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Hi!

I’m trying to plan my trip, but unfortunately the seat reservations system is a nightmare.

I read the guides here, even the one from The man on seat 61, but it’s still not clear.

 

I want to travel from Barcelona to Heidelberg on 2/9. There are several options, I would like to use the one that is 10:33 → 22:53. But I’m flexible, so I can change that to any of the other 3 options that arrive the same day.

I’m trying to make a reservation at Interrail.eu .

But all the options have an issue.

  1. The one I mentioned, doesn’t allow to book the train Paris Est - Mannheim. I read over here that this should be made by phone and they send it via post mail to your address? Will it arrive on time?
  2. Another option is 08:22 → 21:49. In this case, I can’t book Barcelona - Lyon, should I go to the train station and directly book there? But then in the same journey, I can’t book Paris - Karlsruhe. So what happens if I book Barcelona Lyon, only to find out that Paris - Karlsruhe is sold out? How do you go about this very intrincate entanglement of reservations on-site, by phone, via internet, etc?
  3. The third option I’d like to use, 10:33 → 22:49, apparently allows me to make the reservation directly at Interrail.eu, but then when trying to add them to the cart, “Something went wrong. It looks like we can't add this journey to your cart right now. Please try again later.”. So again, I get lost on how to approach this.

 

Can you clarify a little, please? 🙂 I’m about to ask for a refund and book a flight, I wasn’t expected this much hard work and stress just to be able to use my pass.

 

Edit: I’d like to add that on top of that, I read that for some reservations you need a pass cover number (???), whatever that is, and when I go to the link provided to get that, I get a “page not found” error. So I don’t know when, how, and where I need this extra number. Shouldn’t my pass be enough?

 

Thank you very much!

Have a nice day.

 

Tonga.

  1. Try to book Paris-Est- STRASBOURG via travel.b-europe website for national rides in France (4€ booking fee per booking, Pass Cover Number needed, request it here). Take a TGV to Strasbourg, and take reservation free regional trains (TER/ RE) over Offenburg to Mannheim (very frequent). You’ll receive it by mail.
    Check www.bahn.com for exact timetables.
  2. Or try by phone calling SNCF (press #85 for English, no booking fee, delivery via e-mail), you can also reserve Paris-Mannheim there. You’ll receive it by mail. If they don’t want to reserve it, kindly but firmly insist that this ís possible or that you would like to speak to colleague that is able to make this reservation.
  3. Sometimes the website is faulty, try the options above if it doesn’t work or flag it at the helpdesk https://eurail.zendesk.com/hc/en-001/requests/new

Checking availability and schedules for you, to be updated...

​

 Bon difficult, these options are probably the best for you:

With a preference for the last option, but! The second leg, Paris-Mannheim seems to be sold out in 2nd class…

So take the 10:33 to Paris GdL

Than take metro or RER (not included in pass from Paris gare de Lyon to Paris Est) and take a TGV from Paris Est to Strasbourg at 18:54 (maybe a bit tight in case of delays) or 20:24, arriving 20:41 or 22:24. Both these should connect with trains toward Karlsruhe/Heidelberg, see below.

​Reserve via the option I mentioned above.
 

In addition to Brendan's good advice if you'd like to take the AVE to Lyon you'll have to visit a RENFE ticket counter (no other options at the moment) : 08:22 - 13:20 10€. This train is cheaper than the cross-border TGVs but since it's a very popular route visit as soon as possible your nearest train station.

From Lyon you could either make a break for a few hours and eat somewhere in the city for example or go via Paris (station transfer).

Option 1 :

- TGV Lyon Part-Dieu - Strasbourg 16:04 - 20:13 20€ 2nd class or 24€ 1st class incl. upgrade

- RB Strasbourg - Appenweier 20:20 - 20:45

- RE Appenweier - Karlsruhe Hbf 21:07 - 21:49

- Karlsruhe Hbf - Heidelberg Hbf 21:56 - 22:41 or 22:18 - 22:49

Also possible to go via Basel instead of Strasbourg (same arrival time but better trains).

Option 2 :

- TGV Lyon Part-Dieu - Paris Gare de Lyon 14:04 - 16:08 10€

- transfer by RER, subway or bus

- TGV Paris-Est - Offenburg 17:24 - 19:39 20€ (interrail.eu or by calling SNCF)

- ICE Offenburg - Karlsruhe Hbf 20:25 - 20:58

- RE Karlsruhe Hbf - Heidelberg Hbf 21:15 - 21:49

Direct high-speed trains to Germany seem pretty full, it's still a Saturday in peak season.

Thank you both for your guidance! You are very kind.

I will stick to the first option mentioned by BrendanDB. I am prioritizing arriving earlier and less complications in the transfers.

I really like the second option provided by thibcabe, because this one arrives one hour earlier, but given that we are at a busy season, I prefer to secure my reservation now, than to wait until tomorrow to go to Sants and take my chances.

 

I want to clarify that the link to generate the cover number does not work, but Help Desk provided me the correct link here. Maybe you want to update that, Brendan.

 

So for the first option, I just made the reservation of Barcelona - Montepllier at interrail.eu, and Montpellier - Mulhouse at travel.b-europe. 

 

Do I need to do something else? I have my PDFs with their respective QR codes. Do I have to link them to my pass? To my trip? Anyway in the meantime I’ll read about this to see if I figure it out myself.

 

Thank you!

PDF is just fine. Show it together with the qr code of your pass when asked by the ticket inspector.

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