Ridetherails
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 9 months ago
Hello, I have an Interrail global pass and am planning a trip to Portugal. Does the Spanish Renfe have a set time period for making seat reservations? How far in advance of travel can I reserve a seat? Thanks. Ride the rails
Arend7
Traveller
645 comments
72 hours, see text from the interrail website below:
By calling Renfe phone sales
• +34 91 232 03 20
• Pre-reserving a seat is possible. You will receive a PNR code which you must use to pick up and pay for your reservation at a local station ticket office, making sure to show your Interrail Pass. After the booking, you must collect your reservation within 72 hours. The reservation can only be booked up to 24 hours before the train departure time. After this time the pre-reservation will expire.
• Please note that a pre-reservation is not the same as a reservation. It only holds a seat for you for 72 hours.
Ridetherails
Traveller
2 comments
Many thanks. I’ll consult the Interrail website again, maybe there is also a way to make reservations online.
Arend7
Traveller
645 comments
No, there isn't. Otherwise they wouldn't publish that text. Best way is to reserve 3 days before and pick it up at Barcelona.
MisterSteve
Traveller
1089 comments
yes there is, for some, it's a few lines higher than that text - AVE, Euromed & Alvia trains are available through the Interrail reservation page.
nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments
Do not over do it: unless you specifically only want to travel on the 2-3 most busy days of the yr, when holidays start/finish, there is no real need to spend such efforts&sums on making RES monthes ahead-In ES/RENFE I myself have always done that at the counter -most often right before the actual trip, and that always went OK. Often a wise precaution to write down-or nowadays have it all to be shown on that holy fones-and prepare for śolo espanol hablemos´. If looking at that realistic: quite very much same-same as it works in UK if one would want to RES seats for trips.
ANY RES cost money to be paid-it might even be cheaper, and then do it weeks ahead, to book a seat on a thing called BUS-FLIX or perhaps another, ALSA, AVANZA, for even less as the extra to be paid from MAD to LIS. Will in any case bemuch quicker.
Ridetherails
Traveller
2 comments
Thanks to all for your input. With my interrail global pass I won't be looking at bus schedules unless there is no train connection, i.e. Faro to Huelva. But I will refrain from making reservations months ahead whenever appropriate.