Travel planning basics:

The Rail Planner app should not be used to plan since it's incomplete and doesn't get enough updates to be reliable. Only use its planner as a last resort if you need to look up a timetable offline.

For international planning, try the Deutsche Bahn planner. Although Spanish railways don't send their complete timetables to the European Timetable Centre (which most planners use as a basis), the long-distance trains to Barcelona should be included.

Travel further to Lisbon is a bit more difficult. Spanish domestic trains can be found on the RENFE website and it offers Lisbon as a destination but it's not a real planner and only offers changes between trains when RENFE have defined them. However, check out seat61.com for routes into Portugal.

Thank you for your response and infor about the planner and Renfe website. Any idea about travel time? I’m debating train or plane but I’d like to see the country side.

Ams-Paris: 3-4 hrs by expensive Thalys-cross Paris by metro= count on 1 hr

Par-Barca: for now only 1 TGV through and heavil booked and very expensive suppplement with IR-takes 6-7 hds. NOT possible to reach this train same day from AMS due to timings!!

OR-summertime- use the overnight train Paris-Spanish border=Cerbere/Port Bou, then local train in 2 hrs (rodalies/cercanias-NOT in common travelplanners!) to Barca=then hourlt AVE=HS train in 3 hrs from RENFE to MAD-r if no pass used-now also 2 other low-budget trainopertors-AVLO and QuiGO.

See above for 2=3 changes and fairly ofteb missed conection for Mad-Barca., takes all day

If you are a little more openminded-many more and direct BUSes MAD-Lisboa too, incl overnite.

If you can use google, find flite-times you can also use google for the many compare transit sites like rome2rio or omio-use only for planning, not for booking to get the overview. We expect that young people can find that for themselves.

Thank you! Very helpful.

Amsterdam- Barcelona takes about 12 hours including transfers. This month i travelled this journey. I started in the 07:15 Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussels, where i got onto the 10:17 train to Lyon. From Lyon I took a direct train to Barcelona at 14:30, which arrived at 19:30 in Barcelona.

Via Paris could work too, i did that on the way back and cost me 12 hours.

For Barcelona- Lisbon i am not sure, would love to know too. Rail planner app says 28 hours including a night in Vigo. Very curious if there's a quicker option.

Thanks so much for the train info to Barcelona. Very helpful!

I have been to Europe many times and I have used the train system in different countries since 1970 but I have never bought a eurail pass. So, I needed help. I found all the responses helpful, some more than others but helpful.

Thank you all!

Tom Griffiths