Spain is annoying. Some trains are available online through interrail.eu (2€ fee pp), some aren’t and you have to visit a ticket counter. Surprisingly German ticket counters (DB) can sell most of these reservations! ;)
If you’d like to avoid the fees go to a good old ticket counter in Germany (once the trains are on sale). The DB reservation system works by train numbers so write them down.
Oviedo - Madrid has ARC train types. These are fortunately available online. However tickets have only been released until 21st July at the moment. Check back in a week or two.
Madrid - Barcelona has plenty of AVE trains (all online). Availability a day or two in advance isn’t an issue.
Barcelona - Nîmes has 2 railway companies:
- AVE (run by RENFE): 10€ reservations, only available at Spanish train stations. Not even through DB… (unfortunately)
- TGV (SNCF): 25€ for this leg. Expensive but at least you can buy online (Rail Europe to avoid fees).
Also possible to take the scenic reservation-free route along the coast! Barcelona - Portbou/Cerbère - Nîmes.
Thanks for your quick reply. That’s very helpful.
I found seat reservations on Rail Europe from Barcelona to Nimes. Is it trustworthy? I’ll check with Deutsche Bahn again, but they told me they can’t sell seat reservations for Spanish trains.
Yes Rail Europe is reliable and works for TGVs.
DB can sell Spanish reservations, not all staff are aware though. Either visit a bigger Reisezentrum or insist gently with the train number, maybe they'll ask someone else if needed.
They cannot book the cross-border AVE services though.
