ok, we leave in 5 week for europe. we have our rail passes and our schedule is set. i am trying to figure out which trains i need to try to get reservations for. here are the legs i am concerned about: Brussels-Paris Paris- Rothenburg Munich-Verona venice-Florence how do i go about this? my biggest concern right now is brussels-paris, i would like to know how much the reservations are vs just buying a ticket. (thalys has them for $70ea) also the paris to rothenburg, can i wait until we are in paris or will that fill up too?
thanks for any info!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Reservation prices are addressed in the Rail Pass section, above, or here. Paris to Rothenburg: If you take an express train (TGV or ICE) from Paris to Germany, reservations are mandatory. Reservations without a ticket are not available online from the Bahn. Munich to Verona: Reservations are not required on the day trains, but are advisable. Reservations without a ticket are not available online from the Bahn. You can probably get them in Munich. Venice to Florence: reservations are required on Italian Eurostar. You should be able to get them before train time.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Passholders traveling on Thalys trains (Brussels-Paris for you) must buy special passholder fare tickets, not simple seat reservations. Bought on www.thalys.com, they are €30 for 2nd class and €42 for 1st class. Booked on the Thalys site, the cheapest 2nd class discount fare ticket is €29. When the allotted number of discount fare tickets are sold for the lowest price level, the fare will increase to the next level.
Posted by
OP
shalimar
74 posts
on the thalys website where do i go to find the special rail holder tickets? thanks!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I gave you incorrect information when I said that you could buy passholder fare tickets on the Thalys site. Here's a quote from that site about how to buy those tickets: "Only available from international ticket offices at SNCB (Belgian National Railways), SNCF (French National Railways), DB (German National Railways) and NS (Netherland Railways) stations or by telephone: + 33 892 35 35 36." You can buy passholder tickets on the Rail Europe site, but they cost more than buying them in Europe or over the phone. However, there is a limited number of passholder fare seats on each train. If you wait until you get to Brussels to buy them, they may be gone. To get the in-Europe price in advance, your best option is to call the number listed above. If you're open to taking a TGV from Brussels to Lille and another TGV from there to Paris, you can buy simple seat reservations for each leg which together will still cost a lot less than Thalys passholder tickets. Again, it's wise to buy them in advance because French Rail also limits the number of passholder seats on TGVs. You can get them from Rail Europe.