About Rail Reservations

[dddx]

Hi! I've finally finished planning my itinerary! Just have a few questions.

I bought a Eurail Select pass from my local travel agent. But I am still unsure about rail reservations. Is it important that I do these way in advance? Or am I safe waiting to do it only when I am in Europe? Would seats run out if I wait? Also, will the run out of couchette berths if I wait?

These are the trains I need that require reservations in late March / April.

Berlin - Munich (night train)
Vienna - Florence (night train)
Rome - Naples (morning, and back in evening)
Barcelona - Granada

I considered using Euraide www.euraide.de/ricksteves, but they require me to fax my credit card details over even before starting anything, and I am not comfortable doing that.

Should I be making reservations and couchettes in advance? Do I have any other options other than Euraide and RailEurope? Or am I safe waiting till I am in Europe to do these?

Thank you for any help!

Daryl

[me]

In late March/April, there would be fewer tourists, you *prolly* won't have trouble getting seats, but on my early Spring 2004 trip, night train reservations were harder to come by. i missed two of the night trains i'd wanted to take because they were full.

[fyi, these were in Spain & Italy]

talk to your credit card company about getting single use numbers for you to use to make these purchases.

- d

[dddx]

Thanks David. I decided to do my reservations in advance. I'm using Euraide, which seems to be highly recommended on the Rick Steves boards.

[Eagle]

dddx, I suppose the "safest" method would be to obtain reservations in advance, however this is not something I've ever done. I usually buy reservations for the outgoing journey as soon as I arrive in a city, and have never had a problem with that approach (so far).

I usually manage to avoid night trains by structuring my Itinerary so that each destination is a fairly reasonable distance from the next. If the night trains involve several changes, the journey becomes a bit of a nuisance.

I suspect that in late March / April, the trains won't be too crowded yet, so my preference would be to just buy the reservations when in Europe. However, there are no guarantees so having the reservations locked-down would certainly be the safest option.

Regarding the practise of FAXing credit card details, I'm also a bit cautious with that and always make sure I double-check the number to make sure I'm not dialing someone else. Does Euraide not have a secure website where this information can be provided?

Good luck and happy travels!

[me]

eagle said:

I usually manage to avoid night trains by structuring my Itinerary so that each destination is a fairly reasonable distance from the next. If the night trains involve several changes, the journey becomes a bit of a nuisance.

i've never used a night train which involved *any* nighttime changes. most of the time, you go to sleep in one city - you wake up in the morning at your destination. in some cases, you might need to take a connection to the night train, or from the place where it ends. <if using a rail pass, the latter works better>

now that i think about it, i'd planned to make an early morning/ overnight switch between night trains once in Spain. but, as it was sold out, i had to take a day train. [trains in Spain are slow! if you have a night train option - where you don't have to change - i'd suggest it. planes are better - and cheap!]

- d