rail pass seat reservations

[dholer]

I booked my rail passes last week and made seat reservations, however, on some of the trains, especially the French ones, the reservations were very expensive, so in discussion with the helpful lady i was dealing with, I decided NOT to book seats on certain trains and just take pot luck or sit ont the floor.

Is this going to cause me a problem on the trains??

Any thoughts / advice?

[madamtrashheap]

If there are any public holidays when you're travelling, particularly the day before, or on Friday/Sunday afternoons, you may find trains rather crowded, even booked out. Check when your travel days are on which you haven't booked seats against the days of the week/holidays, and go from there.

[aussiechick007]

I was wondering about this too... on trains that you haven't reserved, do you just go to the station and get on? or show your pass to a person at a ticket window? or what? how does it all work?

[Eagle]

dholer, not having a valid reservation could very well cause you some problems! On some trains (usually the fast trains such as the TGV), reservations are compulsory. It's not a question of just "sitting on the floor", as you could be fined on the spot for not having a reservation. I'm surprised the "helpful lady" didn't mention this? If you choose the slower regional trains, these usually don't require reservations. Check the www.bahn.de website for information on which specific trains require these.

I found out about the penalties during a trip to Italy. Although the Conductor was very apologetic, I still got nicked with about a €50 fine!!! You'll need to weigh that against the "very expensive" cost of the reservations.

aussiechick007, you might want to also check the above website, to determine which trains that you're using have compulsory reservations. When using a Rail Pass, don't board the train without a valid reservation! I normally buy these a day or two before I'll be travelling at the nearest station. Mention to the agent that you're travelling with a Rail Pass and only require the reservation.

Be sure to have your Rail Pass validated before use at the first station you use. If you're using a Flex Pass, don't write the dates into the boxes before using the Pass (write the dates in on the day of travel).

Happy travels!

[aussiechick007]

how much do reservations normally cost? (like, a range?)

yeah I've been using that website to see how long trips take and what is available etc, and have noted the trains that say reservation compulsory. but you're saying I need to reserve all trains, whether compulsory or not, and just to do it a few days before the journey?

[dholer]

ok thanks for the tips.

as I have decided on all of my trains, I think it best if i book the reservations, to avoid hassle etc on the trip

thanks for your help!!!

[Eagle]

dholer,

Reservations aren't required and may not even be available on local or regional trains. It's mostly just the Intercity and EuroStar trains (ie: fast trains) where reservations will be a factor.

[Eagle]

aussiechick007,

For information on the cost of train reservations, have a look at www.ricksteves.com/rail/usepass.htm#sup. In the section on "Train Reservations" look on the right hand side to the small box that says "Reservation Fees With Railpass". There's a link there for printing a Reservation Fee List. That should provide you with the information you need.

Cheers!

[aussiechick007]

i. am. confused.

"When using a Rail Pass, don't board the train without a valid reservation!"

"Reservations aren't required and may not even be available on local or regional trains. It's mostly just the Intercity and EuroStar trains (ie: fast trains) where reservations will be a factor. "

with the first statement, are you only referring to the fast trains that need reservations? and not referring to the local or regional trains?

thanks for the last link though, I'll have a look through that.

[Eagle]

aussiechick007,

Some clarification......

When using a Rail Pass, don't board the train without a valid reservation

To be more specific, don't board the train without a valid reservation, if one is compulsory for that particular train. If you know which trains you'll be using, check the www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml website, as it will specify on the right side whether reservations are compulsory. You'll need to "click" the small arrow on the left to expand the details of each train in order to see this.

Yes, I was referring only to the "fast" trains and those that require reservations. Many of the "slow" local and regional trains don't require reservations.

There should have been a small booklet supplied with your Rail Pass that explains all the "rules" for using it. However, you might want to also download the free PDF Rail Guide from www.ricksteves.com/rail/railpdf.htm as it provides lots more detail.

I usually have a fairly good idea which trains I'll be using, as these are all well researched and listed in my Itinerary. Therefore I know which ones will require a reservation. I purchase the reservation either when I arrive in a city (for the outgoing trip) or at least a few days before I'll be travelling. However as MTH mentioned above, if there are going to be any public holidays it's a good idea to get these are early as possible.

You may already be aware of this, but I also wanted to mention that you'll need to get used to using the European city names and specific station (many cities have more than one station) when checking rail journeys. For example, if you're travelling from Rome to Florence, specify Roma Termini to Firenze S.M.N. (S.M.N. refers to Santa Maria Novella, which is the "official name of the station, as it's right across from a Church of the same name). Also, get used to using the 24-hour time system.

I was quite concerned about using the trains before my first trip, but you'll probably find that you'll get used to it very quickly.

Cheers!

[aussiechick007]

thanks, it all makes sense now

yeah i'll be getting a booklet when I get my rail pass in a few weeks

[aussiechick007]

does anyone know of any website where I can make a reservation for a train from madrid to pamplona? I figure this will be full because of the running of the bulls festival so want to make a reservation early, however I'm starting to think I may have to wait until I get to madrid..

also do people at ticket windows normally speak english??

[WillTravel]

I wouldn't count on English speakers in Madrid, although herrrbert no doubt has more up to date info.

Take a look at www.renfe.es . I'm not sure if it will work for reservations or not.

[aussiechick007]

yeah I looked there and I couldn't get anything other than the main page in english..

I'm so sorry for all these questions I have on railpasses... must be really annoying

ps. it just occured to me that this should be in the transport board if anyone wants to move it (I obviously didn't start the thread but thought I'd point it out)