paying for train ticket

I have been trying to book a train ticket from Barcelona to Narbonne but the site will not verify my VISA. Is this usual?

Which site are you trying to book from? If it's the SNCF site and you are American, yes, it happens frequently. Use www.trainline.com

Have you tried the RENFE website?

It's anyway better if you book such a ticket trough the country of origin (meaning departure) of that train,

Because if something is happening it's always better to have a ticket issued by RENFE instead of SNCF
beeing in Barcelona...

Sometimes you also have to pick up the ticket instead of print-at-home, and with a SNCF-Ticket there is now way to pick it up in Barcelona....

Try trainline.eu or Loco2 which have reputations for working more smoothly than the RENFE site and may be easier than the SNCF site for US plastic. A print-at-home ticket is ideal.
For general and specific advice: www.seat61.com

AFAIK, booking that trip through Trainline WILL get you a ticket issued by RENFE, and it's a lot easier to use for many people than RENFE itself.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.