Hello!
I plan to go in Spain with Interrail, and the organization is almost a nightmare.
- My departure’s train is from Brussel to Barcelona. I found it easily on the app, but impossible to make a reservation. On the interrail website, it is said that there is no information about the price and the remaining places. On the SNCB website, I can take any trains from Brussels after 8:00 AM but none before (they don’t appear). Those trains are not full : on the Thalys webiste, I can buy tickets for 50€ (it is cheap for the Thalys so really not full). I can see those trains on SNCB with a normal search, but not when I ook with an Interrail pass.
- I would like to travel from Barcelona to Valencia with EUROMED (16:10 to 18:50) but this train doesn’t exist on Interrail and the SNCB told me that I can’t include this train’s company on my pass.
- I would like to travel after from Madrid to Santiago de Compostella with ALVIA and from Santiago de Compostella to Zamora (also with ALVIA). Thoses trains do not appear either on Interrail.
- After that, I plan to travel from Zamora to Valladolid and from Valladolid to San Sebastian, but again, it seems impossible on Interrail.
- For my return, I want to take the train from Hendaye to Bordeaux and from Bordeaux to Brussels, but neither on Interrail nor on SNCB it seems possible to book this train ride.
To summarize, the trains from Belgium to France, from France to Spain, from France to France are all impossible to book (while others trains on the same day and for the same ride are available, but never at a time that makes my journey possible); trains from Spain to Spain never appear on Interrail website or app. I’m afraid I won’t be able to include them in my pass.
Are they some explanations for all of that? Is it normal that SNCB excludes some trains? And should I be worry for the Spanish trains I can’t find? May I be sure that I could include them in my pass when I’ll be in Spain?
Thanks