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Meeting Your Trip in Monforte or Ourense
This page offers help (concrete or informational) on reaching your trip. Topics include...
- Where you Join Your Trip (see immediately below)
- Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
- Suggestions on how to time your trip to the trip, whether you are having us arrange your travel, or doing it yourself.
- Service information regarding train travel to your trip start location.
- Suggested pre-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
- Hopefully helpful hints for those setting up their own travel to the trip.
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.
1. WHERE and WHEN Do You Join Your Trip?
You will meet your trip at our hotel in whichever city you choose as your meeting point (meeting in Monforte adds a riding day), at breakfast. The Monforte de Lemos meeting is on Monday, the Ourense meeting on Tuesday. Details of time and place will be sent with your itinerary.
Both Monforte and Ourense are isolated places, and hard to reach. Be sure to consider “Service Information” in deciding your arrival route, and before you buy your air ticket. Most choose to arrive the previous evening (Sunday evening in Monforte, or Monday evening in Orense), and the “base” versions of our Access Packages include accommodation in your selected city. However, overnight sleeper trains from both Madrid and Barcelona allow for same-day arrivals.
We will send you details of meeting time and place with your final itinerary.
If you wish to make your own way to the trip (in other words, not to set up your travel arrangements through us), a couple of hints on getting there are offered at the bottom of this page.
2. Our ACCESS PACKAGES
as of January 1, 2008
Train tickets via daylight train from Madrid or Bilbao to either meeting city (Sunday to Monforte, or Monday to Orense), that night’s evening meal in your selected city, and a hotel night there, are provided in the packages.
The Monforte package adds a beautiful riding day to the front of the trip. In addition to the train to Monforte on Sunday, it includes Sunday night’s dinner and a hotel, the use of your bike on Monday, the usual route guide for the ride to Ourense, dinner and a hotel night there, and luggage transfer.
Alternate day trains are available from Barcelona, or from Lisbon (to Ourense only), at modest additional cost.
Overnight trains are available from Madrid, Barcelona or Paris (offering connections from London).
Base Access Package Price:
Ourense: 139€. Monforte: 289€.
• Monforte without train (you reach Monforte on your own on Sunday evening): 219 €.
• Monforte without train, Sunday dinner, or hotel (you meet the trip in Monforte on Monday morning. Package includes the extra riding day, luggage transfer, dinner and hotel in Ourense: 159 €.
If you are a North American traveller, the $ price (US or Canadian) on your price chart applies until 35 days prior to trip departure. Otherwise euro prices are transcribed to your invoice in its currency, converted at the exchange rate of the day on which the package is requested (rounded to the nearest whole dollar or pound). Current “mid-market” rates can be consulted from the site we use for conversion. We use the mid-market rate on the day of conversion, and add 2% to cover currency broker exchange commissions (our conversion rates are thus as good as, or better than, any you could obtain, including via your credit card, unless you are a professional currency trader).
Availability is normally fairly certain at the listed prices until 35 days prior to trip start (payment received by us). Within 35 days, availability must be confirmed, and costs may be higher (especially the costs of shipping rail tickets, some of which must actually be printed in Spain). Some extra-cost options also have higher prices if ordered w/in 35 days.
Included:
- 2nd class daylight train tickets to Monforte (Sunday) or Ourense (Monday) from Madrid or Bilbao.
- Seat reservations on trains which require them (local connecting services may not).
- A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
- Our “Route Sheet to the Trip,” helping you through your journey.
- Monday night’s supper and lodging in Ourense.
- Breakfast in Ourense.
- Monforte Package Only
- Sunday night supper and lodging in Monforte, including breakfast on Monday morning.
- Bike and route guide for the ride from Monforte to Ourense on Monday.
- Transfer of a piece of luggage from Monforte to Ourense, regardless of Baggage Transfer service subscribed.
Options Offered at an Extra Cost (subject to availability)
Prices are in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price.
For a general discussion of train upgrades, see here. Topics include the relative comfort of 1st versus 2nd class, and different types of accommodation available on overnight trains.
• Additional hotel nights in Bilbao: 92€ for a double or twin room, 72€ for a single room.
Includes tax and our booking charge, but not breakfast.
• Tickets from London. Travel from London is via Paris. In addition to Paris prices (see below), add 59€ if you are also purchasing tickets back to London, 79€ if not, or if you prefer a changeable return (in 1st cl., add 95€ or 145€; 1st class tickets include meal service).
• Tickets from Barcelona or Lisbon, via Sunday daylight train to Monforte (available from Barcelona only), or via Monday daylight train (to Ourense). +39€ 2nd class, 69€ 1st class, 49€ 1st class discount rate.
These are long trips. Think hard about 1st class. None of our business, we’re just saying....
Prices include required seat reservations. Train from Lisbon involves two connections: the final (short) leg is in 2nd class, since this train does not offer 1st class seating.
• Tickets from Paris via overnight train, departing Saturday night for Monforte, Sunday night for Ourense. +79€ including a couchette.
See below for night train upgrade prices, if desired.
• Saturday overnight train from Barcelona to Monforte. +49€, including a couchette.
See below for night train upgrade prices, if desired.
• Sunday overnight train from Barcelona or Madrid to Ourense: +35€. Includes couchette from Barcelona, berth in 4-person sleeping car cabin from Madrid.
See below for night train upgrade prices, if desired.
• 1st class train tickets from Madrid (daylight train): 15€ discount rate, 25€ regular.
If travelling to Monforte, 1st class is only available for part of the trip: one of the two trains involved in each trip carries 2nd class seating only. This does not change the price, but the discount rate is always available to Monforte.
• Night Train Upgrades
- “Comfort Couchette” (from Paris only): 39 €. Discount rate sometimes available: 19 €.
- Private double sleeper cabin.
Prices are per person, but only available if both beds in the cabin are booked (solo travellers cannot book single beds in double cabins within Spain).
- 29 € from Madrid to Ourense (65€ for a “deluxe” cabin including private shower and WC, and also dinner in the dining car on this route).
- 49 € from Barcelona to either destination, or from Madrid to Monforte (“deluxe” cabins including private WC / shower).
- 75 € from Lisbon to Bilbao (available to solo travellers on this international train).
- Private single cabin:
- 59 € from Madrid to Ourense (89€ for a “deluxe” cabin including private shower and WC, and also dinner in the dining car on this route).
- 79 € from Barcelona, or from Madrid to Monforte (“deluxe” cabins including private WC / shower on these routes).
- 109 € from Lisbon to Bilbao.
• Additional Bilbao hotel nights, if you are subscribing to our Bilbao package (see “Suggested Pre-Trip Visits,” below).
Alternate Arrangements, in lieu of our usual packages (subject to availability)
Prices are complete (in other words, they are not in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price).
• Overnight train from Madrid or Barcelona, to Monforte on Sunday night (arrive for the start of the ride on Monday), or to Ourense on Monday night (arrive for the start of the ride on Tuesday): 85€.
Price includes a sleeping berth as specified, by train. Upgrades to superior cabins are available as specified above (“Night Train Upgrades”). But arrival is early....
- Trains from Madrid to Monforte, or from Barcelona to either Monforte or Ourense, include a couchette on board.
- The train from Madrid to Ourense includes a berth in a single-sex, 4-person sleeper cabin.
3. TIMING Your Trip
The optional ride from Monforte to Ourense is beautiful, and would be included in our base trip, but for the fact that it is a bit ambitious for a first day....
We still suggest that you take it on, even if you are not a strong cyclist, since it is a wonderful ride. Only, steel yourself to shorten the day through judicious use of a “bail-out” train, without feeling like it is a “cop-out.”
For the rest, your arrival will be dictated by train schedules. These places are pretty isolated, and getting to them is not simple....
Like airplanes, Spanish trains require reservations. Allow ample time to connect from a flight: the railroad is not responsible for (chronically) late planes. Moreover, it can take intercontinental travellers up to 90 minutes to clear customs, immigration and baggage claim upon arrival. If you are attempting a tight connection, be prepared to pay for new arrangements should you miss your train.
4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm.
Best trains are mentioned. Others are slower or have multiple connections.
• From Madrid.
- To Ourense: depart Madrid 2p, arrive Ourense 7p. Overnight: depart 10p, ar 5a (yuck).
- To Monforte: daylight, depart Madrid 8:30a, 11:30a, 1:30p or 2p. One connection required. Overnight: depart Madrid 10p, ar Monforte 5a (yuck).
The 1:30p and 2p services, otherwise the most comfortable, involve unguaranteed connections of 15 and 8 minutes, respectively, to the last onward train of the night. If the connection is missed, you can continue to Monforte the following morning in time for the biking, but the expense of a hotel night en route is yours to bear.
• From Barcelona: depart 7:30a, ar Monforte 8p, Ourense 9:30p.
Overnight: depart Barcelona 7p, arrive Monforte 8a, arrive Ourense 9a.
• From Bilbao: depart 9a, arrive Monforte 5p, Ourense 6p.
If travelling to Monforte, we sometimes suggest a stopover in Burgos for lunch. Burgos is pretty, and the stop breaks up the trip nicely. Plus, the ongoing train is more comfortable. Finally, many fellow Marbles will typically be doing this.
• From Lisbon (to Ourense only). Three possible schedules.
- Depart 8a, arrive 8p, 3 train changes plus a short taxi ride to change stations at the border.
- Depart 11a, arrive 9:30p, 2 train changes plus the same taxi ride.
- Depart Lisbon 3p, arrive midnight: 2 train changes, no taxi / station change required.
• From Paris or London. Dp Paris 11p on Saturday (to Monforte) or on Sunday (to Ourense), arrive ar Monforte 5p, Ourense 6p.
If travelling to Monforte, we suggest a stopover in Burgos for lunch. Burgos is pretty, and the stop breaks up the trip nicely. The ongoing train (a couple of hours later) is more comfortable. Plus, many fellow Marbles will typically be meeting here for lunch, and travelling onward together.
Connecting train from London to Paris departs 6p, London time.
5. Suggested PRE-TRIP VISITS
Bilbao. We offer a packaged visit to Bilbao.... Travel to Bilbao by Friday overnight train, from Madrid or Barcelona. Spend Saturday and Saturday night in Bilbao, take a Sunday train on to Monforte, with a lunch stop in Burgos if schedules permit.
Prices: 229€ single, 189€ for singles willing to share a cabin on the train and a room in Bilbao with another Blue Marble of the same gender (if available), 169€ / person for couples or pairs of friends travelling together. For package without train (flying into Bilbao), subtract 70€ single. Includes:
- Friday night train to Bilbao from Madrid or Barcelona, sleeping car berth included on board in a “deluxe” double or single cabin (shower and WC ensuite).
- Saturday night hotel in Bilbao.
- Sunday breakfast.
- Sunday daylight train to Monforte, with or without a 2-hour lunchtime stop in Burgos.
Alternate, extra cost options for reaching Bilbao:
- Friday daylight train to Bilbao from either Madrid or Barcelona, available at no additional cost, but a Friday night hotel in Bilbao is then required.
- Friday overnight train from Lisbon: + 47€.
- Friday overnight train from Paris: + 49€. This fare is also available on a Friday daylight TGV, but you will then need to fund Friday night lodging in Bilbao.
- From London, +108€ (fare also available on daylight train, but this is a 14-hour trip, and you then need the Friday Bilbao hotel).
6. Hints on TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY to the Trip
Guests subscribing to an “Access Package” need not read this section.
See also “Timing Your Trip” and “Service Information,” above, as either of these may additionally help.
We gladly provide travel consulting (schedule or routing information) concerning pre-trip individual travel. In particular, we have invested a great deal to become railway experts. Our service fees are reasonable: a 20 € charge for all but the most complex projects – or the most simple (for instance, only a 10 € charge applies if the service is limited to the preparation of a routine rail ticket). You will generally find them well-justified by the time they will save you in research, standing on line, overpaying for your tickets, or all three.
But, for some, this type of research is fun. So, here are some hints, intended to start off hardened “do-it-yourselfers.”
Trains. Schedules for all routes can be consulted on this web site:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm
Monforte and Ourense, though big enough towns (and both quite interesting places), are surprisingly isolated. Neither has a commercially-served airport, and long distance rail and even bus services are sparce. Part of their charm, we suppose, but a bit of a problem when you are trying to get to them.
Ourense is a junction station between lines which run from Madrid to northwestern Spain, and an east-west line running from Barcelona to Galicia (this line offers connections from France and from the rest of Europe). Each route is served by two daily express trains, one operating in daylight, and the other running overnight. Monforte is also on the east-west line, but north-south direct service is limited to an archaic overnight local from Madrid, which reaches Monforte at an uncomfortably early hour of the morning. Regional services are available from the coast, discussed in the plane sections.
Planes. In addition to the obvious airports (Madrid and Barcelona), four regional airports are close enough to be potentially of use: Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, and Leon. Vigo, A Coruña, and Leon have essentially domestic Iberian service. Santiago offers limited intra-Europe service, including (at this writing) two daily flights from London (one on British Air and another on Ryanair), and one from Paris.
Regardless of how you arrive, be sure to make your plans taking into account the ground trip from your arrival airport to Monforte or Ourense. These rail lines have service gaps of up to 8 hours, so you should take ground connections into account before booking your flight.
A few hints:
- The line from A Coruña to Monforte only sees three trains a day, one of which operates in the middle of the night.
- The trip from Santiago to Monforte generally involves a connection, in either Ourense, Vigo, or Redondela de Galicia (there is one daily direct train, at about 9:30a).
- There is only one daily train direct from A Coruña to Ourense, early in the morning — at other times, a change in Santiago, Vigo, or Redondela de Galicia is required.
In the end, it can be faster to fly to Madrid, and take the 8-hour train trip to Galicia, then to fly to a regional airport and spend 6 hours waiting for the next train out. Or than spending the next 8 hours starting from now trying to figure it out, even if you save 2 hours’ travel time once you do.
No good web site regroups this information. But if you have a good rail map, and are armed with patience, you can figure out what you need from www.renfe.es. Try the “regional” pages.
If you want to fly into a regional airport, and aren’t looking forward to the research, we will help you to figure out the schedules, and ticket purchase, for our usual fee.
In addition to Santiago, Ryanair serves Valladolid, about 6 hours away by train with one connection (last departure of the day from Valladolid is at 2:30p, to either Monforte or Ourense).
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.
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