Eurail Pass and Reservations

Prices for reservations vary widely. They are dependent upon the type of train (e.g., TGV, Thalys, EurostarItalia), ICE) type of ticket (e.g., reclining seat, couchette bunk, sleeper berth), and class.

Reservations made after you get to Europe are considerably cheaper than those made in the US through an online agency like RailEurope. Making multiple reservations through Euraide can be a bit cheaper. Read the railpass section on the RS site and on www.seat61.com for detailed information.

One of the cheapest ways to make reservations from home is to call the Die Bahn (German national rail) Call Centre. You'll get the "in Europe" rate for the price of a phone call. Dial 011 (US & Canada international access code) + 49 (country code for Germany) + 1805 996633. The DB Web site (www.bahn.de) is also the best source for train timetables for most of Europe.

That depends. Where are you traveling to/from?

Reservations on trains starting and ending in Germany (some just going through) can be made on the Nachtzugreise website, http://buchung.nachtzugreise.de or City Night Line, www.citynightline.ch. Reservations from these websites will cost the least, the same as if you bought them at a counter over there.

You can also get reservations from Euraide, www.euraide.com. They buy them for you at a counter in Europe for that price and ship them over here for a $50 service charge (per order).

Rail Europe also sells reservations, but they charge more than the European fare and don't have reservations for all of the trains.

Full night train tickets for many European trains can be purchased from French Rail, www.sncf.fr, and Italian Rail, www.trenitalia.com. Check those prices before you commit to a rail pass.

European rail websites often have special fares at less than the cost of a reservation plus a day of your rail pass.