Eurail pass train reservations

Where are you traveling from and to? What do you mean that you need assurance that you will make a flight? Are you concerned that you won't have a seat?

It's easy to make yourself on www.bahn.de

You can make reservations, but you do not need a reservation to assure you make a flight. For that what you need to do is plan on taking a train that brings you to the airport on time.

You assure that you are on the train you want by being on time at the station. A reservation does not assure that. Only planning does.

most trains in Germany have no reservations needed and on some none are offered.

Where are you trying to get from and where are you going to?

Yes, my concern is that we won’t get a seat and therefore not get on the train and therefore miss our flight. I don’t seem to have the ability to make reservations at all, even throughout Switzerland.

Also wondering why we can take a train all the way from Zurich to Munich but from Munich to Zurich we have to take a bus part way.

Thank you all for your quick responses!

Why do you think you need a seat? If there are no seats, you just stand. It isn’t like an airplane. No one is checking tickets before boarding….

What website are you using? What airport are you trying to get to?

I'm a little confused.

Are you trying to reserve a seat connected with a Eurail Pass?

You didn't say it directly, but I think, even though you posted this question on the Germany forum, you are trying to get seat reservations on Swiss Rail trains.

I don't know that answer for Swiss Rail off the top of my head, but I can tell you how to do it in Germany, if that's any help.

First thing you need to know is that only the long distance trains (ICE, IC, & EC) of the Bahn have seat reservations. Regional trains are completely open seating.

On the opening page of the German Rail website, put in your to and from stations, the date and the time. Then scroll down the page to where, next to "Search", it says "Seat only, no ticket". Click on that box and follow instructions from there.

For Switzerland (I just looked it up), go to the Swiss Rail website (in English). Click on "Travel Cards and tickets", then on "Seat reservation".

BTW, I've been on a few reservable trains on which all seats were occupied, but most seats were not reserved for the person in it. There are plenty of reservable seats available right up to train time. You should be able to reserve a seat a few days in advance from a ticket counter when you are in the country.

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"Yes, my concern is that we won’t get a seat and therefore not get on the train and therefore miss our flight"

You can lay that concern to rest. You do not need a seat reservation to be able to get on a train. The only thing that you need to be able to get on a train is be at the platform a minute or two before departure, and then find yourself a door. Then get on, and find yourself a free seat. And if there are no free seats you may have to stand a bit until a seat frees up. But that is rare, especially in Switzerland.

Trains are mass transit. You are worrying unnecessarily.

"Also wondering why we can take a train all the way from Zurich to Munich but from Munich to Zurich we have to take a bus part way."

What are your travel dates? It is probable that on one of your dates there is a planned interruption to do maintenance, and for that reason you are transported in a bus part of the way.

A train that does not require reservations means exactly that. There’s no secret method to getting what doesn’t exist.

Don’t agonize over seat reservations, but in summer time be prepared for crowded trains. I’ve sat on my bags a number of times in jam packed German trains that offer reservations including ICEs,. You’ll get to your destination but it might not be fun.

You all have been fantastic- thank you very much for answering my questions!!!

from Munich to Zurich we have to take a bus part way.

I just spot checked Munich to Zürich connections on the Bahn for 3 random days in the next two months, and none of them had a bus part way, so I can't comment on it. Sometimes, when they are doing track work they temporarily bus you around the segment. On the Bahn website the bus would be called an 'SEV' (Schienen Ersatz Verkehr - rail transportation replacement) but then it works both directions on a given day. Were the connections you found on different days?

When people ask questions like this, they should include the instance(s).