Booking trains in advance?

Posted by Mandy C (Washington, DC) on 07/13/18 10:54 PM

Hi,

I'm leaving for a month long trip all around western/central europe on August 1st and I'm curious if I should book my train travel in advance. Would it save me money, or does it all end up being about the same? What are the pros and cons? The last time I took an extensive trip to Europe I did book the trains in advance, but this time I'll be alone so I'm not sure it's necessary. Let me know what you guys think!

My itinerary is as follows:
Paris, France
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Salzburg, Austria
Vienna, Austria
Budapest, Hungary
Krakow, Poland
Prague, Czechia
Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Posted by Andrew H.

Portland, Oregon

07/13/18 11:05 PM

5687 posts

Pros of booking in advance::
Saving money (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot)
Guaranteeing a seat (in case you want a train that winds up selling out)

Cons of booking in advance
Cheap advance fares usually lock you in and make a change of plans expensive or impossible

I'd guess most of these would be cheaper to book ahead of time. I'd visit the website www.Seat61.com for all kinds of details of how to book what, where, how, and whether you should (or can).

Posted by Laura B

San Francisco Bay Area

07/13/18 11:27 PM

5697 posts

At this point, we can say you "should have booked long distance train fares in advance" if you wanted to save money -- the big savings were a while ago.

Salzburg>Vienna can be bought on board the Westbahn train.

Posted by Mandy C OP

Washington, DC

07/13/18 11:30 PM

2 posts

When was I supposed to buy them to get bigger savings?

Posted by Andrew H.

Portland, Oregon

07/13/18 11:31 PM

5687 posts

3-4 months ago or as soon as they go on sale, as you would with airfares.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

07/14/18 12:12 AM

28073 posts

You may still save a fair amount, especially if you can be flexible about the time of day you travel. You won't know until you check fares for your travel dates vs. for traveling today or tomorrow. Take a look at trainline.eu. Start with Paris-Lauterbrunnen and Berlin-Amsterdam.

Posted by Floris

07/14/18 06:50 AM

143 posts

Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands

assuming you are not directly going to the airport, but are staying one or more nights in Amsterdam:
Tickets for Berlin - Amsterdam Central can be bought via bahn.com (the railway company). Do this asap as tickets will become more expensive. There are direct trains from Berlin to Amsterdam Central station. When in Amsterdam you can just buy a singe ticket to Schiphol for 5.30 euros. This can be bought online via https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/s/enkele-reis for 4.30 euros.

If you are only staying one or two days in Amsterdam, you can also buy a ticket Berlin - Schiphol via bahn.com and add an intermediate stop (Amsterdam Centraal) for up to 48 hours (under further options). In that case you would not have to buy a separate ticket Amsterdam C - Schiphol.

If you are directly going to the airport. Buy a ticket at bahn.com from Berlin to Schiphol. The easiest route would have one change at Amsterdam C.