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Buying reservations problem

  • 21 August 2022
  • 9 replies
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When I go for buying the reservations, interrail proposes me options that it's impossible to buy. How can I organise in advance my travel in this way, if I can't know before the trains I will be able to take or not?

I think it is really a problem that false options are proposed when preparing the travel. I've gone to buy the tickets immediately after preparing the travel and a lot where not able to buy.

 

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Best answer by Angelo 21 August 2022, 19:49

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Userlevel 7
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What do you mean by “false options are proposed when preparing the travel”?

Please specify route, date and departure time of the train(s) you'd like to book.

By false options I mean that if you can't buy them they are not really an option, so I don't understand why do they appear when searching reservations if we can't buy them. It was the case with several trains in Italy I was trying to buy immediately after a research where they've been proposed to me. 

Userlevel 7
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There are other ways to make reservations than the Interrail/Eurail website. Please read more about that below. 

What route are you trying to make a reservation for?

 

Here is some useful information from the experienced travellers in the Community regarding both planning, reservations and activation of pass and travel days. 

 Planning

The rail planner is normally not up to date, as it only is updated once a month, so to be sure of the time table you better check the timetable and availability on the websites of the national railways. The bigger national railways, like DB (Germany) SBB (Switzerland) and ÖBB (Austria) cover several countries. 

 Reservations 

The advice from the experienced travellers in the community is to use other ways to make reservations than the Interrail/Eurail website.  You can look at the guide in the link:

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

If you, after having looked at the guide, have questions about how to make specific reservation, please give your travel details (departure date, time and route) preferably in a new topic, and you will get advice.

Please note that Interrail/Eurail charges an extra fee of 2 EUR per person and train in addition to the fee for the seat reservation.

 Activation of pass

During the activation process, when you choose the start day of the validity of the pass, the first day of the validity period is automatically made a travel day, even if you don't enter a journey, the advice is therefore not to activate the pass before the first travel day as you only can deactivate the pass before 00.00 on the day the validity starts. If your travel plans change in the last moment you will loose travel days if you have activated the pass in advance.

It can be wise to make a test and activate the pass with a start date well in the future and then deactivate the pass immediately, just to see that everything works.

 Activation of travel day

The advice from the experienced travellers in the community is also never to activate a travel day, that is connect a journey to your pass, until just before boarding the train, otherwise you might loose a travel day if your travel plans change in a late stage  You can't delete a travel day in the past. A travel day can only be deleted until 23.59 CET the day before the travel day.

 

Userlevel 7
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Well-one of the major culprits to have you trap in that thing is your very own state-owned national society itself. So you as a real francais can step on your eco-friendly bike and go the gare and let them work for you. Of course, this being FRance, they will not be able to do all-after all, why should they, but it must work for your first trips out of that hexagone-and perhaps if able to preplan even also for to come back on those world wide so well known TGV superfast hi-speed express trains. Thalys and €* are same-same, also owned by SNCF, and thus also charge much more to sit in them with passes.

Is there a líimit of reservations on a train for passengers with interrail global pass? That was one of the reasons written by interrail reservation website to explain to me why I couldn't buy a ticket in Italy. It makes difficult the réservation. It's just me or interrail Is like buying cryptocurrencies? I mean, a kind of Indiana Jones Adventure. 

Userlevel 7
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No only SNCF has limits for pass users on international trains. 

For Italian trains book via austrian railways, check the link about how to get reservations on other ways than interrail.eu, in the link you will find also a tutorial how to book via Austrian Railways.

 

or also at Trenitalia ticket offices in Paris Gare de Lyon or Lyon Part Dieu.

 

When will you travel in Italy? Trains are opend for booking only 1-2 months before. 

Userlevel 7
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Is there a líimit of reservations on a train for passengers with interrail global pass? That was one of the reasons written by interrail reservation website to explain to me why I couldn't buy a ticket in Italy. It makes difficult the réservation. It's just me or interrail Is like buying cryptocurrencies? I mean, a kind of Indiana Jones Adventure. 

 

There isn’t one simple answer for the entire continent, or even one simple reason why you can’t find reservations in one particular country, that is why these questions are much more likely to get a satisfactory answer if you specify what trains where, when, which operator, which booking platform/website you are having difficulties with.

I am going to Italy again the 28th August. I go very often to Italy. 

Userlevel 7
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I am going to Italy again the 28th August. I go very often to Italy. 

 

As explained by @Angelo the best place online to get Italian reservations is from OBB https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ticket

 

There are no quotas for Interrail, as long as spaces are available for general sales they can be reserved for interrail holders, €10 on Frecce,€3 on IC.

The only limitation is they can’t properly process sleeper/couchette reservations.

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