If travelling as a couple is it easier to have both mobile passes on 1 phone or would you advise 1 on each? I know it's not possible to have them both on 2 phones as back up unfortunately. What problems have other couples travelling together encountered? Any advice gratefully accepted.
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Depends-in my view, mostly on how stable you estimate the relation to be and if you intend to also only-all the time-travel together.
If this your first long trip together-it is a kind of fact that quite a few then discover its not to the liking of both and they decide to split up at some stage.
As a couple we faced the same issue a few weeks ago.
For us it came down to only 1 question:
Would we want to travel independently? If not then only use one phone.
There is no back-up or transfer option because once your pass is activated on a device it cannot be transferred to another device without customer service disabling it from a broken, lost or stolen phone.
We used one phone, which we took care to avoid damaging or losing. We did however have a second phone with the app and all the pass details, so if it was lost we had all the tools needed to contact customer service and reinstall in the second phone.
If you spread them over 2 phones losing one phone still requires customer services to disable so onward travel as a couple is not possible anyway until that is done.
As a couple we faced the same issue a few weeks ago.
For us it came down to only 1 question:
Would we want to travel independently? If not then only use one phone.
There is no back-up or transfer option because once your pass is activated on a device it cannot be transferred to another device without customer service disabling it from a broken, lost or stolen phone.
We used one phone, which we took care to avoid damaging or losing. We did however have a second phone with the app and all the pass details, so if it was lost we had all the tools needed to contact customer service and reinstall in the second phone.
If you spread them over 2 phones losing one phone still requires customer services to disable so onward travel as a couple is not possible anyway until that is done.
Thanks for this. It's good to hear from someone who has done the same. I'm hoping it will all make sense when we actually start travelling. Have you any more advice/tips for an anxious couple in their 60's?
As a couple we faced the same issue a few weeks ago.
For us it came down to only 1 question:
Would we want to travel independently? If not then only use one phone.
There is no back-up or transfer option because once your pass is activated on a device it cannot be transferred to another device without customer service disabling it from a broken, lost or stolen phone.
We used one phone, which we took care to avoid damaging or losing. We did however have a second phone with the app and all the pass details, so if it was lost we had all the tools needed to contact customer service and reinstall in the second phone.
If you spread them over 2 phones losing one phone still requires customer services to disable so onward travel as a couple is not possible anyway until that is done.
Thanks for this. It's good to hear from someone who has done the same. I'm hoping it will all make sense when we actually start travelling. Have you any more advice/tips for an anxious couple in their 60's?
We are similar.
The important thing is to relax and prepare well.
We had a reasonably trouble free trip from Sicily to Leeds over 10 days . Other than a couple of regional trains in Germany all our trIns were long distance city to city with reservations.
We split our thinking into travel days and sightseeing days, so 2 night worked well.
Luggage - we took a cabin sized bag and a mid size suitcase so keep weight to your comfort level.
Reservations - get them whenever possible - we are too old to stand or sit on floors.
Operation of the app - straightforward once you have done the tutorial but rules and processes can be daunting at first.
Finally go first class if you can.
We used a mixture - most were with the IR res service but used OEBB (Austrian railways) and D Bahn for a few. All worked fine and fees varied.
For actual planning we tended to use the OEBB,at planner, but there are several others that are quite good as well, including Trainline, even though they do not support IR.
Remember that the only source, when planning, of whether a reservation is mandatory is the IR planner on the web or in the app.
Have a great trip.
Remember that the only source, when planning, of whether a reservation is mandatory is the IR planner on the web or in the app.
That is an unreliable source that should not be used for any planning. It also has errors in telling whether or not a reservation is mandatory.
The only reliable sources for that kind of information are the operators’ timetables.
Remember that the only source, when planning, of whether a reservation is mandatory is the IR planner on the web or in the app.
That is an unreliable source that should not be used for any planning. It also has errors in telling whether or not a reservation is mandatory.
The only reliable sources for that kind of information are the operators’ timetables.
Yet when I pointed out that in the UK some of the operators own sites said reservations were needed you said they were wrong. Make your mind up.
I still say that the IR planner is the first port of call. Sites like Eurostar do not even acknowledge pass holders let alone suggest that reservations are mandatory.
I acknowledge that the IR planners are not the greatest but I have always reckoned that they do give a good representation of services that require a reservation. Then it is off to the reservation services as appropriate for the required journey.
You need to use all the info at hand and IR planners are reasonably good as a starting point.
Remember that the only source, when planning, of whether a reservation is mandatory is the IR planner on the web or in the app.
That is an unreliable source that should not be used for any planning. It also has errors in telling whether or not a reservation is mandatory.
The only reliable sources for that kind of information are the operators’ timetables.
Yet when I pointed out that in the UK some of the operators own sites said reservations were needed you said they were wrong. Make your mind up.
I've seen a few UK operators contradicting themselves about mandatory reservations (mandatory or not depending on where you look on their websites). They should make up their minds themselves and be consistent. By the way, under consumer law contradictory conditions normally mean the most favourable conditions apply. But in general, the operators themselves should be the most reliable source.
You need to use all the info at hand
I can agree with that.
and IR planners are reasonably good as a starting point.
But not with that. As a starting point, the planners of e.g. DB, ÖBB, SBB or CD are way more reliable than the Interrail/Eurail planners. Not only for the timetables but also for information on mandatory reservations. It shouldn’t be like that but unfortunately that is my experience.
Only for determining validity of the pass, the IR planner could maybe be a starting point, although it also has a lot of errors in that field. It has only recently started to point out that Interrail is not valid on the Copenhagen metro, just to give one example. These services are included in the rail planner app and have the same label as the S-Tog ("SUB”), so that was a real trap.
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