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All aboard the pooch train! Spain’s Renfe starts large dog trial

Spain's national rail provider on Tuesday began a three-month trial to ascertain if allowing medium and large dogs on board its trains is a viable option, with tickets on sale for its Madrid-Barcelona route.

Published: 13 September 2022 15:15 CEST
large dogs trains spain
Up to now, Renfe only permitted passengers to travel with small dogs under 10 kilos, kept at all times inside a carrier, with the exception of guide or assistance dogs. Photo: John Crozier/Unsplash

Spain’s Renfe on Tuesday September 13th kick-started its three-month trial to assess the viability of allowing canines of up to 40 kilos on its trains.

Up to now, Renfe only permitted passengers to travel with small dogs under 10 kilos in weight, kept at all times inside a carrier, with the exception of guide or assistance dogs.

Only two large dogs will be allowed on each train during the trial period, with a maximum of one per passenger.

A specific dog-friendly area on one of the train’s carriages will be allocated for these medium and large pooches.

Dog owners will also have to follow a set of rules and recommendations, such as carrying a blanket with them, taking toys that don’t make noise or squeak, avoid feeding them during the three hours prior to the trip to prevent the animals from doing their business or getting dizzy on the train, as well as taking them for a long walk before the journey.

Dogs that aren’t kept inside a pet carrier will have to wear a muzzle and be kept on a non-extendable leash (3 metres long max) at all times.

The dog breeds (small, medium and large) that will be allowed on these high-speed AVE and Long Distance trains between Barcelona and Madrid include Beagles, Bichons, Boxers, Bull Terriers, Bulldogs, Poodles, Pugs, Chow Chows, Cocker Spaniels, Dalmatians, Collies, Greyhounds, Golden Retrievers, Siberian Huskies, Labradors, Alsatians, Pekinese, Pointers, Pomeranians, Rottweilers, Schnauzers, Setters, Shar Peis and different terrier breeds.

However, given the 40kg weight restrictions, Bordeaux Mastiffs, Great Danes, Spanish Mastiffs, Saint Bernards, Tosa Inus, Newfoundland dogs and Bullmastiffs cannot be included on the list, as many of these breeds can weigh more than 60 kilos.

Passengers who want to book tickets for themselves and their furry friends on this initial Madrid-Barcelona route will find the option of adding their “mascota grande” (large pet) on the Renfe website.  

Whereas Renfe’s rates for small dogs and other pets (cats, ferrets, birds) are €10, for larger dogs weighing between 10kg and 40kg the fixed price per trip will be €35.

Passengers travelling with their medium or large dogs will not be able to choose their seats either, instead they will have two spots pre-assigned to them (next to each other) for themselves and their pet.

Dog owners will also have to fill in a civil responsibility form at the train station’s Centro de Servicios 30 minutes before travel. It is then that they’ll be handed a cover and a mat for the seat as well as a gift for their pet.

Member comments

  1. Good grief.

    The hoops you must jump through is crazy.

    In my 56 years I have never heard of a dog attacking anyone on a train. Attacking other dogs on a train (apart from the bark – keep away).

    It may be a test to see if it’s ok but it’s clear from the existing rules that when renfe talks about animals it explicitly bans poultry. Rules pre 1970!?

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TOURISM

How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

Whether it be hotel prices rising or shortages in the aviation sector making flights more expensive, a summer vacation in Spain this year is likely to cost more than last year.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:13 CEST
How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

With lingering inflation, drought conditions, rising rents and building social tension surrounding the impact of mass tourism on Spanish society, summer 2024 could be an eventful one in Spain for a number of reasons.

It will probably also be more expensive than it was in the past, especially if you’re staying in a hotel or tourist apartment.

This follows a bumper Easter period that saw high occupancy and price rises across the country, and if forecasts and industry experts are anything to go by, it’s a trend that will continue into the summer season.

READ ALSO: ‘The island can’t take it anymore’: Why Tenerife is rejecting mass tourism

Hotel prices March increased by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2023, and have now experienced 34 consecutive months of price increases.

The average hotel room in Spain during March cost €109.2 per night, according to Hotel Tourism Situation data published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

How much more expensive will flights to Spain be this summer?

Firstly, flights. Aviation industry experts suggest that a perfect storm of conditions could cause the price of flights to increase for summer 2024. A shortage of commercial planes, caused mainly by a combination of problems on Boeing’s production line and Airbus having difficulties with engine manufacturers, will likely drive up prices around the world.

These “are factors that don’t make it easy for prices to fall,” according to Pere Suau, professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, who admitted that “it is difficult to measure the extent to which” they will go up. The key, in Suau’s opinion, is to see how demand will be affected by price rises. “As of today prices are rising, but demand is tolerating it, demand continues to grow,” he adds.

Reports in the Spanish media suggest that prices on budget airlines like Ryanair could rise by around 10 percent.

READ ALSO: EasyJet opens Spanish base in Alicante with ten new routes

How much more expensive will hotels in Spain be this summer?

So, flights will likely be more expensive this year. But what about hotels?

It’s difficult to say exactly by how much hotel prices will have risen by summer, but most estimates put it at somewhere in the 8-12 percent range, depending on factors such as location, occupancy, type of accommodation (ie. is it luxury or budget) and length of stay.

However, despite that, most experts seem to think the price rises will be slightly less than the 2023-23 year-on-year increases, when average hotel room costs shot up by 16.5 percent, according to statistics from SRT and Cushman & Wakefield.

Albert Grau, partner at Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality department in Spain, told El Periódico de España that: ‘We expect there to continue to be growth in prices… although it will be more moderate, in single digits, compared to the large increase in the last year.”

Spanish news outlet La Sexta reports that hotel rooms in the summer will be on average 11 percent more than last year, according to figures from INE and Travelgate.

Forecasts by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) put Barcelona, long a popular tourist destination, among European cities where a significant increase in hotel prices is expected, with a projected rise of 9 percent. Other Spanish cities, such as Bilbao and Valencia, are forecast to see price jumps of around 8.5 percent.

In Andalusia, hotel sector insiders in Andalusia are expecting a 7 percent increase overall this summer, according to Trinitario Bertore, director of Hotel Plaza Nueva in Granada, who spoke to La Sexta. Bertore said a night’s stay in a hotel in Andalusia can now cost up to €210, a 7 percent rise compared to last summer.

José Luis Contreras, managing director of Apartamentos Valencia Costera, said prices in tourist flats in Valencia will also rise by around 7 percent and even reach an eye-watering €350 per night in the high season.

Both Bertore and Contreras said that there’s no need to lower prices because demand is increasing, despite the per night rate increases.

It seems clear that accommodation will likely be a more expensive for summer 2024 in Spain than it was last year, though the year-on-year rise will slow slightly. Most forecasts put the average expected hotel price rises at roughly 10-11 percent overall.

By exactly how much will depend on several factors: where you’re staying, and whether it’s a traditional tourist spot such as parts of Andalusia, Alicante, Valencia or the Canary and Balearic Islands; whether it’s a hotel or apartment; the quality of the accommodation; how long you’re staying; how far in advance you book; when exactly in the summer season you’ll visit Spain.

Aviation industry uncertainty also means that flights will become more expensive, so both travel and accommodation are likely to be more expensive in Spain this summer.

Tourism makes up a significant portion of Spain’s GDP. Predicted tourism earnings for 2024 are expected to bring in €202.65 billion, an 8.6 percent increase on 2023, a record year.

However, growing anti-mass tourism sentiment has been bubbling in Spanish society for some time now, with protests in various cities around the country decrying the impact, among other things, of Spain’s tourism model on the local housing market.

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