I've made other posts about night trains and through the threads I've learned a lot about travel on a night train. However, I became bogged down when it came to making a reservation vis-à-vis the pre-purchase of a 4-country Pass. This lead to my posting questions that apparently were a bit convoluted, and the threads got overly complex, so, with the urging of some of you that responded, I deleted most of them. I'm going to try to keep the one lingering issue as simple as I can; here goes. The Situation I'll purchase on RS's site a 6-day 4-country Pass in the next few days (mid January). We will use the last (6th) day Pass on a night train from Prague to Frankfurt departing Prague May 13 at 18:29 arriving Frankfurt (Main) Süd May 14 at 3:59, this is on CN 458 Phoenix. A reservation for a 2-bed compartment deluxe (with lavatory and WC) can't be made until around February 10--or 90 days prior to use. The Question With the Pass purchased earlier, can I on February 10 or there about, go to the DB web site and purchase the reservation for the CN 458 Phoenix and, in effect, "piggy back" the reservation with the Pass?
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3049 posts
You won't be able to purchase this on the DB website - they don't do reservations only for International Trains. You may be able to purchase the reservation over the phone, however. The reservation suppliment will be 110 Euro. (ouch!) Have you looked into whether a Eurail pass is the best option for you? It's unlikely it will save you money...
Posted by
Texan in CA
4408 posts
You could book for around €104 total, IF you're willing to give up the toilet and shower in your compartment...OR, you could book a ticket for around €134 for the toilet and shower. That's gotta be cheaper than the supplement AND that portion of the railpass. Also, have you absolutely ruled out a €29 day bus/train? Do you already have plans for arriving in Frankfurt at 4:00am?
Posted by
OP
Cincinnati, OH, USA
768 posts
Sarah You mentioned "they (DB) don't do reservations only for International Trains". How about night trains within Germany? I've run the cost comparison on the Pass vs. point to point tickets, the Pass is best for us-by about $200/each. Regarding the Pass, our last day will be the date we board the night train to Frankfurt. When we arrive at our destination it will no longer be our "last day", how does this work vis-à-vis the 6-day pass? Eileen
We're not crazy about the 4:00 h arrival, but we're early risers when home, so it is tolerable (barely). We'll go to the Hauptbahnhof, put our luggage in a locker, get some breakfast, and see a bit of Frankfurt. Our plane doesn't depart until 13:30 h. We're now looking at a slight "tweak" to the route. Bearing in mind the night train from Prague departs 18:29 h arrives Frankfurt 3:59 h. The tweak is this: We can depart Prague 16:29 h (day train) arrive Dresden 18:45 h and depart Dresden (night train) 21.04 h arrive Frankfurt 8:37 h. This is more humane than the Prague-Frankfurt schedule plus we have the opportunity to have dinner in Dresden (any suggestions?). More importantly, the Reservation/Supplement for the deluxe 2-bed compartment is not an International train. This said, if we make this change, can I then use the Pass with the "piggy back" reservation booked through the DB (on line)? Please clarify something you both referenced: is a reservation/supplement (only) going to cost €110 for each of us and the cost of a one-way ticket including a deluxe 2-bed compartment is €134 each?