Hi,

I will be traveling to Europe for 6 weeks September 12th till October 24th. I just graduated from college and REALLY need to conserve money. I will be taking all sorts of trains in and out of different countries (spain, france, switzerland, italy, germany, austria, czech republic, slovakia, poland, hungary, netherlands, belgium), day, and night trains.

Do you think it is necessary to make reservations for these trains?

Some of the places I will have to take about 3 trains to get to them, and the raileurope.com charge of 11$ per train is SO expensive just to book a train when it all adds up.

Please let me know which, if any trains are necessary to book in advance.

Thank you so much for your time.

My kids (your age) have traveled all over Europe on passes and without reservations. The rest of our family has also traveled widely in Europe (mainly Switzerland, Austria,Italy and Germany)without reservations---EXCEPT when taking a night train.

The time you are traveling is not high season, and trains should not be crowded. Even if all the seats are full (which they will not be) you can always ride standing. There is no need to incur the extra expense of reservations. (And if you do for some reason need rreservtions, as for a night train, make them on the train website, such as www.bahn.de, not on Raileurope which charges more).

It should be pointed out that some trains may require reservations. These are the premium trains, TGV, Thalys, etc. For some routes, e.g. Brussels to Paris, those are the only trains on the route.

Never buy a reservation in the USA. Wait until you get to Europe and only buy reservations if required. Schedules will show a capital R in a rectangle if a reservation is required.

This site, http://tinyurl.com/eym5b, is a good introduction to using the trains in Europe.

For more information and for buying a pass I recommend Budget Europe Travel in Ann Arbor. Call them up at 800-441-2387. Ask for their excellent booklet "Europe Planning & Rail Guide."

I count 13 countries on your 6 week itinerary. It will be a buzz if you don't plan well. Use night trains to save time and conserve capital.

Have fun.

Reservations during this period are a waste of money. In czech republic, slovakia, poland and hungary any foreign rail pass is a waste of money too. Fares are so low, that just buying the needed ticket on the train is always cheaper.

You must have reservations for overnight trains since they sometimes sell out - and you need to pick what type of compartment you want. (How many of you are there? Are you willing to share compartment with strangers - and how many?

Also certain high-speed trains. Other than that - or a specific national holiday - you should have no problem just getting regular second class tickets a day or so in advance.

Hi R,

12 countries in 6 weeks?

Are you sure?

Have you ever been on the road for 6 weeks?

I did something similar for about 4 weeks when I was about your age.

The only thing I can remember from that trip is being in a train station somewhere with a lot of people looking at me and wondering if I was drunk, stoned or sick.

We did 12 countries in 5 months and people still think I'm crazy.

I agree that since "conserving money" IS important, that the biggest "waste" of money you're doing is going to be too much spent on going from place to place. The best way to conserve money is to stay put.

But since I suppose your mind is made up, I'd agree --especially if traveling alone -- only make reservations when they are required like on premium trains (which also may require a supplement too). I too hope you've really checked out the cost of passes vs. point to point tickets especially in Eastern Europe, but I suspect that if you're going to be spending half a day or more every day on a train, the passes will work out.

You better like trains, cuz it sounds like that's where you'll spend the majority of your time

If you are traveling alone, it's probably not a big deal to go without reservations (unless required on that train). I traveled with 3 others a year ago and we learned we needed reservations. We tried without and at every stop, someone with a reservation would come and boot us out of the seat we were in and we had to find another spot. Because the luggage thing at the end of the train car was full, we were putting luggage above our heads on the rack so each time we moved we needed to also move our stuff cuz the people that had the reservation needed the space..... also couldn't sit together (which was ok!) - we ended up getting reservations from there on out. If I were alone, I wouldn't though.

I agree with buying any mandatory reservations AFTER you get to Europe where they will be cheaper.

Money-wise, the more you use the pass the more economical it gets although moving around means spending more money but DON'T be put off form your plan. IMO it is not "too ambitious" and certainly not too exhausting, etc., etc., if this is what you want to do. Only you can be the judge of whether or not it was 'worth it' or that you spent 'too much time on the train' until after you DO it.

One strategy for finding seats when the train might be jammed is to get on first, especially if you are leaving from an origination point.

Have a great trip.

We did a couple of 25 day Eurail Trips when we were in our 30's and still think they were wonderful. We had to get 1st Class (too old for the 2nd class that you can get)

The best thing was the flexibility. You can hop on and off trains on a whim. We were conserving money too - we designated so much money for each country/stop (this was before Euros.) There was one night in Zurich where we had a choice between eating fondue or getting a (cheap) room. Of course we ate the Fondue - had a lovely meal and then hopped a train going south to Italy, found a 1st class compartment that was empty. We slept ON our valuables and woke up in Milan where we transfered back to Switzerland. We couldn't even afford a couchette, which you will probably want to use for long trips.

You have been given some great links. Read all you can, get a Thomas Cook Timetable & write down your destination and time if you don't speak the language. From Germany east you probably won't need many reservations - and you can get them as you go.

Remember that in Europe, you can whiz through 3/4 countries in one day. Many countries are the size of small US states. That was so strange to us.

Don't let anyone talk you out of this trip! Plan on picnics and expect serendipity. And relax and enjoy.

>The best thing was the flexibility. You can hop on and off trains on a whim.

In some countries, "was" is the operative word.
In France and Italy, the high speed trains require reservation. In France, the number of "passholder reservations" per train is restricted even if there are still free seats. In Italy, you have to pay a large supplement along with the reservation if you want to use ES trains. A similar system applies in Spain.
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, almost all day trains are usable without a reservation. But on the Thalys/TGV trains between these countries and France, the French system may apply.

A comprehensive answer to your question will fill a thick book.

Useful advice re: train reservations-make them as you arrive. So as you arrive in Rome, make your reservations for departure to Paris, 6-7 days in advance and so forth.

This simple tip comes not from old cautious me but from "a reliable source", a young person of 24 just returned from two years at school in Europe. BTW, I am afraid she adds to this chorus of dismay over your planned 12 country schedule. She said you are going to make yourself sick trying to see so much so fast which means your system will be stressed out by the time change, changes in food, water, re-packing nerves, transitions in weather, altitude even for some parts of your journey.

But, you know your reasons and your own reserves of strength, so bon voyage!

Thousands of young people make similar journeys every year and, for most, it's an enjoyable experience.
However, they probably don't learn much about the places they visit - some even eat from McDonalds and Pizza Hut everywhere. You should ask yourself why you are going to these countries. Why Slovakia, for example? Do you want to tick it off a list of countries visited, or get another stamp in your passport?

I hope my comment above didn't sound like "trying to talk you out of it". My only reservation about the trip was that you seem concerned with money and there is no doubt that you save a bundle of that if you aren't buying the unlimited all country railpasses or buying tons and tons of tickets. That 12 countries in 5 months had about the highest per day budget of any trip we've taken (and that's a lot of them). The reason it was so much more expensive was due to all the cost of all the train travel --even with passes. But it was still my favorite trip ever!

rainsoup - are you under 26 ("just graduated from college" - if so the 2nd class Youth Global Youth Eurailpass - the 10- or 15-day Flexipass or even the 2-month consecutive pass can be a real bargain and for young folk second class should be fine.

I had my first pass, a 2-month Eurail Youthpass when i was in college and i had a ball - took lots of night trains to save money and time!

Thanks for all of your replies everyone! I really appreciate it!

Have a nice trip. As for railpasses if you decide to go that route and for that much travel it seems a great deal i second hopscotch's recommendation of Budget Europe (800-441-9413 or 800-441-2387; www.budgeteuropetravel.com where you can request their fine free European Planning & Rail Guide that is a great primer on European trains and you IME can also talk to staffers who themselves have traveled years on European trains and will answer any questions - impossible on most online sources like raileurope.com - to place a phone order there it costs 10% more according to their website.

IME any required train reservations you'll need can easily be made as you go along (and can do from any train in the country - sometimes in other countries)

except TGVs in France heading north and south - there is a quota on railpass reservations apparently so you may want to make these as early as possible in France and have alternative routes in mind. (Say Paris-Avignon TGV has no pass reservations - take the twice hourly TGVs to Lyon, much more available and then change to regional train to Avignon-Ville (in town) station.

So i would not worry - the free Eurail Timetable that you should make sure you do get with your pass (some agents don't mail them, perhaps to save postage) and this clearly indicates what trains require reservations and those that do not.