1

Presumably as you are quoting in £ and not € you are not looking at the RENFE national rail company website.

Advance booking will give you huge discounts. This should explain all, if not come on back - http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_use_www.renfe.com

2

That's much better.
Thank's a lot.

3

Thanks for the thanks.

4

There are the high-speed trains that take 2-3 hours Barc-Madrid, and they cost a bomb. Yes, advance booking will save some money, but it will still be pricey. If budget is an issue, you can take a regular train that will take the whole day, but cost 30-50% of the high speed 'AVE' trains. You can also take the bus (www.alsa.es) for a similar price/time frame to the regular train. Please use www.renfe.es to find trains, any other search engine will only produce the AVE train schedules.

The same rule applies for all train travel throughout Spain. The problem is there's many different types of train services, so you must trawl through the site to find what you. For Barc-Mad, look for the 'estrella' service, it should cost 50e or less, but takes 9-10hours.

5

Never ever will waiting to buy result in a lower price, never. Don't do it. Tickets for Spanish trains generally open for sale around 60 days in advance, and can be dirt cheap. Sevilla to Granada, for example, is like 22 euros on the high speed AVE if you buy far enough in advance.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT take the overnight train. It's cramped, crowded and stinks. The train is of the lowest quality, and it has the compartments, not individual airplane style seats. The compartments have 8 people and will be full. If you are unlucky as I was, you'll be adjacent to the bathroom and smell the odor of piss almost seeping through the walls. People will also smoke all night in the hallway. You won't sleep; not because of danger or safety, but because smells and sounds will overwhelm you. Spend the extra money, take the AVE, or fly. Don't take the overnight unless you're strapped for cash hard and have no other option.

6

hi,

I took the bus from Madrid to Barcelona before... its about 35 EUROS if I remembered correctly. The trip took about 8 hours tho, so it is usually an overnight bus (ALSA group)

Your Budget in Barcelona , food, lodging prices:

Lunch in the MERCAT BOQUERIA. We tried for Pinoxto but it was packed and we were starved at this point. We were able to snag two seats at the counter of the Universal Cafe on the side of the Boqueria and had a really wonderful ‘first meal’ in Spain. Grilled octopus, razor clams and vegetables. We each had a glass of cava (the first of many to come on our trip). The food was simple but really fresh and flavorful.

Average prices in my local supermarket are:-

LOAF OF BREAD 57 cents to 2 Euros
LITRE OF MILK 50 cents to 1 Euro
WATER (1.5 litre bottle) 20 cents to 1 Euro
EGGS 75 cents to 1.5 Euro per half dozen
CHICKEN - Pack of 4 Breast Fillets 5-7 Euro
ENTRECOTE STEAK - 10 - 13 Euro per kilo
LAMB Expensive

For info:

WI-FI for free - Barcelonagratis.com/index.php/otros/Puntos-Wifi-gratis-en-Barcelona.html

Cheap place to stay (25 euros per person) in Barcelona - http://www.interhousing.net/

7

The trip from Madrid to Bcn cost around 40€ and it takes 8-9 hours

8

Thank's for the replies.

9

Dont be afraid to look for flights too, there are deals for 50e or even less sometimes with the budget Spanish carriers when booked in advance. But if you're on a tight budget, you'll end up taking the bus mostly in Spain. For example, I wanted to go Zaragoza - Madrid. AVE train 50-80euros. Regional train, 26e. Alsa bus 15e. So, the bus wins.