Rail passes in Europe
 

I've purchased a multi-country rail pass from RailEurope for my July, 08 trip. I plan to travel from Brussels to Marseille to Wiesbaden to Amsterdam. I've noticed there's several different trains,Eurostar, TVG, etc so I'm confused as to which one to take. I've also discovered not only do I pay for the pass but now need to pay for reservations, some of which are 50 euros. So, my questions are:
What is the correct train to book?
Should I get the reservations? And, oh yes, I'd like to be able to see the scenery as I travel so is that a particular train? Thanks

Those are just names for various special high-speed trains in different countries, that's all. You won't have a choice, only one will go between two cities. TGV (not TVG) is a name by the French railway company for their high speed trains, so you won't find them in Germany, for example... etc.

Book whatever you want for the price and times you need, that's about it. Sometimes there are regular trains that don't have those fees, but they'll take longer. On some routes, you won't have a choice.

I've never seen a 50 euro reservation fee, that is way too high just for a reseservation, so that must be in some country I'm not familiar with. In France, it's around 4 euro, for example, just for a seat reservation. I'm sure that can't just be a reservation fee, it must be for something else, isn't it? Like paying for a sleeper car at night or something above the regular seat thing (which is what your pass covers). I think I've read some expensive trains in some countries charge a supplement to railpass holders, but that would be more than just a reservation fee.

I'm with you on the scenery, that's one joy of rail travel, so I don't take night trains. Scenery depends on the route, though, and I'm not an expert on those rouutes, but I don't think the scenery to Marseille is anything to write home about. I imagine that train would be Brussels to Paris, then to Marseille? There are some other routes but I think they'd take longer and have more connections -- not sure.

As far as I know, the only Eurostar is in England and Italy.

I think this page http://tinyurl.com/eym5b will help you.

Which train has a reservation fee of €50?

Some trains (TGVs, for example) require reservations. Some trains (Thalys, for example) have a special fare for passholders. You have to pay a supplement for night trains, the price of which depends upon the type of sleeping accommodations you choose and includes a reservation. For some trains reservations are optional. For others (regional trains, for example) reservations are not even possible.

For detailed information about passes, read the railpasses sections at www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Are Brussels-Marseille, Marseille-Wiesbaden, and Wiesbaden-Amsterdam the only train trips you will be taking? If so, point-to-point tickets will probably be cheaper than a pass. In fact, if you book far enough in advance on national rail sites, you may find enough discount fares to warrant asking for your money back on your pass. If you want to know how to find the cheapest fares, just ask.

Christina, Doesn't the Eurostar connect England with France or Belgium. Where does it go to in Italy?

I was thinking of the same alternative for my next trip to Paris - Barcelona - Rome but then i realized that airplane was cheaper than train, so I'm doing the plane thing... plus I don't have much time to do it by land.

www.raileurope.com is the website where you can check timetable, kind of train and accommodation and whether you need to make a reservation in advance.

Happy trails!

Christina,

I found out that the reservation and ticket for Paris to Barcelona (overnight train) was 45 euros and that's the cheapest allocation (couchette).

Thank you all, I'll check on the individual passes between cities. I wonder if I could get my money back from RailEurope? They weren't very helpful or cooperative when I finally got throught to them on the phone.

agilepagile,

In Italy there is a class of train called Eurostar--highest speed, newest, nicest--that travels major routes with few stops. All tickets come with reserved seats. Passholders must pay a 15 euro supplement to book a seat on an ES in Italy.

helenoftroy, a couchette is not just a reservation, that's what I meant. That is also a bed, not just a seat, and that is why it is more than a few euro, one is paying for a bed in addition to the reservation (over what the railpass covers). Railpasses never cover beds, as some people will never take a night train. Some routes actually don't require you to have a bed on a night train, you can just be in a seat (sort of like on an airplane), but that particular night train may require you to pay for some kind of bed.

It would be individual tickets between cities, not passes. Passes are for entire countries. If you are only in one country, they would be a better idea than the general European railpass. There is a website that helps you figure out whether a railpass is more cost effective than individual tickets, you enter in your routes and click "only if it saves me money" and it answers which is best for you. I think that is www.railsaver.com

So try it out and see. I believe you are supposed to be allowed to get a refund on a Eurail pass (or whatever they call it) if it hasn't been used yet -- but they might have changed the rules.

Hi M,

>I wonder if I could get my money back from RailEurope?

Yes, but not a full refund.

>Brussels to Marseille to Wiesbaden to Amsterdam.

Bruxelles to M see www.voyages-sncf.com. Look for PREMS fares 60 days in advance

You will want the train that changes in Lille Europe. If you go into Paris, you have to change train stations. 107E PREMS

M to W SNCF has a 180E PREMS

W to A see www.bahn.de. From 71 to 103E. These are not high-speed trains. You won't have a supplemet and your seat reservations in Europe will be about 3-4E per leg.

TOTAL: 387E = $450

A Eurail Youth Select Pass is $306.

You will have to pay about $90 for seat reservation from Raileurope.

So your railpass is cheaper.

May I ask what is drawing you to Marseille? It is so far out of the way from the rest of your trip.

((I))

<i>Author: McNeill
Date: 02/02/2008, 08:31 am

Thank you all, I'll check on the individual passes between cities. I wonder if I could get my money back from RailEurope? They weren't very helpful or cooperative when I finally got throught to them on the phone. </i>

Read the small print in your documents. Mine said that it is refundable if returned unused. The cost is a 15% fee.

Call B.E.T.S. in Ann Arbor at 1-800-441-2387 for good free advice.

Since I brought up the subject of discount fares, I'll give you some examples.

Direct (no changes) Brussels-Marseille TGV: 80&euro;

Marseille-Nancy or Marseille-Metz night train: 35&euro; for a bunk in a six-person couchette or 60&euro; for a bunk in a four-person couchette.

A variety of low regular fares to get from Nancy to Offenburg or from Metz to Saarbrueken.

29&euro; discount fare to get from Offenburg to Wiesbaden or 27.40&euro; regular fare to get from Saarbrueken to Wiesbaden.

Local transport from Wiesbaden to Frankfurt and then a Europa-Spezial fare of 39&euro; for Frankfurt-Amsterdam.

See www.for timetables. After you get summary timetables, click on &quot;Details for all&quot; to see the connecting points.

You guys are great!! Thanks to all of you. As to why I'm going to Marseille, I figured if I was paying for the rail pass I might as well go to somewhere in the south on the coast. I have another question about luggage on the train. I'll post it here to see if I still get responses but I'm going to have one semi-large suitcase which I will not be able to lift over my head for the above rack storage. I'm wondering if it will be fairly safe in the storage section at the end of the rail car?

There are basically two ways to handle luggage stored at the end of the car: (1) keep an eye on it at each stop, or (2) secure it with a bicyle cable lock.

Gracias!!!