Thanks to folks here, I have discovered the vastly better pricing and availability of tickets on Trenitialia.it and Bahn.de vs. RailEurope's skimpy, overpriced ion. Now, what is the best way to actually get the tickets. It seems that electronic delivery from Bahn.de requires the receipt number and also the purchasing credit card when I am in Europe. But must I be in Germany to get the tickets. I am looking at a trip from Brussels to Koln but not sure how I would get the ticket in Brussels. As for Italy, it seems like I can print the tickets at machines in train stations? Thanks for any additional tips.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1260 posts
Hi Glenn. For trips within Italy, for inter city or high speed trains, you can get tix via email and print yourself. For regional trains, best to wait and buy when there. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Glenn, I recently bought a ticket from bahn.de (Berlin-Warsaw) and received confirmation and an e-ticket within minutes via email, which I printed out at home. Same process for Trenitalia.com. Before you purchase your ticket, let your bank or credit card company know that you'll be making international purchases online and in Europe, so they don't decline your transaction as suspicious activity.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Deutsche Bahn operates a regular ICE service between Brussels and Frankfurt via Liege, Aachen and Köln 3 times a day. If you take one of these specific trains, you can book it directly from the Deutsche Bahn website and print out your ticket at home. There is also direct connections just about every hour between the two cities via the Thalys highspeed line that you can purchase from the Thalys website. Otherwise, riding combinations of Belgian rail, Thalys and Deutsche Bahn, you can purchase one ticket for the whole journey at the station in Brussels.