Visiting other cities from Zaragoza (or conversely)

Visiting other cities from Zaragoza (or conversely)

Are you staying at Zaragoza and want to visit other cities?
Are you staying in other Spanish cities and you want to come some days and visit Zaragoza?
Are you coming from any other airport and travelling by train later?
Take a look to this information. It will be useful

Renfe Travel Plan

It is a forfait pass available within one month. You can choose Tourist or Business class and minimum four tickets to use in one month.

It is mandatory to be a foreing citizen. At any time your ticket will be asked for, they will ask your passport too. You may demostrate you are not a Spanish citizen. It is, indeed, a promotion planned for foreing tourists, not for Spanish people who travel a lot (despite if you are living for a while in Spain you can ask it too...)

You will have to choose between 4 and 12 journeys per month. You can buy it by internet (or at any ticket office in stations) six months before, and you will just have to use it while that month.

For an adult 4 ticket pass, price is 163 EUR (40,75 EUR/journey).
For an adult 12 ticket pass, price is 392 EUR (32,66 EUR/journey).

How can you buy it?

You will buy by internet and later you will have to use the pass number for any ticket you will buy. These tickets (the only document available for travelling) can be bought at station ticket offices or by internet. If you buy by internet you can print or even you can save the document in your mobile phone (for railway control it is enough to be able to scan a bar code).

Where can I travel?

You can make any journey within the Spanish high speed network. But just take care that one ticket = one journey and it doesn't matter distance. This is, you can use to go from Zaragoza to Calatayud or you can use to go from Zaragoza with a direct train to Malaga. It is one ticket in both cases. Obviously in the first case it will doesn't worth but in the second case, think that you are crossing all Spain with only one ticket.

If you want to go to Valencia you will need two ones because there is no direct train (and in 2013 summer Alicante will be available too). If you want to go to Toledo it will worth to use a ticket pass to Madrid and later paying in cash a ticket to Toledo (it is a short journey and very cheap... but another ticket).

In summary, you can use it for going to:
- Figueres Vilafant (think in this chance if you are going to come by train. You can reach there with a French TGV and use your first pass ticket to Zaragoza)
- Gerona (think in low cost companies. It has a lot of Ryanair flights)
- Barcelona (think in visiting the city but also link to the airport)
- Tarragona (and shuttle to any beach)
- Madrid (similar to Barcelona, think in the city but also in a link with airport)
- Ciudad Real, Puertollano (do you want to see a different countryside?, go there and rent a car..., absolutely different)
- Cordoba, Malaga, Sevilla, etc... (yeah... Zaragoza-Seville is less than four hours by train and will require only ONE TICKET)

It doesn't worth for Lerida, Calatayud, Huesca, etc... because short distances. If you go to Toledo, Valladolid or Segovia you could use it for Madrid but really... use it only if you are sure you will not use all the tickets (it is a very cheap ticket but if you are going to lose it, it will be free).

Albacete, Cuenca, Valencia... will require a train link at Madrid and... another ticket. Take care if it worths to use two tickets in spite of buying and paying in cash.



AND REMEMBER RETURN TICKET. This is... are you coming by plane to Zaragoza or by plane or train to other airport or Figueres Station?. If this is the case... remember you will use there your first two tickets with this fare!!!.

Are you staying anywhere in Spain linked with Zaragoza?

If you are, think in travelling for a while and visiting Zaragoza. The same pass will be available at any case... Remember: up to 350 km/h, less than four hours for a Seville-Zaragoza, just 1:20 for a Madrid-Zaragoza...

Do you have any other questions?

You can visit this webpage. It is in English and with the link to buy your Pass.

You can also make a comment in this blog and I will try to answer you


http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/viajes_internacionales/spainpass/index.html

Arriving Zaragoza by train - International transfer

Arriving Zaragoza by train - International transfer

Today in Zaragoza a new international transfer starts with high speed railway.
Eight daily trains will join Madrid and Figueres-Vilafant close to the French border. All of them will have a call at Zaragoza and two of them will have a transfer (in less than 20 minutes) to a French TGV with origin/destination Paris-Gare de Lyon.

After a lot of years under construction, when first strech Madrid-Zaragoza-Lerida high speed lane was opened in october 2003, line arrives to Figueres-Vilafant (and international strech until Perpignan is on service but still only operated by SNCF).
It will take about eight hours to arrive Zaragoza, supossing you are departing from Paris. The two daily trains will have some calls incluiding Valence-TGV and Nimes where you can get a transfer to other destinations.
In spring it is estimated to have more services Madrid-Barcelona-Lyon-Paris with a transfer at Figueres-Vilafant and more services to other southern France destinations as well as to Switzerland.
Of course it is a long journey (even if there is a three days per week RYR flight Zaragoza - Paris Beauvois) but let's remember several interesting points:
* There is no limit with baggage. Forget those limits about 10 kg in the plane and baggage sizes. You can take two or three luggages providing you will be able to carry them only. Transfer at Figueres-Vilafant is in the same platform (two tracks in the same platform, one for Renfe train, another for SNCF trains. So you just get off one train, walk several steps and... you are inside the other train. You look for your seat and wait until destination).
* Forget carrying baggage from city centre to airport, later to bus transfer, later to... just city centre to city centre and as many baggage as you want
* You can use your mobile, computer, etc... inside trains with no limits... and have a walk while journey in the train aisle.
* If your origin/destination is not Paris, you will not have direct flight. Be sure that, even if a long journey, it will be the faster destination.
TGV SNCF and AVE Renfe trains are too comfortable for a long journey. You can plan to have meals inside, or buy something at the cafeteria. There are different classes inside the train with comforts and facilities.
Furthermore, should you have an Interrail pass or something like it, journey could be free, or will require only paying a supplement.

There are other possibilities to arrive to Zaragoza by train (transfer from any other airport, such as Madrid or Barcelona) but this is one way to arrive from any southern Europe site to Zaragoza by train, with a new high speed line and easy transfers.
In other posts we will talk about buying tickets and other advices for trains.
Today you can reach for timetables at Renfe and SNCF timetables selecting anywhere to Figueres-Vilafant (hint: not "Figueres" which is a regional train station located 500 m. away) and from Figueres-Vilafant to Zaragoza

Hint: At Zaragoza station you will have a free commuter train with your ticket from other station if you take an AVE train or someone else. In the ticket it will appear the word "Combinado cercanías" (commuter shuttle) and a five-letter password.
Look for any commuter ticket machine. English will be available there. Take the option of "Combinado cercanías" and just enter the password.
You will have a ticket to travel to any station within Zaragoza commuter network. It is a really small network but if your hotel or destination is not far away from Zaragoza-Portillo, Zaragoza-Goya or Zaragoza-Miraflores stations, shifting will be free