Eurail Global Pass Questions

'we're finding that almost every reservation comes with an extra fee/cost. Is this normal?' - Yes, always read the terms and conditions. Almost certainly, as you appear to have, at least in part, a fixed itinerary, with a little research you could have saved considerably by not purchasing any rail pass.

Welcome to just one of the many little hidden tricks of rail passes.

Crap!
Well, I appreciate the replies. I suppose we thought we did the research, but apparently not. Looks like we're just going to have to pay the extra fees and, next time, will buy the tickets a-la-carte.

Thank you!

Yes, as you're discovering, rail passes cover rail 'travel', they do not cover seat reservations. A lot of trains don't require reservations and some people using a rail pass never need them. Which is why the passes don't cover reservation costs - why should some have to pay for something they don't use. It's one reason that traveling with a rail pass is often more flexible, but not cheaper and sometimes you have to weigh the costs against convenience and why they should be thoroughly researched before purchasing.

Sorry you had to find out after the fact rather than before.

Thank you for your kind response, Nancy!

One other thing to watch for, if travelling in France, many of the trains have quotas on the number of passes that can be used per train. Even if the train isn't full, you may be faced with paying full price for a ticket (which, by the way, always includes the reservation fee... its just passholders that pay a separate reservation fee), or getting a different train than you originally wanted, at times, a day or two later.

Depending on where you plan to travel, you may want to return your pass. If you know where you plan to travel, train tickets can be incredibly inexpensive (and as mentioned earlier, already include the reservation fee)

Joanne,

Thank you for your response! We're leaving on May 1st, and will only get a full refund if the passes are received by then, so we're almost too late to return them at this point. Although, maybe we'll give it another look this evening to see if it's possible.

Thank you!

Seat reservations usually do cost money, some more, some less. See http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/reservations. The next question is whether reservations are required for your particular trip, or for every leg of a connecting route. DB train schedules online are the most complete and objective indication of when a train is "subject to compulsory reservation." Eurail has also made an app for pass holders based on this technology.

If you are using Rail Europe.com to book seat reservations and are getting a response "train tickets found," then you need to explore further. If your trip is soon, then it's possible that seat reservations could sell out, for instance for a TGV or Thalys train touching France. But you could also get that message or another error if one leg of the trip is by non-reserved regional train or if you have more connections than the shopping cart can handle. Use DB to get schedules and break up your requests to reserve just the legs that require it, entering them separately into the shopping cart, if necessary. I would not book ahead for any optional reservations; these are not required, not likely to sell out, and are a bit cheaper at European train stations (e.g. $5 instead of $11).

Very few daytime seat reservations cost $70, but that could be the case on Thalys from Paris to Amsterdam in 1st class (you can choose 2nd class for $40) or from Paris to a Swiss city on a direct TGV Lyria in 1st class (you can choose 2nd class or choose a TGV to Strasbourg with an extra connection and $11 seat reservation). Private double sleepers on overnight trains in western Europe will typically cost $70 per person, similar to a hotel room.

Thank you Laura!

Amps, when you're running numbers for the cost of trains, don't use RailEurope. Use the company in the particular country you're travelling in. RailEurope is a reseller. They don't have all the trains listed and they don't include supersaver prices. That said, if you're travelling May 1st, the cheapest tickets for many locations will already have been sold out so you may very well be better off with the pass. You'll need to run the numbers to know for sure.

Anna,

It might be helpful if you post your train trip itinerary - what trains do you intend to take and what day of the week.. Many of us here have quite a lot of train experience and will be able to give you advice and suggestions.

The reservation question has different answers from country to country - rather than listing them all on the chance you might go there, I'll see which countries you actually are going to.

On the Paris to Amsterdam reservation charge, then it depends on a matter of time over expense. If $70 is the correct figure, or even close to it, that's extreme. If you have the time, I suggest taking Paris to Frankfurt (mandatory reservation here), then the Frankfurt-Amsterdam, no reservation, both legs on the ICE, somewhat longer but no Thalys trains.