In recent times, Spain has become a tourist hotspot — a traveler’s absolute delight. From dramatic sceneries, stunning beaches that greet you wherever you go, a huge variety of flora and fauna, awesome food to indulge in, impressive shopping options, historical cities with inspiring art and culture to a vibrant Espania life, you have many reasons to consider Spain as your next holiday destination.
The best and the most charming way to explore the most touristic places in Spain in a short timeframe as a foreigner would be to book train passes — with special mention of the Renfe Spain Pass. You are free to take a train from whichever destination you feel like, and travel whenever and wherever you want to.
Traveling with restrictions can be a huge downer, but not with train passes. Train travel is a popular rider choice anyways to discover the unseen and unknown territories of a city or state. Train passes guarantee economical travel whilst you get to traverse larger areas of the land on several other benefits.
Renfe Spain Pass is valid on all of Renfe’s long-distance and medium-distance trains, high-speed, and regional trains like AVE, EuroMed, Alvia, Alaris, Intercity, Media Distancia, and Avant. You cannot use the pass on night trains though. You may use the Pass for 4,6,8,10, or 12 journeys within a month. You must reserve your seats in advance; seat reservations are included in the pass price. The pass allows you a one-way train journey from points A to B.
Unlike the Eurail Pass where you can take multiple train rides on a single day, here your travel will be restricted to solo trips on a train and there are no changing trains in the interim. You can also use the pass free of charge on local trains provided you have clubbed the travel with a long-distance train (before and after your trip on a long-distance train).
What are the Features of Renfe Spain Pass
Please take a look at the following features of the Renfe Spain Pass.
- It may be used by anyone as long as they are not a resident of Spain.
- The Renfe Spain Pass allows you to travel conveniently and much more economically all over Spain.
- A standard class pass fare for 4 days journey begins from 145 euros for children aged between 4 and 13 years; for adults, it costs 195 euros per head. The rates increase with a corresponding increase in the number of travel days (i.e. 6,8,10, or 12 days). You may please check their official website to be informed about the current fares.
- Children under 4 years travel for free if they are not occupying seats.
- The passes are valid for 6 months from the date of issue, and for 1 month from the date of departure.
- Passes are personalized and non-transferable.
- You need to enter details from your passport to book a pass online. All passes are sent in a PDF format by email to applicants. You will have to take printouts of the same and carry them with you before you board a train.
- Seat reservations are mandatory on all trains and must be made well in advance.
- Once you receive your Renfe Spain Pass, you may start booking the desired trains.
- You can avail of the local/regional train connections for free up to 4 hours before and after the departure of your booked train.
- You get discount coupons for museum entrances, restaurants, guided tours, tourist cards, etc.
- Renfe offers two travel classes — Comfort (1st class) and Standard (2nd class).
Know How to Book Your Pass
Once you have received your Renfe Spain Pass online, you may please visit the link here to book your train trips. Seat reservations can be made online at www.renfe.com, or any train station in Spain. It pays to pre-book as there are cheap advance-purchase fares. Ticket selling begins 60 to 90 days in advance.
To validate your pass, you will have to enter your pass number, pass localizer, passport number, select your departure and arrival stations, a traveling date, and a seat. Print your tickets and carry the hard copies with you on the train.
How to Contact Renfe for Help
Here are the numbers should you need help with booking, cancellation or others – 91 232 03 20 (general), 91 919 05 04 (online tickets) and 900 878 333 (complaints).
There could be many reasons to cancel train trips and apply for a refund. The Renfe website gives refund/exchange instructions.
If you apply for a refund 30 to 15 days in advance of the actual date of the journey, the cancellation charges are 25%. It is 50% when canceled 14 to 5 days in advance, 80% 4 to 1 day in advance, and 100% when canceled less than 24 hours prior to the day of departure.
