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Hi Tony
<br>We usually get a railpass for the number of days we'll be taking long
trips or several short ones on the same day. I was not able to buy local
tickets in Spain until I got to Europe, but I didn't have any trouble getting
what I needed. Railpass is usually for 1st class travel which is great
if you're on an overnight, but not so necessary on day trains. Short hops
on 2nd class are ok. One more tip-strikes are much more likely to occur
on Fridays than on any other. Plan accordingly. And keep your hands on
your bags at all times if possible. If it's not possible, keep your eyes
on your stuff. I have found Rail Europe to be very helpful. Try the Rick
Steves web site. Based in Seattle Washington, very helpful and budget minded.
Good luck. Lydia
<p>Tony Schuster wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE><style></style>
I am having difficulty making train
reservations for our travel in Spain and France. We intend to fly to Madrid,
catch the train to Bayonne, France and then the local train from Bayonne
to SJPP. We will also be making train trips in Spain on four other days
during our stay over a period of 7 weeks. My problem is that the Renfe
web site will not allow me to make reservations outside of Spain, the French
site works fine but insists that the tickets be mailed to an address in
Europe or Asia. It will not recognize the USA or Canada. So, how does one
get those tickets? A separate matter involves the use of Railpass
privileges. Does this work for my level of travel? I will actually be traveling
on 6 different days but only once on each of those days and all but the
one day to Bayonne will be short trips on local railroads. Any experts
on the rail system out there who can sort this out? If there is a reasonably
priced agent who can do it that would be great. I tried one of the British
Rail Pass sites. Their rates were over three times the rates quoted by
the French and Spanish sites.Tony</blockquote>
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