user#133408
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 3 years ago
Hello everybody!
In a few days I will be leaving for my interrail journey from Belgium over France to Andalusia (Spain), but I keep struggling to understand how the pass works in Spain ...
Normally, next Saturday, I will arrive in Portbou with a French regional train and from there, I will take a Spanish regional train (or an MD) to Barcelona. According to this website, no reservations are required for this Spanish train to Barcelona, so can I just hop on the train without passing by the ticket office in Portbou and just show my interrail pass whenever the ticket inspector passes by?
Also, apparently it is not possible to make train reservations for Spanish high speed trains outside Spain, so I guess I'll have to do it once in Barcelona. However, I would like to get to Madrid as quickly as possible (preferably on the same day, so I won't waste a travel day). Does any of you have some experience as to how easy it is to make train reservations at a Spanish ticket office? Does it seem likely that I would be able to catch the train to Madrid only a few hours after the reservation was made? Or should I just prepare for spending the night in Barcelona and taking the train the next day?
Even in general, if any of you have experience with train reservations in Spain at a ticket office, I would love to hear some of your stories or tips!
Many thanks in advance!
All the best,
Joeri
Peter
Traveller
9331 comments
Hi Joeri.
Portbou-Barcelona: yes the MD trains are free on this route - https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/spain/es
Anyway, there are a lot of definitely free Regional trains. Same journey time (2:20h), every hour.
Nice option as well: travel from France trough the Pyrenees, via Latour de Carol. And from there down to Barcelona! Very scenic and free. Also the "Little Yellow Train" is a nice option. Read here: https://rail.cc/en/blog/little-yellow-train-video
Interrail reservations in Spain: mostly required. Calculate waiting time at stations ticket windows. But it is no problem to get them in general. Usually you can book them as well online as e-ticket (oder online, get them by email) via https://rail.shop/acprail/reservation
But it seems not to work currently. Maybe due to Corona?!?
Anyway... if you like, share your experiences here. Helpful for all of us.
Thank you and ejoy your trip, Peter :)
user#133408
Traveller
1 comments
Thank you so much for your quick response! This was really helpful!