Sevilla Travel Forum

We're flying to Madrid and then plan to take the next AVE to Sevilla. Because flights are often late, we don't know exactly which train we'll be taking. Is it necessary to reserve seats on the Madrid->Sevilla train in March, or is that sufficiently off-season for there to be plenty of seats?
Also, does a Madrid->Sevilla (or Sevilla->Madrid) ticket allow one to get off at Cordoba, look round Cordoba, and continue the journey on a later train?

From 6:30 a.m. to 20:00, there are 22 AVE trains from Madrid to Sevilla over the course of the day (at least, weekdays - I didn't check weekends). For that reason alone, I would be astounded that you wouldn't be able to make the trip, if not on the first train, then on the next one that is only an hour (and sometimes less) later.

Because these are reserved seats, I doubt that you can get off and get back on using the same ticket...they would rather sell you two tickets, each with seat assignments for the appropriate trains...

The only question in my mind is if you arrive on a heavy travel day due to the Easter holiday...

Bill

A couple of years ago I did the same thing in March. There were very long queues at the Atocha ticket office. The AVE trains were just as frequent as they are now, and believe it or not every train for the rest of that day (from about noon) was sold out. Eventually I managed to get a seat due to a cancellation, but it was literally a single seat - if I'd been travelling with someone else it would have been no good.

That was about the Monday or Tuesday before Easter. All of that week seems to be very busy, and presumably several days after Easter too. As Easter is in March this year, maybe that will affect you. But if you're travelling earlier in the month you should be OK. I don't want to alarm you, maybe my experience was exceptional, I haven't tried it since so I don't know.

As the previous poster said, seat reservations are strictly required for these trains - i.e. a reservation for a specific train. I'm sure you could buy both parts (Madrid-Cordoba and Cordoba-Seville) in Madrid, but you can't use a Madrid-Seville ticket to hop on any later train you want.

If your trip coincides with Easter festivities, some trains area already sold out, so book ASAP

If not, as said above, you can wait. Yes, you need 2 separate tickets if you want to get off at Cordoba. For these trains seat reservation is required and there are check in security measures (not so strict as in planes, but there are) You should be at the departure track at least 10-15 min before the train departure or you access may be denied. The trains depart exactly on time and are very punctual (if AVE trains are delayed you may claim your ticket being refunded)

Isa, what are the typical heavy traffic days during Easter? Is it like Alan said: all week? Or are some days much heavier than others, like Holy Thursday and Easter Monday?

Bill

Bill,

All week is quite busy, but of course the first and last day of vacation are the busiest. Many of we Spaniards do not take all week on holiday, only the festive days. In some Autonomous communities it's festive from Thursday to Sunday, in others from Friday to Monday. Therefore, the busiest days are Wednesday evening/Thursday and Sunday/Monday

At some roads the traffic jams may be epic on these days!

After reading the answers we decided not to take the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla, but to fly to Sevilla. This was the right decision, because even 2 weeks before Easter, most afternoon trains from Madrid to Sevilla are fully booked by the day of departure. It would only be practical to use this train if you were planning to spend a few days in Madrid, so could book a few days ahead of time. The flight from Madrid to Sevilla at short notice was expensive, but we got there when we wanted to.

We returned from Sevilla to Madrid on the AVE, reserving the seats in Sevilla two days in advance. It's a nice train, even in tourist class.

heehee - it's always nice to know that people get where they're going despite our advice ;-)

Seriously, we appreciate the feedback...it's not often enough that someone comes back and tells us how it turned out...glad you had a great time!

Bill