Eurail newbie needing help

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We’re from Australia and looking to travel through UK, France, Switzerland and Italy from mid October to late November. At this stage, we have 5 days planned of first-class Eurail travel over just under a month. We’ve never travelled on trains in Europe before.

At this stage we intend to travel as follows (all daytime travel):

  • Manchester Airport-London
  • London-Avignon
  • Paris-Geneva
  • Geneva-Rome
  • Rome-Venice

Logic says we need 2 x 5 day/1 month passes, and we would ideally like to have access to the passes electronically.

Having had a look at the schedule, some of the services we’d be after seem to be available now, while others are yet to appear. I have had a look through a number of the conditions around reservations and pass purchasing, and some aspects aren’t completely clear.

I have the following questions:

  1. How far in advance of travel should I purchase the passes?
  2. Do I have to activate the passes before I make my first reservation?
  3. Should reservations be made on the Eurail website, or should they be spread out across various railway systems websites?
  4. We’ll be travelling with one large luggage item and one carry-on (rollaway) each. How do you normally deal with luggage on these services?
  5. Can I cancel a reservation and get a refund once it’s been made (before day of travel of course)?
  6. Can I CHANGE a reservation after it’s made (say change the time or date of travel)?
  7. If we decided not to travel at all once passes had been purchased and reservations made, what are our options to secure a refund (if at all)?

Many thanks in advance

18 replies

T
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  1. You can purchase the pass at any time you want
  2. You do not have to activate the pass
  3. There are usually better places for reservations than eurail.com. No booking fee, etc.
  4. There are usually luggage racks on every carriage, sometimes luggage can also be stowed under seats (there’s space between bay of 4 seats).
  5. Usually reservations are non-cancellable but sometimes they can be exchanged. It depends
  6. Eurail refunds 85% of the pass (unless during a promo). See : https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/ordering-info/refund-exchange-policy

From your journey it seems that one leg is missing : Avignon to Paris. Or did you mean London - Avignon - Geneva ?

You need to add seat reservations on high-speed trains.

  • 30€ Eurostar
  • limited 10€ (or 20€) TGV
  • 13€ cross-border EC Geneva - Milan
  • 10€ Frecciarossa trains

This thread will help you :

As seat reservations are adding up (73€ to add if I calculated correctly), maybe regular tickets will be cheaper when bought a long time in advance (non-refundable ones). Especially as you’re travelling outside peak season.

Keep in mind that the summer (and autumn) timetable isn’t confirmed yet, especially for Italy, That’s why not all trains appear.

G
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From your journey it seems that one leg is missing : Avignon to Paris. Or did you mean London - Avignon - Geneva ?

 

We’re in London for 4 days, then train to Avignon. We’re driving from Avignon in a clockwise loop back to Paris over about 8 days or so. Then train to Geneva, followed by a week driving around Switzerland. Trains to Rome and Venice, followed by another week by car through Italy.

T
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Okay now I'm understanding better.

Keep in mind that there is a hefty surcharge for leaving the car at another place (usually about 500€).

Driving in Switzerland isn't exactly practical. Renting a car isn't cheap, parking is very expensive and sometimes entirely forbidden in the city center. There are some car-free villages too : Zermatt, Mürren, Wengen,... I'd really suggest visiting the country by train. The public transport network is really excellent : densest network of the world, frequent trains (at least hourly, often two-hourly), lots of capacity too. The Eurail Pass also covers boat trips on Lake Thun and Brienz + it gives discounts for mountain railways.

- A 10 day within 2 months 1st class Global Pass costs 582 USD.

- A 15 day one costs 716 USD.

Y
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Userlevel 7
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  1. You can purchase the pass at any time you want
  2. You do not have to activate the pass
  3. There are usually better places for reservations than eurail.com. No booking fee, etc.
  4. There are usually luggage racks on every carriage, sometimes luggage can also be stowed under seats (there’s space between bay of 4 seats).
  5. Usually reservations are non-cancellable but sometimes they can be exchanged. It depends
  6. Eurail refunds 85% of the pass (unless during a promo). See : https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/ordering-info/refund-exchange-policy

From your journey it seems that one leg is missing : Avignon to Paris. Or did you mean London - Avignon - Geneva ?

You need to add seat reservations on high-speed trains.

  • 30€ Eurostar
  • limited 10€ (or 20€) TGV
  • 13€ cross-border EC Geneva - Milan
  • 10€ Frecciarossa trains

This thread will help you :

As seat reservations are adding up (73€ to add if I calculated correctly), maybe regular tickets will be cheaper when bought a long time in advance (non-refundable ones). Especially as you’re travelling outside peak season.

Keep in mind that the summer (and autumn) timetable isn’t confirmed yet, especially for Italy, That’s why not all trains appear.

Remember that many pre-purchased retail tickets have very limited options to exchange or get refunds, and lowest prices are frequently the least attractive timings. Your pass is valid for ALL trains operated by the participating companies (plus reservations if needed) so change of plans is easy and, other than any reservations, free on all trains including peak hours. An advance Man airport ticket (2nd class) can cost as little as £34 but it is not exchangeable or refundable. If your plane is late an on the spot anytime single is an eyewatering £187. With a pass you simply catch the next available train with any routing - on the spot reservations for the connecting express are free.

Eurostar is worth considering to Lille and then a direct TGV to Avignon (If using a pass choose the SNCF InOui TGVs, not the Ouigo low cost which are not eligible for a pass user.

Check Eurostar availability on https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish. You do not need a pass to check but do need them to make a reservation.

For French domestic TGVs for pass use check here
https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish

OOI French TGVs even when pre-purchased will typically cost £100+ per person.

G
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Keep in mind that there is a hefty surcharge for leaving the car at another place (usually about 500€).

Driving in Switzerland isn't exactly practical. Parking is very expensive and sometimes entirely forbidden in the city center. There are some car-free villages too : Zermatt, Mürren, Wengen,... I'd really suggest visiting the country by train. The public transport network is really excellent : densest network of the world, frequent trains, lots of capacity too. The Eurail Pass also covers boat trips on Lake Thun and Brienz + it gives discounts for mountain railways.

We’ve got this one-way for 156 Euro.

We’re aware of the challenges in Switzerland and we’ve decided to still give it a go. Can’t say we weren’t warned.

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With a pass you simply catch the next available train with any routing - on the spot reservations for the connecting express are free.

Eurostar is worth considering to Lille and then a direct TGV to Avignon (If using a pass choose the SNCF InOui TGVs, not the Ouigo low cost which are not eligible for a pass user.

Check Eurostar availability on https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish. You do not need a pass to check but do need them to make a reservation.
 

What are ‘on the spot’ reservations?

Our intent is to grab a London-Lille-Avignon service to bypass the Paris changeover but there are only so many services a day. This one will need to be reserved pretty soon I’d expect.

 

T
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Good news for the car rental :)

Don't worry, Switzerland will still be pleasant. The lowlands of the country can be covered for days by fog/low-level clouds so the mountains usually have better weather !

With a 4 or 5 day pass you still get the discounts for the whole month. So you have 50% discount on boat on Lake Lucerne any day of the month (as an example). Or 25% for travel above Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald (furthest places accessible by car) to Wengen/Mürren/Schilthorn/Jungfraujoch and such.

A 5-day Pass could be an idea if you want to take a train one day in Switzerland or boats on Lake Thun (2 boats per day in October - November). One-way to Thun by boat and return by train for example.

Be aware of one thing too : the direct cross-border TGV Lyria to Switzerland has a 70€ seat reservation fee (1st class). Avoid it by all means. Take the same TGV to Bellegarde (10-20€) and then a regional train to Geneva. Doesn't take much longer (max 30 min).

T
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Userlevel 7
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With a pass you simply catch the next available train with any routing - on the spot reservations for the connecting express are free.

Eurostar is worth considering to Lille and then a direct TGV to Avignon (If using a pass choose the SNCF InOui TGVs, not the Ouigo low cost which are not eligible for a pass user.

Check Eurostar availability on https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish. You do not need a pass to check but do need them to make a reservation.
 

What are ‘on the spot’ reservations?

Our intent is to grab a London-Lille-Avignon service to bypass the Paris changeover but there are only so many services a day. This one will need to be reserved pretty soon I’d expect.

 

They mean that seat reservations in the UK are free (and optional) whenever you make them. Also free on travel day.

London - Lille - Avignon is a great route. You'll be able to book Lille - Avignon + Paris - Bellegarde for 4€ booking fee altogether at : https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish

 

A
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My advice is that you book the Eurostar from London ASAP.

There is a limited number of pass holder seats on the Eurostar between London and mainland Europe. On popular departures and during high season those sell out weeks, and sometimes months in advance.

The best place to see the availability of passholder seats and make reservations on the Eurostar is 

https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish

If you don't get any result, press "later trains" and eventually you will find the next available connection. 

If you have a mobile pass you need to generate a Pass Cover Number in order to make the reservation at b-europe. You do that here in the PCN generator:

https://community.eurail.com/news-and-announcements-39/pass-cover-number-generator-is-live-5653

Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
T
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Well the trip is planned for the end of October, lots of time to book the Eurostar, don’t worry !

I’d advise you to wait a few weeks as some trains are added to the timetable 6 months prior to travel (= not available right now).

G
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Be aware of one thing too : the direct cross-border TGV Lyria to Switzerland has a 70€ seat reservation fee (1st class). Avoid it by all means. Take the same TGV to Bellegarde (10-20€) and then a regional train to Geneva. Doesn't take much longer (max 30 min).

Yes, was aware of this. Trying to convince wife of the merits of changing trains and saving cash.

T
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You'll be able to convince her :) 2 x 60€ saved is quite a lot of money...

The main part of the journey will still be on comfortable TGV seats anyway.

Here are 2 connections that work (and really not longer that way) :

- TGV Paris Gare de Lyon - Bellegarde 08:14 - 11:00

- TER Bellegarde - Genève 11:07 - 11:35 (so 6 min more than the direct TGV !)

OR

- TGV Paris Gare de Lyon - Bellegarde 10:15 - 13:00

- TER Bellegarde - Genève 13:33 - 14:00 (so 30 min more than the direct TGV)

G
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You'll be able to convince her :) 2 x 60€ saved is quite a lot of money...

The main part of the journey will still be on comfortable TGV seats anyway.

Here are 2 connections that work (and really not longer that way) :

- TGV Paris Gare de Lyon - Bellegarde 08:14 - 11:00

- TER Bellegarde - Genève 11:07 - 11:35 (so 6 min more than the direct TGV !)

OR

- TGV Paris Gare de Lyon - Bellegarde 10:15 - 13:00

- TER Bellegarde - Genève 13:33 - 14:00 (so 30 min more than the direct TGV)

Currently seeing a 29 euro difference between the two options, but a saving of 58 euro is not to be sneezed at. For 7 minutes it would be silly not to.

T
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I don't know which prices you're seeing but yes the difference is quite big (all 1st class seats) :

- TGV Lyria direct 2 x 70€ = 140€ (more expensive than advance tickets sometimes !)

- TGV to Bellegarde 2 x 10€ = 20€ (limited quota) or 2 x 20€ = 40€ 

Still more than 100€ saved !

Booking fees to add :

- 2€ per person per train (eurail.com) OR

- 4€ per order, no matter how many trains (b-europe.com, link above)

G
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The best place to see the availability of passholder seats and make reservations on the Eurostar is 

https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish

I gather the above link is only for Eurostar and Thalys reservations.

Should I be booking everything on Eurail.com or splitting reservations up across multiple different platforms with lower costs.

T
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It's usually better to book somewhere else but sometimes eurail.com cannot be avoided.

Here is the link for TGVs within France (4€ booking fee per order, no matter how many trains or people) : https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish

Otherwise tickets.oebb.at has no booking fee and offers seat reservations within Italy (3€ IC/10€ Frecciarossa) and free (for 1st class pass) optional reservations in Austria, Germany and much of Eastern Europe.

Let us know for any other questions

T
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For your itinerary :

- Manchester - London free on gwr.com (optional reservations anyway)

- London - Paris 30€ Eurostar = doesn't matter where you book it'll be equal to 4€ booking fee in the end

- Paris - Avignon + Paris - Bellegarde (for Geneva) : https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish (4€ booking fee in total)

- Geneva - Milan (13€) + Milan - Rome (10€) + Rome - Venice (10€) : tickets.oebb.at (add Interrail/Eurail as a discount and select one-way tickets) no booking fee

Nothing can be booked right now for October-November, simply wait a few weeks (maybe the Eurostar could but the full schedule isn't confirmed yet).

Z
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I’m looking at some Eurostars in June and other than (possibly) the last or first train on some days there is still plenty of pass holder availability for most trains, so it’s unlikely that October has sold out.  It’s more likely they just aren’t available yet.

It can be a bit hard on the nerves trying to organise a trip when one leg can’t be reserved at the same time as the others.  I just set myself reminders to check every few days to see when tickets were released for additional days and used that to work out when to expect trains for my dates becoming available.

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