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Trying to get to Valencia

S

Hi all,

Im trying to get to Valencia, but Interrail (mostly eurostar, tgv and inoui )are making it very difficult and expensive for me.. 

I want to get from Rotterdam to Narbonne on May 31st, and then travel the next day to Valencia. The first day is the problem, especially the part between Bruxelles Midi and Montpellier (where i need to change)

For basically every option i see the pass is either not applicable or I have to pay a genourmous reservation fee (ie around 160 euro on top of an already pretty expensive pass). 

My ultimate route was: 

  1. Rotterdam - Bruxelles midi 06:40-08:03 - no need for reservation
  2. Bruxelles midi - Montpellier Saint Roch 08:17-14:30 - IMPOSSIBLE
  3. Montpellier - Narbonne 14:50-15:53 - 10 euro reservation 

The only affordable option is leaving Brussels at 14:00 and arriving in Narbonne really late (around 22:00), which kind of defeats the purpose of the journey. Can somebody help me get an alternative route? Otherwise I'm afraid I have no choice but to take the plane….

3 replies

Eurail Community Moderator
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Hi ​@Sophie van der Donk 

Did you try this option below? Paris Gare de Lyon direct to Narbonne? 

Book seat reservations

Please note that we can't reply to private messages at the moment. Thanks for your understanding. Do feel free to tag us with any questions or updates!
R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • 10631 replies
  • April 1, 2025

The pass holder quota on the TGVs from/to Brussels is very limited. The 8:17 TGV on 31/5 doesn't have pass holder availability anymore from Brussels to Montpellier. Eurostar to Paris also has limited availability, although there's more availability from Brussels than from Rotterdam. TGVs within France can however be booked until they're full.

Possible workarounds:

  • Use regular trains to Lille (via Kortrijk) and then a TGV to the south of France.
  • Book a separate ticket or pass reservation from Brussels to Lille, and then a pass reservation in the same train from Lille to Montpellier.
  • Book Eurostar Brussels-Paris and then a TGV from Paris to the south of France.

The best place to book these reservations is on raileurope.com, so you dont have extra fees.

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.
Schelte
Full steam ahead
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  • Schelte
  • Full steam ahead
  • 392 replies
  • April 1, 2025

While I agree these tgv's that bypass Paris are ideal, the 14-minute transfer in Brussels is quite risky. There don't seem to be Eurostar trains from The Netherlands that weekend.

My personal solution would be to book a Eurostar to Paris the evening before and book a hotel night. With the current Eurostar sale, the 17:58, 18:58 and 19:58 Eurostars from Rotterdam to Paris on the 30th are now available for €32 without needing a travel day. Hotels in Paris aren't cheap though.

Interrailing seems difficult at first sight, but it's pretty amazing.

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