Seat reservations with Eurailpass

For night trains - with or without a railpass - definitely make reservations ASAP! For railpass holder reservations, you'll probably have to use RailEurope.com. Where are you going (your point-to-point stops)? You may do better with p-t-p tickets...it depends. And when are you traveling? To answer your question, it's usually fine to make reservations a couple of days in advance.

If required you can reserve at the ticket offices/machines in most stations. Some routes, especially in France, have limited seats available for pass so reserved early.

The "need" for for reservations depends on the country, and on the route. As said, for night trains, you need reservations in advance. In Italy, most trains require reservations. In France, many do. In Germany and Switzerland, trains don't usually require reservations, and they are only useful on popular routes at peak times. For trains that have obligatory reservations, it again differs by country. France limits the number of reservations available to pass-holders, so you need to get these ASAP. Italy, to my knowledge, doesn't limit numbers this way, so you can get them much closer to your day of travel. If you post the train routes you are thinking of taking, others can give specific advice. I know part of the point of a pass is spontaneity, but unfortunately, changes in reservation rules have made this less possible than before. Even if you aren't sure you will be taking a particular route, post it anyway, so you can at least find out if there are any potential problems.

Thanks for your responses. We have already bought our Eurail passes and we have already booked our 2 night trains. I was just concerned about the normal day trains. We will be in London June 6th and already have Eurostar train to Brussels. From Brussels, we need to get to Amsterdam on June 9th, train to Paris on June 11th, already have night train to Nice, train from Nice to Cinque Terre on June 15, then train to Rome on June 17th, then train to Venice on June 19th, already have night train to Munich. Those are the train routes that I am concerned with. If I need to make seat reservations for any of those, do I need to make them before I get to Europe and if so, which website should I go to? I went to raileurope.com and they were wanting something like 87 euro for a set reservation. I thought a seat reservation would only cost about 11 euro. Help.

You are now seeing the seedy underbelly of rail passes. Are these trips you are taking in June 2012 or 2013? If 2012 many reservations may have gone, especially on the Thalys where they are strictly rationed. For the routes you have noted: From Brussels, we need to get to Amsterdam on June 9th, That could be the slower International train where reservations are neither offered nor needed or the much faster Thalys where ere they are strictly rationed. If Thalys the pass holder reservations will be very expensive, and this late may well be gone. train to Paris on June 11th, Definately Thalys where ere they are strictly rationed. If Thalys the pass holder reservations will be very expensive, and this late may well be gone. Nice to Cinque Terre Regional trains, no reservations needed unless you can catch an InterCity for the Genova bit - get the reservation (cheap) when you are in the station then train to Rome By now the MINI fares will have gone. You will either take an InterCity down the coast, or go into Florence and get a fast one, probably the former, you van reserve on line and I would. then train to Venice on June 19th,
Freccia, reserve asap for reservations, maybe a rogue MINI left which might be cheaper?

Now I am wondering why I bought a rail pass at all. What is the point? I am in big trouble if I can't get on a train on those days. It use to be so easy to just hop on a train with my pass and go. Where would I go to reserve a seat on some of these trains?

By the way, I am going this year, 2012. I didn't even think about reserving a seat for these trains, because in 2006 when I was there last, it was easy to just hop on a train. I am very upset right now. I am taking my two nieces, 16 & 18 yrs old and we are hopping from city to city. I have hotel reservations in every city already. What if I can't get on a train for that day? This is ridiculous. Help.

There is no quota for seat reservations in Italy so my advice differs slightly from Nigel's. Brussels-Amsterdam: As Nigel said, no reservations are possible on IC trains. Jump on any train. Amsterdam-Paris: It would be wise to buy your passholder fare tickets now at raileurope.com. (As Nigel said, this will cost you more than a simple seat reservation which is not possible to get on Thalys trains.) Nice-Cinque Terre: Do what Nigel said. Cinque Terre-Rome: Buy seat reservations at your first departure station for any legs that require them. They cost €3 for IC trains and €10 for high-speed EuroStar Italia trains. Rome-Venice: Buy seat reservations for a EuroStar Italia train when you get to Rome.

Thanks for all of your help. The raileurope website does not show all of the train times, so I called them and they were able to help me book my trains from Amsterdam -Paris for $97/per person fee (wow, expensive is right), then my trip from Cinque terre to Rome (actually I have to get to Florence and then they booked my highspeed train from Florence to Rome), then my train from Rome to Venice. The website just doesn't show all of the train times, so I was freaking out.
I feel better now that I have reservations.

It looks like your Amsterdam>Paris is Thalys; it's much cheaper to buy actual/regular tickets well in advance on the Thalys trains; their passholder supplements are notoriously expensive. Your 'real' ticket could've cost way less than the passholder fare :-( But, live and learn. Just because you have a railpass doesn't mean you have to use it on every route. Now, let it go (the panic and hassle). Focus on having a wonderful time with your nieces! THAT'S what this trip is really all about ;-)