Best answer by rvdborgt
You only need to activate a journey before you board a train.
It's also not advised to activate a pass or a travel day in advance. You never know what happens and you can only cancel activation until 23:59 before validity starts.
You only need to activate a journey before you board a train.
It's also not advised to activate a pass or a travel day in advance. You never know what happens and you can only cancel activation until 23:59 before validity starts.
You only need to activate a journey before you board a train.
It's also not advised to activate a pass or a travel day in advance. You never know what happens and you can only cancel activation until 23:59 before validity starts.
The point with activating before you board a train is very important as you tend to get fined if you activate it at the sight of the conductor. So I strongly advise to activate it before boarding a train but not a day in advance since, as rvdborgt already stated, you never know what happens.
My trip starts in October. I have never used Eurail. When I went through my trip planner, I saw that there were a couple of trains that I had to have a seat on due to airline departures and a limited time schedule. So I am wondering if it’s possible to activate now to get a ticket on them? I’m not super flexible about the time frames on my trip. I bought seat reservations on one critical train, but they were not needed on the one train I am most interested in getting seats on. Is the reason reservations are not needed on some trains is that there are so many seats on them that it’s not an issue?
You don't have to activate the pass in order to book a seat reservation. In addition, activating it does not guarantee you a seat. It only gives you a QR code (your ticket).
Regarding inexistant/optional vs mandatory: some countries/companies have various policies basically. SNCF and RENFE require a seat reservation on (at least) long-distance trains, they do ticket checks before boarding, 2-3/day frequency, etc. (airline mindset)
Meanwhile SBB, DB, ÖBB have a different approach: you can just hop on and sit wherever you want. Even on fast/high-speed trains. Trains run at least hourly. This gives you flexibility rather than getting tied to a train weeks in advance. Also much easier to replan when things go wrong. There are usually enough seats -> if you'd like further advice, mention route and departure time. You are always allowed to board.
Basically there's no European standard: it'd be silly to require reservations on a subway, commuter/suburban train or regional.
Thank you for your explanation. It makes me feel a lot less anxious about the rail portion of our trip. I do have more of an airline mentality. The phrase, “you are always allowed to board” is helpful to me. We don’t have many trains where I live. Does a seat reservation on SBB guarantee a seat, or just let you board? And a several hours train ride that doesn’t require seat reservations means that there is likely always enough seats available?
Seat reservations in Switzerland is a waste of money. Just enter the train as a journey in the Railplanner app, and activate the journey just before boarding the train. There are always seats available.
Indeed I live in Switzerland and never ever booked a seat reservation. Trains are long and there are always free seats (of course busier at rush hour). I generally walk to the front or rear of the train to get the most availability -> people are lazy and will board in the middle near the ramps/stairs.
What's your route? I could give you tips on where to stand on the platform. ;)
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