Selectpass reservations

You had better reserve your night trains well in advance of your arrival in Europe. You can probably to this with your credit card over the phone to one of the national rail lines (for instance, German Rail) for the same price you would pay over there. RailEurope will make reservations for you, but the accommodations they reserve are limited and the prices higher than over there. You can also get Euraide to make all of your reservations, at the price over there, plus a one-time fee of $50.

This is one of the dirty little secrets they don't tell you when you purchase a railpass - reservations are difficult and expensive.

As for validating, before you use the pass the first time, take it to any railway ticket counter and ask them to validate it. They will check the name on you passport and then stamp it with the date. Before using the pass each day, you must fill in that date. Be sure to use European format (day.month.year) and to make the numbers like the Europeans. For instance our "seven" (without a bar through the middle) is seen as a "one" over there. Don't make that mistake.

Lee has given you an excellent summary. For more details, click on the Railpasses tab at the top of the page you're reading now. You'll find many helpful pages to read. Also read the Railpasses section at www.seat61.com (an excellent train site).