I have purchased a Eurail pass for me and a friend. We’re heading to Amsterdam on April 27 and visiting seven countries going by train. I’ve taken many trains in Europe including this year but I’ve always bought regular tickets. This is my first pass and I’m confused even after reading the entire website. 1.) I have created seven “trips” in Rail Planner. I’ve successfully made a few reservations but some of the trips that say reservations recommended I’ve tried numerous times to make and I get an error message. How do I know if these trains are available? And for trips with several legs I get messages that say some of the parts of the journey can’t be made. 2.) Second question: for trains where reservations aren’t necessary how does one know what car to get on and what seats may already be reserved by others before we sit down? 3.) Finally some of the legs have very short transfers like 7-9 minutes! Is it possible to make these connections? We’re in our sixties and not marathon runners. Many thanks for listening.
I have purchased a Eurail pass for me and a friend. We’re heading to Amsterdam on April 27 and visiting seven countries going by train. I’ve taken many trains in Europe including this year but I’ve always bought regular tickets. This is my first pass and I’m confused even after reading the entire website.
1.) I have created seven “trips” in Rail Planner. I’ve successfully made a few reservations but some of the trips that say reservations recommended I’ve tried numerous times to make and I get an error message. How do I know if these trains are available? And for trips with several legs I get messages that say some of the parts of the journey can’t be made.
2.) Second question: for trains where reservations aren’t necessary how does one know what car to get on and what seats may already be reserved by others before we sit down?
3.) Finally some of the legs have very short transfers like 7-9 minutes! Is it possible to make these connections? We’re in our sixties and not marathon runners. Many thanks for listening.
1.
Your pass has to be connected to just one trip, not seven. A trip contains all journeys you'd like to take.
As you didn't tell where you are trying to do your reservations and what trains / dates it's impossible to give an answer why it doesn't work.
If you get a message that some parts of the journey can't be made you should add train by train and you'll see what the problem is.
2.
You may board any carriage that has the travel class your pass is for (you are allowed to board 2nd class with a 1st class pass, too).
Sometimes it's indicated which places are reserved, sometimes it isn't. Depends on country and specific train. Most of the time it will be shown.
3.
If it's an official connection it's possible to make it. If you are not comfortable with short transfer times, you should not book it that way.
But if you don't need a reservation and it's a route that is frequently served it doesn't matter. Just hop on the next train. There's no need to take a rrain just because you did add it to your trip. You may change your mind at any point. Just add another train.
If you're booking on eurail.com, don't. Have a look at this page instead:
https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
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