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90-day reservations on Nightjet from Stuttgart to Venice

R

Hi everyone. The Interrail/Eurail website has consistently been telling me that reservations for this service open 90 days prior to travel date, in my case 22 October. Reservations therefore ‘opened’ a couple of days ago yet the only option I am given on Interrail is a second class seat and, on OBB, the option to reserve a section of the seating compartment. From others’ knowledge and experience, will the sleeping berths have sold out, which seems increasingly likely as tickets look like they’ve been available on OBB for months! If this is the case then the reservations section on the Interrail website contains misleading information. Many thanks Richard

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Best answer by thibcabe 26 July 2023, 11:45

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R
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Don't believe Interrail for these booking periods. I've noticed several errors there. ÖBB often open booking 6 months in advance for night trains - and that's also the best place to book. So yes, there are only seats left on 22 October.

@Mukhammad clearly the information is wrong about this train, since you can already book in the beginning of November. Can this please be corrected?

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
R

Thanks for the reply, that confirms what I suspected. I contacted Interrail yesterday and they took no ownership at all, referring me to OBB and the international support line. The Man in Seat 61 compares the seated compartments to sleeping on a park bench so it’s really not an option when travelling with a small child. This was the last leg of my trip to book and the other reservations are non-refundable. Deeply unhappy with your company, Mukhammad 😡

R

By way of a follow up, can anyone please advise whether Eurostar, TGV and Trenitalia reservation tickets are exchangeable or refundable and, if so, the best way of obtaining these. Thanks.

T
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Btw what is your starting point on 22nd October ? The Vienna - Venice night train has all types of accommodation available, including sleepers. You do not have to board it in Vienna but could board at a later stop.

The Munich - Verona - Milan night train has couchettes. This isn't a major detour so I'd recommend it. The next morning you double back to Venice, either from Verona (05:52) or Milan (07:42).

Seat reservations are generally non refundable : Eurostar can be exchanged for 15€ (as long as the train has passholders seats left) and I think it depends where you made the TGV and Trenitalia reservations.

Eurostar : interrail.eu (2€ fee per person per train) or https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish (4€ fee per order)

Domestic TGVs : interrail.eu (as above) or https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish (4€ fee per order)

Trenitalia : tickets.oebb.at (no booking fee)

R

Thanks for the advice and the links, appreciated. We’ve reserved a Eurostar arriving in Paris on Sunday at around 13:45 so would struggle to get to Munich or Vienna that afternoon. I think Plan B will have to be the afternoon TGV or Freciarossa to Turin, then on to Venice the following morning.

T
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The easiest option would indeed be to take a TGV to Turin (international Frecciarossa is not included for an unknown reason) or a train to somewhere in Switzerland and spend the night there.

However if you're keen on a night train there are other options I just thought of ! Of course you'd arrive later in Venice.

Option 1 :

- night train Paris-Est - Vienna 18:58 - 10:13 sleepers available on nightjet.com

- RJ Vienna - Venice 12:18 - 20:04 10€ surcharge + 3€ optional (but recommended) seat reservation. Beautiful journey through the Alps

Option 2 :

- night train Paris-Est - Salzburg 18:58 - 07:26  sleepers

- RJX Salzburg - Innsbruck 08:56 - 10:44 3€ seat

- EC Innsbruck - Verona 11:24 - 14:58 10€ surcharge + 3€ seat

- RE Verona - Venice 15:22 - 16:50

You could also leave it in Munich but it stops there at 6am…

Option 3 : more time in Salzburg

- RJX Salzburg - Innsbruck 10:56 - 12:44 3€ seat

- EC Innsbruck - Venice 13:24 - 18:25 10€ surcharge + 3€ seat

Let me know for questions :)

M
Userlevel 5
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Don't believe Interrail for these booking periods. I've noticed several errors there. ÖBB often open booking 6 months in advance for night trains - and that's also the best place to book. So yes, there are only seats left on 22 October.

@Mukhammad clearly the information is wrong about this train, since you can already book in the beginning of November. Can this please be corrected?

@RichardM76 @rvdborgt 

I'm really sorry for the information on both Interrail/Eurail website showing an incorrect information. If you could point out the written statement of "reservations for this service open 90 days prior to travel date" and the link(s) associated to it, I'll be happy to report it to the content team.

So far, I found that the written statement that "you can start making reservations for Nightjet trains (with 'NJ' train number) up to 6 months in advance" on both websites: https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/tips-and-tricks/trains-europe/night-trains/obb-nightjet and https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/trains-europe/night-trains/obb-nightjet

 

R

Mukhammad - here’s a screenshot showing that, for a reservation on Nightjet on 1st November 2023, ‘prices will start to be available 90 days before departure.’ This is incorrect, and prices are available on the OBB website: 

 

M
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Mukhammad - here’s a screenshot showing that, for a reservation on Nightjet on 1st November 2023, ‘prices will start to be available 90 days before departure.’ This is incorrect, and prices are available on the OBB website: 

 

@RichardM76 Thanks for the information! :) It's indeed supposed to be revised.

I'm reporting it now.

M
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@RichardM76 @rvdborgt I'd like to inform you that your report has been already taken into account by our team. Since our reservation system is unassociated with the one owned by ÖBB, the reservations on NightJet are open later than on the railway company's site.

As this information provision depends on various parties, this process can take some time.

Thank you for your willingness to understand this matter. 

B
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Six months later and the Eurail/interrail site is STILL displaying that erroneous message.

I just posted a question on this very topic, and now i see that the mistake is old, was recognised, and NOTHING WHATSOEVER has been done to correct it.

It has RUINED our Interrail plans.

RichardM76 was very polite to be deeply unhappy. I am furious. This is not acceptable.

Enc.: result of search for 14 May, made just now (31 jan).

 

R
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Although many Nightjets can be booked up to 180 days in advance, this is often not the case for the trains to/from France. In this case, the reservations for 14 May are not open yet. This train can currently be booked until 21 March. I don't know when the later dates will become available.

The best place to do that is nightjet.com or tickets.oebb.at and certainly not interrail.eu.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
B
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Thanks (again!) rvdborgt!

On oebb.at, when i try to make a seat reservation (for March, by way of a test) i just get “Ticket not available”.

But entering the exact same criteria on nightjet.com i do get availability up to 21 March, which looks very hopeful.

BTW how did you know it can be booked until 21 March? Does it say so somewhere, or on some other site, or did you just find out by trial and error? Whichever, thanks for your encouraging answer.

 

R
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On oebb.at, when i try to make a seat reservation (for March, by way of a test) i just get “Ticket not available”.

Please add the Interrail/Eurail discount and then select "One-way tickets” (NOT "Seat reservations only”).

BTW how did you know it can be booked until 21 March? Does it say so somewhere, or on some other site, or did you just find out by trial and error? Whichever, thanks for your encouraging answer.

It's just trial and error. On nightjet.com, you can see that pretty fast.

 

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
B
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I am now officially unfurious. My apologies to any Interrail staff who felt slighted.

All the same… maybe that message needs to be reworded? IDK, maybe “¨Prices for this journey  usually become available 90 (or some other figure) days before departure - but check with the company that runs the train”.

Still struggling to make other reservations, in Central Europe (having wrongly assumed the 90-day limit would apply more generally) but fingers crossed.

R
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Still struggling to make other reservations, in Central Europe (having wrongly assumed the 90-day limit would apply more generally) but fingers crossed.

Every company has its own policy.

Seat61 tries to give an overview with a lot of explanation:

https://www.seat61.com/european-train-booking-horizons.htm

As to other reservations, if you don't succeed, you can ask in this community but please mention route, date and departure time.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.

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