Hi guys, I need some advice to book my train tickets for my Europe trip. I don't think Euro pass is a good idea as I read negative comments about it.
I tried to book thru eurail.com website, I want to pay as Australian dollars so just don't know which is the best website to book my tickets.
My route is from London-Amsterdam-Paris-Interlaken-Lugano-Munich.
Please advice on my route as well if I am doing it the right way.
Your advice will be much appreciated.
Thank you
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Sounds like you are asking basic questions. Read the "Man in seat 61" website: http://www.seat61.com/
That is the best primer and info site for rail travel on the internet. The best place to book any train is the website of the company running the train, which is a different site for different countries.
If you are paying by credit card, the website will charge you in whatever currency it uses (GBP, EUR, CHF), just as if you were buying it at a station in that country. It is your credit card company which will convert this amount to Australian dollars (AUD).
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
At http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/buying-tickets, you'll find links that (eventually) take you to each country's own web sites to book those tickets, which is cheapest, especially for locking in advance discounts for specific travel dates and time. "One-stop" shopping typically goes through a middle man, but actually no single web site has everything.
I would consider flying EasyJet from London to Amsterdam, which is usually cheaper than trains (Eurostar train to Brussels and a connection there to Amsterdam). Amsterdam-Paris by Thalys train and Paris-Basel by TGV are probably going to offer the greatest advance discounts.
Within Switzerland, a smaller Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare Card is an option and reserving trains ahead is generally not necessary.