For our upcoming trip in October we purchased a First Class BeNeLux & France railpass. We want to travel on the TGV from Brussels to Avignon, from Avignon to Paris, and a day trip from Paris to Strasbourg and back. I understand that we need to make reservations for the TGV lines. We were thinking we could make all our TGV reservations at one time, at the international rail counter at Centraal Station in Amsterdam, when we activate our rail pass on October 7th.

Is this too late to make our reservations, or should we make them sooner, now that we are less than 3 months out?

If we should make the reservations now, what is the easiest way to go about making the transaction?

How much does it cost for a reservation?

75 days and counting.... woohoo

Robyn

As a general rule I do not recommend rail passes as they do not appear to be the value that they once were. Additionally where once a valid rail pass allowed you to just board almost any train to any destination, now rail pass seats are limited and additional fees often apply, particularly when travelling on a train requiring a reservation.

The only way to definitively know what reservation fees you will incur is to ask the entity which sold you the passes. Seat availability in October may not be as difficult to obtain as in other months but if you have a good idea of when you want to travel, I see nothing wrong with reserving as early as possible. Doing so could preclude disappointment later on.

" I see nothing wrong with reserving as early as possible. Doing so could preclude disappointment later on".

I agree.

There are a limited number of seats on TGV timings which can be given over to pass holders so it is probably better to reserve earlier rather than later BUT that also depends on the date...if it is for some date such as a holiday when a lot of folks might also be traveling then all the more reason to book sooner; if it isn't then you might be able to wait.

the advantage of waiting is the PRICE of the SEAT RESERVATION..it will cost you MORE if you make it through an agency in the US such as Budget Europe Travel service or through RailEurope than it would if you waited and did it in A-dam.

The additional price of doing it now may be a small one to pay for PEACE OF MIND and only YOU can decide that.

As to the "value" of passes..the more you use them the more economical they BECOME. I am sorry but i disagree with the broad generalization that they aren't worth the money because obviously they are in many cases.

Certainly, rail passes are sometimes worth it. For the OP's trips - Brussels to Avignon, Avignon to Paris, and a day trip from Paris to Strasbourg and back - almost certainly not, especially when you figure in the TGV supplement and the fact he/she could have gotten PREMS for something like 20 euro for the long-haul trips. I'm guessing in this case the OP could have saved a LOT.

But to answer the question, now that you've got them, get the reservations, get them as soon as possible. In for a penny, in for a pound. I've been in French railway stations and seen rail pass holders unable to get a seat because they waited until the last minute.

artstuff wrote <i>We were thinking we could make all our TGV reservations at one time, at the international rail counter at Centraal Station in Amsterdam, when we activate our rail pass on October 7th.</i>

You are thinking right. October is low season for tourists but trains may have some bottlenecks on Friday and Sunday evenings. Reservations will cost &euro;3 each in Amsterdam. Do it right after you arrive and don't wait until the day of your departure from Amsterdam. The international ticket office in Amsterdam Centraal can be a long wait. I've waited in there for over an hour. Bring a guidebook.

Take a day trip to Haarlem.

"Take a day trip to Haarlem."

While they are waiting for service at the international office?

It's true though the wait can be long, but shouldn't be so bad in October.
I have no idea though which is best. I'd probably go with reserving them now so I was sure of having them. One less thing to worry about.

<i>While they are waiting for service at the international office?</i>

That is within the realm of possibilities. The international office operates on the take-a-number system. If there is a crowd in there sitting all over the place and the staff is going at the usual Dutch pace, snail speed, you could do it. Haarlem is only 18 minutes away. But you won't have time to see much except the beautiful train station.

Of course as you know I didn't mean that kind of a day trip. Haarlem deserves a couple of days IMO.

Thanks for everyone's input. I think, just to play it safe, we'll book our TGV reservations now instead of waiting until we get to A'dam in October, particularly since our TGV travels are during the weekend.

This will be our sixth journey to Europe in the last 12 years, and we've always used a rail pass - for the ease, flexibility, and cost. However, this is the first time that we have had to make reservations (travelling thru France). It kind of takes the flexibility out of travelling.

Spaarne - We'll be in Amsterdam a total of five nights, so we're planning a day trip to Haarlem. We've been there three times before (even took the bus out to Spaarnedam once). Haarlem is one of those quintessential Dutch towns which keeps drawing us back to it.

Robyn

Hi art,

> It kind of takes the flexibility out of travelling.<

I hear that a lot.

In your other five visits, how many times did you decide not to take the train to X, as you had planned, but took a train to y at a different time that day?

Ira - Never!

When we planned our itinerary, we always allowed flexibility on when we were leaving one destination and arriving at another.

Since there are multiple trains running to the same destination every 20 minutes, every half hour, every hour, every two hours..., this would allow for flexibility in our schedule.

We frequently plan a day of travel where we leave X, heading to Z, but stop at Y along the way. We might have planned our itinerary for a 5 hour stop at Y, but once there we decide we want to stay an extra hour. No problem - we just jump on the next hourly train.

That's the kind of flexibility that we're missing out on by travelling on the TGV, which requires reservations. We're locked into our schedule.

Robyn

Hi
I am in the same situation. Have a Italy/France pass and wants to do the reservation now for start Sept travel from Naples to Venice to Tirano (Italy Eurostar) and Geneve to Paris (TGV). Where can I make the reservation on the internet????
I bought the pass from Euro Railways but they do not want to do the reservation because the 'shipping fees' are to high (to Africa).

HI

I am also not sure what to do buy a pass or not

We will be taking the train from Geneva to Paris and back and we are also thinking about going to Blois return from Geneva at another time we will be in Geneva for a month which would need a 4 day pass

We will be going to Paris as we have booked our hotel but as to Blois it will depend a lot on the weather we go in 7 weeks and will be in Geneva from 12th March to 9th April

We are buying a 1st class swiss rail pass for a month but should we get a 3 or 4 day France pass or just go and try to get point to point ticktes when we arrive in Geneva for our Paris trip??

I had thought about getting an early train to Paris and changing in Paris and going to Fountainbleau for the day before we check in to our hotel so I will have seen a chateau and it will also use the pass if we go to Fountainbleau is this chateau just as good as the one or two we wouls see in Blois??