I'm planning a 3 week long trip in seven cities along the coast in Spain, France and Italy. Should I buy all rail tickets in advance or as I go? I have a pretty set schedule. Thanks!
Reply to this If you used RAILPASS, need only reservation places for all country visited. No need in advance buy that tickets , maybe with 2-3 days before go to another destination from any rail ticket office in any railway station. For moore details, see on DB website (website of German Railways ) the train information and others. http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml
Reply to this It all depends on which trains you will be taking. If you will be taking high-speed trains, then reservations are mandatory. In France and Spain, you can often get a reservation same-day for a high-speed train, and in Italy you can often get the reservation before hopping on. That being said, it is always smart to get the reservation in advance if you are sure you will be taking a specific train. I recommend that you wait until you are in Europe and then you can make all your reservations from any train station in Europe, even for train trips in different countries.
If you will be taking other trains where reservations are optional, only do this if you have a preference for seating, or if you will be travelling in a large group and would like to sit together. If it's just you or you and one other person, there really is no need to buy reservations for most InterCity (IC) trains, or other ones where reservations are not mandatory.
Now, if you will be taking any night trains, I recommend that you reserve those as far in advance as possible. If you are getting a bunk in a couchette, try to reserve at least two weeks in advance. If you want a private sleeper, then the earlier - the better.
Reply to this @ Phantek are wright. But not tottaly. On my last travell ( for example ), i was reserved couchette seat, on the morning what arrived for that day - Arrived in Vienna on 9:30 am, and continue travell to Zurich with the night train, on 21:45 pm. You have need reserved place to all TGV trains and on the German ICE to anny distances.
Reply to this Thanks! That helps a lot. Does anyone have experience with buses? From my research it looks like they may be a lot cheaper in some instances than trains. For example, the bus from Barcelona to Narbonne is about half the price of any rail tickets I've found. Please advise!
Reply to this Hey,
Does anyone know about the separate charges for seat reservations? Do I need them? Thanks!
Reply to this If the reservation is mandatory, you must pay the reservation in advance. If reservations are available, but not mandatory, then forget about them unless you really want a specific seat or there is a group of you and you want to make sure that you all sit together on a busy train.
The way to know is by searching a good website like the Deutsch Bahn (German Rail) website at
www.bahn.de. Just choose "English" at the top and then you can search for rail trips anywhere in Europe - even if they do not involve Germany. When it comes up with route options, click the arrow at the left-hand side for more details of any trip plan. If it says "Subject to compulsory reservation" for any trip, that one must have a reservation booked.
An approximate list of reservation fees can be found
here. And just to counter what was previously said, the ICE (Intercity Express - high-speed German trains) do not require reservations unless it is an ICE Sprinter train, but odds are you won't be taking one of those anyways.
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