Reservations with Eurail pass and cost vs. point to point tickets

Posted by Ken (Richardson, Texas, USA) on 09/14/08 11:39 AM

My husband and I are going to Brussels for business. We then are planning a trip to Heidelberg by train from Brussels, and then to Lucerne by train from Heidelberg. We finalize our trip when we fly to London for the return trip home. We plan to take day trips from Heidelberg visiting castles, and a trip up the Rhein. In Lucerne we would like to plan a trip to Interlaken and a tour of the Alps. Is a Eurail pass the way to travel or point to point? If we buy Eurail passes, how do we make reservations in advance? How do find out the cost of the reservations? Please let us know if you have any different recommendations on the best way to travel.

Thanks for your help,

Ken

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

09/14/08 11:55 AM

19099 posts

It would help to know what you mean by "castles". What castles? How far would you go? For local trips point-to-point is often less expensive than a day of your pass, and there are a lot of specials in Germany that save you money over point-to-point.

"Up the Rhein"? From Heidelberg, the Rhein flows down to the Northwest, through the Bacharach-Koblenz area to the North Sea. Up the Rhein is south, towards Basel, Switzerland. Are you planning to go by train or by boat?

If your only long trips are from Brussels to Heidelberg and from Heidelberg to Luzern you might find that you can do it for less than a pass (minimum 3 days) with promotional fares from the Bahn.

For your day trips from Heidelberg you probably don't need reservations at all. For Brussels to Heidelberg you can get reservation when you get to Brussels, and you can make your Heidelberg to Luzern reservations (about €3 per person) in Heidelberg. If you purchase promotional tickets from the German Rail (Bahn) site, you can get accompaning reservations for €2 per person.

Posted by Ken OP

Richardson, Texas, USA

09/14/08 01:34 PM

2 posts

You suggested purchasing promotional tickets from the German Rail (Bahn) site. When I go to their web site their are certain trips (example Brussels to Heidelburg) that will not give you a price period, not to mention a promotional ticket. The site says the fare can not be calculated. Any Suggestions?

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

09/14/08 01:50 PM

19099 posts

I went to the Bahn site and put in from: Brussels, to: Heidelberg, set the date for more than 3 days from today, and the time for 9:00. First it gave me options for Brussels; I selected "Brussels Centraal". Then it gave me 4 connections, none of which had the promotional (Savings) fare. The first two fares included Thalys and said, "Total fare cannot be calculated"; I guess DB doesn't book Thalys. The next two connections DID have fares, but no Savings fares.

So, I clicked on "later", and it showed me three more connections, all of which had "Saving fares" as low as €39.

Not every connection will have a Savings fare.

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

09/14/08 10:00 PM

19099 posts

BTW, if the trip "up the Rhein" actually means a visit to the Middle Rhein gorge, the section of the Rhein between Koblenz and Bingen, including St. Goar and Bacharach, you could stop there on the way from Brussels to Heidelberg.