for San Sebastian to Madrid, then separately for Madrid to Algeciras.  This is another reason for using www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com which can identify and book multi-train journeys across Spain.

• When you're done, click Search for a ticket.  Here's an example of the search results page...

• On the results page (see the screenshot above) you'll see a list of trains, each with three possible fares.

  It's important to realise that here you're selecting fare types, not classes, see the explanation of these fare types above.  If you want a 1st class seat, you have to select either Elige or Premium at this stage.

  Tip:  Parts of the page may slip back into Spanish, I use Google's Chrome browser so I can right click & choose Translate into English...

• If you want a 2nd class seat at the cheapest price, select Basico.

• If you want a 1st class seat at the cheapest price, select Elige.  On the next page, you'll have to change the default Elige (which gets you a 2nd class seat) to Elige Confort, which gets you a 1st class (Comfort) seat.  See the explanation of classes & fare types above.

• On the next page, enter your details.

• Name means you first name.  Primer Apellido means surname.  Most people can leave the Segundo apellido box empty.

• Change the Document type drop down box from DNI to Pasaporte and enter your passport number in the box.

• Enter your phone number with no spaces between the numbers and no preceding 0, for example 1844292884.

• Leave the +Renfe card section alone unless you have a Renfe discount card, which you probably don't.

• Enter your payment details:  Enter your card details and complete the purchase, or use PayPal if you want.  Renfe uses the 3D Secure/Verified by Visa/MasterCard Secure system, you should enable your credit cards for this.

• Make sure your browser will allow pop-ups as you might otherwise lose your PDF format tickets, which pop up as a new tab or window.

• Error GU001 at payment stage?  If you get error message GU001 when paying, it could be your bank blocking an unusual foreign transaction, rather than renfe.com itself.  Try another credit card, and/or call your bank and tell them you're making a legitimate payment on a foreign website.  Renfe uses the Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure schemes, and anecdotal evidence suggests that a card that doesn't work before it is enrolled in one of these schemes suddenly works once you've signed up.

• Print your tickets:  When you've booked and paid, the tickets should automatically pop up in .pdf format in a new window or tab.  You can print them out on your own PC printer, and save them to your PC.  Personally, I not only print a spare set of tickets to place elsewhere in my luggage, I save the tickets to a dropbox.com account I can access from anywhere.

  These PDF format print-at-home tickets are good for travel without further formality.  You do not need to 'check in' or exchange them for anything.  Just board the train and show the printout when asked.  It has your reserved seat and coach numbers printed on it, along with your travel date, train time and journey.

• If your print-at-home tickets fail to appear, do not navigate away from the confirmation screen before noting down the localiser booking reference, which will also be shown in an email you'll be sent.  If you have the localiser, you can type it into the ticket machines at the station to print your tickets, even if you haven't been able to print your tickets at home. 

  If you get really stuck, try calling renfe for help on 00 34 902 10 94 20.  The operators usually speak English and even if you didn't register they can usually provide you with your booking's ‘localiser' which then allows you to print your ticket at the station either at the staffed ticket office or self-service machines.

• Feedback (positive or negative) is very welcome if you use renfe.com to buy tickets, especially as things change from time to time and I won't always spot it.

• If you have any difficulty, for example credit card payment errors, see the alternative ways to buy Spanish tickets.

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