I am going to be traveling around Europe from June 1st to the 20th roughly. I plan on visiting London, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Czech, and maybe Poland. I am thinking about the global rail pass but I have heard some incidents that other people have experienced of people not accepting the pass. I also know that you only have a certain amount of spaces because you are considered 2nd priority. How far in advance do you think you need to reserve your seat with the pass? I was just wondering for those of you who have used the pass, how your experience was. Thanks!
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
Hi Scott,
The only problems you may have are on trains where a reservation is required, or on a private rail line as the Eurail passes do not cover those.
Despite what you have heard, the Eurail pass is not considered to take second place on trains. What you had heard of in terms of limited spaces may be for discounts on trains that do not accept the Eurail pass, like the Eurostar train between London, Paris, and Brussels. They offer special passholder fares (which offer a substantial discount) to Eurail passholders, but they do limit the number of seats on a train. This train would require a reservation in advance to get the passholder fare, but this is the only train I have heard of where such a limitation exists.
Nearly all trains will let you simply hop on with a Eurail Global pass. As mentioned, the exceptions are the trains that require reservations. For the most part, these are just overnight trains, and high-speed trains. If you are travelling by overnight train, I would recommend getting a reservation in advance - for the hight-speed trains you can just get a reservation before boarding.
Although I have not used a rail pass in the UK or Ireland, in the continential European countries that you are going to reservations are mostly not an issue. Even the German high-speed trains - the ICE (Inter-city Express) do not require reservations. Only the ICE Sprinter do, but these run on limited routes and only stop at the largest of cities. Just avoid the ICE Sprinter and take an ICE instead.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For lots of helpful information about railpasses, click on the Railpasses tab at the top of the page you're reading now.
Here is a quote from that section: "All trains that require reservations also limit the number of seats available to passholders. It is wise to reserve at least several days ahead (or as soon as you're ready to commit to a date and time) for night trains, weekends and holidays, high season, routes with infrequent service, any train you cannot afford to miss, or if you need several seats together. For instance, TGV fast trains in France and direct Paris-Italy day and night trains are popular routes that can sell out weeks ahead."
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
The Eurail pass is not accepted in England, Wales, Scotland or Poland. Ireland does accept the pass. You can see this on the country coverage map on www.eurail.com.