Hi Anna We are arriving into Stockholm 17 May and catching a train to Oslo on 20 May - is that likely to be affected ? As the strike just has been postponed a few days, going to from Stockholm to Oslo on the 20th should work. Previously the trains between Stockholm and Oslo should be affected from the 18th but that has been moved to the 22nd now. The 50 hrs strike has been postponed????
So it looks like I just need to cut out our trip to Munich. Our original plan was 2 over night trains fron Rome to Munich and then again Munich to Amsterdam. This also allowed for over half a day to explore munich. Now I need to figure out how to get from Rome to Amsterdam without going through Germany. Any suggestions would be helpful. From what I gather I can get a train to Paris and then on to Amsterdam. Any other routes? Also, what is the best way to book the tickets and still be able to specify the seats we want and use out Global pass? A nice trip would be through Switzerland. If you take a high speed train to Milan you can then travel with reservation free trains to and through Switzerland. This was the route we took to get to Rome. Now we are trying to get to Amsterdam and spend a few days there before our flight departs. Therefore, we are trying to do it all in one day or overnight.
Definitely go via Switzerland. I'd avoid Paris because there is a lot of extra fees. Milan - Paris cost 30€ and is surely sold out + Paris - Amsterdam is highly likely sold out, it can be the case weeks in advance If you let me know your travel dates I'll make you a precise itinerary suggestion but for now here's what I'd do : - DAY 1 Rome - Milan (13€) - Lugano/Locarno or Lucerne (no reservation) - DAY 2 Lugano/Locarno/Lucerne - Basel - Strasbourg - DAY 3 Strasbourg - Metz - Luxembourg - Brussels - Amsterdam OR Strasbourg - Lille (20€) - Kortrijk - Antwerpen - Amsterdam. Both options roughly take the same time and you could stop along the way in whichever city you'd like (everything is reservation-free except the Strasbourg - Lille TGV) If you have 2 travel days then Rome - Basel/Strasbourg on day 1 and Basel/Strasbourg on day 2 : totally manageable, don't worry :) We would prefer to do the trip to Amsterdam in a single day
So it looks like I just need to cut out our trip to Munich. Our original plan was 2 over night trains fron Rome to Munich and then again Munich to Amsterdam. This also allowed for over half a day to explore munich. Now I need to figure out how to get from Rome to Amsterdam without going through Germany. Any suggestions would be helpful. From what I gather I can get a train to Paris and then on to Amsterdam. Any other routes? Also, what is the best way to book the tickets and still be able to specify the seats we want and use out Global pass?
I talked with Trenitalia and was told the way to change seats is to bring up your reservation on their website and select change date and time. You can then select the same date and time as your current reservation, however you are now given the option to change seats by selecting the change seat option.
Thank you for all the great responses. I just want to make sure I am clear on the first class Eurail global pass before I hit the purchase button. If we want to reserve first class seats on any train we first need a First Class global pass?
If you select "no seat reservations required" in the planner, under filter options, you should be able to see only regional trains (or trains with only mandatory reservations) . Seat reservations are best avoided on relatively short stretches. Distances like Amsterdam Brussels, Brussels - Cologne, or Lille are just bad value. A seat reservation on Thalys or TGV connection cost almost as much as cheaper ordinary tickets. But a lot of people know these tips and tricks by heart, so if you share your plans, you can get good advice here how to cut down reservation cost to a minimum 🙂. The longer the stretch, the more worth it gets to get a reservation in my opinion. Paris Geneva has very expensive reservation fees. Tonget to Switzerland, from Paris it's best to only reserve to another station in France, like Bellegarde, Mulhouse or Lyon, and afterwards continue your journey via regional trains there. It brings you to lesser known, but nice places too that way :) A domestic seat reserva
So if majority of the trains we are riding are high-speed is there any benefit to having the First class global pass over the standard global pass if we are interested in riding in first class on the high speed trains? The benefit is that you can use first class on the train (but on most trains there is no snack/drink/meal included, but there are some exceptions). You get mostly only a better seating than second class. Depends from the route, operator and train. Just so that I am clear if we purchase the standard Global pass we cannot reserve first class seats?
So if majority of the trains we are riding are high-speed is there any benefit to having the First class global pass over the standard global pass if we are interested in riding in first class on the high speed trains? Also, you mentioned regional trains, is there a way in the App or website to filter to see only regional options for a route e.g Paris to Geneva or Venice to Florence?
Thanks for the quick response. We will be travelling during the first week of May. I was able to find the Bernina Express in the Eurail timetable. As for the regional trains. Are you saying the parametric views are not worth the extra cost (~$25.00/per person)? That is the only reason we are considering this train.
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