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Train Reservations - BETS vs Euraide?

Posted by (Newton, MA, USA) on

Hello all - I did a search and was surprised I didn't find much. From what I have read it would seem you can actually make reservations (we have Eurail passes) with BETS and they don't only provide advice. I know with Euraide they charge $50 to make reservations for you. I have to make some required train reservations for my Spring trip and would prefer to use one company to be easier. I had thought of just using RailEurope but coincidently the routes I need aren't showing up.

I had contacted Euraide to book a City Night Line train 6 months in advance and they insisted I could not. I finally grew some patience and was able to make it again myself directly with Deutsche Bahn via phone(I booked it last year too). This concerned me...

I have been in contact with BETS on help with the cost of a different night train and they have been wonderful for advice so far.

Can anyone provide comments on which company is better to use to make train reservatinos and associated fees? Thanks!

Posted by
19092 posts

If the reservations are for express trains (ICE/IC/EC) in Germany, make your reservations online with Deutsche Bahn. That's the least expensive.

Last time I talked to BETS, they told me they get reservations from RailEurope. RailEurope, of course, charges a highly inflated price vs the real price over there.

Euraide has an office in the Munich main station with a DB ticket terminal. They actually write reservations, just like you would get at any ticket counter, and send them to the states for the $50 fee.

If you get many reservation from RailEurope at their high price, you will probably pay more than getting them through Euraide at the regular price plus the fee. But pay attention with Euraide. IMO, they will try to sell you more than you need.

Look carefully at the need for reservations. Unless the train specifically says "reservations required" (Thallys, TGV, Italian Eurostar) you probably don't need reservations at all. The exception might be on a very popular route on a holiday. In any case, you can probably get non-required reservations after you get to Europe.

Posted by
289 posts

Thanks Lee!

Almost all the reservations I need are Switzerland and Italy. The only reservation I would probably book with DB is the ticket to cover Prague to the border of Germany for my night train (I booked it with them last year directly).

Last year I was lucky with RailEurope - the reservations were easy to swallow for $10 each and I only needed them for a few trains.

This year I have a couple long routes (leaving and returning to zurich airport, milan to venice and coming off a night train in Switzerland). I am not getting reservations for any trains that do not require them (since we have a Eurail pass). There are 4 people traveling this year and we need to be sure we're on these trains together (in most cases, we need to be on a specific train at a specific time) so it's important we get reservations in advance.

It sounds like using Euraide may be my best option - thanks for your input!

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