I noticed an other member, Tim, is interested in this info also. He's travel in June, I'm traveling in a few weeks. I e-mailed the message below to RENFE several days ago and got no responce. Can any one help me? Thanks, terraix

Hello!
I am traveling with my husband and my 3 year-old son. We are staying the night of 31 January in Madrid and plan to depart for Granada 1 February. We were interested in taking the night train (Sierra Nevada) leaving Madrid at 23:00 and arriving in Granada 7:20 in the morning on 2 February. We plan to return to Madrid from Granada again taking the Sierra Nevada 5 February at 23:30 and arriving in Madrid at 8:40, 6 February.

My questions are:
Does the Tourist class at the 21,64 Euro price come with a sleeper bunk or should I get the Couchette? (We are on a budget, but we do want to sleep comfortably. I plan to share a bunk with my son - I assume he is free, since he is under 4.)
*We want to be on a non-smoking car. Is that an additional charge?
Can I purchase the tickets on line? If so, how? If not, where?
In Madrid, we will be taking the Metro (our hotel is near the Gran Via station). Is the Chamartin Station where we catch the Sierra Nevada train? How do we get there from the Gran Via station on the Metro?
Lastly, just to confirm, do I have the correct times and dates for arrival and departure?

Thank you very much

I once sent an e-mail to Renfe and it took a long time to get the reply. Anyway, most of your questions can be answered by surfing the Renfe site:

* These prices does not include the bed supplement. Check it here .

21,64 Euros is the price for a seated ticket. If you want to have a couchette, you have to pay 30,66 Euros.

* Children less than 4 years old travel free without taking up seats. Check it here .

* When you buy the tickets, explain that you want non-smoking seats. The price is the same, though they may not have availability.

* As you can read here , you can only buy tickets online from 7 - 22 for diurnal trains and for AVE, Lanzadera, Talgo 200 and TRD. That does not include night trains.

You can buy the tickets at the Renfe office at calle Alcalá, 44 (Mon-Fri 8:30 - 20:00) or at the stations.

* Once you find the schedules from Madrid to Granada on February 1st , click on the Sierra Nevada train link . You will see the itinerary showing that the departure station is Chamartin.

* Remember that you get 20% discount if you buy a round trip ticket.

* As for the itinerary from Gran Vía to Chamartin, check out the Madrid subway official site . There is a route planner that will tell you the best way.

Anyway, just take the line #1 from Gran Vía to Tribunal (or also walk to Tribunal), then take the line #10 from Tribunal to Chamartin.

* Dates and times listed on the website are supposed to be correct, but do check them at the Renfe office.

Enjoy your staying in Spain,

Antonio

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