Hello everyone, I've got a question for a train travel guru. My girlfriend and I will be traveling in Europe in June. We are going to be purchasing a 5 country pass because we'll be going through Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czech Rep., and the Benelux countries. On the 22nd of June we are looking to travel from Prague-Bruges for the last few days of our adventure. I have been looking at the train options for this last big leg of our journey and one of the options we are looking at is an overnight train that leaves Prague around 18:00 and gets into Bruges about 10:00 the next morning. Now because it's a night train we have to set up reservations, and while it won't let us set our actual reservations now because we're too far out, looking at earlier dates, it looks like we're going to have to pay around 274 EUR for the daycouch car, and higher for a couchette. My question is, with our rail pass do we still pay this full price? Is there a better option for us, I would have no problem traveling all day instead of all night to save ourselves from that kind of fee. Any advice would be quite welcome!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19261 posts
First, if the night train leaves Prague at 18:00, your trip will take two "days" of your railpass (unless you buy a ticket from Prague to where the train stops after 7 PM). Check to see if the Bahn has prices for this train. If you use a rail pass, that covers being on the train. You will only have to pay extra for the type of accommodations you occupy. This is called in German, an Aufpreis (supplement). Because the accommodations are reserved for you, it is sometimes referred to as "reservations". The Bahn shows a connection including a night train from Prague to Bruges, leaving Prague at 18:31. The night train portion is from Prague to Köln. Selct just that portion of the trip on the Bahn website. Pick "Purchase" for either Savings or Full fare. Where it shows fares, selct "Book only extra charge", then pass offer. That will show you the cost of just the reservation. Since you will be using a 1st class pass, a compartment with WC and shower will be €65 per person in a deluxe double. The rail pass will be valid the next day, so you can use it from Köln to Bruges. The deluxe compartment requires a 1st class ticket, but if you reserve it from Usti nad Labem to Köln, you can buy a 2nd class ticket just to Usti (about €8) and save a day of your rail pass. That way you would ride in 2nd class to Usti, then move into your compartment and use your rail pass from there.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33749 posts
Any charges for the night train are only the beginning of your charges. With a railpass you will be paying reservation fees for most every fast train. Please check carefully the point to point costs and compare to the pass costs plus reservations. You may find that you have a really good bargain. Or maybe not.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Lee and Nigel have given you good information. I'll add some details. As Lee said, with 1st class passes you will pay €65/person for a deluxe double on the night train. The cheapest advance purchase discount fares are €69/person in a 4-bunk couchettte and €99/person in an economy 2-bed sleeper. The first train you can take from Koeln to Brussels is a Thalys train. The passholder fare is €27/person in 2nd class and €42/person in 1st class. The cheapest advance purchase discount fare is €19/person. If you have passes, you can wait an hour and take an ICE train at no charge. If you have passes, your ride on an IC train from Brussels to Bruges will cost nothing. The point-to-point fare is €13.10.