ceb7369

It appears the 18 country 10 or 15 days in 2 months is the pass that is most practical for me, but I've just discovered that I must pay an additional reservation fee for each ticket I get in advance. Anyone have any experience using these passes from March-May? Do they often sell out so a reservation is a must or can I wing it? Most of my travel times will be from 11am-3pm departure times.

Also, I've read that some trains require a reservation, so how do I go about finding out which trains absolutely require them? I want to be able to add the necc. reservation fees to my totals so I can decide if the Eurail flexi is the best deal for me. I will be doing extensive travel through Italy, France, Belgium, and Ireland, all of which accept the pass.

adeben

check the site maninseat61.com

ceb7369

Thanks for the input, however I'm looking more for advice on what people find at the stations if they don't reserve their tickets ahead of time.

BTW, not sure if I misunderstood the link you provided or not, but it didn't seem to lead me to anything useful, just a page of links that led me to other links that let to google search windows.
Thanks for trying, though.

alanRow

It's www.seat61.com

ceb7369

There we go, thank you!

hopscotch

A few trains such as the TGV in France and other high speed premium trains require a reservation. Other than that you rarely need a reservation. Buy your reservation when you know for sure when you are traveling. Reservations normally cost 3 euros. A reservation on the Thalys between Paris and Brussels costs 23 euros because it is a private company.

I always wing it. Your travel months are low season in Europe. You will have no problem getting on a train and finding a seat, especially in first class which is where your pass will entitle you to sit.

For long distance trips I suggest taking an overnight train. It will cost you $25 to $50 for a bunk but you save a day of travel and the cost of a night in a hotel.

When doing extensive travel I always carry a copy of the Thomas Cook European Timetable. The Thomas Cook Rail Map of Europe is an excellent planning tool for rail travelers. Visit the TC site at
www.thomascookpublishing.com/

hopscotch

After I posted I noticed the references to www.seat61.com. That is an excellent site for details about trains throughout Europe. However if you are new to using the trains the site
www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap17/rail.htm is an excellent introduction.

ceb7369

Thanks hopscotch, I'll get the book right before I go, it should be a great help. I'm wondering if you know how far in advance you need to reserve the ticket from Paris to Brussels? Can I do it on my first day in Paris, or do I need to reserve it before I head out?

Also, you mention a bunk which I plan on doing for the overnight from Milan to Paris. However, I read that the trains should have a 1 bunk private sleeper as well as per bed, which means you're bunking with other same sex travelers. I'd be interested in the 1 bunk private sleeper as I have erratic sleeping patterns, but the Eurail booking site doesn't seem to have this option listed. Is this something I could arrange at the station in Milan (I'll only be there two nights before I plan on heading on to Paris) or if not do you have any idea on how to book the 1 bunk private sleeper?

Thanks!

ceb7369

BTW, I've checked out that other site you provided. Very helpful, thanks. I've bookmarked it to review often before I head out this spring.

J62

The Paris-Brussels route runs every 30min and takes 90min. There is no need to book a specific train before departing home.

i like to use the site www.bahn.de for europe wide train schedules.

Apart from special high speed trains like this or overnites when you want a bunk, I would just show up at the train station and hop on the next train to my destination, especially for relatively short rides. The exception might be longer haul routes on a holiday weekend (i.e. good friday, etc)

ira

Hi ceb,

Have you enttered your itinerary at www.railsaver.com and clicked "only if it saves money" to see if you really need a railpass?

Are you aware of PREMS discount fares on Drench trains, of 29E discount fares on Italian trains. Some international Italian train fares are as low as 15E.

For ES* trains in Italy you will have to buy a seat reservation - about 10E.

TGV and THALYS also require reservations.

As noted, you have to pay extra for sleepers. You can fins the prices with sleepers at

www.voyages-sncf.com

www.trenitalia.com

http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/

hopscotch

ceb7369,

Here's another site that seems to have answers to your Milan-Paris questions www.italiarail.com/.
The train you will be on is the Stendhal EuroNight. You can google for that to find additional sites.

ceb7369

Can I just say I don't know what I would do without you all? Thank you so much! Oh, wait a minute...I know what I'd do without all of you...spend three times as much on my trip to Europe and see three times less while I was doing it!

ceb7369

J62,

I'm I missing the button where you can change the www.bahn.de site into english? Language barriers are my biggest road blocks to European travel.

ceb7369

ira,
How do you select the country where the tickets will be delivered or sent on the www.voyages-sncf.com site? Is this indicating that they do not mail overseas? If so, do I select the country where I will be departing from and pick them up at some sort of window once I get to the train station like at a will call ticket office?

J62

at the top of the page where it says internat. guests.

or use this link

http://tinyurl.com/f3be6

ceb7369

Thank you J62, it works perfectly now!

hopscotch, thanks for that site. It'll help me a lot with the Milan/Paris trip.

ira

Hi ceb,

You can't buy tickets from Milan to Paris at www.bahn.de; it is the German rail line.

Use www.trenitalia.com, click "international".

For the French line, leave the country as France.

If you find a PREMS fare, you can print your own ticket - DON'T buy the insurance.

Otherwise, have the tickets mailed to you c/o your hotel.

Robespierre

The English schedules page at Die Bahn is http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en