Reservations for hourly trains?

Unless you are travelling during a busy holiday period or on trains where reservations are compulsory, you probably don't need a reservation. And if you make them very far in advance you lose a lot of flexibility in your schedule.

If you are talking about regional trains, they probably probably don't even have reservations. For regular express trains that run hourly, I don't think think you need reservation. If you want them, over there, they are probably €4 per seat, and you could surely find available reservations a day or so before.

However, if you are talking about a "premium" train, like Thalys or TGV, then you should have reservations. Most of the cost of "reservations" on Thalys is a supplement because Eurail does not completely pay for your fare, so you will have to pay it anyway. "Passholder fares" on these trains are limit, so get them in advance, even if it is as late as the day you arrive. I have heard horror stories of people with railpasses being unable to get out of Brussels when they want to in peak times because all the passholder fare are already sold out.

If you take an IC train rather than a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Brussels, all you need to do is show up at the station and jump on the train. The IC trains are just as fast and no reservations are possible.

In Italy you might be fined (need to pay a supplement) if you board some of the faster trains in Italy with just a pass without having paid the supplement before boarding. it's best to check with an agent before boarding. give the agent the train number to simplify things. if you don't speak Italian and find an agent who doesn't speak English, write down the train number beforehand and print the question "BISOGNA FARE UNA PRENOTAZIONE O PAGARE UN SUPPLEMENTO?" and show him your pass.

Lindsey, you're separating "reservation" from the ticket. You can't reserve a ticket in advance. Since you have a pass, your are reserving a seat on a train. That's the reservation. Just show up at the train station, show your pass and for faster trains, pay a "reservation" fee. As Susan mentioned, don't get on a fast Italian train without first paying for the supplement. In Italy, these fees run from 3Euro to 30Euro on the Eurostar trains.

If you want to avoid the fees in Italy, jump on the slower R and IC trains. They're slower because they stop at every stop. As mentioned above, these class of trains have no reservations or seat assignments. You just get on and take your seat. Just like MARTA in Atlanta. The ICPlus, AV, ES and night trains will require seat assignments (better known as "reservations").

Just a quick observation. You mentioned that you had saved $$$$ by getting a railpass as opposed to buying p2p tix. That is rarely the case. Bcuz you must buy 1st class (unless you are kids), your fare on each train works out to about double what you pay for 2d class p2ps

just to clarify... if you have a pass and board a faster train in Italy without paying the supplement ahead of time, not only will the ticket checker on board (il controllore) make you pay the supplement, but you will also have to pay a fine (ouch)

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice. I rechecked the figures today, and even after paying supplements we still save over $50 with our railpasses, not much in the scheme of things maybe, but gives us peace of mind and every little bit helps! I think I understand the train system a little better, from your answers and my research, so thanks!

I'm with you Lindsey; got the same (B/F/I) pass, doing some 'fast/overnite' trains on our trip (necessary reservations already booked) and feel more relaxed knowing everything's done. Doing some day trips on IC trains too, obviously, but when I 'shook the tree', I'm not going to jeopardize peace of mind to save $100 on a $10K trip. You have fun and take full advantage of your pass on the short haul/IC trains from your home bases.

Thanks Geoff,makes me feel better!:) I hope y'all have a great trip as well

To that end, just a reminder for those considering comparing passes to point-to-point tickets. DON'T do the comparison using Rick's site, RailEurope's, or any other site that's geared to sell passes. You will find most of their point to point tickets priced MUCH higher than can be obtained via the web at the national rail sites. If you have a proposed itinerary, you can always post it here, and there are many who will be able to point you to the correct websites to do a comparison.