I am going to be taking a few night trains in Europe - Vienna to Prague, Prague to Frankfurt, and Venice to Paris. I am a bit concerned with the trips getting booked so I was looking at making reservations on RailEurope's website.
My only concern is whether or not RailEurope's reservation prices are the same as those in Europe. Does anyone know if I would save money if I purchased the reservations once I am in Europe? Also, should I be worried about making reservations in advance? Thanks!
Raileurope is a ticket broker. As such, their prices are higher. But, unlike the day trains, the night train sleepers fill up early. It is highly likely that these trains would be fully booked when you arrive in Europe. You can buy the night train tickets in advance from the country train sites (i.e. www.bahn.de, www.trenitalia.com, www.oebb.at/en, www.tgv-europe.com) and when you go through these country sites, you often can get great special fares. But in all honesty, it's sometimes easier to pay the extra bucks and go through Raileurope. However, you won't get any special fares offerings. Get your night train tickets early.
If you want to know the actual prices charged in Europe for full fare accommodations on these night trains go to www.euraide.com. They'll get you the reservations at European prices, but they charge another $50 for the service.
For German night trains, if you book fa-a-a-r in advance, you can get very good SparNight fares online, often better than anything else you can get from over here.
The only "danger" of making these SparNight reservations in advance, online, is that they are often non-refundable (like airfares), so you had better be really commited.
As for the likelihood of night train accommodations being fully booked before you get to Europe, I have seen many cases where all of the "good" accommodations (sleeper, etc) were booked well in advance, and those who waited had to settle for reclining seats.
I've been trying all night to book a train from Paris to Venice & I have gone on the various European train sites, with great difficulty.
Kathy....do you already have a Eurail pass and are you just looking for reservations? What sites have you visited? What troubles are you having?
Larry and Lee, thank you for your responses. I went ahead and booked and feel much more relaxed now!
