Replies posted by NewcastleTourists

27 Replies

Tanakarn Guy
Tanakarn GuyRail rookie
asked in Routes & destinations

Walking from Haparanda Tornio bus station to Uusi silta I

We too are travelling through here in a few weeks time-but arriving by train from Boden which will be a 30 minute walk to the bus stop in Tornio to go to Kemi according to Google Maps. There are a few buses a day from the train station to Haparanda bus station which I’m hoping meet the train arrivals from Boden. A detour to IKEA for meatballs will be hard to resist at that point! I see that there are buses between Tornio and Kemi that are free for Interrail pass holders. https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/benefits/bus-services-in-finland/And following the link on that page took me to the timetables and maps of bus stops for the bus to Kemi.  

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
David Gough
David GoughNew aboard
posted in Routes & destinations

Europe train journey from Ireland

The book Europe by Rail has suggested routes and stopovers. Latest edition is the 17th. https://www.europebyrail.eu/and of course Man in Seat 61 has routes such as London to Spainhttps://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
bleusquirrel
Keeps calm and carries on
bleusquirrelKeeps calm and carries on
asked in Train connections & reservations

How do I pay for the seat reservation fee after the tickets are added to my Eurail pass?

https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm#SpainMan in Seat 61 mentions using an agent to book seat reservations for Spain. https://community.eurail.com/members/malcolmak-1339and MalcolmAK reports using the agent a couple of weeks ago. 

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bleusquirrel
Keeps calm and carries on
1 year ago
A
ana85Rail rookie
posted in Train connections & reservations

Finland - Malaga ?

A plan that I have (admittedly haven’t yet done it) and uses much cheaper ferries (and can use Interrail discount) is:Helsinki-Tallinn by ferryTallinn-Stockholm by overnight ferry Stockholm-Copenhagen by trainCopenhagen-Nykobing Falster by trainNykobing Falster to Gedser by bus (hourly, takes 40 mins)Gedser to Rostock by ferry (walk on quick ride)Rostock onwards by train       

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1 year ago
Antonino Dagata
Antonino DagataNew aboard
asked in Ask the community

How to buy a ticket of Santa Claus express

Am in Finland just now and a couple of days ago phoned the VR number in that link to book seat reservations. It was easy to speak to someone  and the seat reservations were both emailed to me and sent by sms text so no need to collect from the station. We have not found any manned railway stations in Finland  apart from Helsinki main train station. The Eurail information about collecting reservations from stations is out of date in my view. 

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M
1 year ago
Tanakarn Guy
Tanakarn GuyRail rookie
asked in Routes & destinations

Walking from Haparanda Tornio bus station to Uusi silta I

An update from our journey between Boden and Kemi this week. The 11.51 train (there is only that and another at 17.13 or an earlier one at 5.55) was cancelled with little notice and no bus replacement. We jumped on the next bus to Lulea and then waited for the next bus to Haparanda (very slow but free with Interrail pass). This of course meant that we had long missed the last bus of the day at 16.03 to Kemi. It was -15c at Haparanda (the bus station opposite IKEA). We phoned for a taxi to Kemi (€70) which took less than 30 minutes to do the journey. By then it was -20c and Kemi railway station was completely closed up. But we got the 19.17 train to Oulu and our hotel for the night. This train was marked as ‘Seat reservations required’ on the planner-we didn’t have seat reservations but by the time the ticket inspector found us we were in the restaurant car tucking into meatballs and mashed potatoes and beers! It was always going to be a fragile day’s arrangements. Just feeding back in

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1 year ago
Tanakarn Guy
Tanakarn GuyRail rookie
asked in Routes & destinations

Walking from Haparanda Tornio bus station to Uusi silta I

The rail planner only marks Finnish night trains as ‘Seat Reservations required’. All others are not marked as such. However on the VR app some trains eg on a Sunday afternoon back to Helsinki quickly become fully booked and without a reservation you cannot board. Where this happened we made a reservation for an earlier train-which was indeed also full by the time we boarded it. 

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1 year ago
Ilkka Virjo
Full steam ahead
Ilkka VirjoFull steam ahead
asked in Routes & destinations

Route ideas starting from UK

Edinburgh is certainly worth your 2 night stop. On the LNER train make sure to book seats on the right side of the train (ie the coast side) between Durham and Edinburgh (left side on the way back south) as the view of Durham cathedral is beautiful and then the coast up to Edinburgh is stunning. 

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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ChloetRight on track
asked in Ask the community

What size bag do people use?

Have just returned from a 6 week route including Norway up to Narvik, east to Helsinki and south to Switzerland and back to the U.K. in January and February. We did as a couple with a 42ltr wheely cabin bag each and a small day pack each. We had layers, wore winter shoes with trainers in the bag. This combination worked well for hopping on and off trains, accommodation always 10-25 minutes walk from railway stations, able to put bags on racks above seats or behind seats on trains. 

9
S
Keeps calm and carries on
8 months ago
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Full steam ahead
inrareichFull steam ahead
asked in Ask the community

Suddenly some Swiss trains are not valid anymore

If it’s of any help I can confirm that I did this journey last Saturday when no reservations were required, passes were checked on this and also on the train from St Gallen to Chur with no problems. And every subsequent train in Switzerland for the next 4 days.   

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1 year ago
L
LoraRail rookie
posted in Train connections & reservations

Need help figuring out UK travel - Seat Reservations Required vs No Reservation

I travel up and down the LNER east coast line (London to Edinburgh line) and I have never ever been expected to have a seat reservation if I have a flexible ticket (which an Interrail pass is). As shown on the LNER app seat reservations can be made free of charge on the app up to 5 minutes before departure. The advice of LNER to make a seat reservation is just that-advice for your comfort   

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1 year ago
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sarahgRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

Another Reservation Query - Zurich to Paris TGV in the Summertime

The Strasbourg to  Paris TGV comes into Gare d’Est so no crossing Paris needed as it’s a 10 min walk to Gare de Nord for Eurostar

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1 year ago
S
ShazRight on track
posted in Train connections & reservations

bus from Narvik , Noway to Fauske Norway

I did that bus journey in reverse (Fauske to Narvik) in February. There were very few people on the bus-there are several bus stops in both Narvik and Fauske so make sure you use the Nordland Reise app to pick the most convenient stops. Half price ticket for over 65s and their companions too! The journey was very scenic and included  ta boat trip. 

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1 year ago
M
Myles ChamaaRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

How to make reservations for Spanish trains (i.e RENFE) as an international traveller?

This was from a thread 3 months ago and might be helpful? 

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Seth
8 days ago
F
FroukjeRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

reservation Haparanda Sweden to Narvik Norway 11th July

From my experience earlier this year I think that you would get the local (no reservations) train from Haparanda C station to Boden. Then change onto the train that goes over to Narvik. 

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11 months ago
D
DrummondRail rookie
asked in Train connections & reservations

Changing stations and catching Eurostar to Paris. Do I have sufficient transfer time?

Hi, if the train to KX  is on time yes it’s time to walk over to St Pancras and check in. However as a frequent user of the LNER east coast line I wouldn’t trust it as am delayed so often. Maybe get the earlier train south? Also we get a ‘CIV’ reservation for the LNER train to link it to your EuroStar reservation (someone else can explain that better than I can!) -you can get this in person at your local station although may need to be persistent until you find someone in the ticket office who knows what it is. 

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Railmaster
3 months ago
D
DrummondRail rookie
asked in Train connections & reservations

Changing stations and catching Eurostar to Paris. Do I have sufficient transfer time?

It looks like this. Also made our seat reservations on this LNER train in the LNER app. 

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Railmaster
3 months ago
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Full steam ahead
NewcastleTouristsFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

How to use the Rail Europe website for reservations

Thanks-so it only works on the desktop version of the website. This seems to work -https://www.browserstack.com/guide/request-desktop-site-on-iphoneand Interrail pass is then available on my iPhone 

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Samantha Lane
Keeps calm and carries on
3 months ago
Snellie
SnellieRight on track
asked in Ask the community

trip from Amsterdam to Oslo Norway

What about trains from Hamburg up to Frederikshavn then overnight (departed just before midnight when we did it) DFDS ferry to Oslo? It’s the ferry that starts in Copenhagen with a stop to pick up passengers in Frederikshavn. Nice journey through the Oslo fjord in the morning. Easy walk to Oslo’s main railway station from where the DFDS ferry docks. There are more and shorter ferry routes to Norway from further north in Denmark (Hirtshals) but they don’t go into Oslo. 

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Full steam ahead
3 months ago
Bronwen Haire
Bronwen HaireRail rookie
asked in Train connections & reservations

booking seat reservations Milan to Bologna 14/03/24

I am also planning to do the Milan to Bologna train-there are no reservation free trains on this route from what I can see? 

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Full steam ahead
2 months ago
S
SueRail rookie
asked in Travelling by train

How do I book bikes on the TGV?

We travelled from Nice to Paris on the TGV with 2 assembled bikes last year without Interrail passes ie ordinary tickets. This involved a change at Lyon Part-Dieu. We had to book 3 months ahead to secure the reservations-it was very difficult to make them as there appeared to be only 2 bikes per train and only one day train each day that accepted bikes. For the night train there were more bike spaces but with a bike at night you can only travel in a 6 person couchette which we didn’t want to do. maybe look on SNCF Connect to see if there are any bike spaces for your date for non-Interrail pass holders as a first step and if there are phone SNCF? 

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Railmaster
2 months ago
S
SueRail rookie
asked in Travelling by train

How do I book bikes on the TGV?

Hi-yes I realised that you have passes-but if there are no bike spaces left for people buying full tickets there will be none for pass holders either. If there are no TGV bike spaces left for your date you could do the journey in several reservation-free RER trains (some of which might need one of the more plentiful RER bike reservations). There are people on this forum who can advise you on reservation-free routes if you give them your travel date

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Railmaster
2 months ago
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BairyHallsRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

preston to Barcelona at Easter

You can use RailEurope ‘desktop version’ on your iPhone/ipad by going to raileurope.com and then touching the AA (it’s the little capital A and the big capital A) at the very top of the screen-the. Go to ‘Request Desktop Version’ and you’ll then see the option ‘Add rail pass’ in the search box. This does not work on the app only the website. 

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Full steam ahead
2 months ago
marcuslim
marcuslimRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

Edinburgh - Frankfurt with Eurail Pass

That London connection doesn’t give you any time for delays or cancellations on the East Coast line (certainly a lot less time than I give that London connection). I’m not sure whether EuroStar let you move to a later train if you miss the connection but perhaps someone else knows? 

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1 month ago
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CColes1Right on track
asked in Ask the community

Booking a ticket

I have booked EuroStar seat reservations with Interrail Pass twice in the last few weeks (last time yesterday) in the desktop version and both times I needed to enter my Interrail Pass number to let me complete the booking

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C
1 month ago
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