Help. Feeling overwhelmed a bit by the train booking process and trying so hard to save money. Last time I traveled by train in Europe it was by Eurail pass ... so simple. This trip I am taking family of 5 - 2 adults, 3 boys, ages 15,12,and 10. Wanting to book Paris to Interlaken, Interlaken to Venice, and Venice to Rome. Am thinking point to point might be best bet when compulsory reservations for our routes are considered, but became overwhelmed a bit trying to be sure about that versus rail passes. Went to AAA, which further confused matter; they seem to know less. My questions are: 1) Is RailEurope a good place to book or will I be paying more? 2) Time is now of the essence ... leaving on my trip in four days, first leg of these rail travels in 11 days. When adding trips to my shopping cart, RailEurope does not seem to want to give me the option to print tickets at home. Need to be able to print at home or at station OR pay to overnight?? How do I get that as an option? 3) Feel compelled to have this "settled" and safely taken care of before I leave, but am I at all better off waiting and handling at individual train stations in Europe??
4) Any other advice welcome!! Thanks.
Posted by
Toronto, Canada
415 posts
I believe that RailEurope is expensive because they don't offer the lowest fares. Re Paris to Interlaaken - try using www.sncf.com - you will find "FR" in the top right corner - click on that to get ENG for english. You can print out confirmation information which you then take to the station to get the actual tickets. You need to bring the credit card you used to buy the tickets with also. Once at the station you can use a ticket machine to get the physical ticket. I don't know if there is an option to print at home. I can't help you with the Interlaaken to Venice. As for Venice to Rome, you are likely too late to get the cheapest fares. there might still be some discounted tickets available. Some people have had trouble using the Trenitalia site, but it is possible to use it from the U.S. It's best to register first and then try to buy your tickets. You can print out the confirmation which is all you will need if you take a high speed train between Venice (pick Venice Santa Lucia, not Mestre)and Rome. The site is available in English. www.trenitalia.com or you can try another italian train company,Italo, who might still have cheaper fares available
http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx-also available in English. Usually discounted fares sell out quickly and you are likely too late to get them. In this case the easiest thing might be to buy once you arrive.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
TravelMom, first of all, all three of your children travel FREE in Switzerland as long as they travel with at least one parent with a valid ticket. Your children will need the Swiss Family Card or Swiss Junior Card to do this. Since you are traveling immediately, you might have to wait until you get to Switzerland to purchase these Junior tickets. You don't need a Eurail pass to do this. I suggest you buy tickets in Paris as soon as you arrive for a train ride from Paris to Basel SBB. If you buy a week early, there may still be a slight discount. I believe that your 10-year old can get a 50% discount (children up to 12) subject to availability. At Basel SBB, you buy your tickets to Interlaken. The fare should be around 80CHF for you. Ask for the Swiss family card. It's supposed to be free to a parent with a valid ticket. Once in hand, the children can do something you can't. They can ride free to the top of either the Jungfrau or Schilthorn. You can't. At Interlaken, buy your tickets to Venice. The children will ride free to the border. Then, they will be full adult fare for the remainder of the journey to Venice. Just show your family card to the agent when purchasing your tickets to Venice. The agent will make the fare adjustments. If you plan on going to the top of the Jungfrau or Schilthorn, as well as other Swiss travel, you might consider a Swiss 1/2 fare card. It costs 120CHF and its good for 30 days. It does what it says. 50% off on all trains, gondolas, boats, buses, etc. for 30 days. If you are not going to the mountain tops, and just doing minor travel in the Interlaken area, you won't need any type of Swiss pass or card. You need to spend about 240CHF in fares before its even worth buying the 1/2 fare card.
Posted by
OP
Charlotte, NC, USA
3 posts
Thank you so much for the great feedback. Particularly the advice on the Swiss Family Card - found that right after I posted, but have to say I was thinking of it as add on to a Swiss Rail pass, but good to know I can get with ANY ticket, and also hadn't occurred to me to book to border and then book the rest of the trip to Interlaken separately. Great advice. Also great advice on the website for Italy. The fare I found there was MUCH reduced over what I was finding on RailEurope, so that's much appreciated! Think I'm in much better shape, but still need to connect the dots. Best fare from Paris to Interlaken gets in after 11:00 which concerns me with the possibility of our room getting given away. Not a lot of affordable options there and don't want to be stuck with my family in the middle of the night... Anyway!!! Thank you for your assistance!