Skip to main content
Solved

First time interrailer in need of some basic help.

So I just bought the global pass and have started to make my first bookings and need a few step by step instructions to ger me started.

So I bought 4 passes for me and my family and intend to put 2 passes on my phone and 2 on my wifes. Firstly, how do I plan the trip on the mobile pass for 4 of us, then move 2 passes to my wifes phone? Can this be done before activating? Once I add trips to the mobile pass is it then activated or not?

Also I made my first reservation for a nightjet. This reservation will be towards the end of our trip so does it matter which order it is added to the pass?

When making this nightjet booking on the obb site the confirmation said if I take the pdf ticket now it invalidates the cancellation policy and so to get the ticket at the station.

I thought that the ticket, when added to the mobile pass would mean that I didn't need paper tickets? Have I got this wrong?

Tia

 

11 replies

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Once you activate the pass on a mobile phone (by using the pass number from the confirmation mail), you can only move it to another phone with the help of customer service.

Your pass is your ticket. Reservations however are separate from the pass. They do not appear in the app. You can buy them anywhere you like. Some are in classic international ticket format, others should be printed, again others don't need to be printed. For night trains, it's a good idea to print them, since the coach attendant usually collects them (and returns them next morning).

It doesn't matter in what order you add a journey to My Trip and to My Pass, as long as you do it before you board a train.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
Martin Pilley
Rank

Thanks.

So if I understand correctly, I can add my pass to the app, but not activate it yet. How about when I make reservations through the railplanner? Can I make it for 4 people and then before we start the journey activate it? Do I need to load all the passes to the app first if I make reservations through the app, but then later, before travelling activate 2 passes on my phone and 2 on my wifes?

Also when making reservations do I make them with the number of my pass?

Sorry for the amount of questions, I'll get the hang of it, I'm sure :)

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

You don't need to activate the pass to make reservations. You don't need to have all passes on 1 phone to be able to make reservations together. I also think that, as soon as you enter a pass number in the app, it will be linked to the phone and can only moved to another phone by customer support.

Reservations via Interrail are always done via their website, whether you go to their website directly or book via the app, since the app just forwards to the website.

To book reservations together with a group, check this page.

By the way, I try to avoid booking through Interrail since they charge extra fees (booking fee 2€ per person and train; postage fee 9€ per order if only paper reservations are available) and for optional seat reservations, DB (4€ per journey), ÖBB (3€ per train) and ČD (~3€ per train) are much cheaper than Interrail (8€ per train including booking fee).

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
Martin Pilley
Rank

How do I add my reservations to my trip though if I haven't added the pass?

I just signed in and it says I have no reservations( obviously, if I haven't added them) But how do I add them if adding my pass activates it?

Martin Pilley
Rank

This is how I am getting confused with how to do this. Seems to say to add the passes, connect the trips and only by step 3 says to activate it. So if I connect the trips to my pass/es do they activate or not?

https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/interrail-mobile-pass/getting-started

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

This is how I am getting confused with how to do this. Seems to say to add the passes, connect the trips and only by step 3 says to activate it. So if I connect the trips to my pass/es do they activate or not?

https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/interrail-mobile-pass/getting-started

These are the steps to connect a pass to a mobile device and activate it. There's no rush to do that.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

How do I add my reservations to my trip though if I haven't added the pass?

I just signed in and it says I have no reservations( obviously, if I haven't added them) But how do I add them if adding my pass activates it?

Reservations are separate from the pass. in the online account, you can add the passes from other people (using the pass numbers) and then make reservations together.

If you add a pass to a mobile device first, then the trip you created on the mobile device (in step 2 of the activation process) will probably appear in your online account after some time. I'm not sure though how long that takes.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
Martin Pilley
Rank

So I can add the pass, but not activate it?

I understand what you mean about having a paper ticket for the night train, but do I need to get paper tickets for every trip for 4 of us? I thought the mobile pass claims to be the paperless way to do it.

Martin Pilley
Rank

Sorry if these are stupid questions. It just seems a bit unclear .

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Indeed, you can add a pass to your mobile device but not yet activate it.

The mobile pass can be used instead of the paper pass. So in that sense, you've lost some paper already.

Reservations however are separate from the pass. They're not always available electronically and sometimes you can book them electronically but you're required to print them (although that is less and less often). That depends on the railway company, so always check what the website used or confirmation mail says about printing.

Reservations are not needed for all trains. In fact, most trains can't be reserved. Other trains have optional reservations and again other ones have mandatory reservations. Reservation requirements also vary a lot per country, see the separate country pages.

Also remember that reservations are not tickets. Your pass is your ticket.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
Martin Pilley
Rank

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately most of our trips need reservations. Coming from Finland where we never need tickets,only  digital on your phone, I didn't realise how many countries still required the paper though. Fair point though. I overlooked that its a reservation paper, not the travel ticket.

Reply


Terms and Conditions & Privacy PolicyCookie settings