Granada to Madrid

[stearnz33]

I am travelling from Granada to Madrid (Spain) on march 10th 2010 and can not find any information on trains travelling that route.

I think it may be because there is no direct route so I will have to connect through different cities. Can someone help me out on how exactly I get from Granada to Madrid?

Thank you so much!!!!

[WillTravel]

Herrbert can probably give you more specific information, but if you look at www.renfe.es, you see that you can take the train. The regular one-way fare is about 67 Euros. If you buy far enough in advance, and your credit card works on the site (a problem with many US-based cards), you can get a 27-Euro rate.

There probably is a bus option too.

Also, even if you can't buy the 27-Euro Web fare because of credit card problems, you can buy the 40-Euro Estrella fare by telephone (based on postings I've seen elsewhere).

[herrbert]

I see the same connection as WillTravel sees on the renfe site. That takes 4.45 - 4.50 hours. I only see that it stops at a couple of places. (check the ticket you want to buy, and than click on recorrido) One train leaves at 9.45 and the other one at 18.00.

Please note that you can not look further than 2 month in advantage on the site of Renfe. That might be because you can´t see anything.

[stearnz33]

Awesome, I see what you guys are talking about.....only one problem. I don't fluently speak Spanish!!

I'd like to book it on the website to get a great rate but I don't want to make a foolish mistake because I don't know what a word meant!!

Is there a website that has the info and ability to reserve a ticket in english?

Sorry for all the questions but you guys are so helpful and are making my trip that much better!! I really appreciate it!

[WillTravel]

The problem is that RailEurope allows you to reserve in English - but usually for a too-high price. You can check it out, though, in case there's an exception.

As I mentioned, I have read that you can book the Estrella fares by calling Renfe. Probably you could get an English-speaking agent. You can get a calling card, or use Skype, and phone for pennies per minute.

Check out the website www.seat61.com/ for tips on booking in a foreign language.

If your credit card works on the site, though, it really is quite possible to book in Spanish. Use Babelfish or translate.google.com, maybe supplemented with a dictionary, to translate the text if you feel unsure. (If you use a translation site, do the translation in a separate window, by copying and pasting the text, rather than trying to translate the page, which is dynamically generated.)

If you are still unsure, just post back with phrases that confuse you, and we'll do our best to help.

[stearnz33]

Ok, I'm finally booking this train trip. I looked up the route and saw the 2 different times. Where they put the price there is different categories, "Tarifa General" which I assume is a standard fare, and there is also "Estrella" which is a cheaper price.....what does this mean? Is it just a non-refundable bargain price?

[WillTravel]

Estrella is the second-cheapest fare class, after (I think) Web fares. Although I don't know the exact terms, you can assume they are more restrictive than the general fare. The restrictions are undoubtedly online somewhere.