There has , of course , been much back and forth , about purchasing hotels , and rail tickets ( and more ) on the official sites , and third party sites . For those of us who prefer to buy direct , without a middleman , here is a great example of why it is important to look closely when making the distinction between the two . A short disclaimer - I only make my purchases and reservations direct with the operators , never with third party sites . Look at this search listing for OeBB ( Austrian State Railways - https://www.bing.com/search?q=obb&form=ANNTH1&refig=f671143e0d574c60be6ecd6885a406c4&sp=1&qs=LS&pq=obb&sc=8-3&cvid=f671143e0d574c60be6ecd6885a406c4 The first listing appears to be genuine , it isn't . Look down few notches for the real OeBB site . I am finding this sort of thing increasingly more prevalent of late . A sharp eye is worth cultivating . EDIT - Having just done a search on both sites for a ticket , Salzburg to Vienna , in October 2022 The price on the true Oebb site is about 50 Euro as opposed to 145Euro on the third party site
Posted by
Freedonia
15040 posts
If you use Google search the real site comes up first.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8150 posts
When we're going to travel by train, I often will go into the train station and book the reservations in person the day before we leave--in the middle of the afternoon when the offices are not busy. I gave up trying to book a train from Vienna to Prague online.
Life's not worth arriving late for the train and trying to get through a ticket que--while the train's pulling out of the station. I did that in Civitavecchia one Sunday, and the hourly trains only go out every 2 hours. That was a long wait for us.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Even in the States and not travel related.... I'm a florist. If you google "florist in town name" the first results you get are likely to be 3rd parties—nothing more than a call center and a website. They'll charge you a "service fee", and then call actual florists in the town to get bids on the job at the lowest price. Then they keep the spread on what you thought you were paying for and what they actually paid for it. Of course, there is a degradation in the product.
(We don't take these orders in my shop. Our reputation is too important to send out a $60 arrangement that someone paid $125 for.)
Posted by
741 posts
Get the apps for the train you are looking to travel on. Germany- DB. France - SNCF. Italy - Trenatalia. Google others.