We are looking at possibly getting a 2 month saver Eurail global pass for travel through Europe June - August. Since we are over 26 we would have to get the 1st class one, so I was looking for advice on reservations for trains in Spain/France, I did a cost analysis and it looks like a win (slightly cheaper then 2nd class travel for 1st class travel). I have been reading and people have reported issues getting on certain high speed trains even with 1st class seating (even during offpeak times) with the Eurail Pass. Have others encountered this in Spain/Frace/Italy, or is it something I really shouldn't be worried about? My biggest concerns are: Madrid->Barcelona Along southern France until Italy Travel throughout italy Travel into Paris
(I plan to reserve a Eurostar ticket to London soon) Any advice would be appreciated!
In your cost comparisons did you add in the reservations fees that are required and especially the higher fees for the high speed/premium trains? Some trains have limited seats available for passes but that is hard to predict as to which trains and when.
Yeah I included the reservation costs for the trains, since we are traveling across most of western Europe the cost ended up being about equal to what I could buy tickets for 2nd class on the same trains I needed.