Train Travel in Spain:
Complete Practical Guide

Have you heard that Spain’s high-speed trains are among the top 10 in the world? While perhaps most trains in Spain aren’t on par with Japan, the country has an amazing selection of high speed and slower trains. Being a train enthusiast, I have taken trains dozens of times on my latest month-long visit. I was able to travel around extensively, because my sister now lives in Madrid, so I had a place to stay there😊

Based on my experiences I have compiled detailed information on options for traveling by train around Spain, booking tickets, navigating the train stations and much more. I have taken almost all types of trains available and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Types of Trains in Spain

High-Speed Trains

Unlike Japan and China, Spain’s high-speed trains are run by several companies since 2021. Before this, the market was monopolized by the national Renfe and the prices were rather high. Nowadays, there are 4 companies in the market, which means you have several options on major routes and hence, can get cheaper tickets. I will go into details about this later.

In addition to the trains running inside Spain, there are a few international trains linking Madrid and Barcelona to Paris, Marseille and Lyon. There are currently no trains running to Portugal, although I have read about the plans to build Madrid-Lisbon link.

Iryo Trains in Spain

I will start with Iryo, because it’s my favorite train company in Spain all round. Iryo joined the market in 2022 with new sleek trains. I believe the trains are Italian made.

I have taken Iryo trains on several routes, including Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Malaga. In my opinion, it absolutely beats all competitors in terms of price, comfort and everything else.

The Iryo trains run with up to 300 km/hour speed. In fact, we even noted 301 km/hour a couple of times, while traveling from Barcelona to Madrid. The trains have screens showing your speed time after time, which was a fun way to see, how fast the train was going at the moment. We practically made that a game – who would notice the highest speed.

Renfe AVE Trains

Renfe is the national train company and obviously has the largest train network in the country. It runs not only high-speed AVE trains, but a number of slower and regional trains all around the country. Lately it even started running international routes Madrid-Marseille and Lyon-Barcelona. Actually, Renfe’s AVE trains run for over 30 years, since 1992.

I have taken Renfe AVE trains several times, including on Madrid-Granada and Madrid-Seville routes. The trains are pretty good – in fact they are excellent for most standards. However, in my experience they are not as comfortable and modern, as Iryo ones.

AVE trains are said to run with up to 310 km/hour speed, although doubt that speed is achieved often. There were no screens showing the speed on AVE trains, like on Iryo, so I can’t say what was the fastest speed the trains we took developed.

Renfe also runs Alvia trains on some routes, which are high-speed trains but lower class and older than AVE trains. They run only on several routes, like Madrid to Santander.

Ouigo Trains

Ouigo is a low-cost company. It doesn’t run on many routes – what I have seen are only Madrid to Barcelona and Madrid to Alicante routes. The company has two storey trains. If you take it, I suggest choosing an upper deck, as the views are nicer.

The Ouigo trains aren’t as sleek and comfortable, as Iryo, or frequent and convenient, as AVE. Their main appeal is the prices – if you get your tickets far in advance, you can find a great deal. I only took it once though, as I preferred other options (did I mention Iryo? 😊).

Avlo Trains

Avlo is another low-cost option – a sister company to Renfe, they run the older trains with no catering options. This company covers only several major routes.

The main issue with Avlo is its limited frequency. For instance, on Barcelona-Madrid route, I only ever saw one round trip a day with Avlo. With such limited availability and knowing that Avlo trains aren’t very comfortable, I never tried taking one. If you have tried, let me know how it went.

Local and Regional Trains

If you are not traveling on a long distance and/or are going to a location, where high-speed trains don’t stop, you can take the regional trains. These are slower and stop at more stops. On the plus side, these trains will be cheaper, than high-speed ones.

Renfe runs practically all regional/local trains around Spain. There are barely any other companies, only very small ones in some districts.

Avant trains are the faster regional trains. They are obviously not as fast as AVE, but they cover quite big distances and have fewer stops than most other regional trains.

Cercanias trains are practically like metros for the surrounding towns of major cities. They run on a relatively frequent schedule. You can hop on these trains without a seat reservation.

Buying Train Tickets in Spain

You can buy your train tickets either online or in-person for intercity trains. If you are purchasing train tickets in person at the station, Renfe offices are at every major station. They can sell competitive company tickets too, but I never tried this and not sure about possible upcharges. You may find Iryo offices at some stations. However, I never noticed other company ticket offices anywhere.

I however recommend purchasing online in advance.

Purchasing Spain Train Tickets Online

Official Websites

Renfe official website has the selection of AVE, Avant and all the other Renfe trains. You can also get Avlo tickets here. It’s usually slightly cheaper than the third parties, however, it’s glitchy at times. I have had issues with on a few occasions. Besides, the difference in price is usually not too big with third parties, so I usually avoid Renfe website.

One more important note is that you can’t always select your seats, while purchasing tickets on Renfe website. You will be assigned randomly. However, if you are traveling in a group, it normally assigns tickets together or close together. For our group of 4, assigned 2 seats were together with the other 2 seats a few rows away again together. This was fine for us though, so it depends on your needs.

Iryo official website is far easier to use than that of Renfe. However, the prices are generally same, as on third parties so I prefer to book on Omio for convenience. But Iryo site is perfectly functional, if you would like to check it out.

What I don’t like about Iryo website is that it allows you to select your seats only if you pay for the selection. Otherwise, it will assign you seats, although they will normally be together or close-by.

Ouigo official website seems to be working fine. I have never purchased a ticket through it though, so can’t tell you, if it is smooth. Like other official websites, you will be assigned your seats, unless you pay for selection.

Third Party Websites

While in many other countries I suggest official train company websites, in Spain I extensively used third party ones because most of the time they were the same price or only slightly more expensive and provided far better user-friendly experience, compared to official websites. I was absolutely happy to avoid Renfe website nightmare.

My preferred options for purchasing Spain train tickets online are:

Omio: I used Omio frequently for booking my train tickets in Spain. It allows you to see all your available options from trains to buses and it’s easier to select, what you prefer. Plus, it’s certainly easier to keep track of all your tickets on the app. That said, always double check that you are getting a good price.

What I especially love about Omio is that it provides real time information on almost all high-speed trains. It tells you if your train is running a few minutes late or on time and where approximately is it at the moment. Plus, Omio provides the information about the platform your train is departing from. These features were very convenient for me, as I didn’t have to keep checking the board, when I was waiting at the station – I am shortsighted, the boards are my nightmare.

Another advantage of Omio is that it lets you select your seats free of charge on most occasions.

Trainline: Trainline also allows you to easily check and compare your options, however, it only offers trains, not buses. It’s also very easy to use. I kept all my tickets on the app.

Trainline has similar features to Omio in terms of live updates, platform numbers, as well as at times selection of seats.

Note: In my experience, booking Renfe trains is unavailable during certain hours at night (CET time). I am not sure about exact hours, but whenever I tried to look for trains during the night hours, like at 1-2 am in Spain, the Renfe trains simply didn’t show up on any of the websites, while other companies’ tickets did.

When should you buy train tickets for traveling in Spain?

Let’s start with high-speed trains. I highly recommend buying your train tickets at least two months in advance – earlier, if you can. Bookings on most of the routes with several competitive operators open at least several months (up to 11 months) in advance.

On most routes you could wait till the day of travel and still find some tickets, but they will be much more expensive. Some popular routes – like Madrid to Barcelona – do sell out though, especially during the summer season, Christmas, and other popular times.

Either way, the more you wait, it’s highly likely tickets will become more expensive. I booked our tickets 2-3 months in advance. As the dates came nearer, they only became more expensive, with a couple of exceptions, where I still was seeing cheap tickets 2 weeks before our travel dates.

For shorter distances, where only Renfe runs – like the Madrid to Toledo or Madrid to Avila route, for example – tickets are normally the same price, whenever you book them. However, I still recommend getting them a few days before your travel date on popular routes, to make sure they won’t be sold out. For instance, Madrid-Toledo tickets do sell out for the hours the day trippers usually travel – meaning morning tickets form Madrid and evening ones from Toledo.

One important note: on the routes, which are served only by Renfe, tickets open about 30 days in advance, but sometimes no earlier than even 10 days in advance. For instance, we kept checking Malaga to Granada tickets. We knew Renfe runs this route, but no tickets were showing up for a long time. Then they showed up about 12 days before our trip. So on this type of routes, check their normal schedule and wait, till the booking options open.

Some examples from my experience:

• I bought our Madrid to Barcelona train tickets about 3 months in advance. They were decently priced. I am glad I did pre-book because closer to the date they became three times more expensive.
• I had to get Madrid to Toledo tickets at least two days in advance. On the day of travel the popular times were sold out both times I went.
• While traveling from Madrid to Avila on a Sunday, we got our tickets early in the morning on the day of travel and there were only a few tickets left for the evening return tickets. If we didn’t buy them that morning and left to last minute, we would have to find alternative ways for our return trip. Interestingly, Avila is not as popular as, for instance, Toledo, so on a weekday, I am sure tickets will be easier to buy just before traveling.
• On Cordoba to Seville route tickets were sold out in the evening and I was happy I bought them in advance.
• Malaga to Granada – tickets were readily available on the day and the train was by far not full. I don’t believe this is a very popular route, so you should be fine booking just a couple of days before travel or even on the day.
• For traveling from Madrid to Segovia, you can easily get tickets on the day, however, they will be more expensive than if you bought them in advance. This route is served by several companies, so buying early pays off.

As my examples show, the availability of tickets and their prices highly depends on your dates, time of travel, day of the week, popularity of the route, etc. But as a rule of thumb, I recommend purchasing your tickets in advance.

I do understand though if you prefer to leave the decision till the travel day, as you may not be sure, exactly at what times you want to travel. You could do this during the low season, or on less popular routes. Alternatively, if tickets are sold out, you will probably have an option of taking a bus.

Rail Passes in Spain

There are a couple of passes you might consider:

• Renfe Rail Pass: This pass covers only Renfe trains – neither Iryo, nor other companies are included.
• Interrail Pass/Eurail Pass: These two passes are practically the same – the only difference is that Interrail is for European residents and Eurail – for other country nationals. Otherwise, I didn’t see difference in terms of options or price for Spain. On either of them, you can purchase the pass for Spain or for multi-country adventure. They include Renfe and Iryo trains in Spain. Ouigo is not included, but that won’t be an issue.

According to my research, none of these passes are cost-effective unless you plan your trip last minute and are city hopping daily. If you purchase your tickets in advance, they will definitely end up cheaper than the Pass price. Therefore, I have never used the passes. I always purchased cheaper tickets in advance.

Discounted Train Tickets in Spain

Spanish train companies offer free tickets for very small children and some discounts for older ones. However, there are a number of different rules, therefore, you will have to check your options while purchasing a ticket.

Senior discounts for persons over the age of 65 are only available with Renfe with so called Tarjeta Dorada. The thing is this is useless for most travellers to Spain, given that you can only purchase this card while in Spain. You can only book discounted tickets with the number of Tarjeta Dorada. Considering that tickets are normally much cheaper if purchased in advance, waiting till last minute will not be a good idea.

Seat Selection

All high-speed trains have mandatory seat selection or allocation. You can’t book a ticket without either selecting one or being assigned one.

All companies have a mix of forward and back facing seats. I honestly haven’t found a reliable way to figure out which seats are facing which way. If you have tips on this, I will be happy to get your thoughts.

Names on the Train Tickets

High-speed train tickets are name specific. Tickets are not transferable. You will have to indicate name and, highly likely, a passport number when purchasing tickets.

While this never happened to us, the rule is that they can check your passport to make sure it matches the purchased ticket. So you have to carry a form of ID with you. I am not sure if electronic versions are acceptable.

This does not apply to regional slower trains or to Cercanias.

Cercanias Tickets

If you are traveling on Cercanias trains, you don’t need to buy your tickets in advance. These trains run practically like metro and you can hop on one any time without reserved tickets.

You can purchase your tickets at the relevant Cercanias booths, as well as the ticket machines. I couldn’t make the ticket machines work with my non-Spanish bank card however. I am not sure, if this is a common issue, or just didn’t work that time. Otherwise I purchased tickets at the ticket booth – although it took a bit of queueing in the morning hours.

Train Ticket Changes and Cancellations

When we are traveling, things can happen and we may end up needing to cancel our pre-purchased tickets. There is no one-size-fits-all rule however, as each company and ticket fare have their own small print:

Renfe: Fare conditions aren’t always straightforward. If you purchase a discounted rate ticket, it may be non-refundable. However, the full price tickets are generally flexible and refundable. I had to cancel with Renfe Avant train once. It was a full price tickets (I doubt they have discounts for Avant trains – I haven’t seen one at any rate). I didn’t have to provide any explanations about the reasons of cancellation. I simply cancelled from Omio website, where I purchased and received a quick confirmation and then a refund in a few days. In case of delays, you may be entitled to a refund, even if you purchased a discounted fare.

Iryo: Each of the Iryo fares have their set of rules. Normally, the cheapest Inicial tickets are non-refundable. But there are also semi-flexible and flexible options, if you prefer. I thankfully never had to cancel Iryo tickets, as I generally bought non-refundable ones. None of these rules apply to the cases, if the train journey is cancelled or anything else major happens causing long delays. Iryo states they provide a refund for delays over 90 minutes and a partial refund on delays of an hour.

Ouigo: Their tickets are normally non-refundable, although can sometimes be changeable, depending on the fare. However, like Iryo, they do provide full refunds in case of over 90 minute delays. We had tickets on Ouigo for going to Segovia from Madrid. However, the train was delayed by about 7 hours, due to an accident on the tracks in the north. We simply left the train once we found out about the accident and a possibility of long delay. I actually received several emails from them explaining the delay and the reasons, as well as providing the link, where I could submit a claim for a refund. I received my money back in several days after this. Absolutely can’t fault them with anything.

Tips for Travelling by Train in Spain

Amenities on the Trains in Spain

All companies claim to have Wi-Fi available, however, in my experience it works only sporadically – in fact, it doesn’t work most of the time. Having tried a few times to connect, I stopped bothering with it.

You will find a power outlet on many trains – they definitely had them on my trips on AVE, Iryo and Avant trains. Although some older trains may not have them. For instance, I couldn’t find any on two occasions on Avant trains. I also didn’t see them on Ouigo.

All trains have trays available for you to be able to eat either the food you brought with or what you bought at the food car. Most high-speed trains have a food car, normally cars 3 or 4 in my experience. They offer coffee and some snacks, don’t expect an elaborate meal here.

All trains running on longer distances have toilets. All AVE, Iryo, Avant and Ouigo trains had them, when I travelled. The toilets are usually decently sized – they certainly aren’t as small as plane toilets 😊 They were also clean on every occasion I had to use them, which I highly appreciated.

Luggage on the Trains in Spain

As a rule of thumb, all companies allow you to take at least one cabin bag per passenger for free. However, if you are taking a bigger suitcase or several pieces per person, the conditions differ among the companies. I am listing general information below, but make sure to double check the conditions of your ticket, when purchasing:

• Renfe – the company normally allows one cabin bag and one bigger suitcase. This has been the case on AVE trains I have taken, as well as Avant trains and local slower trains.
• Iryo – the basic Inicial ticket lets you take one cabin sized bag. If you are travelling with a bigger suitcase, you need to purchase the relevant ticket to include this.
• Ouigo – similar to Iryo, it includes one cabin bag, but for a larger suitcase you need to make relevant arrangements.

All of these trains have space overhead for smaller suitcases, as well as luggage racks at the beginning of each car, so you shouldn’t have an issue finding a space for your bags.

Strikes and How to Deal

As in many other European countries, strikes happen in Spain. The plus side is that they are normally announced in advance, so you will highly likely already know before your travel. Do check official website and the press releases.

If you book with Omio, they will inform you about any strikes and related cancellations. You will highly likely be receiving a refund or will be able to rebook, if available.

Accessibility of Train Travel in Spain

The Spanish train companies provide accessibility services, much like many airlines. For this you will need to request assistance in advance. Renfe certainly does a great job with providing information on this – they even have an app and a hotline. Information with Iryo is more limited but they do provide similar services upon request.

Besides, most Renfe and Iryo trains have spaces for wheelchair users, as well as accessible toilets. You can see these options while booking your train tickets on any platform.

I couldn’t find any details on Ouigo services, however, I know that they have wheelchair accessible spaces on their trains.

Navigating the Train Stations in Spain

Security Check at the Train Stations in Spain

Now this is one of the things I dislike about train travel in Spain. All high-speed stations have the security checks. This check means that your luggage should go through the machine, you don’t go though a metal detector though. This I believe makes the checks pointless, but well nothing to be done.

The security checks are the reason, why you should get to the station with some time to spare. The train companies usually ask to turn up 30 minutes in advance. While this is a bit of an overkill, I suggest at least 15 minutes for most stations, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, where people from several trains may be queueing in the same security queue. Some stations do have security queues for every several platforms, but it still takes some time.

Gates at the Train Stations

There might be queues at the gates after the security check also. Normally, tickets say that the gates close a few minutes before departure. To be honest, I never encountered this, people were hopping on the train last minute. We did get running to the gate exactly one minute before departure and literally hopped on the train seconds before it moved. However, just in case keep in mind that they have the right to close the gate at the indicated time, so try to arrive early.

Luggage Storage at the Spanish Train Stations

Unfortunately, since COVID, Spain’s train stations no longer have lockers. This certainly makes things difficult for many travellers. I needed the storage on a number of occasions and here is what I learned.

First of all, check if there is a bus station near the train station. If yes, all bus stations I have been to have luggage lockers. Their prices are cheap and you have the safety of having the bus station staff around, in case something goes wrong and your locker doesn’t open. I used these lockers in Cordoba and in Malaga and they were easy and convenient. Also far cheaper than any other option I found. See more details about the bus station lockers here.

If a bus station is too far, your best option is the Radical Storage. I used them successfully in Granada city center. They have a number of locations available for storage and you can search on their map for one near your location.

Radical Storage connects you to hotels or shops, which means you will have actual people you can leave luggage with, not non-staffed lockers. This is very important, as I have heard of people having issues with their lockers, which made them miss their train. Knowing this, I tried to find lockers with staff. The one time I tried lockers at the Setas Seville, I was unable to get my backpack back without the staff intervening.

I hope I convinced you that train travel in Spain is not all that complicated and it by far is the best way to get around the country. I would love to hear of your tips and hacks for train travel in Spain.

Hello I am Ket,

A traveler, planner, and sweet tooth behind Hit the Road Ket.

Travel isn’t just my passion – it’s a lifeline for my mental health. Having lived in three cities and explored 60 countries (and counting!), I created this blog to share my experiences, smart tips, and itinerary advice with fellow travel lovers.

I’m all about making the most of limited time, finding scenic routes, and turning every trip into something memorable – coffee in hand, of course.