Train tour company reviews?

I really can't see the point of that kind of companies. I did take a look at what Railbookers offers in Scandinavia, and it seems like they just buy you a couple of train tickets and hotel reservations, and charge you a massive premium for doing it. It's just as easy to buy train tickets and reserve hotels on your own, and it will save you a lot of money. It also means that you are not limited to the companies tours.

These companies probably provided a valuable service 30 years ago, but the internet means you can just book things yourself.

I'm with Badger on this one. I am 68 years old and have been traveling solo all over Europe for decades, and have always planned my own trips. It's so easy to create your own itineraries. Every railway company has a website for booking train tickets (or if you want to make it a bit easier, buy a rail pass). And just about every hotel and B&B and apartments have websites to book rooms. If you come up with a list of places you would like to visit, come back here to the forum and we will help you plan your trip! It's something we all love to do. 😊

FWIW, I have never heard of either company you mentioned, but again, as Badger said, you pay a huge premium for them doing something you could easily do yourself.

Start off by reading these. Here is a Rick Steves article that explains train travel pretty well: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains

And here's another article on booking lodging: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating

I'm on Trip Advisor a lot and on their separate Train Travel forum there are lots of complaints about both Vacations by Rail and Railbookers. Some for terrible customer service (particularly when people are using Railbookers for Amtrak holidays in the US), some for other things such as poor accommodations.

For European trains, book directly with the national train company of the country you are planning to visit.

Where do you want to go and for how long? How many train segments do you think you'll have?

Man in Seat 61 can also give you a lot of basic information on train travel and booking options. www.seat61.com

Editing to add: Are you looking for a group tour by rail? There are several Road Scholar trips by train in Europe, most in Switzerland. www.roadscholar.org

Kathy - I have zero experience with either of those companies. However we went on an Inntravel (inntravel.co.uk) self-guilded walking tour in Northern Italy last spring and it was amazing. Yes I could have done all the planning myself, but it was so much part of my vacation to not have to deal with the logistics. This company does rail travel as well -- I have zero actual experience with them in that regard but just thought I'd throw it in the mix.

Hello everyone
I am planning a trip in September 2024 to to Munich, Lucerne, Salzburg and Prague.
I am confused as to what train line / tickets to purchase.
I have got a quote from Railwaybookers and they want $8000.00 for 5 adults..
Does that seem right? Thanks for your input!

Coffeebug10......that price sounds high.

Here's what you do...

First, go to the Seat 61 site. Here you will learn everything you need to know about rail travel in each country and who to book with.

Alternatively, or as well, you could go to http://www.bahn.com/en which is the German rail site but also provices excellent schedule information throughout Europe. If you plug in you route information, date and time, it will give you the available trains. Click on that then click on "train information" and it will give you the name of the operator of the train. (Look under "Operator.") Then go to that train company's website and purchase the tickets.

While The Man in Seat 61 advocates using Trainline, a third party booking system, most of us here will suggest you go directly to the train operator. However, for ease, if you are still confused purchasing from individual train companies, Trainline can be trusted and will cost much less than $8000.

A railpass might also be an option but I would first suggest looking into individual tickets.

Thank you Frank II! I’ll check out your recommendations

FYI, the Man recommends Railbookers

Booked a rail holiday with Railbookers in Scotland and England for Sept. My advice to those looking to book with them is to EXAMINE all DETAILS very carefully. We were traveling by train from Edinburgh to Oxford. Original itinerary just listed that- Edinburgh to Oxford. When we received the details of each travel leg, discovered that they had us arriving at King’s Cross and leaving from Paddington with insufficient time to get to the other station. Might have been able to make it if nothing else happened- like say- the train was late, london traffic, travelers unfamiliar with these stations got confused-. Contacted them to change London to Paddington leg to a slight later train. People at the 1-800 do not have the authority to make changes. Took four phone calls and an email (which they never answered) to get this resolved. They also booked the train from Edinburgh that had 8 stops rather than the express that left 30 minutes earlier. You don’t get to see details until after you make a deposit. So…. buyer beware and ask lots of questions.

Update: One week prior to trip and still have not received updated travel documents despite 2 phone calls and 3 emails. When calling their customer service number be prepared to wait at least 30-45 minutes on hold.

@ aleonard - first, welcome to the forum! Was your booking with Railbookers?

yes it was.

Thank you for the additional information.

@aleonard Now that you've taken your trip, I'd love to hear your experience.