OK I already have my Eurail pass. Should I make individual train reservations online in the US now or wait and do it when I get there? I'm traveling this itinerary late April-early May:<BR>Paris - Luzern<BR>Luzern-Venice<BR>Venice-Rome<BR>And...<BR>1. Can I reserve all trains at once at one station, even if they are for other countries?<BR>2. Is it better to reserve at the train station or a travel agent?<BR>Thanks!

Ben Haines is the guru of train travel and may be able to offer more information but I'll give you my two cents. <BR><BR>I recently returned from Europe and we used the train a lot. We reserved the trains in Europe at the train stations because travel agents are more expensive. We never had a problem getting a seat. Because you are not travelling in high season, I presume this would be the case for you as well. We typically reserved a day or two before we were to travel. <BR><BR>Also, we couldn't reserve for trains in another country (we were in Italy and wanted to buy tickets for trains in Spain and they said we needed to wait until we were in Spain).<BR><BR>Of your trains, the only one we did was Venice-Rome. It was a very comfortable 5 hour ride on the Eurostar, with pretty scenery along the way. <BR><BR>Hope this helps.

John,<BR>I can answer few of your questions. Here are factors favoring reserving earlier:<BR>- Your group. Large group, say 8 or more travelling together would be hard to sit together.<BR>- Route and day. Heavy business route on business day would be hard to sit if large group. Same for Friday PM and major holidays.<BR>Factors favoring reserving later:<BR>- Reserving in US gets hit with big surchages.<BR>- If travelling alone, reserving a week ahead is plenty early enough to get a seat somewhere. For example, Paris-Luzern route, Paris-Dijon is crowded, while the rest of the route is pretty empty, except perhaps on heavily travelled holidays.<BR><BR>Regarding station vs travel agent, I have not used travel agents although Rick Steves talks about this. I have reserved at large stations and small stations: use small stations. The only rude receptions I got in France were when I made reservations at large stations. They deal with dumb travellers all day long and are not in any mood to offer you any courtesy.

Thanks guys...and who is this Rick person?

And "Ben the Guru"<BR>are these books or posters to these boards?

Ben Haines is the god of British posters on this forum. Rick Steves is a well-known budget travel writer (check www.ricksteves.com) who has loads of very practical information for the European traveler. And I think Rachel and Greg have given you very good advice, so I won't reiterate except to say that since you aren't traveling at peak times, local reservations should be fine, and do try to find a small train station (I actually do mine in Versailles if I can instead of Paris proper). However, you can also make reservations at CDG when you land and that is very easy too because they speak English and are gentler with foreign tourists.<BR><BR>Have fun!

Wednesday 1 May is a public holiday in all three of your countries, so you need to book two days ahead any journey you?re making on Tuesday to Friday, 30 April to 3 May, inclusive. You can make all the bookings at one time. You can book at an agency or at the international desk in any big railway station of Europe. They are all on one computer system. In Paris I like the staff at the Gare St Lazarre, as many speak English, and they are not so busy as their colleagues at the Gare du Nord. In either station I find staff helpful (but then I?m speaking French). Those who speak English wear badges to say so, and all take credit cards. I?ve not booked at the airport station, but I agree that the staff there are likely to be good, as the way they impress travellers there will affect sales all over France. The only drawback is that the bookings will take about 15 minutes, and at the airport your first concern might be to reach your Paris hotel. <BR><BR>I?m not sure what went wrong when Rachel tried to book for Spain from abroad. Perhaps the computer link was down.<BR><BR>May I protest a little ? I?m no guru nor god.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>

make reservations whenever you can...there is nothing worse than standing for long periods on a train.

All right, Ben, but you always give the most complete and thorough information in the kindest tone.

Thanks Ben and others, your advice is really helpful.