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booing reservation from London to Rotterdam

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Hi, I bought 5 Eurail passes for my family including kiss and elderly. I would like to go to Rotterdam on 28th July from London. When I go to Planner to search all the available trains, I found that there are two trains at 6:16 and 8:16, no seat reservations are required. Does it mean that I can just get on the train? How about the seats? Does it mean no specifics seats or all are free seats? 

Then I found that there are other available trains in the afternoon which charges 56 pounds for each  seat reservation. When I click to book the seats,  it says all the trains are fully booked. Can anyone give me some advice as I'm not familiar with the booking system? I'm nervous that I have a trip with kiss and elderly. 

7 replies

T
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It looks like a big bug (very annoying). Eurostar trains require a seat reservation. Without one you won't be able to access the train at all.

Those trains also have passholder quotas and can sell out well in advance. Have a look at availability here : https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish

Reservations costs 30€ to Brussels or 35€ to Rotterdam/Amsterdam. Definitely book ASAP if there are still available seats.

I'd suggest taking a Eurostar to Brussels if available and then the hourly reservation-free IC to Rotterdam.

EDIT : All trains are full that weekend and the convenient ferry is too. I'm looking at alternatives and will update.

The Channel is a big bottleneck and it's one of the busiest weekends of the year...

T
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Could you leave on 27th July ? This is the easiest option.

OPTION 1 (the easiest and less time consuming) :

- London Liverpool Street - Manningtree 06:00 - 06:56

- Manningtree - Harwich International 07:01 - 07:18

- Stena Line ferry Harwich - Hoek van Holland 09:00 - 17:15 (1h time difference) about 60€ per person including 30% discount with Eurail (code : EURAIL2023)

- subway Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam (not included but cheap)

OPTION 2 :

Updating...

Suzanna Poon

Could you leave on 27th July ? This is the easiest option.

OPTION 1 (the easiest and less time consuming) :

- London Liverpool Street - Manningtree 06:00 - 06:56

- Manningtree - Harwich International 07:01 - 07:18

- Stena Line ferry Harwich - Hoek van Holland 09:00 - 17:15 (1h time difference) about 60€ per person including 30% discount with Eurail (code : EURAIL2023)

- subway Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam (not included but cheap)

OPTION 2 :

Updating...

Does it mean I need to go by ferry?

T
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This would be the easiest option yes. Not possible on Friday as they are sold out. There are 2 ferries per day :

- daytime departure at 09:00

- overnight departure at 23:00

The overnight one looks sold out on Thursday but it's not really clearly written…

Suzanna Poon

Oh no. Even I bought 5 Eurail passes which cost over 1800 pounds but can't take the train. 

T
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Well you'll be able to take trains on other days. But definitely book in advance when required, it is peak season after all. And you do get a 30% discount for the ferry.

Which pass did you buy for it to be so expensive ?

Could you be a bit flexible with dates ? Where are you heading after Rotterdam ?

I'm still looking for other alternatives but there's not a lot of them frankly…

EDIT : There would be a Flixbus to Lille on Friday : 08:00 - 16:15 for 58€. From there you can reach Rotterdam by train.

T
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This is the best itinerary I could find :

- Flixbus London Victoria Coach Station - Gent 08:00 - 17:15* 50€

- 2 min walk to the train station

- IC Gent-Dampoort - Antwerpen-Centraal 17:35 - 18:23

- IC Antwerpen-Centraal - Rotterdam Centraal 18:44 - 19:50

If Flixbus is delayed, there is the same reservation-free connection 1 or 2h later.

*it's a long journey but keep in mind the 1h time difference + you can stretch your legs and eat something on the ferry.

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