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amsterdam to lucerne

L

 

I am trying to reserve this train. I try to buy it online but then I’m rejected and the Eurail site says something like one of your legs is not available….etc. this is the third train in my trip I’m trying to reserve, and am getting constantly rejected or running into issues as a foreign traveler. I really don’t get why everything looks so simple on the planner, and then when you try to actually do something, there’s tiny details that restrict you from booking and are forced to just figure it out if you can when you’re in person. So frustrated already. Bought a Eurail pass because i made a trip with the planner, now considering returning it because nothing is really working out. 
Am i better off getting a flight?

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Best answer by thibcabe 17 April 2023, 01:29

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T
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No no don't fly. Don't worry we'll help you.

Eurail.com is basically the last place to plan or buy seat reservations. The planner isn't up-to-date and there's a 2€ booking fee per train.

Reservations are always optional in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and many other countries btw. Reservations are not possible in Belgium or the Netherlands.

Instead for Amsterdam - Basel SBB use tickets.oebb.at (add Eurail as a discount and select one-way ticket, 3€ per train) or bahn.de (4,50€ no matter the number of the trains). No booking fee on either of those sites.

It is not advised or even possible to book a seat between Basel and Lucerne. Simply add the train to the app, board the train and a find a free seat (there will be plenty) :)

Seat reservations in Switzerland are a complete waste of money, nobody makes them. I've lived there all my life and never made one :) Trains are frequent and have lots of capacity.

Do not hesitate to ask here for questions

A
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The first train has optional reservations the second is non-reservable.

You should probably reserve the Amsterdam - Basel train which departs at 07.38 not 07.46, this can be done at bahn.com who run that train for €4.50 or https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en which is cheaper at €3 or free if you have a 1st class pass.

L

No no don't fly. Don't worry we'll help you.

Eurail.com is basically the last place to plan or buy seat reservations. The planner isn't up-to-date and there's a 2€ booking fee per train.

Reservations are always optional in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and many other countries btw. Reservations are not possible in Belgium or the Netherlands.

Instead for Amsterdam - Basel SBB use tickets.oebb.at (add Eurail as a discount and select one-way ticket, 3€ per train) or bahn.de (4,50€ no matter the number of the trains). No booking fee on either of those sites.

It is not advised or even possible to book a seat between Basel and Lucerne. Simply add the train to the app, board the train and a find a free seat (there will be plenty) :)

Seat reservations in Switzerland are a complete waste of money, nobody makes them. I've lived there all my life and never made one :) Trains are frequent and have lots of capacity.

Do not hesitate to ask here for questions

Ok I will try this. Any reason I shouldnt fly, besides price? I had an issue with trying to get reservations in spain for trains, and was told you just have to get a reservation in person, which to me felt too risky of a situation when changing cities/countries, so I booked a flight in spain. But Ill try what you sent.

T
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Flying takes a lot of time and it is quite stressful, especially Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

- 30 min to the airport

- 2h airport

- 1h30 flight

- 30 min to get to the train station

- 1h15 Zurich Airport - Lucerne

Seat reservations for domestic Spanish trains cannot be done online anymore yes (unfortunately). Some foreign ticket offices sell them though : mainly Swiss and German ones so if you were to travel there before Spain, it's an option.

Otherwise I don't think I've heard of Spanish trains being fully booked. There are trains every half an hour between Madrid and Barcelona and as there are now other cheaper companies on the same line, people aren't using RENFE as much as before. You could have booked all seat reservations at the first Spanish train station you'd have encountered.

tickets.oebb.at works in Austria, Germany, Italy and many more countries. More info here :

https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

https://community.eurail.com/train-connections-reservations-47/how-to-get-reservations-105

 

L

Thank you. I got my reservation for amster to basel sbb, so much more simple, thank you so much. Glad I posted it here.

Yeah thats what I heard, I still got a flight from Madrid to Barcelona sadly bc i got too nervous. 

 

Thank you for your help!

L

The first train has optional reservations the second is non-reservable.

You should probably reserve the Amsterdam - Basel train which departs at 07.38 not 07.46, this can be done at bahn.com who run that train for €4.50 or https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en which is cheaper at €3 or free if you have a 1st class pass.

I tried using bahn, but I keep getting the price for like a full train ticket, and in the section for discount card, theres nothing with eurailpass in it. How can I get just the reservation?

A
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +3

The first train has optional reservations the second is non-reservable.

You should probably reserve the Amsterdam - Basel train which departs at 07.38 not 07.46, this can be done at bahn.com who run that train for €4.50 or https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en which is cheaper at €3 or free if you have a 1st class pass.

I tried using bahn, but I keep getting the price for like a full train ticket, and in the section for discount card, theres nothing with eurailpass in it. How can I get just the reservation?


On the main page after inputting the search details, do not click search, select Seat Only instead, there is no need to add eurail, it is a general booking for anyone with a ticket looking for reservations.

As OBB is cheaper the only benefit of using DB is you can select your DB train reservation from a seat map.

L

The first train has optional reservations the second is non-reservable.

You should probably reserve the Amsterdam - Basel train which departs at 07.38 not 07.46, this can be done at bahn.com who run that train for €4.50 or https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en which is cheaper at €3 or free if you have a 1st class pass.

I tried using bahn, but I keep getting the price for like a full train ticket, and in the section for discount card, theres nothing with eurailpass in it. How can I get just the reservation?


On the main page after inputting the search details, do not click search, select Seat Only instead, there is no need to add eurail, it is a general booking for anyone with a ticket looking for reservations.

As OBB is cheaper the only benefit of using DB is you can select your DB train reservation from a seat map.

for this trip from amst to lucern, I am settled with it. But I tried using the same tactic to get a train reservation from Basel SBB to Paris Gare de Lyon because it requires a reservation and both bahn and OBB say train reservations are impossible. For May 15 around 12pm. Any clue if I should go to a different site?

T
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You need to use another website this time... (4€ booking fee) or eurail.com is better if you're alone (2€ booking fee)

Do not take the cross-border TGV from Basel. It has an expensive seat reservation fee of 37€ (2nd class) or 70€ (1st class). Way too much ! Instead from Basel take a regional train to Mulhouse or Strasbourg and from there a TGV to Paris (limited 10€, then 20€).

Let us know if it doesn't work

- 12:56 departure from Mulhouse 10€ (the TGV will actually come from Switzerland)

- 12:19, 14:49 from Strasbourg (10€)

Y
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For domestic TGVs you can check availability at https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish

As with the B-Europe Thalys site you will need a pass cover number.

L

You need to use another website this time... (4€ booking fee) or eurail.com is better if you're alone (2€ booking fee)

Do not take the cross-border TGV from Basel. It has an expensive seat reservation fee of 37€ (2nd class) or 70€ (1st class). Way too much ! Instead from Basel take a regional train to Mulhouse or Strasbourg and from there a TGV to Paris (limited 10€, then 20€).

Let us know if it doesn't work

- 12:56 departure from Mulhouse 10€ (the TGV will actually come from Switzerland)

- 12:19, 14:49 from Strasbourg (10€)

Thank you very much, it worked out for Mulhouse 

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