Eurail pass almost $400 and we still need to pay reservation fees?
 

Is there any way to get around the reservation fee? Do we have to make a reservation? And if so, how far in advance? Can we just show up in the morning and plan on getting on a 7:35am train for instance?

Thanks!

Have you already bought a pass?
Did you check out how much simple point-to-point tickets would have cost and compare that? It's often cheaper.

Some trains you need reservations for on top of the pass (TGVs in France, for example). Some you don't.

The need for a reservations often depends on the type of train you are taking. Some trains such as TGV's have compulsory reservation fees-if you don't have a reservation you don't ride. Also, some trains have a limited number of seats allocated to Eurailpass holders, so you must have a reservation before you board.

You can take your chances without reservations on the other trains, but you risk either having to stand out in the aisle for the duration of the trip or not being able to travel on the train you desire.

Here is a strategy that often WORKS on trains that do not require COMPULSORY reservations (such as TGV services): be one of the first to board and look for un-reserved seats. If your train ORIGINATES at your boarding station, all the better.

As to the requirement in general, please don't forget that pass prices and use rules are set by the railroads, not the agencies which sell the passes (e.g., RailEurope which is wholly owned by the French and Swiss railway systems).

BTW..if you feel you can wait until you get to Europe it will be cheaper to get all your required seat reservations there and you can buy them all at once.

I used Eurail pass to travel throughout Italy, Switzerland, France this May-June 2009. It was the WORST mistake. Just the pass itself was over $450 for me. Plus I had to pay reservation fees! On top of that, RailEurope lied to me and I ended up paying an extra of nearly $500 ($782 to be precise).

There's no way around reservation fee. Don't even think about it!

Do what seasoned travelers do: buy point-to-point tickets at the train station in Europe. I understand that you want to have everything settled before you go, but believe me (take it from a person who was in your shoes), buy the tickets in Europe...it will save you A LOT of money and A LOT of headache! At the very least, that is what I am doing for summer 2010.

Hi roch,

>Is there any way to get around the reservation fee?<

No.

On some fast trains (ES* in Italy) reservations are required.
Some trains get very crowded and reservations are necessary if you don't want to stand.
Some trains you can arrive at the station, get on, find a seat and be comfy.

((I))

In Italy, reservations are required for the fast trains because each ticketholder has an assigned seat, like on an airplane. The way around reservation fees is to ride the incredibly slow trains (designated by R for regionale) that do not require reservations. These trains make many many more stops and on some routes the train carriages themselves are pretty old and beaten, with air conditioning provided by open windows.

A Eurail pass is not the best deal for many people - unless you're taking a ton of train trips buying separate point to point tickets is often cheaper.

And, yes - if it says reservations are needed you need them. Or - you may not get on the train - or may not get a seat.

For overnight trains, which often sell out, you do need to get tickets in advance. For day time trips - unless there is only one decent train a day - buying in the country a couple of days in advance is usually fine - and much cheaper.

You need to cough up an extra 20€ everytime you ride an AV train in Italy and 15€ for an ES. I think ICPlus are only 5€.

>>>And, yes - if it says reservations are needed you need them. Or - you may not get on the train - or may not get a seat.<<<

Or you may get fined.

We have used different passes for many years (30+)- but we do tend to want to travel first class over longer distances.
Having just used a 3 country flexi pass in Austria, Germany and Switzerland - this was good value for us - we did check point to point costs for the complicated routes we used - still came out better with the pass.

Do note that we do sometimes change our travel date plans once we arrive in Europe so the flexibility can be helpful.
This time we had a spare day on the pass and because of the longer journey and a sudden (!) desire to see another place we were able to rearrange our plans.

We made all of our seat reservations in Vienna - with a very helpful person who even offered suggestions for easier routes.
Quite a few of the trains were very full and some people were left standing - but others weren't- so hard to tell.

The Austrian Railways person was helpful with this decision making.


On average two reservations were 7 euro - and we used fast (rather than regional)trains - and the ones we used did not require a supplement. I understand this is not true in all countries.
So - do your homework and check all costs very carefully - and then have a wonderful trip, sit back and enjoy the scenery :)

Our pass also functioned for discounts (without using up a day)in parts of Switzerland -where again we had done our research.

Happy travels.