Railways and trains in Spain: Personal experience

From March to September, the following travel timetables: Palma – Soller: 8.00 – 10.10 – 10.50 – 12.15 – 13.30 – 15.10 – 19.thirty. Soller – Palma: 9.10 – 10.50 – 12.15 – 14.00 – 18.thirty. From November to February Schedule Other, but I do not think that it will interest someone.

Train ticket costs 12.50 euros one way and 19.50 there and back. For children from 3 to 6 years old, tickets cost exactly 2 times cheaper. Prices shown by me installed for tourists. The local resident, upon presentation of the identity card, the ticket will cost somewhere by 30% cheaper.

Seats in the train soft and with a movable back. It can be thrown back and forth and thus sit down either face ahead or ass.

On the way, the train stops at several intermediate stations (about 5 of them) and passes through several tunnels, one of which is quite extended (on it to go about 5 minutes). Even before the trip to Mallorca, I read on the Internet that when driving towards the solver, it is better to sit on the left side along the train movement. Well, this is true, however, after the passage of the extended tunnel, you can transfer and on the right side, t.To. Beautiful views are mainly there.

Controllers walk on the train and check tickets, but, to be honest, I somehow did not find out that the controller will make a ticket with an unfinished passenger: will make a ticket from him, he will write a penalty or handed over to the debris, which will cause a radio station to the nearest station. I hope the first.

Trains Avant (Madrid)

In Montserrat from Barcelona on the train

FGC station is underground. A lot of outputs, find the entrance to us in the FGC network icon.

How to buy a ticket and get to Montserrat:

1. Touch the screen, choose the language (for example, English).
2. Choose a combined ticket (Combinat Monserrat Butllet Adult Tren + Cremallera, that is, electric train + "toothed train", It goes to the mountain rails, where the third rail is gear).
3. Quantity (for example, 1), the cost is highlighted – 8.75 EUR. Also, tickets sell near the machines, and the package is offered at once: on the railway and on the funicular.

There are two different stops: Montserrat Aeri (from there to the monastery there is a cable car) and Monistrol de Montserrat (from there walks "Kremera", "toothed train"). Everyone recommended to go to the second. Next to the machine is a minister if a ticket to "gear" The train is not purchased, you can buy here, but be sure to contact near the machine.

Electric train walks 1 time per hour. Looking at the pointers, you will see how your R5 goes from. In the carriage on the board they write the name of the next stop, do not sink your. First there will be Montserrat Aeri. Get out at the next station, Monistrol de Montserrat. From the same station, a little further along the train – "Kremera". The schedule is adjusted to the schedule of your arrived train, you will not have to wait.

Sit down to the left. On the right will be visible in the main mountain, on which you will rise, and on the left there will be a view from the mountain.

Arrived at Montserrat station. Information Bureau, in front of the entrance – a large mailbox in the form of a head of a lion. In the information you can find out how much the choir of boys. It seems at 12:00, but it is better to clarify, plus to get a map of the sights of Mount Montserrat.

Now on the funicular. Two funicular. One is called "Santa Kava" And goes down. Another, "San Juan", Raises up.

I rolled only upstairs, the types are beautiful, but walks along the tracks long.

On the way back, we bought 2 tickets to the descent on Aeri and 2 tickets to the train to Barcelona. The cableway will lead you to the Montserrat Aeri station (if you did not bought a ticket at the train immediately, you can do it at the station), or rather, not to the station itself, and next to the platform you need to go through a small tunnel. On the head carriage ahead will be written "Barcelona".

Well, then everything is simple: by train to Barcelona. At the exit through the turnstile, a purchased ticket for the train will be required. We lost them, but the minister released us without a fine.

Renfe allows you to buy a ticket online not yourself

There was a need to buy the Renfe online ticket for Madrid-Lisbon train. Passenger because of the circumstances to take advantage of his card could not. We read on the Renfe website that you can buy a ticket. And in the end, everything went successfully.

After purchase you send PDF, which you print. With this leaf you are sitting on the train. There is another option: if PDF is printed now, you need to remember the ticket number, and at this number the ticket can be printed in the automatic.

It is believed that the Renfe site takes not all Russian cards. Maybe it’s so. But my Visa "Sberbank" His quite arranged.

Tips for buying tickets on Renfe

I want to share the experience of purchasing tickets for trains of Spanish.D. RENFE companies.

We chose, probably the easiest route – Barcelona Madrid. However, not everything is so simple. The train ticket directly at the box office will cost 117 euros (the cheapest). However, the Renfe website offers discount tickets at 40 and 60 percent on special Estrella and Web Tariffs. Thus, by "Web" You can buy a ticket for 47-50 euros, by "Estralet" – 60-70 Euro. There are also special. Discounts when buying 4 tickets – It offers four places around the table, and a good discount is obtained when buying a ticket "There and back again".

We wanted to get cheaper and seduced at the tariff "Web". It turns out that tickets at this rate and "Estralet" can only be purchased through the company’s website. This is not afraid of us, given the advanced hotel bookings and buying tickets on the Internet. But here it turned out to be. The fact is that almost 80% of the percent of the cards of our banks "do not like" Payment system ServiRED through which payment transaction is carried out. We tried a bunch of our own and not only banknotes – only Sberbank International (in our case Visa) approached. The rest of the banks – Alpha, UniCredit, TransCreditBank, my bank – and their cards, respectively, have not passed.

There is an alternative – buy tickets through the Russian representative office of the company, the main office of which is located in Moscow. I accidentally entered them in search of any reviews of Russian tourists about Renfe. But there you can only buy standard tickets – for 117, 170 and 220 euros depending on the type of carbon. Also for each ticket is considered 5 euros for the service. So it can even get out more for those that want to arrange an economical trip.

In general, we managed to buy three tickets. After payment on the mail comes a confirmation letter – there is the code – Localizador – its or data of the cards and passports from which payment was made – you need to enter into special. Terminals at the train station for ticket printing (in principle, the same as we have on Russian Railways). Tickets are not nominated, so you specify information to your choice – or confirmation code, or data on the map. Many stupidly go with a printout in the wagon – but all the same all unfold back to print a ticket.