koryandleslie

I've read on sites such as seat61 but still having problems understanding.......

I think I will be able to get a discount on a pass, so probably going to be cheaper for me than point to point.

Going to spend a few days in London. (Days 1-4)
Taking the chunnel-fast train to Paris (Day 5)
Switching trains ??? (Day 5)
Train to Bayeux (Day 5)
Few days in Bayeux (Day 6-8)
Train to Paris for a few days (Day 9-10)
Eurostar to Brussels, on to Bastogne (Day 11)
Few days in Bastogne, back to Brussels (Day 12-14)
Night train to Prague (Day 14)
Few days in Prague and then night train back to Brussels (Day 15-18)

Busy---yes I know!!! Total of 18 days.
Here are my train questions.
1. I'll be in London, France, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Is there a pass that covers all those countries?
2. When I'm in Bayeux for 3 days, I won't be on the train, so can I buy a 15 day pass? Or do I have to use it everyday?? Use it only 15/18 days.
3. On my Eurostar legs (London to Paris and Paris to Brussels) are those part of the pass or do they have to be purchased separately? If so, is there a discount since I will have a pass?
4. For train rides within cities, such as in London or when in Paris, how do I buy train tickets for around town (i.e. the subway??).
5. With a pass, can I make reservations for seats? Do I need reservations?
I'm sure I'll have other questions......but that's it for now.

Sarastro

Generally, rail passes are not a good value. Purchasing in advance, point to point tickets saves a lot of money.

To my knowledge, the Eurostar travel is not included as part of any rail pass. Eurostar tickets may be purchased up to 120 days in advance, the earlier you buy them the less they cost.

http://www.eurostar.com

Paying for travel around London is simple, just purchase an Oyster card, sold in any amount of money, and you are charged appropriately for each leg of your travels.

Paris is a bit more complex but most people simply purchase 10 one way tickets for 12€. Called a carnet, these are good on the métro or bus anywhere in central Paris.

Should you purchase a rail pass, the following French trains require a reservation at additional cost: TGVs, Lunéa, and Téoz.

Tickets from Paris St Lazare to Bayeux cost 35€ and require no reservation. There is no advantage to advance purchase for these trains.

French train information is available here:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com (in French only)
http://www.tgv-sncf.com

ParisAmsterdam

Looking at your plan I doubt a pass is worth it.

Go to the following sites:

eurostar.com (UK-France)
sncf.com (Paris-Bayeux)
thalys.com (Paris-Brussels)
b-rail.be/main/E/ (Brussels-Prague)

You can book tickets 90 days ahead (120 for Eurostar)... figure out your dates and get your
prices. Add them up. Then price a pass.

You also need to pay a reservation fee for many trains using a pass.

Christina

I have only bought France Railpasses so don't know the various countries and types of passes, I would think several websites describe them to tell you about the countries.

But I can say that there isn't any pass that exists that requires you to be on a train every single day.

Christina

sorry, I can answer your last question. For city metropolitan areas or underground limited rail (eg, what is called the metro in some cities, or tube in London), you buy tickets at stations for those systems. They have ticket clerks at windows to sell you tickets, although some are getting more automated and have more machines where you can use coins to buy tickets. Most city systems have a variety of kinds of tickets, passes.

travlsolo2

You could go to the Rick Steves website and read about railpasses and how they work; you likely will do better with point-to-point tickets, but there is a lot of good information on the site.

Man_in_seat_61

If you can fix your itinerary in advance, budget point to point fares (no refunds, no chnages) will probably be cheaper than any pass. If you insist on flexibility (and so would payu full price) the pass starts to look better value.

www.eurostar.com for London-Paris

www.tgv-europe.com for anything within, or starting within France (if you're from the USA, select Canada, NOT the USA, to avoid them bumping you to Rail Europe).

www.bahn.de for the 22:28 sleeper train Cologne-Prague, after which book the 18:25 Brussels-Cologne connection using the same site (why can't you book Brussels-Prague? Try it and see, comparing the cost with splitting the journey as I suggest!). You print your own tickets.

TimS

London-Paris on the Eurostar: Booked up to 120 days in advance at eurostar.com, you can get a discount fare as low as €42.50. Print your own ticket

Paris-Bayeux and return: The standard fare is €35.10 each way. Booked up to three months in advance at tgv-europe.com, you can get a discount fare as low as €15.00 each way. Follow the instructions of the Man in Seat 61 and print your own ticket. Note: The Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord and trains to Bayeux depart from Gare Saint-Lazare. Take a RER E train from the Magenta RER station (attached to Gare du Nord) to the Haussmann--Saint-Lazare RER station. The fare is €1.70.

Paris-Bastogne: Paris to Brussels is on Thalys trains (not the Eurostar). If you book up to 90 days in advance at thalys.com, you can get a Smoove fare as low as €25.00. Print your own ticket. From Brussels you will take a train to Libramount and transfer to a bus to Bastogne. The combined fare is €19.60 each way. If you have a short connection time at the Bruxelles-Midi station, book you ticket to Bastogne in advance at www.b-rail.be/main/E/ and print it yourself.

Brussels-Prague and return: Book separate tickets up to 90 days in advance at www.bahn.de for Brussels-Cologne and Cologne-Prague. You can get a discount fare as low as €19.00 on either Thalys trains or ICE trains for Brussels-Cologne. Print your own tickets. You can get a discount fare as low as €69.00 for a bunk in a four-person couchette on the CNL night train. Print your own tickets.

Use bahn.de to get timetables for all your routes.

qwovadis

Pass used to be good value when they where cheap

did them years ago at average pass cost per day

less than 10 euros/day.

These days surcharges on fast special sleeper trains

and a base cost of 20-30 euro per day regardless of

if you train that day or not makes point to point

almost always best...

I book special trains in advance to save.

otherwise just hop local trains and train like a local

whenever I want save a tonne over expensive daily pass cost.

Good luck!

TimS

Transportation in London: If you will arrive at Heathrow, buy an Oyster card at the airport and load it with about 20 pay-as-you-go pounds. Use it to get to London on the Tube (subway) and for all your rides in London. Top it up as needed. When you leave London you can get a refund on any unspent money and on your deposit.

Transportation in Paris: For your short time there just buy ten-ticket carnets as needed. They are good anywhere the Metro (subway) goes and on the RER in zone 1. RER trains run underground in central Paris and many stations are linked with Metro stations. Each ticket provides unlimited transfers until you exit the system. Each ticket provides bus transfers for up to 90 minutes after boarding the first bus. However, you cannot transfer between Metro and bus.

PalenQ

there a pass that covers all those countries?
2. When I'm in Bayeux for 3 days, I won't be on the train, so can I buy a 15 day pass? Or do I have to use it everyday?? Use it only 15/18 days.>

The 15-day Flexipass is valid for 15 days of unlimited travel - calendar days except with night trains from 7pm to the following midnight - over a two-month period - so you use the 15 days as you go along and decide when you want to use a day and when to not - they could be consecutive or a week or more apart. For your itinerary a pass of some kind IMO is a no-brainer - either that or you spend hours perusing online specials from each country's rail site with often severe restrictions on changing and rfunding, etc and then maybe or maybe not save a few bucks. For lots of great info on trains I always spotlight these fantastic IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com - and for schedules of all European trains and nitty-gritty like those trains that demand seat reservations before boarding, etc. the Wunderbar German Railways site - www.bahn.de!

PalenQ

If the OP were not going round trip Belgium to Prague and back perhaps a pass would not be the best deal but, unless the OOP wants to book weeks in advance and can get a good price on the Brussels to Prague train each way then full fare for the round trip even in 2nd class may be as much as the 4-country Eurail Select Pass, good in France, Belgium (Netherlands and Luxembourg included in Benelux as one country for this purpose) and Germany and Czech Republic - a Saverpass if two or more are traveling together and this allows you to decide as you go along when to travel - in Belgium and Germany and Czech train hop any train (though overnight trains should be booked to guarantee sleeping berths, which are extra above the pass, which covers just the basic rail fare not the optional extra sleeping options - from private compartments to reclining seats for a few euros (not all trains have the latter but most involving Germany IME do) - night trains also save the cost of a hotel. So I would investigate the 4 Country Eurail Select Pass and then forget about scouring several sites of natioanl railways for discounts that lock you in - and remember the pass if over 25 if first class only - and in my decades of European rail travel I strongly advise first class for the average tourist - so comparing first class pass prices to second class online discount fares is IMO like comparing apples and oranges.

PalenQ

5. With a pass, can I make reservations for seats? Do I need reservations?>

Let me elaborate based on using hundreds of railpasses - for all your trains in your OP you simply can board the train (except the Thalys Paris to Brussels, which you do not have to take as to reach Bastogne you may as well perhaps take a French TGV to Luxembourg and go on Belgian trains from there - with only a 3 euro fee with the pass on this route)
but the other trains Paris to Bayeux most trains on that route do not require reservations though a few TEOZ trains, if on that route may but many do not unless recently changed - and no Belgin or German trains you will be using other than the Thalys require them though you can make optional ones on many German trains - but in decades or rail travel with a first-class pass I can really never recall a train in those countries where I did not hop on and find empty seats - in first class and often many of them - second-class OTOH can be SRO at times - specially during rush hours in and around major German cities.

So if I were you I would forget about the need for any seat reservations except if you do the Thalys or the French TGV to Luxembourg where they are required. The Luxembourg TGV should be easy IME to make in Bayeux - so perhpas you can sidestep that 188 buck passholder surcharge on Thalys (man in seat 61 says $13 but you say $188 - taking that you are right in this case) by going via Luxembourg and then you would be even closer to Prague from there, going by train to Koblenz, Germany, down the Mosel Valley and hooking up with trains to Prague. (If taking an overnigh train then you should book that to be guaranteed getting on even if reservations are not required - overnight always book, daytime IME never with a first class pass unless required.

TimS

Where did you see a passholder fare of $188 for Thalys trains? The Thalys site shows a passholder fare of €27 for 2nd class and €42 for 1st class.

Mimar

The Eurostar arrives at the Gare du Nord, whereas the train for Bayeux leaves from the Gare St. Lazare. They're not far apart, about 3 kilometers, but you will have to lug your luggage.

PalenQ

TimS - two times 42 euros is about 84 euros for just using the railpass on Thalys in first class - does not add up toi $188 but is well over $100 - steep in any case. Perhaps the OP was getting a price for a regular ticket from their agent - the agent could have goofed up?

But again unless they want to go to Brussels they can reach Bastogne I believe via Luxembourg - well I will have to research that to see but seems so from where Bastogne is located - near Luxembourg, right?

PalenQ

the connection between Gare du Nord and Gare Saint-Lazare Mimar talks about is pretty easy and straight forward. Simply follow signs at Nord for RER E - signs posted all over and then take direction Madeline (I think or perhaps Saint-Lazare - anyone this new automated modern metro takes you in one stop to Saint-Lazre - very very easy.

PalenQ

Last time I rode the Thalys they were selling Paris metro tickets in the bar car - if so get your metro tickets there and save time buying them at Gare du Nord - and as always keep your metro ticket until out of the system as you may have to insert the used ticket into gates at the end of your ride to get out of the system. RER E ride is just a simple metro ticket.