I really enjoyed making this video! Was nice to film without having to think about what to say, then script everything later. Not sure if I can do more voice-over videos, but let me know if you think of any ideas! Happy train travelling!
One of the cool things about AVE (maybe Avlo too? I didn't ride it) -- they give you a QR code that gets you through the Cercanias fare gate so you can take regional transit to or from the station on either end of your trip. (I don't think you get this with Ouigo or Iryo.) Would love a similar video talking through the Madrid Metro and Cercanias, how to use them effectively on a visit, and how the two systems do (I mean don't) work well together! As a tourist, you can and should visit Madrid without ever setting foot in a car, IMO. Also, bonus if you can tell us a place in Madrid that sells vermut in pint glasses. Game changer
Great video. Question: Have you read "The Spanish Helmet" (2011) by Greg Scowen and if so what are your thoughts on the subject of this historical fiction? ¡Gracias!
20:50 One thing that very few people know is that Ave trains are the only ones that switch the direction of seats before every trip, so that you always face forward (unless you book the 2 vs 2 seats with central table, of course). This is done thanks to a dedicated mechanism that rotates the whole seat structure upon activating a lever, which train staff do manually before each trip. Avlo, Ouigo and Iryo have regular fixed seats and you always have 50% chances of travelling backwards.
The Avlo wagon with high windows is because the train (a Talgo S102/112) is an ex-Ave train, and that wagon originally had the cafeteria (which has higher windows since people stand up).
during a two week vacation in May this year we used the train to take a day trip to Cadiz from Seville, then from Seville to Granada,.and then Granada to Barcelona. It was great. Very comfortable and fun to see the country during the trip. I wish we had more train options in the US.
@@cherieb5451For such large distances I recommend going by plane. It's worth taking the fast trains if you do point to point for example: Granada - Madrid ( stay and visit), Madrid - Barcelona (stay and visit). Even the fast trains take time. If you don't care about that and you only want to enjoy the experience then go for it!
As a complete train anorak, I've seen hundreds of similar videos and I have to say that your first attempt is better than ANYTHING similar on TH-cam! Nice work!
Sick burn 😂 😭. It’s really shameful how American infrastructure is falling apart and airlines are making travel more and more uncomfortable. Trains were a great hope but we can’t even manage to get a fast train to happen from the Bay Area to Los Angeles let alone have a vast network of routes across the country. Travel among many other things will become a luxury of the wealthy. #SOSAmerica
I wasn’t aware of the Avelia Liberty. We are only 32 years behind Spain! Woohoo. America F*** yeah! At this rate we might have potable water across the country in 100 years.
@@omarco3971 I lived in the Bay Area for 30 years and now reside in Spain. California specifically and United States in general has so much more resources than Spain (per capita GDP is three times greater) to build great infrastructure but doesn´t have the will.
As a filmmaker I know how much work goes into videos like these, and I salute you for the craft and the hard work. My wife and I are relocating from the USA (thank God) to Barcelona, and these videos are not only informative but fun to watch. They are not a minute longer than they need to be, and their personality (well, James') shines through. Kudos to you, and I look forward to seeing what awaits us on our escape from Hades.
I'm so jealous to you... because I was relocated from Poland to Canada... and its feels like a backwards time machine... So enjoy the Europe as best as you can
Where in the USA are you from? Barcelona is not exactly for beginners, once the initial glamour is gone, it can turn into a stressful and soul consuming city, I know because I've lived here for the last 5 years and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone for such a lengthy period. I hope you know the type of challenge you are facing by moving here and wish you the best of luck
@@vibrazebra haha indeed, more like they(we) dismantled the rail infrastructure and neglected developing the roads meant to replace it., and getting anything done takes a loooooong time.
What I like about this trains is that in case of airports, if you add all the time it takes to just enter to the plane (time to get to the airport + time to check in + TSA + doing the line to onboard) it takes more time than to go by train, you just can be there 5 minutes before it leaves and thats is, on the way to madrid!, when they open the mediterranean line users would be able to go to Seville and valencia without passing through madrid.
Exactly. That is a time calculation most people fail to do. For relatively short distances the trains are a very serious contender. Imagine if in the near future we see even higher speeds around 500km/h
That was the most fun I have ever had “riding” on trains! Laughed out loud at your commentary while learning a lot about train travel options. We did the Barcelona to Madrid trip on IRYO in April and it was great. One small note, along with the meal choices served at your seat in first class, there are special diet meals that can be ordered i.e vegetarían, low sodium, etc. Nice!
Excellent Video! By far the most comprehensive and entertaining video on train travel I've seen. You're so funny! Trains in Europe can be so confusing for us folks from the USA. I traveled through Germany, Austria and Switzerland last year on trains and LOVED it. We were hoping to do the same in Madrid, Barcelona and Northern Spain this year. Train travel is better on the marriage lol. Thanks for making it!!
Great video. Very comprehensive breakdown of hsr in Spain and your funny personality makes the video not dull haha! Good point at 12:59 about air travel being a hassle with having to get there so early. The one thing I found funny is when you do the internet speed test and you're getting 1.5mbps and you call that pretty good. Thats 2000s levels of internet and pretty terrible 😂. 10-15mbps is required to actually have a smooth experience, no wonfer why renfe play app doesn't work. And if you want to stream live football like la liga, good luck doing that with lower than 20mbps internet 😂.
You have officially graduated as a Spanish person, I think I heard you say “Preh-meohm” instead of premium! Congrats my good sir! Royal Spanish citizenship for you! ❤🇪🇸
ปีที่แล้ว +11
In France, Italian trains also came to give the shivers to the big SNCF. They are pretty similar, modern brand new trains with a lot of services and ticket prices which are impossible to defeat.
James, I've been following you for several years now and I have to say the quality of your content and editing is excellent. This video is not only super useful but a pleasure to watch.
A informative and funny tour de force James! It brought me back to the good aul days of enjoying Spain's qiality infrastructure, which I wistfully think of everytime I am punished for the crime of being Irish and having to deal with our dreadful travel and transport options.
Thanks for the video James. We have followed your content for years as you are one of the best content creators on Spain. We love the AVE in Spain and had no idea there was competition. Thank you! I'm surprised you didn't mention that you can bring food and drink on Spanish trains. This is an amazing feature of the experience of riding the train in Spain. We always bring a bottle of wine, cheese, jamón and olives on our AVE trips. Thanks again for the information!
We used trains last time we were in Spain. Never an issue. The staff at Valencia Renfe office even helped us print out some tickets. Whether it's local trains or the VFTs we always managed to get where we needed to get to.
James, great video! The only time I've been on a Spanish train was when holidaying in the south, in proper rural Spain, up in the hills 30-40 miles north west of Malaga. We got the train from El Chorro to and back from Ronda, which weaves it way through the El Chorro gorge. An absolutely stunning journey, especially the El Chorro part, and Ronda is stunning to. I'd highly recommend that to you and to anyone. 🙂
Interesting video! We travelled from Madrid to Segovia and Madrid to Toledo on high-speed trains last week and loved it! We also wanted to go to Zaragoza, but there were only first-class seats left, and at a total of 595E for the two of us it was beyond our budget. We waited until we got to Madrid to book the trains because last year we bought tickets through Trainline and the timetables they were using were incorrect, we arrived at the station in Valencia at what we thought was 20 minutes early only to be told the train had left 10 minutes earlier. We could not use the Trainline ticket in exchange for a new one and had to pay again and then claim the money back from Trainline. We also lost 2 hours of our day trip to Benacassim and missed meeting a friend for lunch. My advice would be to check the timetable at the train station before you travel to make sure your ticket is valid, and the time is correct. Also, if you are buying a high-speed train ticket in person, you'll need your passport or ID card. They don't check these again when you travel!
My wife and I recently went to Barcelona with Iryo and we were amazed with the experience. We don't plan to go anywhere in a plane if there's a high speed train option available.
I watch quite a lot of train review videos (no, really!), and this was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Top work mate. Loved it. And I totally agree with your choices, I love the trains in Spain!
This was an excellent video! We took a trip to Spain in April 2023 and all our travels within the country were by train. LOVE the Spanish train system. Learned a lot for future trips to Spain. One thing I wish you had mentioned on the 1st trip was how long Madrid to Barcelona trip takes on high speed train ( I’m obviously too lazy to look it up myself 😊). Keep up the good work. Say hello to Lolie (spelling?). By the way, we are Americans and this was our 1st trip to Madrid and southern Spanish cities. 3week trip.. great time!
For me, Iryo it’s really something else, one step ahead every other train, it’s amazing. Another thing it’s how well the first AVE trains (S-100 and 101) are hanging out the time passing by, for me, above the Talgo S-102
I used your link to book my trip to Barcelona from Madrid and it's round-trip. As you said it is easier to navigate and gives you all the options. Thank you so much! We will be there coming to Madrid on the 3rd of June.
And we trained it ALL over Spain for five weeks. Affordable and easy. Only one week of car rental from A Coruña to Zaragoza....(not a lot of train options in and around Asturias)
I just booked a flight to Madrid for my wife and I. It’ll be our first time in España and we can’t wait ! This video will be so helpful !! Subscribed for more tips
Wow!!! Great video. It is obvious that you spent a lot of time on this one with preliminary contacts and bookings, research, script writing, filming and the post editing. Bravo James and Yoli.
I took all 4 of them and I would say Iryo is the best if you are looking for more departure hours but still want to be on budget. And Ouigo is the best price/quality, because you have more schedules then Avlo (cheaper Ave) but same cheap price (plus second floor for better view).
What a great video! Really good journalism here. Focused and amusing, full of good facts and covering every important aspect of train traveling. I certainly know which train service I'll use when i Spain (the last one!). Keep up the good work! 👍❤
Exactly what I needed, starting to sort out four different train trips for my holiday and this video took care of it. Saving this so I can go through your link to Trainline.
Loved the editing in this vid. Also, after living in China for 16 years before moving back to the States. I really miss high speed trains and travel between major cities. US is so far behind in this respect.
We need a review when Avril hits the rails. What is fantastic is these older Talgos will slowly migrate filter over to the Avlo brand and likely be renovated in the process.
I live in Barcelona and do business in Madrid. I take the train each time instead of flying. In 2.5 hours I know I will be in the city center, not dealing with the hassle of airport security, no need for a taxi from or to the airport, and having to arrive earlier at the airport than the train station, with no delays on the trains, often the case with air travel, etc. In comparison, the US is so far behind in affordable and efficient train travel.
Taken a number of your tours and always find your videos through and enjoyable. This video was excellent and really did a great job explaining the different rail choices. We spent a month in Spain and I am already longing to see more. Thank you again and keep up the great work.
Thanks James. Another great video. I’ve been devouring your content for a couple of years now having fallen in love with Spain. Really insightful look at high speed train travel. I particularly like that there are more cheaper options. I used renfe last year to go from Madrid to Zaragoza for a day. The off peak prices were much better and the train was fast, clean and punctual. I also took the smaller local train from Madrid to Toledo. Not as luxurious, but again clean and punctual. Particularly loved Toledo and thanks for the recommendation of the bull tail stew profiteroles at Barrio. They were delicious. Keep up the great work.
Great film James! Very useful Information, love your sense of humour. We're getting the Ave from Madrid to Valladolid in December, this has definitely helped! 😊
"and my fly was down all along, classy" LMAO, you had me in tears with that comment and hey.... it happens to the best of us.!! Fantastic video and editing, and lots of information.... keep making content like this!
This has got to be one of my most favorite of your videos. We are flying to Madrid this summer and taking a train to Seville for a few days, then a train to Barcelona for a few days before boarding a Med cruise. The video was very helpful, and also very funny. We now have some inside jokes between us from watching the video. We booked the Iryo from Madrid to Seville and ordered pork cheeks, and the AVE from Seville to Barcelona and looking forward to a mystery meal. 😂
Loved this, James! You were thorough in presenting information that any passenger should be considering when planning a trip. You also effectively showed how easy and effective rail travel is--North America needs to get on board already. Plus the format with voiceover and the great sense of humor help. We've been waiting for our ONE bullet train here in California for years. So many Americans are closed-minded to the idea of mass transit due to the excess of space which caused (lazy) sprawling city planning, as well as from huge dollars from the auto industry influencing politics and culture. Plus beuraucracy doesn't help. It'll be a long time until we get even a basic network version of this, I imagine.
Such great information, and I enjoyed the voice-over humour. We're train-challenged in the USA, of course. If I had an option to take a train vs. flying, I think the train would win. Have you seen the videos about how people behave on airplanes in the States?😖 Uff-dah!
Really good video! I'll be travelling around Spain this summer, so the typical question that always arises is how to use public transport in a different country. Thanks for the video!
Love this video!!! Thanks James! Though I must take issue with your statement, “I have the palette of a child”. Dude, you eat a lot of hellish tapas - without saying they’re revolting. You’re far more brave than most.
A year later, I travelled between Barcelona and Madrid in a RENFE train. I didn’t know about the others, and a friend booked the tickets, but I was blown away by the trip. Two and a half hours, and it was great. Next time, (if there is a next time), I shall try to get the one with the gilda.
Thanks for this video, James! It's been great for planning all of our train travel around Spain in May. I'll try to always come back to your referral link, because Trainline has been awesome! Thank you.
Great video. We really enjoyed Iryo while we were travelling in Spain, though the timing was such that food was not a priority for us. I now regret not getting it. Also be thankful there was toilet paper at all on your Renfe trip. On our two AVE trips there was none in our bathroom both times...
This is very helpful James! I didn’t know about the other trains.. My family and I took the AVE last year from Madrid to Malaga (round trip tickets) and it was expensive. It’s good to know there are options beside AVE! We’ll make sure to navigate these to get the best deal! Thank you for such a helpful information.
That could have been really dull but it wasn’t good video James keep em coming 👍 I agree IRYO is the best quick trip to the F1 exhibition from Valencia confirmed that.
James - We've watched so many of your videos and love them all. But this was the BEST! I'm sure it was an exhausting time. I agree that the train websites are terrible and will take your advice and use The Train Line. Maybe we will bump into when we're in Madrid (we'll be there for a while). I'm trying to convince my wife to move there (if we do, we'll certainly utilize your services). I think your business will get very busy if the U.S. elections in 2024 go the wrong way. ;-) Give my best to Yoly and your adorable daughter! -- John Kiernan, Los Angeles
Very nicely told. Entertaining narration and what seems to be a fair assessment. Dry sense of humor too, as expected. Bonita forma de contar (y compartir) tu experiencia, y juicios equilibrados y sensatos. Tu sentido del humor da un sabor añadido. Gracias.
I used Iryo a week ago for my trip from Barcelona to Madrid. I booked first class and also used Trainline. I really enjoyed it. Nice service and a nice train to ride. Restrooms were fine. Used Renfre for Girona. It was fine too.
Excellent reviews and very comprehensive understanding of riding trains here in Spain. I was on the AVE in February this year from Valencia to Madrid and Valencia to Cuenca in March, and they were also showing the Tutankhamun video. It's time to update their viewing and also improve on the premium class food. That was sad and not befitting the Spanish palate. I had to laugh about the random toilet paper. I have to check on that on my next train ride. By the way, your post-travel ritual is up my alley. A glass of vermouth after a train ride would be something that I would do as well.
Fantastic video James. I'm glad you left the best train trip until the end. Those Italians do have style. Iryo definitely stood out and will be on my to do list if I ever summon up the strength to do another long haul flight from Oz. Flying sucks compared to fast train travel in both Spain & France.
About the internet in the trains: it's like being connected to your cell service 3G - 4G but slower because it is shared with other passangers. The point is that there are a lot of no signal zones during a trip Barcelona - Madrid (even for normal phone calls) where you nor the train will not have internet connection, so do not expect to have reliable internet nor phone service.
Well done! You’ve given us such a useful resource as we think of a trip to Spain (on the bucket list, actually). I only hope we get there in time to catch Iryo’s reasonable rates. Thank you, James!
Loved this video and will watch again as we are going to Valencia end of the month and would like to take a day trip to Madrid or Alicante and enjoy the trains. Need to watch again and take notes. Would like to leave Valencia early in the morning, spend several hours in the other city and then head back in the late afternoon. Doable? PS thanks for all you do James. I was in your 3 day mini course recently. Love the information.
Love the video!!! The combination of voiceovers interjected with outtakes from various locations is great. Look forward to more of your awesome content as always!🤩👏🏽
Not just green… train travel is way more comfortable and convenient. 3 hours from Malaga to Madrid in a comfortable seat. Rather than dealing with crazy airports and tight seats to fly up from Malaga.
I was so excited to watch this video! I have always used AVE but I'm going to use Iryo for the first time this summer and I'm happy that I chose well! Perhaps I'll go to the bar to try those bravas 😄
I really enjoyed making this video! Was nice to film without having to think about what to say, then script everything later. Not sure if I can do more voice-over videos, but let me know if you think of any ideas! Happy train travelling!
Is that Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations in the background around 5:30?
One of the cool things about AVE (maybe Avlo too? I didn't ride it) -- they give you a QR code that gets you through the Cercanias fare gate so you can take regional transit to or from the station on either end of your trip. (I don't think you get this with Ouigo or Iryo.) Would love a similar video talking through the Madrid Metro and Cercanias, how to use them effectively on a visit, and how the two systems do (I mean don't) work well together! As a tourist, you can and should visit Madrid without ever setting foot in a car, IMO. Also, bonus if you can tell us a place in Madrid that sells vermut in pint glasses. Game changer
Great video 👍🏼 thanks for all the tips.
Liked this video a lot, but not sure full voiceover videos would be that appealing if they became the norm. Worked well here though.
Great video. Question: Have you read "The Spanish Helmet" (2011) by Greg Scowen and if so what are your thoughts on the subject of this historical fiction? ¡Gracias!
20:50 One thing that very few people know is that Ave trains are the only ones that switch the direction of seats before every trip, so that you always face forward (unless you book the 2 vs 2 seats with central table, of course). This is done thanks to a dedicated mechanism that rotates the whole seat structure upon activating a lever, which train staff do manually before each trip.
Avlo, Ouigo and Iryo have regular fixed seats and you always have 50% chances of travelling backwards.
this is a wind up right?
@@backfromcubaI don’t know about AVE but some trains in Japan definitely have rotating seats. The cleaning staff flip them on the way through.
@@aloysiussnailchaser272 in China too
The Avlo wagon with high windows is because the train (a Talgo S102/112) is an ex-Ave train, and that wagon originally had the cafeteria (which has higher windows since people stand up).
I came here to check if I need to write this comment or not :D
during a two week vacation in May this year we used the train to take a day trip to Cadiz from Seville, then from Seville to Granada,.and then Granada to Barcelona. It was great. Very comfortable and fun to see the country during the trip. I wish we had more train options in the US.
We’re going to Andalusia in September. This is helpful to know.
@@cherieb5451For such large distances I recommend going by plane. It's worth taking the fast trains if you do point to point for example: Granada - Madrid ( stay and visit), Madrid - Barcelona (stay and visit). Even the fast trains take time. If you don't care about that and you only want to enjoy the experience then go for it!
@@cherieb5451que bonito
@@WelcomeWithinMyDream domestic flights are shit compared with the train
It's Andalucia not AnDAluSia, and Seville is wrongly expelled as well it is spelled Sevilla :)
As a complete train anorak, I've seen hundreds of similar videos and I have to say that your first attempt is better than ANYTHING similar on TH-cam! Nice work!
wow thank you!
I completely agree, this is a fantastic video!
I did the same thing in the United States - rode every fast train that I could. Ha, just kidding, there are no fast trains in the US.
You will soon, the Avelia Liberty will be your first HST by today's standards.
Sick burn 😂 😭. It’s really shameful how American infrastructure is falling apart and airlines are making travel more and more uncomfortable. Trains were a great hope but we can’t even manage to get a fast train to happen from the Bay Area to Los Angeles let alone have a vast network of routes across the country. Travel among many other things will become a luxury of the wealthy. #SOSAmerica
I wasn’t aware of the Avelia Liberty. We are only 32 years behind Spain! Woohoo. America F*** yeah! At this rate we might have potable water across the country in 100 years.
@@omarco3971 Sorry for the question but the comment caught my attention. You must have said that about the water as a joke, right?
@@omarco3971 I lived in the Bay Area for 30 years and now reside in Spain. California specifically and United States in general has so much more resources than Spain (per capita GDP is three times greater) to build great infrastructure but doesn´t have the will.
As a filmmaker I know how much work goes into videos like these, and I salute you for the craft and the hard work. My wife and I are relocating from the USA (thank God) to Barcelona, and these videos are not only informative but fun to watch. They are not a minute longer than they need to be, and their personality (well, James') shines through. Kudos to you, and I look forward to seeing what awaits us on our escape from Hades.
Dude! I wish you guys the best.
I'm so jealous to you... because I was relocated from Poland to Canada... and its feels like a backwards time machine...
So enjoy the Europe as best as you can
Where in the USA are you from? Barcelona is not exactly for beginners, once the initial glamour is gone, it can turn into a stressful and soul consuming city, I know because I've lived here for the last 5 years and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone for such a lengthy period. I hope you know the type of challenge you are facing by moving here and wish you the best of luck
pls stay in america
@@vibrazebra haha indeed, more like they(we) dismantled the rail infrastructure and neglected developing the roads meant to replace it., and getting anything done takes a loooooong time.
What I like about this trains is that in case of airports, if you add all the time it takes to just enter to the plane (time to get to the airport + time to check in + TSA + doing the line to onboard) it takes more time than to go by train, you just can be there 5 minutes before it leaves and thats is, on the way to madrid!, when they open the mediterranean line users would be able to go to Seville and valencia without passing through madrid.
Exactly. That is a time calculation most people fail to do. For relatively short distances the trains are a very serious contender. Imagine if in the near future we see even higher speeds around 500km/h
That was the most fun I have ever had “riding” on trains! Laughed out loud at your commentary while learning a lot about train travel options. We did the Barcelona to Madrid trip on IRYO in April and it was great. One small note, along with the meal choices served at your seat in first class, there are special diet meals that can be ordered i.e vegetarían, low sodium, etc. Nice!
glad you liked it Janis!
2:20 Perfect pronunciation! Many English speakers have trouble with the pronunciation but yours is really great! 10/10
I remember the old days in Spain, where the overnight "expreso" train from Sevilla to Madrid took 12 hours, and the "rápido" took 15!
The good old days. You miss them ??
I live in Spain over 10 years now and the high speed trains here are amazing. Love the service, bars and cleannliness
Paid for by the EU, thank you.
James, as a fellow Kiwi, can I give you a compliment? You are the Andy Cooks of Spanish Tourism. Brilliant sense of humour (with a “u”)!
Thank you!
Excellent Video! By far the most comprehensive and entertaining video on train travel I've seen. You're so funny! Trains in Europe can be so confusing for us folks from the USA. I traveled through Germany, Austria and Switzerland last year on trains and LOVED it. We were hoping to do the same in Madrid, Barcelona and Northern Spain this year. Train travel is better on the marriage lol. Thanks for making it!!
Great video. Very comprehensive breakdown of hsr in Spain and your funny personality makes the video not dull haha! Good point at 12:59 about air travel being a hassle with having to get there so early. The one thing I found funny is when you do the internet speed test and you're getting 1.5mbps and you call that pretty good. Thats 2000s levels of internet and pretty terrible 😂. 10-15mbps is required to actually have a smooth experience, no wonfer why renfe play app doesn't work. And if you want to stream live football like la liga, good luck doing that with lower than 20mbps internet 😂.
You have officially graduated as a Spanish person, I think I heard you say “Preh-meohm” instead of premium!
Congrats my good sir! Royal Spanish citizenship for you! ❤🇪🇸
In France, Italian trains also came to give the shivers to the big SNCF. They are pretty similar, modern brand new trains with a lot of services and ticket prices which are impossible to defeat.
We are heading to Spain in October. Starting in Barcelona, Madrid and The Alhambra. Super excited to be traveling back. I always consider Spain home.
Spain is your home. You welcome
James, I've been following you for several years now and I have to say the quality of your content and editing is excellent. This video is not only super useful but a pleasure to watch.
Thanks!
A informative and funny tour de force James! It brought me back to the good aul days of enjoying Spain's qiality infrastructure, which I wistfully think of everytime I am punished for the crime of being Irish and having to deal with our dreadful travel and transport options.
Oh yea!! So, so helpful to see this summary of the train systems. We love train travel in Spain. Thank you James!
Thanks for the video James. We have followed your content for years as you are one of the best content creators on Spain. We love the AVE in Spain and had no idea there was competition. Thank you! I'm surprised you didn't mention that you can bring food and drink on Spanish trains. This is an amazing feature of the experience of riding the train in Spain. We always bring a bottle of wine, cheese, jamón and olives on our AVE trips. Thanks again for the information!
We used trains last time we were in Spain.
Never an issue. The staff at Valencia Renfe office even helped us print out some tickets.
Whether it's local trains or the VFTs we always managed to get where we needed to get to.
Glad to hear you've always had a great experience!
James, great video! The only time I've been on a Spanish train was when holidaying in the south, in proper rural Spain, up in the hills 30-40 miles north west of Malaga. We got the train from El Chorro to and back from Ronda, which weaves it way through the El Chorro gorge. An absolutely stunning journey, especially the El Chorro part, and Ronda is stunning to. I'd highly recommend that to you and to anyone. 🙂
Ronda. La h sobra.
@@baturrez7485 Apologies for my bad spelling.
Interesting video! We travelled from Madrid to Segovia and Madrid to Toledo on high-speed trains last week and loved it! We also wanted to go to Zaragoza, but there were only first-class seats left, and at a total of 595E for the two of us it was beyond our budget.
We waited until we got to Madrid to book the trains because last year we bought tickets through Trainline and the timetables they were using were incorrect, we arrived at the station in Valencia at what we thought was 20 minutes early only to be told the train had left 10 minutes earlier. We could not use the Trainline ticket in exchange for a new one and had to pay again and then claim the money back from Trainline. We also lost 2 hours of our day trip to Benacassim and missed meeting a friend for lunch. My advice would be to check the timetable at the train station before you travel to make sure your ticket is valid, and the time is correct. Also, if you are buying a high-speed train ticket in person, you'll need your passport or ID card. They don't check these again when you travel!
My wife and I recently went to Barcelona with Iryo and we were amazed with the experience. We don't plan to go anywhere in a plane if there's a high speed train option available.
This video was super informative, entertaining and very fun to watch. Thank you James, this was brilliant.
I watch quite a lot of train review videos (no, really!), and this was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Top work mate. Loved it. And I totally agree with your choices, I love the trains in Spain!
Meanwhile in the US we just hope our trains don't derail
Really Sngr Blick, you've ridden that train a million times! Well, we love your enthusiasm.
This was an excellent video! We took a trip to Spain in April 2023 and all our travels within the country were by train. LOVE the Spanish train system. Learned a lot for future trips to Spain. One thing I wish you had mentioned on the 1st trip was how long Madrid to Barcelona trip takes on high speed train ( I’m obviously too lazy to look it up myself 😊). Keep up the good work. Say hello to Lolie (spelling?). By the way, we are Americans and this was our 1st trip to Madrid and southern Spanish cities. 3week trip.. great time!
For me, Iryo it’s really something else, one step ahead every other train, it’s amazing. Another thing it’s how well the first AVE trains (S-100 and 101) are hanging out the time passing by, for me, above the Talgo S-102
You are hilarious in these 😂 great video. I’ve been binge watching your channel to prepare for my trip to Madrid, Granada and Lisbon.
A great review. As a professional of the railways (not in Spain, but in the UK) I 100% support your judgements. Good job mate.
I used your link to book my trip to Barcelona from Madrid and it's round-trip. As you said it is easier to navigate and gives you all the options. Thank you so much! We will be there coming to Madrid on the 3rd of June.
Very well done. Super informative and I enjoyed the pace and humor. Love it!
And we trained it ALL over Spain for five weeks. Affordable and easy. Only one week of car rental from A Coruña to Zaragoza....(not a lot of train options in and around Asturias)
Great breakdown of what to expect. This will be very helpful when looking to plan my trip to Spain. Thanks for sharing!
I just booked a flight to Madrid for my wife and I. It’ll be our first time in España and we can’t wait ! This video will be so helpful !! Subscribed for more tips
Great info, thanks. We are doing the Madrid-Barcelona train in September. Cannot wait!
Wow!!! Great video. It is obvious that you spent a lot of time on this one with preliminary contacts and bookings, research, script writing, filming and the post editing. Bravo James and Yoli.
I took all 4 of them and I would say Iryo is the best if you are looking for more departure hours but still want to be on budget. And Ouigo is the best price/quality, because you have more schedules then Avlo (cheaper Ave) but same cheap price (plus second floor for better view).
Very entertaining and informative. Another polished production!
What a great video! Really good journalism here. Focused and amusing, full of good facts and covering every important aspect of train traveling. I certainly know which train service I'll use when i Spain (the last one!). Keep up the good work! 👍❤
Great video and informative as my hubby and I are planning our trip to Spain in September and just trying to sort out trains now before we get there.
Exactly what I needed, starting to sort out four different train trips for my holiday and this video took care of it. Saving this so I can go through your link to Trainline.
Loved the editing in this vid. Also, after living in China for 16 years before moving back to the States. I really miss high speed trains and travel between major cities. US is so far behind in this respect.
We need a review when Avril hits the rails. What is fantastic is these older Talgos will slowly migrate filter over to the Avlo brand and likely be renovated in the process.
My family and i opted to travel to Valencia using Iryo because of this video 🎉 top class suggestion! Great service, yum food and oh so comfyyyyy!!
I live in Barcelona and do business in Madrid. I take the train each time instead of flying. In 2.5 hours I know I will be in the city center, not dealing with the hassle of airport security, no need for a taxi from or to the airport, and having to arrive earlier at the airport than the train station, with no delays on the trains, often the case with air travel, etc. In comparison, the US is so far behind in affordable and efficient train travel.
Thomas how do you get from the airport to the train station
Taken a number of your tours and always find your videos through and enjoyable. This video was excellent and really did a great job explaining the different rail choices. We spent a month in Spain and I am already longing to see more. Thank you again and keep up the great work.
Thanks James. Another great video. I’ve been devouring your content for a couple of years now having fallen in love with Spain.
Really insightful look at high speed train travel. I particularly like that there are more cheaper options. I used renfe last year to go from Madrid to Zaragoza for a day. The off peak prices were much better and the train was fast, clean and punctual. I also took the smaller local train from Madrid to Toledo. Not as luxurious, but again clean and punctual. Particularly loved Toledo and thanks for the recommendation of the bull tail stew profiteroles at Barrio. They were delicious.
Keep up the great work.
Excelente video, James! Muy buena la comparación. He viajado en todas excepto Iryo, tengo muchas ganas de probarla. Un saludo!
Thanks for this helpful video. You're commentary was informative and quite funny!
Solid video! I was looking at Iryo for an upcoming Madrid to Seville run, that frecciarossa branding screams "ride this train"!
That was great, thank you for doing that. I am married to an airline employee and will check out Iriyo first ....cheers from Canada.
I love the narrating of this video. Displaying your writing skills
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video!!! Amazing and very informative 👏 👌 👍 🙌 😀 😊
Great film James! Very useful Information, love your sense of humour.
We're getting the Ave from Madrid to Valladolid in December, this has definitely helped! 😊
"and my fly was down all along, classy" LMAO, you had me in tears with that comment and hey.... it happens to the best of us.!! Fantastic video and editing, and lots of information.... keep making content like this!
This has got to be one of my most favorite of your videos. We are flying to Madrid this summer and taking a train to Seville for a few days, then a train to Barcelona for a few days before boarding a Med cruise. The video was very helpful, and also very funny. We now have some inside jokes between us from watching the video. We booked the Iryo from Madrid to Seville and ordered pork cheeks, and the AVE from Seville to Barcelona and looking forward to a mystery meal. 😂
omg guys I’m a huge fan of your channel!! I watch all your videos and this one I loved !! bravo!! I loved you guys!!
Loved this, James! You were thorough in presenting information that any passenger should be considering when planning a trip. You also effectively showed how easy and effective rail travel is--North America needs to get on board already. Plus the format with voiceover and the great sense of humor help.
We've been waiting for our ONE bullet train here in California for years. So many Americans are closed-minded to the idea of mass transit due to the excess of space which caused (lazy) sprawling city planning, as well as from huge dollars from the auto industry influencing politics and culture. Plus beuraucracy doesn't help. It'll be a long time until we get even a basic network version of this, I imagine.
Such great information, and I enjoyed the voice-over humour. We're train-challenged in the USA, of course. If I had an option to take a train vs. flying, I think the train would win. Have you seen the videos about how people behave on airplanes in the States?😖 Uff-dah!
I used Trainline which I'm used to from the UK to buy my tickets with Iryo from Málaga to Madrid.
Really good video! I'll be travelling around Spain this summer, so the typical question that always arises is how to use public transport in a different country. Thanks for the video!
Very good - an enjoyable vid lots of laughs James - good prep for our next trip as we only really had Renfe last time
Love this video!!! Thanks James! Though I must take issue with your statement, “I have the palette of a child”. Dude, you eat a lot of hellish tapas - without saying they’re revolting. You’re far more brave than most.
Now I get it! As a tourist I did find the multiple brand names a bit confusing. Would love more content like this :)
A year later, I travelled between Barcelona and Madrid in a RENFE train. I didn’t know about the others, and a friend booked the tickets, but I was blown away by the trip. Two and a half hours, and it was great. Next time, (if there is a next time), I shall try to get the one with the gilda.
Thanks for this video, James! It's been great for planning all of our train travel around Spain in May. I'll try to always come back to your referral link, because Trainline has been awesome! Thank you.
A great, witty train video. Cheers.
I’ll be using the Trainline app then to book a ticket from San Sebastián to Tolosa. I’m such a technical wizard.
Excellent, detailed review, like all your reviews. You're one of the best reviewers on TH-cam - always a joy to watch on a Sunday morning.
Great video. We really enjoyed Iryo while we were travelling in Spain, though the timing was such that food was not a priority for us. I now regret not getting it. Also be thankful there was toilet paper at all on your Renfe trip. On our two AVE trips there was none in our bathroom both times...
This is very helpful James! I didn’t know about the other trains.. My family and I took the AVE last year from Madrid to Malaga (round trip tickets) and it was expensive. It’s good to know there are options beside AVE! We’ll make sure to navigate these to get the best deal! Thank you for such a helpful information.
Great video 👍 I’m looking at a multi city trip to Spain and this was super helpful.
That could have been really dull but it wasn’t good video James keep em coming 👍 I agree IRYO is the best quick trip to the F1 exhibition from Valencia confirmed that.
James - We've watched so many of your videos and love them all. But this was the BEST! I'm sure it was an exhausting time. I agree that the train websites are terrible and will take your advice and use The Train Line. Maybe we will bump into when we're in Madrid (we'll be there for a while). I'm trying to convince my wife to move there (if we do, we'll certainly utilize your services). I think your business will get very busy if the U.S. elections in 2024 go the wrong way. ;-) Give my best to Yoly and your adorable daughter! -- John Kiernan, Los Angeles
Very nicely told. Entertaining narration and what seems to be a fair assessment. Dry sense of humor too, as expected.
Bonita forma de contar (y compartir) tu experiencia, y juicios equilibrados y sensatos. Tu sentido del humor da un sabor añadido. Gracias.
Great blog! Humor, info, techno compare and even things I wouldn’t have thought to think about!! Thank you. Hope Yoli liked her chocolate 🥰
🤣Absolutely hysterical = brilliant humour integrated into a very informative video! Thanks, James! "Plebs" LOL!
I used Iryo a week ago for my trip from Barcelona to Madrid. I booked first class and also used Trainline. I really enjoyed it. Nice service and a nice train to ride. Restrooms were fine. Used Renfre for Girona. It was fine too.
Brilliant piece of informative art work. Hats off to you James; and looking forward to seeing more works like this…
Very well done and useful - but would have been nice if you'd covered the *Interrail* options too: availability, seat reservations etc
Great voice-over commentary, great writing! More vids like this please!
Excellent reviews and very comprehensive understanding of riding trains here in Spain. I was on the AVE in February this year from Valencia to Madrid and Valencia to Cuenca in March, and they were also showing the Tutankhamun video. It's time to update their viewing and also improve on the premium class food. That was sad and not befitting the Spanish palate. I had to laugh about the random toilet paper. I have to check on that on my next train ride. By the way, your post-travel ritual is up my alley. A glass of vermouth after a train ride would be something that I would do as well.
Fantastic video James. I'm glad you left the best train trip until the end. Those Italians do have style. Iryo definitely stood out and will be on my to do list if I ever summon up the strength to do another long haul flight from Oz. Flying sucks compared to fast train travel in both Spain & France.
Your comments in parentheses are fun and keep this information fresh.
Really informative, and entertaining in your usual way. Definitely helpful for my upcoming trip. Cheers
Excellent analysis James, this will help a lot of travelers. Thank you
About the internet in the trains: it's like being connected to your cell service 3G - 4G but slower because it is shared with other passangers. The point is that there are a lot of no signal zones during a trip Barcelona - Madrid (even for normal phone calls) where you nor the train will not have internet connection, so do not expect to have reliable internet nor phone service.
Great video! Very fun and helpful too! Have used AVE but might branch out. Just glad to have the options. Thanks!
I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Well done! You’ve given us such a useful resource as we think of a trip to Spain (on the bucket list, actually). I only hope we get there in time to catch Iryo’s reasonable rates. Thank you, James!
i moved to italy and the speed trains here are great as well. i should and will be using them more. especially for exploring italy.
Loved this video and will watch again as we are going to Valencia end of the month and would like to take a day trip to Madrid or Alicante and enjoy the trains. Need to watch again and take notes. Would like to leave Valencia early in the morning, spend several hours in the other city and then head back in the late afternoon. Doable? PS thanks for all you do James. I was in your 3 day mini course recently. Love the information.
Love the video!!! The combination of voiceovers interjected with outtakes from various locations is great. Look forward to more of your awesome content as always!🤩👏🏽
No way! I had my breakfast coffee at Bar Nàutic when I rode the talgo AVE from Barcelona to Málaga some 12 years ago!
Not just green… train travel is way more comfortable and convenient. 3 hours from Malaga to Madrid in a comfortable seat. Rather than dealing with crazy airports and tight seats to fly up from Malaga.
I was so excited to watch this video! I have always used AVE but I'm going to use Iryo for the first time this summer and I'm happy that I chose well! Perhaps I'll go to the bar to try those bravas 😄