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Train Reservation Fees with Rail Europe Pass

Posted by on

I'm working to price out options for a 4-week trip to Italy/Switzerland/Germany in December/January for our family of 5 (3 kids aged 8, 10 and 13). We are thinking we will take 3 long-haul train trips:
1. Rome - Zurich
2. Zurich - Munich
3. Munich/Innsbruck to Florence

I have been researching rail passes vs straight tickets and I think it will be less expensive for us to purchase a 4-day in a month rail pass but I don't know how to find if reservations are required for these trips and, if so, what the cost would be.

Also, does using a Rail Europe pass limit what trains you can travel on (ie. are you restricted to regional trains, etc.)? I read the pass conditions but it didn't mention anything about restrictions on it.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Posted by
85 posts

It’s been 40 years ago since I went backpacking with Interrail/Eurail but even then there were special trains that you had to pay a supplement for. If you download their app and plan a trip it should tell you if you need seat reservation etc.:https://www.eurail.com/en/plan-your-trip/rail-planner-app. Then you can compare it with booking straight tickets. Traintickets can cost more the longer you wait.

Posted by
20090 posts

You do not need a reservation on the Zurich-Munich train, but it would be nice to have since you want to keep everyone together. Other long distance trains in Italy require seat reservations.

Are you sure a Eurail Pass will save you money? When you book advance nonrefundable tickets, the seat reservations for Italian long distance trains are included in the price and can be surprisingly cheap.

Posted by
1653 posts

Zurich - Munich does not require a reservation, but that train is so popular that often people without reservations have been refused access to it. So do get them.

When comparing prices do use the websites of the railway companies themselves. Do not us a third party site.
The main issue you will run in to with a pass is getting the actual reservations. While it is easy to buy tickets on line, the only place you can reserve tickets for Italian trains against your Eurail Pass is the train station. And hopefully you encounter a ticket clerk that understands your request. My sister ran in to this issue last June, and ended up buying a ticket from Milano to the Swiss border (in Domodossola) in stead, which actually ended up even cheaper than the reservation would have costed.

Just wait for bookings for the winter timetable to open, and then just book tickets.

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