Does anyone know if we need to reserve train tickets (especially on overnight and international trains) ahead of time - i.e. from the USA before we leave for Europe. Or will it be ok to reserve the tickets after we get there? This is for travel in July.
We already have the railpass but are not sure about reservations.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
If you plan on any night trains, get the reservations as soon as they become available. Night trains are popular and they fill up. For the other EC-type trains (international), it depends on if you are willing to invest a bit of time in the train station to get your seat reservations. If you are willing, just show up at most any train station in the country of departure a few days in advance and get your reservations. If you are not willing, you can get the reservations from Raileurope before you leave.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Depends on which trains you're taking. Many high speed services require reservations, and spots set aside for rail pass holders are extremely limited. Many of these high speed services will also require that you pay a supplement above and beyond your rail pass. Any overnight train will require a reservation and supplement for your sleeping accommodations. Most overnight trains in the summer are EXTREMELY popular and, again, spots for railpass holders are very limited. Check the German national rail site at bahn.de to see which of the trains you plan to take require reservations (marked with a white R in a red circle, or noted as requiring a supplement for sleeping accommodations.) Depending on which countries you are in, some reservations might be made by phone. But at this late date, you may be stuck reserving at the higher prices offered at RailEurope or Euraide (www.euraide.de)....or you may be out of luck completely.
Posted by
Newton, MA, USA
289 posts
On my trip in May I did reserve some tickets ahead of time for the recommended legs (the longer than 2 hour trains). Even though it was more money with Rail Europe I'm glad I did. It was very smooth for us getting in and out of the train stations since we had our ticket and those stations tended to be very busy and we had never been to them before. We had first class Eurail Passes and sometimes there was only 1 car so there was limited seating. For us it was worth the peace of mind and convenience since we'd never done this type of travel before and I would likely pre-buy tickets again for the extra cost.