hi folks i found the belgium site
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#Outbound
is there any other way to see if there are still reservations for trains
from say
London to Paris
or London to Amsterdam in the may 7 or may 8 or may 9 range ? 2023.
it is important for me to know before i buy a pass if this trip is possible wi eurrail pass /
thank you for reading !!!
Best answer by thibcabe
View originaldoes that booking reservation from b-europe magically update on Eurail app once “booked” ?
No, pass and reservations are completely separate. The app can't know you have booked a reservation.
After i buy the Eurailpass is there a too Easy button to Mistakenly hit and “start” the pass “accidentally” ?
No, the pass activation requires multiple steps and confirmations. Activation means selecting a start date explicitly.
For Amsterdam - Bern in 2nd class, the best is to book reservations via bahn.com (use "Seat only”). Then it's only €4.50 per person for the whole journey. Eurail is very expensive (€8 per person and train).
and where can i reserve seats without a pass ? for the Barcelona to Paris, it does not show on the B-europe site.
Without a pass, you can book by phone Paris-Barcelona via a number of railways, see this post:
No this is not the Bernina Railway. The above route starts in Turin (Torino) to France.
If you’d like to take the Bernina Railway (which is absolutely stunning !), here is an itinerary :
The number of nights could vary whether you go to Berlin or not
What do you mean by planning for others ? This is not my job, I simply love trains and I quite like helping others :)
would you say this differently, please ?
Between Chur and Tirano you have either choice :
- direct Bernina Express train : 19 CHF seat reservation for the panorama coaches (sold out weeks in advance) or there are a few reservation-free standard coaches at the front.
- hourly reservation-free regional trains on the same railway (same carriages)
Unfortunately Almansa is not well deserved by train, either you arrive in a nearby high-speed train station or you might have to wait a few hours in Alicante.
You now have 4 pass days left, okay. Your itinerary is fine but I expect Marseille - Barcelona to be impossible on the high-speed train on 18th May (but along the coast should be doable). If you want to include the Bernina Railway here you go :
- 12th Amsterdam - Munich
- 14th Munich - Basel advance tickets for that leg
- 16th Basel - Chur - Tirano - Milan/Turin (long travel day but quite scenic)
- 18th Milan/Turin - Ventimiglia - Nice - Marseille (either scenic or faster route)
- 19 or 20th Marseille - Barcelona by regional trains
Let me know which option you prefer. You have 5 travel days but Munich - Basel is quite cheap if you buy an advance ticket : 40-50€ for the 7 am departures. Check and buy on bahn.de
For Basel - Milan (Turin), as an example :
- IC3 Basel SBB - Chur 08:33 - 10:52
- IR Chur - Samedan 10:58 - 12:45
- R Samedan - Pontresina 12:48 - 12:57
- R Pontresina - Alp Grüm 13:04 - 13:42
- stop in Alp Grüm for a while to admire the scenery
- Bernina Express Alp Grüm - Tirano 14:18 - 15:31
- R Tirano - Milan 16:08 - 18:40
Don't worry about the tight connections, it's Switzerland
You then have dinner in Milan and could continue (or not) to Turin
- 21:02 - 22:00 OR
- 22:10 - 23:10
Both require a 10€ seat reservation (because high-speed train) on tickets.oebb.at but there should be availability last-minute
Here is a good connection to Marseille from Turin :
- RE Turin - Cuneo 13:25 - 14:36
- R Cuneo - Ventimiglia 14:41 - 17:21
- TER Ventimiglia - Nice 17:46 - 18:41
- TER Nice - Marseille 19:25 - 22:13
Use bahn.de, the German Railways website is a really good planner for all of Europe. It also shows when reservations are needed (very often accurate)
Trains run frequently in Germany, Switzerland and many other countries while seat reservations are optional so you can always stop en-route for an hour or two if you'd like
Some general advice and tricks :
https://community.eurail.com/train-connections-reservations-47/how-to-get-reservations-105 (whole thread is useful)
https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
You can always ask questions here when needed
First things first : it was the middle of the night in Europe, that's why nobody answered
Second : the Eurail Pass is your ticket. You add it to the Rail Planner app and then you add trains to your trip and on the day it'll give you a QR-code (= your ticket). Then you need to add seat reservations on some high-speed trains. But for 95% of European trains you simply add the train to the app = QR-code, you board and find a free seat
Third : bahn.de is for planning, to get an idea of all the connections. Google maps can help but it won't show full trains. Remember that seat reservations are optional in Germany, Austria and not possible in Belgium or the Netherlands. Simply board the train
So you want to go to Amsterdam from London on 6th May ? It is Coronation Day so I expect everything to be fully booked but I'll have a look
Here is the only connection with available seats on 6th May :
- London St. Pancras - Bruxelles-Midi 19:34 - 22:38 30€
- overnight in Brussels
- on Sunday morning : hourly reservation-free IC train to Amsterdam (not Thalys ones, they are sold out)
You'll need 2 travel days for this journey or buy a regular ticket between Brussels and Amsterdam
Otherwise 8th May :
- London - Amsterdam 06:13 - 11:12 35€
These are your train options. Now onto the ferry [updating]
https://www.stenalinetravel.com/
On 6th May :
- London Liverpool St - Harwich International 06:36 - 08:05 reservation-free train
- Harwich - Hoek van Holland 09:00 - 17:15 ferry (there's a 1h time difference between the UK and mainland Europe) 62.80€ (Eurail gives a 30% discount)
- Hoek van Holland - Schiedam subway 2-3€
- Schiedam - Amsterdam multiple reservation-free trains, simply add the one you take in the app
It willl be a beautiful journey :)
Same option on 7th or 8th May + there's also an overnight ferry on those dates. If you don't want to use a pass day (or won't buy a pass), there is this ticket : https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-amsterdam-by-ferry.htm
Let us know
High-speed trains are the problem but regional trains will run and you can board at any time. As reservations are not possible for anyone, simply show early and you'll get seats.
Here is the fast but expensive option :
- TER Marseille - Nîmes Pont du Gard 16:23 - 17:37 reservation-free
- TGV Nîmes Pont du Gard - Barcelona Sants 17:48 - 21:25 27€ book ASAP
Or here are reservation-free itineraries :
- Marseille 06:55 - Avignon - Narbonne - Portbou - Barcelona 15:40
- Marseille 09:39 - Avignon - Portbou - Barcelona 18:40
- Marseille 12:22 - Narbonne - Portbou (1h18 break) - Barcelona 21:40
You can mix those itineraries and stop along the way if you'd like. Use bahn.de for planning
Let me know
or should i wait until Paris tomorrow and ask for reservation at station ? is that cheaper ?
Don't worry, seat reservations for the Barcelona - Paris are available online until the train is full. They cost 37€ which is much better than the full price indeed. Book them ASAP though because this train is very popular. There is anyway always the option to go via Portbou along the coast and then take a TGV within France to Paris. I'll have a look at 30th May first -> at the moment both trains of the day are available in both 1st and 2nd class so that's great
On the other hand trains within Spain cannot be obtained online. There will be availability last-minute for Barcelona - Valencia, don't worry. There are multiple trains between the two. Simply book all of them at the first Spanish train station you encounter.
I'd buy the Eurail Pass 100% and make the Barcelona - Paris seat reservation ASAP. Everything else can wait or does not require seat reservations
To answer your other questions : if the inbound train is delayed, staff have to rebook you onto the later train at no extra cost (even 1st class if 2nd is full). Always speak to staff.
You do not have to activate the pass to book seat reservations. In most cases you do not even need a pass to book seats
Barcelona - Paris can be booked online only through the Interrail booking service.
It is currently showing availability on 30 May on both the 10.33 and 14.32 departures, passholder reservation is €37. You can only book this after purchasing a pass.
To sum up :
- Berlin - Bern optional reservation : 3€ per train (free with 1st class pass) on tickets.oebb.at or 4.50€ per journey (multiple trains) on bahn.de
- Bern - Milan 11€ direct train on tickets.oebb.at but can be done reservation-free Bern - Domodossola + regional train Domodossola - Milan
- Milan - Lyon direct train is not included. Either TGV to Chambéry (about 30€) + reservation-free regional train to Lyon OR Milan - Geneva (11€) + reservation-free regional train to Lyon (a bit longer)
- Lyon - Barcelona multiple options ranging from reservation-free to 37€. Let me know which one you'd like
- Barcelona - Valencia return 8-10€ book at any Spanish train station or even while you're in Germany or in Switzerland (it works !)
- Barcelona - Paris 37€ book ASAP
Do not hesitate for questions
Yes as long as regular tickets are sold for your class (1st or 2nd) seat reservations are available + I checked on interrail.eu (same as eurail.com)
You do not need to activate the pass, only create an account on eurail.com and add the pass (but no need to set a starting date)
Just want to add that the advice in the first paragraph does not work for Eurostar, Thalys and TGVs to Belgium -> those have quotas
You can check on sncf-connect.com for regular tickets + I'm able to check on interrail.eu because I've bought a pass (but for a whole other trip)
Interrail and Eurail are exactly the same. If one can buy seats, the other can too
Btw if you're planning to travel on or around a holiday weekend (17-21st May and 27-29th May), I'd buy seat reservations in advance because a lot of people will be travelling
the as long as seats are available view = reservations are available. .
is that for this Barcelona to Paris only train ?
For most trains this applies except Eurostar, Thalys and TGV to Belgium, those have quotas. On the other hand regular tickets can sell out on popular routes so at that point no seats will be available.
i thought seat 61 mentioned once the airline “like” pricing of high speed trains reaches a certain purchase price of above 130 euros, then passes are no longer accepted. or around that number. ?
There are quotas for certain trains (see above) but it is not the majority of trains. The Barcelona - Paris TGV used to have a quota but doesn't anymore (which is great news)
also after i punch in may pass number to buy reservation, am i yellow slider activating the barcelona to paris journey. or does it just sit there in my trip.
Seat reservations and app are separate. For any train you activate the yellow slider before boarding.
what does sliding that slider (which i cant see, but saw on 4 videos) actually do ?
You'll get a QR-Code which is your ticket to show to ticket inspectors.
and where is the pass activation ?
Yeah don't go to Paris if you can for this journey... you'll already take the exact railway a bit later
The fastest itinerary is via Geneva and Lyon yes. There used to be a direct train between Lyon and Barcelona (it should come back this summer...) but for now you have to change in Montpellier.
On the other hand you can go via Milan and Ventimiglia to Nice and the French Riviera in a day. You are able to stop in Genoa for a few hours if you wish. As an example : Basel 06:28/Bern 07:34 - easy connections in Milan and Ventimiglia - Nice 16:11. 11€ + 3€
You stop for a night in Nice, Cannes, Antibes,... The next day (or 2) French Riviera - Marseille - Montpellier and either direct TGV (27€) or via Portbou (10€ or reservation-free) to Barcelona. As an example : Nice 06:25 - Marseille - Narbonne (10€) - Portbou - Barcelona 17:04
Or : 13:25 Nice - Marseille - Nîmes-Pont du Gard - Barcelona 21:25 = 27€
08:25 Nice - Marseille - Nîmes - Barcelona 16:34 = 27 + 10€
As before the TGV to Barcelona (27€) would need to be booked early, what is your travel date ?
To answer your questions :
Usually it’s no problem to show your reservation on the phone. Only for night trains it is advised to print them as they take it from you and give it back you the next morning at your destinatiom
Great news for the Barcelona - Paris TGV ! I just had a look and wow… 222€ one-way…
For the Amsterdam - Spain journey : how many days do you have on hand ? This is an important piece of info. Berlin is quite out of the way so it could be skipped (but I agree that it’s a great city).
You can also enter Spain via the Atlantic side but it is a lot longer and completely out of your way. To see a different route into Spain : as you’ll already take the high-speed railway on your way to Paris, take the coastal route via Portbou.
If you let me know how many days you have, I’ll suggest stops along the way
You are going to Mallorca afterwards ? There are multiple ferrys from Barcelona, most overnight. I don’t think you get a discount with the pass.
I’d say your itinerary depends on how many pass days you did buy.
Or skip Berlin and travel via the French Riviera (Nice) from Turin instead
Let me know
Avignon - Marseille would be an extra 1h20-1h30 : 1-2 trains per hour.
If you were to stay in Marseille or along the French Riviera, I’d take this extremely scenic journey through the Alps (you don’t have to pay any seat reservations) :
The next day go to Marseille and/or Avignon
For planning I use a mix of bahn.de, Google Maps (and my knowledge a bit too).
This is the best link. See if there is availability between Lille and London + London - Brussels. Usually more seats than Paris or Amsterdam
8th May :
- London - Amsterdam (35€) 06:16 - 11:13
Or a few more Eurostars to Lille (8th-9th May evenings) or Brussels (8th May at 08:16). 30€
From Lille multiple TGVs to Paris (limited 10€, then 20€) and from Brussels hourly reservation-free IC trains to Amsterdam
Either way book ASAP. You could already buy on b-europe without a pass (4€ booking fee per order instead of 2€ per train on eurail.com)
Let us know :)
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