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Rail Europe: Interrail x Eurail Combination Seat Reservation

Hi!

 

I’m going to be travelling with my interrail pass, together with 2 of my parents (Eurail pass holders) and now we are on the stage of trying to book all the necessary reservation seat. I have several questions:

  1. So after learning how to work with the app, is it true that in the interrail app itself, we only need to save the trip routes in our app, then slide and activate the yellow QR code on the day of travel (this is to show the ticketing staff that we have the ticket for the train). Whereas for the reservation seat, we just need to purchase separately from the official website (e.g. SBB, DB, RailEurope, TrenItalia, etc). So later on we have an e-ticket of the number of the seat as well from these websites. Is this correct?
  2. I’m trying to book our first seat reservation (for the train of Paris Est -> Strasbourg on 23rd July at 06.52 A.M just like the one stated on the rail planner app). However, the I’m not sure if it’s possible to book seats for all three of us together as the web asked me to pick one pass type. Is there a way to reserve 3 passengers, then add 3 passes (combination of interrail and Eurail) in the RailEurope? As If I continue the reservation, we also cannot pick the seat, so I cannot book 3 separate seats that are next to each other. I really wish to sit next to/ at least near each other

 

any help would be appreciated!

 

17 replies

ralderton
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1 Yes. Exactly. 
 

2 Rail Europe applies the same pass to all travellers. But it doesn’t really matter if you choose Eurail or Interrail in the search box, as long as the class is correct. The passholder fares are the same either way.

 

N
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Oh! That is very nice then. It won’t be a problem when the ticketing staff checks our pass?

 

and just one more small question, I notice that some routes do not have any reservation warning, not even a “reservation optional” . Does that mean I really don’t need to reserve anything? Because I’m travelling on summer and some trains are part of a big combined-transits trip. What would happen if the train is full? (hopefully not)

ralderton
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Let is know your planned trains. 
Some trains will be busy, and a reservation is a good idea, even if not compulsory.

Other times it’s not really worth it, or not even possible

N
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this is our full planned trip from the rail planner app

 

ralderton
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You don’t need trains in Switzerland. Just find an empty seat.  
 

You do need a reservation on the ICE from Paris

T
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The Strasbourg - Basel regional train doesn't have reservations. It's quite busy but you should find a seat.

Otherwise get a coffee and wait 30 min for the next train. The pass gives you this flexibility. :)

And yes I agree with ralderton: reservations are rarely possible in Switzerland and nobody makes them anyway. Hop on and sit wherever you want. Walk to the train ends to find more seats.

N
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Thank you so much for the help! 

N
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Hi there! Sorry to pop up again, as I wanted to book the ICE train since finally I can book for that date which is now already 90 days before the date. But why is the raileurope showing 2x the price of the supposed price to reserve seat?

 

It should have been 10 euro per seat.But the raileurope is showing 20 euro per seat (60e for the three of us). Anything that I did wrong? or any other web I can purchase the seat reservation instead of those two? The interail app charges 2 euro per seat which i want to avoid.

 

T
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You’re not looking at the same date: 23rd July vs 26th July. French domestic TGVs have a 10€ limited fare first, then it increases to 20€ until the train sells out.

Btw that train is already available for over a month but Eurail applies a stupid 90 days limit for no reason.

(Please delete all personal info)

N
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ah right! my bad. so there is no way to get the 10e anymore for that train with interrail? 

 

yeah.. i wanted to book earlier but that was not possible! 

T
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No way for that train I’m afraid. You could get the 07:16 train for 10€ per person though. I’d do that, you can sleep slightly longer. :)

(You could have booked through Rail Europe but Eurail didn’t give that info so it’s understandable… hopefully they advise people to do so soon.)

N
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but i need that train to be able to hop on the panoramic train from spiez to interlaken.. if i take the 07:16 train, i won’t make it on time..

T
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The Golden Pass Express isn’t that special, it might also be quite busy as it’s a tiny train and Spiez is the last stop = not worth it in my opinion. All trains have large windows and seats are aligned with them (aka no blind seats).

Take any train for the short hop to Interlaken and sit on the left side. Trains run every 30 min with a straightforward change in Bern or Spiez.

  • TER Strasbourg - Basel SBB 09:21 - 10:40
  • IC6 Basel SBB - Bern 10:56 - 11:56
  • IC81 Bern - Interlaken Ost 12:04 - 12:58

Also note that there are engineering works planned this summer between Basel and Bern. Trains will still run but departures might be earlier. Check a few weeks before your trip (but definitely book the TGV well in advance).

N
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I see. Thank you so much! I already booked my TGV train, and the next part i think would be flexible as no reservation is needed. We might even pick the one with more transit time. But thank you so much!

S

Hi @nadiajulianto were you able to complete the travel as planned? I have similar itineary in August first week, family of 4 with sizeable luggages. Bought reservations from Paris to Basel on TGV through raileurope.com but still anxious and nervous about seat reservations from Basel to Interlaken. Everyone almost everywhere said reservations are not required but with the luggage and importance of timing, I wanted to take the 19:52 train from Basel to Interlaken.

Can you please comment on the seat reservation? If I do purchase it will I be able to use it if somone sitting on the seats I reserved? 

T
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Seat reservations are useless in Switzerland. They're rarely possible and nobody gets them anyway. I've lived here all my life and never made one.

Simply hop on and sit wherever you want. If the carriage is a little busy (unlikely outside rush hour) walk to the next one.

As a good rule of thumb the front and rear of the train are always less busy -> people are lazy and board in the middle near the stairs.

Btw the 19:52 service is a huge German ICE with a thousand seats. You'll have the last carriages to yourselves.

S

Thank you very much @thibcabe.

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