Replies posted by ralderton

1080 Replies

N
Keeps calm and carries on
nikita2007Keeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

hotels in Italy, Wien

Can you bring a letter of permission from your parents? You can stay in HI Hostels with that, and they have a massive footprint of hostels all over Europe.https://hihostels.com/hostel-faqs/#Whocanstayatahostel?Isthereanagelimit?There are 3 hostels in Vienna:https://hihostels.com/hostels/?adventure=&country=Austria&city=ViennaIf you want hotels without seeing a person at checkin, you want something like Formula 1 in France. I don’t know if they have hotels in Austria, but they’ll be outside of the city, so not so convenient.

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N
Keeps calm and carries on
4 hours ago
N
Keeps calm and carries on
nikita2007Keeps calm and carries on
asked in Travelling by train

travel Wroclaw - Wien - Italy

I use WX Charts to help plan my trips around the weather.Right now, most of Europe looks cold, but there’s some fair weather in Sicily and Iberia.You can get from Milano to Sicily with a sleeper train.In 10 days time, the weather gets better, and it’s warm in Poland.

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N
Keeps calm and carries on
4 hours ago
Rachel Russell-Smith
Rachel Russell-SmithRight on track
asked in Travelling by train

11 days London to Belgium-Amsterdam-Cologne-Paris

I think you might be duplicating yourself a bit visiting all those Belgian cities in such a short space of time, but I do get the temptation!I’d be tempted to spend a few hours in Brussels after your Eurostar from London, but then spend your 2 nights in Gent. It’s a smaller city to navigate, so a lot more manageable, with much more charm than Brussels. Then you can hit Bruges, Antwerp and even Brussels for a day or half day from Gent if you like. Bruges and Brussels are only 30 min away, Antwerp is an hour.To give you an idea, Brussels to Gent is about €10 for a ticket, or covered by your railpass. Some good advice for Belgium here; https://www.seat61.com/Belgium.htmYeah, Cologne’s probably the easiest German city to hit. 2 hours from Brussels, also direct service to Amsterdam and Paris if you need.But if I had to scrap one city, I’d scrap Cologne and keep Paris and Amsterdam. Others might have different opinions.

22
BrendanDB
Full steam ahead
5 hours ago
N
Keeps calm and carries on
nikita2007Keeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

wroclaw vilnius

To book a night train, the Czech website also asks you to write an email or call I think sometimes it works online, sometimes not! If you’re in Poland, I would visit a ticket office to see if you can buy a reservation for the sleeper.Or if the sleeper is not available, you can take the day train to Warsaw or Białystock, spend the night, and continue to Vilnius.Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia only in ticket office? It feels like we live in the USSR xD😂 It’s only for the railpass reservations. They’re always difficult, everywhere. When I bought a ticket Kaunas-Białystock from LTG, I could do it online and add to my Apple Wallet!

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R
Railmaster
12 hours ago
N
Keeps calm and carries on
nikita2007Keeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

wroclaw vilnius

RailpassYou can buy a reservation on the sleeper from Wrocław to Warsaw at https://www.cd.czReservation from Warsaw to Vilnius can be bought from the ticket office at Warsaw Full TicketsBuy at www.intercity.pl 

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R
Railmaster
12 hours ago
N
Keeps calm and carries on
nikita2007Keeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

wroclaw vilnius

Are you trying to buy a full ticket, or travel with a railpass?In either case, I would break the journey down, and book Wroclaw-Warsaw as one journey, and Warsaw-Vilnius separately.

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R
Railmaster
12 hours ago
W
Full steam ahead
wbouwFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Entering Romania from Hungary

Thank you! I have no experience with sleepers yet, but will it cost me two days of my interrail ticket? It only costs one day - the day of departure.So you can spend all day travelling to Budapest, then board the 2310 sleeper, then stay on it until Bucharest if you want. As long as you don’t change trains after midnight, it will only use one travel day.You can get a berth in a shared couchette on the sleeper for €13, right up to a private sleeper compartment for €100 (only if you have first class pass). You can make this reservation through Eurail, but you have to leave time for them to mail it to you, or you can just buy the reservation at Budapest station.https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm#Hungary

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R
Railmaster
13 hours ago
Rachel Russell-Smith
Rachel Russell-SmithRight on track
asked in Travelling by train

11 days London to Belgium-Amsterdam-Cologne-Paris

4 Belgian cities in 2.5 days sounds a bit ambitious. I’d drop at least one city, and spend less time in Brussels. Maybe just a few hours on one of your transit days.Where you plan to stay? You can easily zip around Belgium for day trips, basing yourself in one city.As hard as it is, I might also skip one of Paris/ Cologne/ Amsterdam. Eurostar reservations are expensive - you can’t avoid it to/ from London, but you can avoid it between Brussels-Amsterdam (take the Intercity, ignore any mention of having to pay a supplement, that info is wrong!) and between Amsterdam and Cologne (take the ICE). Reservations aren’t compulsory on these, at least not in May.Note that you can get a direct Eurostar from Amsterdam to London, which might help.

22
BrendanDB
Full steam ahead
5 hours ago
W
Full steam ahead
wbouwFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Entering Romania from Hungary

It’s a long way, but there’s a sleeper - the Dacia Express - which departs Vienna at 1942, or Budapest at 2310, arriving Cluj Napoca at 1044. Another portion continues to Bucharest.There’s also the Ister, leaving Budapest a few hours earlier, but it’s not direct to Cluj and kicks you out very early in the morninghttps://www.seat61.com/Romania.htm

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R
Railmaster
13 hours ago
sirin
sirinRight on track
asked in Ask the community

zuschlag German rail pass

I don’t know anything about the rules for the German pass, so I couldn’t confirm what you’re saying about not needing to pay the supplement.But I think the general advice is to pay onboard if asked, keep the receipt, and then contact Eurail for reimbursement.

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A
Railly clever
6 hours ago
R
Full steam ahead
RobsueFull steam ahead
asked in Ask the community

Have I missed out on window seats?

You don’t have any risk, because your pass is valid on all the trains (and replacement bus). If for any reason you miss a connection, you just jump on the next train.In any case, the replacement bus is designed to meet your train, so there will be staff in hand making sure everybody gets on the buses.What date is this? Maybe we can find another route via Germany if you want to avoid the bus.

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R
Full steam ahead
18 hours ago
Gilles Vautrin
Gilles VautrinNew aboard
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Couple en voyage

On peut partager l’itinéraire dans l’appli. En anglais, c’est My Trip > … > Share as link.  

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
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Alex1351Right on track
asked in Ask the community

What global pass cover?

Thank you @ralderton, for above plan/visit I count 12 to 13 travel days, so which Global pass should I get? 15 days in 2 months, or 2 months continuous? If you only travel on 13 days, the 15 days in 2 month pass is sufficient.  

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
A
Alex1351Right on track
asked in Ask the community

What global pass cover?

OK, I know a few of theseParis - you can still, just about, buy paper tickets, good for one trip on the metro. Buy singles, for €2.15, or a carnet of 10 for the price of 8. They’re going to double in price this summer for the Olympics.You can also buy a Navigo card for €2 from a metro ticket office, and load it with tickets instead. Tap on the barriers to enter. Top up at a machine. London - London Overground, Thameslink, Elizabeth Line trains, plus a few commuter lines in South London (not really useful for tourists) are included in the pass. Add to My Trip like any other train. Your pass won’t open the barriers, you have to show it to staff.For Tube, bus, tram, DLR, riverbus - just tap your credit or debit card at the gate (even if the gate is open) and the fare is automatically calculated and charged at the end of the day.  https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/pay-as-you-go/contactless-and-mobile-pay-as-you-go Germany/ Austria/ Switzerland - most S

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
J
jvw4New aboard
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Italy Travel 4 Cities, 2 Weeks Honeymoon!

I’d echo @Hektor‘s advice to check the price of regular tickets as well as a pass. It may well be cheaper, if you can book in advance As an example for Rome to Venice (a 4 hour journey)I can book a train departing this afternoon for €105 on Trenitalia, but looking three months ahead, it’s as little as €30 for a non-refundable fare on Italo. Or just €40 in first class!If you’re able to lock-in your dates in advance, there’s no point in paying for a railpass + €13 reservation fee, when you could just buy a ticket for €30 instead.

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
A
Alex1351Right on track
asked in Ask the community

What global pass cover?

In general, city transport isn’t included. You have to buy local tickets (or sometimes just use a contactless credit card, like in London).A few train lines in London are included, but not the tube. S-Bahn (commuter trains) in Germany, Austria, Switzerland are included, but not the U-Bahn (underground). There’s a useful service in Brussels, linking Brussels-Nord, Centraal, and Zuid stations.If you mention the cities you will visit, we can advise better.

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
M
MeganLeighannNew aboard
asked in Travelling by train

Travelling to Italy from UK with 4 children!!

With 2 weeks, you could do a great trip flying one way (maybe to Palermo?) then working your way back up to the UK.The children get free rail passes, so you’d only need to pay for the adults. Plus any compulsory reservations along the way.I did this last year. I flew to Palermo and spent a few days on Sicily. You can then take day trains (7.5h) or a sleeper to Naples, have a few days there and in Rome. Then a couple of hours to Florence, and use it as a base to explore Tuscany, then a couple more to Milan.From Milan, you can reach Paris, London and onwards to your destination in the UK the same day. But you could take a few days over it if you like.Even if you decide to fly both ways, I’d suggest you fly into Palermo and out of Rome (of vv) and use the train between.Between Sicily and mainland Italy, the train goes onto the boat, which is quite an experience. The older kids will enjoy that

4
A
Railly clever
1 day ago
J
jvw4New aboard
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Italy Travel 4 Cities, 2 Weeks Honeymoon!

Also, the excellent Seat 61 website has a general guide to rail travel in Italy , which includes suggested routes, railpasses, how to buy tickets etc. Very useful!https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
J
jvw4New aboard
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Italy Travel 4 Cities, 2 Weeks Honeymoon!

Naples to Sorrento isn’t covered by the pass. You’ll need to buy a local ticket, €4.50 each way. https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm#london-to-sorrento-and-capri-by-trainThe rest of your trips are covered by the pass, but in Italy passholders have to pay an extra €13 reservation fee to use each high speed train, €3 for an intercity. Nothing extra for a regional train.I’d echo @Hektor‘s advice to check the price of regular tickets as well as a pass. It may well be cheaper, if you can book in advanceA pass is more flexible though. You don’t need to make your reservations far in advance at all, you can do it 5 minutes before departure.As well as the Trenitalia website, you can search prices on https://www.italiarail.com which is a bit easier to use. They will refund their booking fee if you email them and quote ‘Seat 61’.You should also check the private train operator Italo, who compete with Trenitalia on many long distance routes. https://www.italotreno.it/en (Eurail pass isn't valid on It

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ralderton
Railmaster
1 day ago
Nabil Islam
Keeps calm and carries on
Nabil IslamKeeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

PRAGUE TO ZURICH 00:40 TO 13:20

I really appreciate your inputs guys. @ralderton @thibcabe @BrendanDB . I have some more questions about my itinerary. First time traveling with Eurail pass and this thing is all over the places.. Would any of you be kind enough to guide me on some specifics?  I think it’s better to post questions on here in the forum, so that others can benefit from it, but happy to give you a ring if it’s helpful and we can find a good time. I’m on London time. 

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ralderton
Railmaster
2 days ago
Nabil Islam
Keeps calm and carries on
Nabil IslamKeeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

PRAGUE TO ZURICH 00:40 TO 13:20

The Bernina Express is one of the most beautiful trips in Europe, and well worth doing. You can leave Zurich at 0707, and be in Milan by afternoon.Example timetable here, but this is just the main trains on the route - there are more trains if you want to leave a bit laterhttps://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/bernina-express.htm#Train_times,_fares_&_how_to_buy_ticketsNo reservation necessary, just turn up and go. (You can buy a reservation in the panorama cars, but I don’t think it’s worth it. Just sit in the unreserved cars at the back)

19
ralderton
Railmaster
2 days ago
C
ChavenhamRight on track
asked in Ask the community

Help Freiburg - Bruxels

Ok great, I’ll do that! I’m not using the app, I have Ticket reservations with QR for all the rest of my trips because all of them required seat reservation. Desktop and App doesn’t sync, so I should create a different trip in the app just for this train in particular? It sounds like those are just seat reservations. They’re not the ticket.You still need to add all your trains to My Trip to generate a ticket for each day you travel.

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C
2 days ago
Nabil Islam
Keeps calm and carries on
Nabil IslamKeeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

PRAGUE TO ZURICH 00:40 TO 13:20

Hi @ralderton, thanks!! Yes Train 1 is Euro city and train 2 is euro night.. I guess they are same train but different carriages? But I don’t understand, how the Train 1 ticket is free?? Is it because I have global pass? Then why it’s not the same case for Train 2?  The difference is on Train 2 you are paying for the sleeping accommodation. If you want to sit on seats, on Train 1, you don’t need to pay any extra. It’s what I used to do when I was in my 20s. Not so much in my 40s!In both cases, the ‘travel’ is covered by your pass.Yes, it’s effectively different carriages on the same train.

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ralderton
Railmaster
2 days ago
Nabil Islam
Keeps calm and carries on
Nabil IslamKeeps calm and carries on
asked in Ask the community

PRAGUE TO ZURICH 00:40 TO 13:20

It’s the same train. I think perhaps in the database twice, as two separate trains, to appeal to different markets.Train 1 is EC = Eurocity (only seats)Train 2 is EN = Euronight (sleeping accommodation)Reserve Train 2 unless you want to be in a seat all night!

19
ralderton
Railmaster
2 days ago
C
ChavenhamRight on track
asked in Ask the community

Help Freiburg - Bruxels

There’s almost always seats available somewhere, even if you have to go and have a coffee in the restaurant car. But it’s certainly worthwhile considering for peace of mind.On the DB website, run your query but select ‘book seat only’. You should see a bunch of results priced at €4.90, including your 0955 departure.When I search, it suggests you change at Cologne/ Köln - which is a better idea than Frankfurt Airport anyway.(Ignore anything that involves a leg on TGV or EST.)Buy that, for €4.90, and you have your seat reservation.You also need to add the trains to My Trip (assuming you have a mobile pass?) - that’s what generates the QR code which is your ticket. (The seat reservations on their own aren’t good for travel.)

9
C
2 days ago
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