Booking Seat Reservations separately

  • 14 November 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 132 views
Tiarn Verhulst

Hello!

I am travelling Europe at the end of the Year, and have a Global Eurail Pass, but quite a few of the journeys I want to take, require seat reservations. I was able to book a few reservations through the Eurail website and also through the B-Europe website. However, on the 17th of December, I need to travel from London to Brussels, and on the Eurail Website it says that prices are unavailable and on B-europe it says that there are no journeys on that day, so I suspect that journey is sold out? However, on the 11th of January, I need to travel from Copenhagen to Prague, and on the 15th of January I need to travel from Prague to Frankfurt. Similarly, the Eurail website says that the prices are unavailable but I’ve looked and it seems I can book the seat reservations through the DSB or DB website, but it never asks me to add in my Eurail pass number, like the b-europe website did, when I go to purchase the seat reservations. So, I guess i’m just wondering if I purchase the required seat reservations separately on these websites, without adding in my Eurail pass number, will they still be valid when I go to show them for boarding? And also is there a way to add these journeys to my trip on the app, if i’ve purchased the seat reservations from somewhere else?

5 replies

A
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +3

In many countries, especially those with non-compulsory reservations you can just buy the reservations separately without any reference to the pass as this is available for anyone with an open ticket.

These are always for use with a valid ticket and you will be expected to show your ticket (in this case your pass) when asked.

 

There is no way of connecting reservations to the pass, you just look up the train in the planner section of the app and add to your pass before boarding.

ralderton
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Yes, it looks like Brussels is sold out on the 17th in second class. If you have a first class pass, there’s space. Otherwise you can travel on the 16th or 18th.

There is availability London-Paris and then a separate journey Paris-Brussels, but that means a much longer journey and two reservation fees.

Seat reservations on Denmark-Germany-Czech Republic are optional, so the reservation you’re buying on DSB to DB doesn’t need your pass number - it’s just the same reservation that any local person with a ticket might want to buy.

I think you can also buy the German ones cheaper on ÖBB https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ticket

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

If you really want to go to Brussels that day, the route via Paris is possible but a big detour nonetheless :

- Eurostar London St. Pancras - Paris-Nord 10:24 - 13:48, 12:31 - 15:48 30€

- TGV Paris-Nord - Lille-Flandres at 15:14, 16:44 10€

- regional trains Lille-Flandres - Tournai - Brussels (hourly)

Or direct Paris - Brussels Eurostar at 17:54, 20:23, 21:53 (27€).

Eurostar trains have a passholder quota and the Channel crossing is a big bottleneck yeah.

Tiarn Verhulst

In many countries, especially those with non-compulsory reservations you can just buy the reservations separately without any reference to the pass as this is available for anyone with an open ticket.

These are always for use with a valid ticket and you will be expected to show your ticket (in this case your pass) when asked.

 

There is no way of connecting reservations to the pass, you just look up the train in the planner section of the app and add to your pass before boarding.

Does this apply to compulsory seat reservations aswell? It says I need a seat reservation to board from Copenhagen to Hamburg (in the journey from Copenhagen to Prague), but it won’t let me process this through Eurail because everytime I go to buy it, it says its not available anymore? So would I be able to also book this one through DB or OBB?

A
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +3

In many countries, especially those with non-compulsory reservations you can just buy the reservations separately without any reference to the pass as this is available for anyone with an open ticket.

These are always for use with a valid ticket and you will be expected to show your ticket (in this case your pass) when asked.

 

There is no way of connecting reservations to the pass, you just look up the train in the planner section of the app and add to your pass before boarding.

Does this apply to compulsory seat reservations aswell? It says I need a seat reservation to board from Copenhagen to Hamburg (in the journey from Copenhagen to Prague), but it won’t let me process this through Eurail because everytime I go to buy it, it says its not available anymore? So would I be able to also book this one through DB or OBB?

It is incorrect about these reservations being compulsory, on that route they are only required in the peak summer months.

You can get them through DB, OBB or Danish railways, DSB.

Reply


Terms and Conditions & Privacy PolicyCookie settings