IF YOU'RE planning to travel across Spain in the next couple of days – or over the French border – it could work out cheaper than you think, since the national rail board has added a Black Wednesday and Thursday to Black Friday this year.
Despite the gloomy association with 'Black Wednesday', for RENFE's high-speed AVE and long-distance 'snail rail' – which is much cheaper, and worth it if you're not in a hurry – the opposite is true: travellers can get up to 70% off their ticket prices from today until the end of Friday.
But you'll have to strike quickly, because numbers are limited – and although the hefty discounts are set to continue beyond Friday until all seats are taken up, it is likely they will not even continue for this long.
During RENFE's 25th anniversary year, it offered 25,000 high-speed AVE one-way tickets at €25 for any destination on 25th of every month – but by barely a minute past midnight, every single one had been snapped up.
RENFE was even forced to double the amount of tickets at €25 retrospectively, since thousands of travellers had booked the same ones at exactly the same second.
The rail board even had to upgrade its server twice to cope with the online traffic.
Tickets on sale at 70% off from today are valid for journeys in December, January and February, so if you're thinking of taking a road trip (or rail trip) in the New Year, now is the time to plan.
The promotion, titled 'YoVoy' ('I'm Going'), includes the same conditions as the 'Promo' tariff – as in, cancellations and changes cannot be made once the tickets are purchased.
As an example of how much travellers can save, the super-fast AVE has one-way tickets available for €32.30 between Madrid and Barcelona, and for €22.90 from Madrid to Sevilla.
Although pricey, the AVE is exceptionally comfortable and roomy, with a buffet car and, in most cases, on-board WiFi, and they get you to your destination so quickly that you have far more time on your hands to enjoy it once you're there.
As an example, the Valencia-Madrid AVE takes just an hour and a half for a journey which would be at least three hours by car – not including service station stops – and up to six hours by long-distance train.
The advantage with the latter is that the price can be less than half, and passengers change trains in the picturesque town of Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real province), famous for being in the exact dead centre of mainland Spain, its Quijote-style windmill at the station, and the friendly, open and welcoming nature of its residents, bars and restaurants.
