Hello all,
I am trying to book a train from Prague to Vienna on cd.cz using my Eurail Pass. As I've read on their website, Eurail passes are accepted when reserving trains online, however when I trying to book I cannot find the discount option in which the Eurail pass applies. I also visited the Eurail website and their instructions are inaccurate. Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks for your help!
-Reed
Daytime trains from Prague to Vienna don't require seat reservations. We don't have any experience with using cd.cz to book a pass holder reservation. If it's just a seat reservation, I'd either wait and buy it in a train station when activating the pass or not even bother to reserve. If you want a bed on a night train and want to book more than a few days ahead, you can use http://ricksteves.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/triprequest.htm and expect a delivery fee to apply. I'm sure I've tested this route before on the Austrian web site and they did not sell e-tickets for this direction of travel, departing Prague.
We have lived in both Vienna and Prague and made this trip regularly. You do not have to have a reservation for this route but can if you want. It is optional. Contact reservations.support@eurail.com I would not try to book anything on cd.cz. You can get accurate information at Eurail- this is the proper address for the information on their site www.eurail.com/plan-your-trip/guide-eurail-train-reservations/how-do-i-book-my-reservations/book-your-reservations I am presuming this is not the part of their site that you looked at before. The reservation form is located at www.eurail.com/reservation-booking-form and is simple to fill out. There will be no middleman between you and Eurail and they will ship it free to you.
"There will be no middleman between you and Eurail and they will ship it free to you."
The ironic thing about this statement is that Eurail IS the middleman. Czech Railways is the official source for all things related to train travel originating in Czech Republic.
You can easily book your reservations on the Czech Railways site and it will cost less than Eurail will charge you. Go to:
https://www.cd.cz/eshop/default.aspx
Fill out the origin/destination, date, time.... and below this, where is says "Document" choose "supplementary services, reservation". This will allow you to book the seat reservations only for travel with your Eurail pass. The cost will be 85CZK per person.
Thanks, Podroznik, for filling in the "missing link."
If that link gives you more problems, then I'd still switch to the optional buying seat reservations in a train station or not at all.
Eurail.com does not have a shipping fee for reservations, but the page link above clearly states an €8 booking fee per train, in addition to the actual price of the reservation, so those fees will add up for anyone booking several trains.
