Hello, my wife and I are going a month long european honeymoon in August 2014. We have a 5 country select railpass and were curious about booking reservations for the night trains. We are planning to do 2 night trips (Amsterdam- Prague) and (Munich-Venice). We are not sure how to go about booking reservations only for those trips and how far in advance that would need to be done. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Posted by
Green Bay
21107 posts
The reservations go on sale at Deutsche Bahn (operator of both trains) 3 months in advance, so if your travel dates are August 12 or earlier, you can book now, otherwise wait until the appropriate date. You should book as soon as possible if you want some type of sleeping compartment because these sell out fast in the summer. If you are using a Eurorail Pass, you can book by clicking on the small "Book only extra charges" message at the bottom right hand corner of the page where you select your compartment (couchette, economy double, or deluxe double sleeper). Then click on pass type on the next page (Interrail or Eurorail), and then you'll get the price for the compartment. Example, on Aug 7, Munich-Venice, I get a Savings fare of 278 euro for 2 in a double sleeper if buying without a pass, and a fare of 180 euro for the sleeper with a Eurorail pass.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Hey, thank you both for the responses. We are reconsidering the Munich to Venice night train to see the scenery. Nice to know it's beautiful. However, when I look up the Amsterdam to Prague train I can't find the "extra charge only" box to click. Its within 3 months and I went through the process all the way to payment. There was one box that said "seat reservation only" but that popped up an error message that made me unclick it.
Posted by
Green Bay
21107 posts
Interesting. I do see it if I try to book Amsterdam-Dresden, 338 euro with economy double sleeper, or 180 euro extra charge only. If you try to book Amsterdam-Prague, it gives only 188 euro for double sleeper. I'd almost say that under the circumstances, book with out a pass day. It must have something to do with the change from Germany to Czech Republic.
You can always email Deutsche Bahn.
Posted by
Green Bay
21107 posts
I would assume OP wants the direct CNL 457 train leaving Amsterdam at 19:01 going via Cologne, Dortmund, Berlin, Dresden.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thanks again guys for your responses and effort. We did book the city night line leaving at 19:01 just with the comfort seat compartment for 98euros. It was ticket and reservation so we will have that extra travel day to use elsewhere. Since we are probably not going to do the Munich-Venice night train anymore we were thinking of new routes to Venice. We re in Munich until the 19th but don't have reservations in Venice until the 23rd, so that gives us 4 nights to play with. We were thinking possibly 2 nights in Salzburg and 2 in Hallstatt, then travel to Venice, but we are open to suggestions since we are European newbies.