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Post by magnav0x on Jul 25, 2007 11:29:39 GMT -5
Ok, as some of you know I'm going to europe next summer for a month. Other than itinerary, the rail system has been driving me nuts. It seems that, even have a Eurail Pass, you are still going to be paying a "supplement" for many legs of the trip. I went to RailEurope.com and plugged in the first train leg:
Amsterdam -> Mannheim
It's $22 per person even with a rail pass?! Is this just a reservation fee for booking it ahead of time? How often would we be out of luck on trains if we don't make reservations (There will be 3 of us). I'd really hate having to make reservations for trains as well...would take the fun out of a somewhat spontaneous adventure!
What about fees for ICE, IC, and other rail variants? There wasn't really info about this in Rick Steve's book. I've pretty much discovered everything I read online before I bought the book was more than sufficient (no need for his book).
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Post by Eagle on Jul 25, 2007 13:12:16 GMT -5
magnav0x, in my experience, the European rail system isn't too difficult to deal with once one becomes familiar with it.
Regarding the "supplements", there are two situations where you will have to pay these in addition to your rail pass:
- when travelling on fast trains (TGV, IC, ICE), reservations are mandatory. From what I've seen, the reservations costs vary somewhat depending on the country and the length of the journey.
- when using Couchettes or Sleepers on night trains. I believe the fee for the Couchette is in addition to the reservation fee, if required by that particular train?
I've never found the reservation system to be much of a problem. I normally make reservations for my outgoing journey when I arrive in a particular city. I've also made them a day or two before leaving - just take an hour or so and stop by the station when I'm touring.
I wouldn't bother with reservations at this point. Buy them when you're in Europe, and that way you can maintain some of the spontaneity of your trip. Of course, if you wait until a day or so before your journey to make reservations, you might find that a particular train is already fully booked. This will depend to some extent on "conditions" at the time (ie: if there's a Euro holiday coming up, you might want to book early).
Regarding Europe Through The Back Door, I found the book to be extremely helpful in getting "up to speed" on a number of different aspects of travelling in Europe. Although much of the information can be found on the net, the book has all the info in an easily digested and concise format.
Hope this helps?
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Post by magnav0x on Jul 25, 2007 14:07:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. That addresses my concerns on how far in advance I should book my tickets. I was really hoping I could just walk up to a train any time I want and go where ever. That's what I get for traveling in peak season BAH!
I was a little put off by the reservation costs, but I guess if you want to make sure you have a ride, then that's the cost of the reassurance. It just adds more to the budget that I cared for. According to everything I read, the beds on the trains are indeed extra no matter if you have reservations, 1st class, or anything. Another bummer. When I first saw 1st class had beds, I thought they would be included. Sounds like we'll be spending countless hours sleep upright on long journeys. I won't pay for a bed unless we are on a night train.
Do you happen to know what the additional costs are for ICE and IC trains? Somewhere I read a couple of extra Euro, but that's also what I read about the reservations which actually can run $14 to $70 per person.
It just frustrates me a Eurail Global Pass doesn't cover all these nick nack charges. Especially when I'm forced to buy a 1st class one, because I'll be 27 next year.
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Post by stlinzinfandelin on Aug 1, 2007 14:44:45 GMT -5
Hi!
Actually I just got back from dealing with this myself. Between the two of us, we estimated we spent an additional 200 euro on reservations (100 euro each). We only took a couple of trains that didn't need them - All the trains into and out of Italy basically needed them - the only trains we took that didn't need them were Interlaken-Munich, Munich-Fuessen, and Munich to Salzburg.
I think the ICE - IC trains were about 20 euro for reservations... it depends on how far they're going. In most cases, we didn't have any other option to get out of the city (on the day we wanted) than on those or Eurostars.
Also, just plan for the possibility that a night train may not be possible - we tried to book 3 and didn't get any of them.
One last thing... if you do have to make reservations and you have connections to make - make sure you have enough time in between to allow for the train being late. We were stuck in the Milan train station (and had to shell out another 20 euro for new reservations on the next train) because our train was late from Rome.
Just don't let it get you down too much - if anything it was kind of cool to be able to see the countryside during the day. And you'll get to meet a lot of people that way too.
Have fun!
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