I have read the pages on rail europe and am still unsure. I only need to reserve a train if it is high speed. I am only traveling in france switzerland and italy so I believe the only one is TGV.
I need to know if I need to reserver for the following trips
from paris to Bern YES
Bern to Geneva NO?
Geneva to nice Yes
nice to Monterosso No
Monterosso to milan No
Any help would be great. Thanks
Derek, it Italy, you will need seat reservations for any ICPlus or Eurostar-class train. The ICPlus train is about 5Euro. The Eurostar-class trains are 15E-20E. Many of the train runs on the journey you describe will most likely have one of these two types of trains. I can't really tell unless I know which run you will select. You don't need reservations on the Regionale (R) trains. You will be on some of those. If you are unsure, it would be best to show your pass at the ticket window and let them decide if there are any extra fees.
Thank you for the response.
So I can pay these extra fees at the ticket window?
And are these extra fees the prices listed on raileurope.ca after you select that you have a railpass?
When should you book in advance. Do these trains get booked up/ full?
If any leg of your trip from Paris to Bern is on a TGV, you will pay a seat reservation fee for that portion. Bern-Geneva: no. Geneva-Nice: yes for any leg on a TGV.
As Larry says, what you'll have to pay for Nice-Monterosso depends on what types of trains you take. For example, at one time of the day you'll be on an IC train (€5) for the first leg and a EuroStar Italia train (€15) for the second leg. At other times of the day you would be on regional trains and IC trains or just regional trains.
To see Rick Steves' list of reservation fees for passholders, go here.
Buy your reservations as you go in Europe, preferably a day or two ahead for Paris-Bern and Geneva-Nice. No hurry for Nice-Monterosso.
