Travel By Rails

They are user friendly, but like everything else in life, it may take a couple of times to get into the swing of things. First, read RS advice on this site and about navigating the European rail network, plus watch the Youtube videos on how to. Also go to www.seat61.com for the lowdown on the different countries train systems and especially whether or not to get a railpass, and how to use it.

After you "get your feet wet" with your first train station and train, they all start to look alike. Often, you'll come into town by train and see the layout of that station and check your onward connections there before you return to the same station a few days later. A few big cities have different stations serving different directions of travel. Our round-up page for rail travel info describes the ins and outs of many issues and you can also see some visuals of trains and stations in the first half-hour segment of Rick's Travel Skills show.

"both local and Euro Rail Pass."

Rail travel is easy, but realize one crucial point from the get-go: each individual country operates their own national passenger rail company, with a few multinational firms (Thalys, Eurostar) that provide specialized high-speed connections between a few countries. Although some general themes apply across the continent, the specific details vary from country to country. For example, the high-speed trains that connect the major cities in France and Germany are generally expensive, but you can save quite a bit of money if you purchase your tickets in advanced, directly from the rail operator's website, not third-party ticket resellers like EUrail or Rail Europe. By contrast, domestic trains in Belgium and the Netherlands tend to be quite cheap and therefore do not offer advanced purchase discounts. You can simply show up to the station, buy your tickets, and hop onto the next train going to your destination. Trains run so frequently that you will rarely wait longer than 30 minutes.

Always get schedule and price information from the national rail websites, like Deutsche Bahn for Germany, SNCF for France, Trenitalia for Italy, etc. You can use the Deutsche Bahn website for schedule information for trains in most of Europe, but it will only show ticket prices for trains that involve Germany.

Many of the experienced travelers here realized long ago that rail passes rarely save you any money. They are actually one of the most expensive methods of travel, and some of the flexibility they formerly offered has disappeared. But unfortunately, because they make money for the agencies that sell them, they're still heavily advertised as the way to travel.

have some coins in your pocket....in case you need them to use the restroom in the train station. using the toilet on the train is a better choice

If you decide you do want to get a rail pass, be aware that some countries severely limit the number of seats available to pass holders.

I only bought a pass once – never again. In France, I had to leave a segment of the pass unused (and therefore wasted) because tickets were available but they weren't available to a pass holder. Consequently, not only did I pay for that wasted segment of the pass, I also had to pay for a full priced ticket in order to be able to travel that day.

Hi,

Going over solo has both advantages and disadvantages. One of those advantages is in train traveling by having the flexibility of hoping on where permitted without reservations, not having to get seats together. Depending on the duration of your trip and the geographic extent, you could use a rail Pass. I use one for traveling in Germany and Austria, now that France is back on board with the Select Pass option that works even better. . If you're over for at least a month (or two, even better) and most of that will be spent in Germany and Austria, even Hungary, I would get a Pass. Are you under 26? A couple of long rides 5-7 hrs or so and a night train option in a compartment will already pay for the Pass but only if you don't go for a sleeper or couchette. (That's extra and pricey.)

Even if you were going to 5-6 countries in that time (sometimes not too advisable), you don't need a Global Pass. An Austria-Germany Pass would do; for the flanking countries you get point to point tickets and in some cases, depending on the intinerary, a discount ticket. But, keep in mind, that by getting a discount ticket 92 days out from departure you have sacrificed flexibility for the savings since those tickets are date (Geltungstag) and departure specific.

trustinsoul

just a comment about something i found out.

Sometimes the train platform of the train you will be using won't be posted on the reader board until fifteen (15) or so minutes before departure. So far for where i have traveled and used trains, its been so.

on my train trip from Brussels to Libramont i somehow hopped on the "express" train. the ticket conductor just charged me the difference. I should have asked him how to determine the difference since the train showed up at the right time and right platform.

happy trails.