Travel Around Spain With a Spanish Rail Pass: Worth It or Not?
Spanish national train operator Renfe has launched a new rail pass, but is it worth using one if you want to explore Spain?
The new Spain Rail Pass
Renfe has introduced a Spain Rail Pass for foreign visitors looking to explore the country by train.
The pass is available for a set number of trips (4, 6, 8, or 10), and you can also choose whether you want it to be valid for Standard class (2nd class) or Comfort class (1st class).
The Spain Rail Pass is valid on all long-distance trains in Spain, including AVE high-speed trains, Avant services, and Media Distancia regional trains.
From the date of purchase, you must make your first trip within six months, and once your first trip is completed, all remaining journeys must be taken within a month.

Renfe AVE high-speed train. ©AndyBTravels
Prices
When you click “check and purchase” on the Spain Rail Pass page, you can select the number of journeys you want and buy your pass.
Although the Spain Rail Pass is only available to non-residents, the page where you select the number of journeys and purchase your pass is in Spanish only.
This is very on-brand for Renfe, a company notorious for its unclear and highly customer-unfriendly website.
The same applies to its use of certain words and terms that will likely be unfamiliar to foreign tourists who are not acquainted with Renfe trains.
For example, “tipo de asiento” simply means type of seat, with “turista” referring to Standard class (2nd class) on Renfe trains and “preferente” to Comfort class (1st class).
If you want to make 4 trips across Spain, you pay either €220 for a Spain Rail Pass in Standard class, or €290 for Comfort class.
A rail pass for 10 train trips costs €455 in Standard class and €610 in Comfort class.
After buying your Spanish rail pass on the Renfe website, you can validate it online and reserve a seat on a specific train, which can also be done at the ticket office of a Spanish railway station.
Is the Spain Rail Pass worth it?
Although rail passes may appear to offer a highly convenient and flexible way to travel by train, this is not always the case.
In the case of Spain, I don’t believe using a rail pass is convenient at all, as in many cases you’ll likely end up paying more compared to buying simple point-to-point tickets in advance.
If your travel dates are set and you can book a few months in advance, I highly recommend buying point-to-point tickets in Spain, as fares are typically lower than the cost per trip of the Spain Rail Pass.
Moreover, this way you’re not tied to Renfe and can take full advantage of the competition on Spanish high-speed railway lines by checking ticket offers from low-cost rail company Ouigo and the quality trains of Iryo.
Using a Spanish rail pass can save you money if you’re unsure of your travel dates and times and want to remain flexible, as in this case the cost of a trip may be cheaper than buying an expensive point-to-point ticket at the last minute.
However, you should remember that Spanish long-distance trains require compulsory reservations, and you risk trains being fully booked if you leave buying your ticket or reserving a seat until the last minute.
On some long-distance routes with infrequent service, it’s not uncommon for trains to be fully booked several days in advance of departure.
Because of this, I generally advise booking your ticket at least a few weeks – or even a few months – in advance if possible, and given the relatively low average prices of point-to-point tickets at this time of booking, a rail pass is usually not great value in comparison.

Renfe Alvia service from Bilbao to Barcelona. ©AndyBTravels
Interrail and Eurail in Spain
All of the above advice also applies when comparing point-to-point tickets with using an Interrail or Eurail Pass for Spanish train travel.
Although buying an Interrail or Eurail pass can certainly be worthwhile if most of your travel takes place in other European countries, such as Germany or Switzerland, it’s usually not great value and can even be highly inconvenient if you primarily plan to use it in countries like Spain, where trains require compulsory reservations.
A complicating factor of using an Interrail or Eurail pass in Spain, compared to Renfe’s Spain Rail Pass, is that while you can reserve a seat online on the Renfe website after purchasing a Spain Rail Pass, their website doesn’t allow passholder reservations for Interrail or Eurail.
You can make seat reservations for some (but not all) Spanish trains online through the Interrail/Eurail reservations service, although for many others, the only option is to do so at the station in Spain.
Needless to say, this carries the risk that some trains may be fully booked by the time you arrive in Spain for your trip, particularly during the high summer season.
If most of your train travel takes place in Spain, you’re usually better off buying point-to-point tickets rather than using an Interrail or Eurail pass!
Conclusion
Although Spain is a wonderful country to explore by train, you’re generally better off buying point-to-point tickets rather than relying on a rail pass.
Renfe’s Spain Rail Pass, as well as Interrail and Eurail, aren’t recommended for Spanish train travel if your route and dates are fixed, as it’s much easier and usually far cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets.
Only if you want full flexibility and prefer deciding on the spot where and when to travel, a Spanish rail pass can make some sense.
However, you should be aware that it’s not uncommon for some Spanish long-distance trains to be fully booked a few days in advance, so you might want to reconsider your plans for spontaneously travelling through Spain.