So I have heard of Vacations by Rail and Railbookers, but have been able to find very little posted here concerning actual experiences/results using either of these travel companies. Would love to hear if you have used them and how your experience was for train travel through Europe. Thanks!
Posted by
Sweden
6420 posts
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.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6397 posts
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
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13968 posts
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
Posted by
PacNW
62 posts
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.