Eurail pass - I hope I didn't make a mistake

Too late for regrets.

First don't use GoEuro - I don't even know who that is.

Give me a minute to post useful information.

You shouldn't go to the Eurail website, but to that of the actual railway company. In your case that's the national Hungarian or Austrian railway company. I tried to get a reservation-only ticket with the OEBB. It is a terrible website, but after trying out some buttons I found an »I already have a ticket« option and managed to get a reservation-only ticket for Budapest to Innsbruck for a random date in August for EUR 3. You can pay by credit card and you get your ticket as an emailed pdf for printing at home.

Not sure where you saw that train needs a res - it does not.

what other trains do you need? You can either post them here or send them to me in a pm and I will help you get it sorted.

Also here is some great info on what trains need res:

https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#country-by-country-railpass-reservation-fees

The reason Rail Europe is only showing a night train is because that is the only one that requires a reservation. If you want an optional seat reservation, just buy it at the station when you get there.

I use a Pass and in your case would buy the seat reservation in Budapest. You can tell them that you have a Pass or not. I've done it both ways when buying only a seat reservation, esp on an EN night train.

Passes are a luxury option that are never cost effective. I'm concerned that you say you did loads of research but are unfamiliar with the websites of the actual rail companies where you get actual (not inflated) prices. What is your planned route? Did you read through this website- https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm?

I think Eurail is only able to show direct trains. Budapest-Innsbruck is every 2 hours but requires a change of train. The 2 trains are coupled together from Vienna to Salzburg (but without the option to walk through) you can change at either point but Vienna is probably best. Both trains are Austrian Railjets (think of the Hungarian section of the journey as a code share). The trains leave Budapest Keleti station at 40 minutes past ODD hours and pick up at Kelenföld station in the southern outskirts. Reservation is optional ( it's compulsory for internal travel within Hungary). If you are in Hungary prior to the travel day simply go to a main MAV station (in Budapest that would be either Déli, Keleti or Nyugati in the city or Kelenföld on the outskirts) and ask at the ticket desk. I think they can access all Railjets so should be able to provide the Vienna- Innsbruck section as well.

I never reserve in Austria, Germany, Switzerland except for very long journeys at busy weekends. Singles or couples can usually find a seat, reservations are only really needed for groups or if you want a specific type of seat. My long distance travel in Hungary is limited to a Railjet and it was half empty!

Can you return an unused Eurail Pass and receive a refund? I feel sorry for newbie travelers who buy into the idea that a Eurail Pass is a good idea. They're overpriced, difficult to use sometimes, difficult to understand - point to point tickets are almost always the best way to go.

Eurail pass materials say that pass holders need a seat reservation for the RailJet departing Budapest, even though Austrian trains don't otherwise require reservations. There's no deadline to reserve. Just request your reservation to the connection point at Vienna. If you want to reserve both legs, Rail Europe's shopping would need you to break that request into two. DB schedules show that the connection is often all on one platform in Vienna, usually at track 8.

If you'll take some trains in France or Spain that require reservations, those are recommended to book further ahead. When reservations are not required, as in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, I also usually would not bother. The DB schedule web site is usually the best resource to know when reservations are required, but they've dropped the ball this year on Italian trains, many of which require seat reservations - but they are not artificially limited and are easy to buy on short notice.

@Laura - where did you see that? I have looked and do not see that is required.

According to seat61:

Budapest to Munich by RailJet train: No supplement. No reservation necessary.

Innsbruck is on this line. If this is not correct I know he'll want to update his site.

Thanks

I am not clear as to how you can find out how much a point to point tickets costs to analyze whether or not a rail pass is the right deal. I can't seem to find a site that quotes the prices. Thanks for any suggestions.

@threadwear. For prices, there is not "a" site (except for Rick's schematic in the trains section) but you can look at the national rail website for the country where each train trip begins or ends, then see the prices for buying day-of ("base" fare) and booking ahead by changing the trip date and noting how the prices change (upward) as the lead time gets shorter.

Christi is correct on the main part, Railjet departures from Budapest do not need reservations for international travel - they do for internal travel to stop them getting filled by local travellers.

But Innsbruck is not on the Budapest-Munich line. There is an overlap of two lines and in some cases the two trains may be coupled together between Vienna and Salzburg.

Railjet is just a brand name used by OBB, originally it was their best train but now almost all their fast long distance day trains use the term.

Regarding the Budapest-Vienna leg, even if reservations are not necessary I would highly recommend them, particularly for weekend travel. Easy to purchase at the station a day or so before, and SO useful to have when you shoo people out of your seats and into the aisle standing room.