“It’s no longer about running, it’s about going at a leisurely pace so travelers have a unique experience they’ll remember for their entire life.. this is special”. This Wednesday at the Oviedo station “how to sell” Félix Martín, Renfe Development and New Products manager, The public operator’s new luxury tourist train, the Costa Verde Express, will leave Bilbao this Saturday for the first time to reach Santiago de Compostela. next thursday. In between, six event-filled days: breakfast, lunch and dinner onboard or in select restaurants, guided tours, memorial and show tickets, buses for transportation, multilingual guide… “And the unique landscape of Green Spain”, Added the leader of Renfe.
The idea is to offer users a “luxury hotel on the train” and at the same time show the “best” of natural, artistic, monumental and gastronomic riches. One of the four communities of Green Spain. Trains will travel at 30 or 40 kilometers per hour, because the goal is for travelers to “taste” the scenery, “beaches, viaducts,” and always seek “peace and relaxation,” Martin said.
There will be eleven trips by November this year, but Félix Martín left up in the air the possibility of making the route at Christmas as well. And although there are still some places left for trips planned for the next six months, Renfe’s leader advises potential travelers to hurry, because they “take away tickets”. In fact, trains are already full by mid-July, with only a room or two left for some, and there aren’t even seats for some scheduled travel in October and November. “We will complete one hundred percent of the places with absolute certainty,” Martín said. He underlined that with these tourist trains, Renfe aims to contribute to the development of quality tourism especially from abroad -the majority of customers come from other countries- and the promotion of “Marca España”.
On the train, 24 luxury suites with full bathrooms and hydromassage showers, dining rooms, library, cafe car, kitchen and even a pub carParties will be held with recorded and live music. Staff consisting of Vicente de la Iglesia from Mieres, Lorena Fernández from Sierna, Sergio Blanco from Oviedo and Ekaterina Gosteva from Moldova. The two men have extensive experience in luxury trains, as they have worked on the other three offered by Renfe: Grand Luxury Transcantábrico, Al Andalus and La Robla Express. Rather, the two women will debut on this Costa Verde Express. The quartet is waiting for May 4 to start their trips. This gets them “very excited” and they hope to complete the eleven planned routes.
Travelers will get to know places such as the Guggenheim Museum, Sardinero casino, Picos de Europa, Altamira neocave, Santillana del Mar, the Covadonga sanctuary, the old city of Avilés, the main corners of Oviedo and Gijón, various fishing villages. Cantabrian cornice and Cathedral of Santiago. They will also taste dishes from some of northern Spain’s most famous chefs.
Renfe will eventually make up for the disappointment of having to cancel their planned trip in 2020. Pandemic. In 2019, the operator held a roadshow with foreign communicators, which was successful. Costa Verde Express flights were to begin in March 2020, but the emergence of covid forced the suspension of all programs. Again in 2021. Now, Renfe’s leaders are already considering 2023, when they hope to increase their travel offerings on luxury trains.
Price? Félix Martín admits that the Costa Verde Express is “not for all audiences” like other luxury tourist trains. Although much cheaper than the Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, a trip in a suite on the Costa Verde Express costs 7,000 euros per couple or 6,125 euros for individual use.