My wife and I are participating on a Rick Steve's tour that begins in Cologne and ends in Vienna. At that point, we plan to take a train from Vienna back to Paris with a one night stopover in Basel, Switzerland. The number of websites available to booked train tickets is many at best. We have very set schedules, so dates of travel are known with minimal flexibility. Any suggestions of which website is the simplest to purchase point to point train tickets? Will need to print tickets here at home on computer before leaving on trip. AAA is assisting with the trip after the Rick Steve's Tour portion and they suggest the Rail Europe site.
Posted by
Sweden
6375 posts
Avoid Rail Europe and other resellers, all they do is add a booking fee to the transaction. Buy the tickets from the companies that actually runs the trains. To get from Vienna to Basel, buy the tickets from www.oebb.at or www.sbb.ch, for Basel to Paris, buy them from www.sbb.ch or www.sncf-connect.com
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13934 posts
You don't actually need to print the tickets if you both have smartphones. You can purchase on the apps for the train companies listed above or usually you can book on your computer then download the app and add the ticket in to the app.
If you don't want to download the apps you can access the email with the tickets on your phone then take a screen shot and add them to either/both a separate album in your photos or add to the Notes section of your phone
Be cautious about the advice given by AAA unless your advisor has actually traveled to Europe since Covid.
Was there something in Basel you wanted to see? Otherwise you might consider flying from Vienna to Paris as that is a pretty long train journey.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10188 posts
Glad you came here to ask. Badger gave the best answer for booking your own tickets. Also Rail Europe doesn't list all available trains.
And Pam's point about personal experience traveling your specific route is correct.
Posted by
Green Bay
20085 posts
Using www.oebb.at will also show price differences based on the time of departure. Example, for June 7, the 9:28 departure for Zurich shows 223.80 EUR for 2, while the 7:28 departure is 175.40 EUR for 2. There are 5 trains to Basel every hour from Zurich, although the fastest ones are at 34 and 59 past the hour.
Posted by
Sweden
6375 posts
Should you decide to skip Basel, you can also take the direct overnight train from Vienna to Paris, buy those tickets at www.oebb.at and you can read more about the night trains on www.nightjet.com
Posted by
Paris
6893 posts
The mainline from Vienna to Paris does not go through Basel.
So, unless you are visiting friends & family or some other personal reason, Basel is not the most convenient stop. Strasbourg or Munich would be more logical.
You could travel from Vienna to Paris via Zürich and Basel but it takes longer, and Basel does not warrant it.
Posted by
New York, NY
3996 posts
I am with Pam regarding flying between Vienna and Paris. That’s a really long train ride and Paris Orly is an easier & more convenient airport than CDG.
Posted by
London, England
139 posts
One reason to go via Basel is that the railway line from Vienna to Zuerich via the Arlberg pass is very scenic.