I booked a train consultation - it was well worth it

How much did it cost?

And how does one connect with your train travel consultant?

I emailed the RS office, and they gave me a name and rate. It sounds like there is more than one RS person doing these on their own time. My consultation with Rich was $100 for 1/2 hour. I sent him a short email in advance with our itinerary so we could cover everything efficiently. I paid in advance via Venmo (he also takes other forms of payment.)

Thank you.

The Man in seat 61 is a great and free online resource for anything and everything you need to know about train travel in Europe
https://www.seat61.com/

I was going to mention the Man in Seat 61 too. Very good, comprehensive information and it's free.

The combination of the Man in Seat 61 and helpful people on the forum has been adequate for me in planning train travel. Just curious, though, does anyone else feel the Man in Seat 61 website is cumbersome? Sometimes, I feel like I just can't get to the answer to a specific question. I'm sure its hard to aggregate all the information.

Everyone has different comfort levels for different activities and different ways of retaining information. What works for one regular reader here doesn't necessarily work best for others. This post is helpful for listing the different methods.

I'm glad you found something that works for you, KC.

$100 for 30 minutes, maybe it's time to become a train consultant? If anyone has questions about train travel in Northern Europe, send me a pm…

Well, the consultant did do more than 30 minutes of work because he prepped for the meeting. But 100 seems like a lot.

I am delighted it was worth the price for you. Very comforting to go on your trip with a degree of comfort in your trans planning. I remember being really worried about trains our first time out.

I shudder to think how many hours I have spent helping friends with train plans and skills and nary a botte of wine to show for it.

Nigel, this could be a GREAT retirement gig for you!

Jules, if any "consultant" took more than 10 minutes to prep for a call like that, he isn't worth the name. He should already know just about everything except for the specific itinerary.

Glad that you found great help. I think travel agents can add plenty of value, esp. for those whose time is more important than money. In fact, with their advice, one can save plenty of $ during their trip.

Yeah, this sounds like a great job! I love planning train journeys - it's one of the most fun parts of my trip, personally.

I’d love to know what the consultant recommended, in general. Rail pass, point to point or something else?

I thought that was what this forum was here for but I am clearly mistaken.
And yes if he had to spend time "preparing" you seriously question his competence.
I saw the MNT where train planning was talked about and was hugely underwhelmed by the fellow there. What he said could just have been lifted from a Google search. His added value was zero.
$100 is breath taking, no matter how good the advice.
I do a lot of genealogy inquiries and don't charge a fraction of that. And still get a lot of people expecting things for free. In fact, ask me in the right manner and you will get freebies, for the love of it.
I'm more than happy and competent to do that for the UK and do that for free, for the love of it.
I prefer to do that through open forum, but will do it through PM as well.

I say do whatever rings your bell.

I spent hours for Switzerland the other day, reading Man in Seat 61, checking routes, prices, cards, lift prices, discounts, doing the calculations and finally making a decision. Lost a whole afternoon.

A consultant would have saved me several hours, making the $100 a bargain.

However, my personality wouldn't be at ease relying solely on another's advice. So, I spent 2-3 hours. You either spend time or you spend money. You spend no matter what.

isn31c

I really appreciate all the time and attention you spend on helping travelers with transportation in the British Isles. You are an amazing resource and so generous!

Many people don't want to make expensive mistakes and that additional comfort of having professional help is worth it. Not everyone needs or wants to develop those travel skills.

@jules m. I agree it is a bit difficult to navigate the site and get to the point. I think it's because it isn't specifically written for an audience of American travelers, to respond to our typical questions.

Sometimes the cost for peace of mind is entirely worth it. But I do feel I should leap to the defence of Nigel, Marco, isn31c (and others) who contribute frequently here - the info they give seems to me to be relevant, recent, accurate and well researched. And as isn31c noted, done for the love of it.

Ian

National Rail app or website.

All the paid info is available on the websites, Seat61, TripAdvisor, all free. I'm sure that's where Rick learned the ins and outs.

It is quite easy to book from the US. I had a number of tickets that were concealed back in 2020 due to Covid. No problem with refunds either. For short day trip jaunts, just walk into a station. Live people who will answer questions, or easy machine access.

Hopefully, there will be no train strikes. I advise downloading National Rail for up-to-date info. In buying tickets (or did Rick do that??), did you create an account so you will receive emails and/or texts in case of rail disruptions on your routes? I encountered a strike and multiple "works" that caused me to change plans last fall.

Enjoy the trip.

Thanks for the additional suggestions and comments - all duly noted. The Man in Seat 61 is obviously a great resource, and I love the multiple offers of free advice on this forum. I stand by my decision to pay for tailored advice for this particular unique trip of mine, but as always, "you do you!"

I'm afraid my comments read very abrupt and not very friendly! I didn't really intend that tone. Of course, "you do you"!! I'm sure that many would criticize some of my travel decisions.

It can't hurt to know of other options for gaining info, even if one doesn't decide to follow through.

Do you feel that a full service travel agent would have tried to up-sell you? Or not listened to what you wanted? I wouldn't have known to look for a consultant as an alternative.

The Man in Seat 61 is obviously a great resource, and I love the multiple offers of free advice on this forum. I stand by my decision to pay for tailored advice for this particular unique trip of mine, but as always, "you do you!"

Totally agree. Who knows when the much ballyhooed Man in Seat 61 last updated his website. Actually paying for good advice is a rarity these days.

Train travel is really not that hard. Just use the correct websites to buy your tickets.

Who knows when the much ballyhooed Man in Seat 61 last updated his website.

pretty much constantly.

but it is a big place and I'm sure nitpickers could find something that has changed.

He gives - gives - great information and has done reliably for a long time

"Man _ in _ Seat _ 61" is a Destination Expert in the "Train Travel" forum of TripAdvisor. He posts there regularly, every couple of days.

And in his website, in the "Contact" section, he invites people to email him directly with train questions. He won't plan your itinerary, but he will help with any train problems. All he asks is that you donate to UNICEF, if you find his advice helpful.

ORDtraveler, no offense taken. I don't generally use a travel agent because I am very picky about our flights, hotels and itinerary, know just what we want, and love doing the research and planning. In this particular instance, I found I wasn't enjoying it and decided to throw some money at it.

It never hurts to have one more opinion and/or knowledgeable info. $100.00 hardly seems much to me for peace of mind. I know the older I get the less time I want to spend researching details. Been there, done that.