Hi, I'll be spending the month of August visiting London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, and am wondering whether anyone has advice on buying train tickets between these cities. Should I buy the rail tickets individually or is there a pass I can buy that would be more economical? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! It's my first time to Europe... Best,
Zak
You'll get the cheapest prices by purchasing tickets individually direct from the train operator's website. London to Paris purchase tickets from the Chunnel site: http://tinyurl.com/chunnel-train Paris to Amsterdam is handled by the Thalys high-speed train: http://thalys.com Amsterdam to Berlin purchase at the German Rail site: rail.de The sooner you book the cheaper it will be. 120 days in advance allowed for the Chunnel, 90 days for Thalys and German DB.
www.seat61.com will tell you everything about rail travel.
Just to emphasize Michael's point that if you want the least expensive tickets on these routes, you should buy them (direct from the websites he posted) ASAP. Ticket prices on these routes only go up as you get closer to travel and as the cheaper tickets sell out. To see how much you save, look at tickets for tomorrow and for your intended travel dates.
Thank you! I've started booking the individual train tickets, as it seems a rail pass would not make sense on this trip. I still have to book my ticket from Amsterdam to Berlin. Seems like there aren't any night train options, so I'll have to go with a day trip. Much to see out the window?... Thanks for your help! Best,
Zak