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Difficulty Getting Seat Reservation Booked on Eurail App and Website

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I am planning a Europe trip to breeze through 3 cities Paris, London, and Asterdam within 4 days in February 2025. My search made me believe the cheapest option is to use high speed train using Global Flex Pass. I got passes for 4 of us and now am trying to reserve /book seats for this trip via Eural app and website. None is straight forward or available for me and my family to book. 

I am frustrated because my trip is for the duration Feb 14th to Feb 17th. Please help me figure this out because this is my first time trying to use Eurail and high speed train

Best answer by thibcabe

After some research: I think the London - Amsterdam is the annoying bit as the quota is sold out on your travel dates. Paris - London has plenty of Eurail availability, same for London - Brussels.

Again from a quick look, tickets seem cheaper:

- Paris - London is around 100€ on 14th February

- London - Amsterdam around 200€ on 16-17th Feb

London - Amsterdam is definitely on the expensive side but it's an extremely popular route (way more convenient than the plane) so trains fill out. Eurostar also has a monopoly until further notice.

Alternatively let me also mention the (hidden) Eurostar Snap offer. It is much cheaper than regular tickets but you need to be a bit flexible, perhaps not possible on such a short trip. See https://snap.eurostar.com/rw-en

With that offer you might need to book London - Brussels and pay Brussels - Amsterdam separately (non-Eurostar trains exist and would be cheaper on that route). Or trains might not be available at all during that Valentine's weekend and esp. during Biritish school holidays... who knows. Their goal is to fill less busy trains.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions, we'll be glad to answer. :)

Maybe mention the precise route and date and we can advise if there are alternatives. Like London - Brussels and changing there or even the UK-NL overnight ferry if you don't have accommodation booked.

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  • thibcabe
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  • January 24, 2025

Eurostar trains require an expensive reservation on top of the pass (30-32€ per leg). In addition they have a passholder quota (pretty much unique across all European trains). It frequently sells out.

You can check availability on Rail Europe for example (eurail.com adds 2€ fee per person per train). See https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

So considering pass price + roughly 3 x 30€ extra, it might be a better deal to buy regular tickets. Check eurostar.com.

You can get a refund 7 days after the pass purchase in case: https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/ordering-info/refund-exchange-policy

Btw the Eurostar is totally different than all other European trains, especially with the boarding/check-in procedures from/to London. Eurail is a much better deal elsewhere in Europe: for example in Switzerland, Germany, Austria where you can just hop on/hop off and go with the flow. :)

T
Full steam ahead
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  • thibcabe
  • Full steam ahead
  • 4882 replies
  • Answer
  • January 24, 2025

After some research: I think the London - Amsterdam is the annoying bit as the quota is sold out on your travel dates. Paris - London has plenty of Eurail availability, same for London - Brussels.

Again from a quick look, tickets seem cheaper:

- Paris - London is around 100€ on 14th February

- London - Amsterdam around 200€ on 16-17th Feb

London - Amsterdam is definitely on the expensive side but it's an extremely popular route (way more convenient than the plane) so trains fill out. Eurostar also has a monopoly until further notice.

Alternatively let me also mention the (hidden) Eurostar Snap offer. It is much cheaper than regular tickets but you need to be a bit flexible, perhaps not possible on such a short trip. See https://snap.eurostar.com/rw-en

With that offer you might need to book London - Brussels and pay Brussels - Amsterdam separately (non-Eurostar trains exist and would be cheaper on that route). Or trains might not be available at all during that Valentine's weekend and esp. during Biritish school holidays... who knows. Their goal is to fill less busy trains.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions, we'll be glad to answer. :)

Maybe mention the precise route and date and we can advise if there are alternatives. Like London - Brussels and changing there or even the UK-NL overnight ferry if you don't have accommodation booked.

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    AnnaB

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