Tips for Avoiding Expensive rail pass Reservation Fees

Are Eurail and InterRail passes not worth the money because the reservation fees which cost extra are so expensive? The answer is No.
I haven't been paid to write that sentence, but I follow the facts and logic.

Yes on nine routes which involve taking direct international trains from or to Paris, the reservation fees, which are set by the train operators, cost a lot more than the typical charges.
But that is nine routes, among the thousands that can be taken with an InterRail or Eurail pass.
Nine routes that also have ticket prices typically more expensive than the norm.

Though for those willing to prioritise money saving over time saving, there are alternatives to paying these fees, on both the journeys from and to Paris  - and on other routes towards the top end of the reservation price list (see below).

So you don't have to pay these costs for a trip to be fantastic experience; Or for a Eurail or InterRail pass to be a money saver on your rail travel!

Long routes with no mandatory reservation fees at all

Examples include:

Long routes with no mandatory reservation fees: Sept to May

But with fees of less than €8 with a 1st class pass; €6 with a 2nd class pass, in June to August.
Examples include:

Long routes with comparatively cheap fees: Year Round

Less than €8 with a 1st class pass;  €6 with a 2nd class pass.
Examples include:

Saving Money on Routes From / To Paris

The most expensive rail pass reservations are imposed by the French national rail operator SNCF for the international high-speed trains from and to Paris, as it co-manages all of these services.
Two reasons for this:
1 - Paris is popular, so these trains tend to be busy.
2 - High demand justifies ticket prices, so they tend to be comparatively expensive routes.

Though for those willing to make connections and be happy with longer end-to-end journey times, these expensive reservation fees can often be easily avoided.
Hence the suggested routes below; Note that you may need to look up each section of the routes separately on the Euail and InterRail apps, when you need to add a journey to your pass

Paris ↔ Amsterdam

Option 1:
1st class pass users save €27
2nd class pass users save €22
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare Du Nord ↔ Lille Flandres by TGV InOui train; mandatory reservations required
- Lille Flandres ↔ Antwerpen / Anvers Central by IC train
- Antwerpen / Anvers Central ↔ Amsterdam Zuid by ECD train
Trains typically operate hourly on all three sections of this route.

Option 2:
1st class pass users save €37
2nd class pass users save €32
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare Du Nord ↔ Amiens by TER train
- Amiens ↔ Lille Flandres by TER train*
- Lille Flandres ↔ Antwerpen / Anvers Central,by IC train
- Antwerpen / Anvers Central ↔ Amsterdam Zuid by ECD train

*= At weekends in July and August there is a direct Paris Nord ↔ Lille Flandres TER train.
It is typically schedule to depart Paris at around 10:15; and leave Lille between 19:00 and 19:30.

Note that both options begin and end at Amsterdam Zuid station, which is a metro / tram ride from central Amsterdam.
To arrive or depart from Amsterdam Centraal station, an option is to take an IC train between Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal stations to connect with the  ECD trains from/to Antwerpen / Anvers.

Paris ↔ Köln / Cologne

This alternative route is also much more scenic than that taken by the direct trains.

1st class pass users save €27
2nd class pass users save €22
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare de l'Est ↔ Luxembourg by TGV InOui train; mandatory reservations required
- Luxembourg ↔ Koblenz Hbf by RE train
- Koblenz ↔ Köln/Cologne Hbf by multiple types of train

Depart Köln at around 14:45 daily and typically only one connection is required in Luxembourg when travelling from Köln/Cologne to Paris.

Notes:
The route between France and Luxembourg is currently being reconstructed, so the TGV InOui trains will be unavailable on multiple dates in 2025.

Paris ↔ Frankfurt (Main), Stuttgart and München / Munich

1st and 2nd class pass users save €7

The alternative route:
- Paris Gare de l'Est ↔ Strasbourg by TGV InOui train or ICE train; mandatory reservations required
- Strasbourg ↔ Offenburg by local train; which depart at least hourly
- Offenburg ↔ Frankfurt (Main) Hbf by ICE train

Take trains between Offenburg and Mannheim and connect in Mannheim with trains from / to Stuttgart and Munchen / Munich.

Paris ↔ Basel and Zurich

Option 1:
1st class pass users save €25
2nd class pass users save €15
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare de l'Est ↔ Colmar, Mulhouse-Ville* or Strasbourg by TGV InOui train or Lyria* train; mandatory reservations required
- Colmar, Mulhouse-Ville* or Strasbourg ↔ Basel SBB by TER train
- Basel SBB ↔ Zurich Hb by any train

*= The direct Lyria trains between Paris and Basel call at Mulhouse-Ville, but connecting in and out of these trains at Mulhouse is one of the money saving options.
The TER trains take a Strasbourg - Colmar - Mulhouse ↔ Basel SBB route.

Option 2; Paris to Basel:
1st class pass users save €35
2nd class pass users save €25
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare de l'Est to Mulhouse-Ville by TER train
- Mulhouse-Ville to Basel SBB by TER train
- Basel SBB to Zurich Hb by any train
The direct TER trains to Mulhouse typically depart Paris at around 06:45 on Monday to Friday and at around 08:45 on Saturday and Sunday

Option 2; Basel to Paris
1st class pass users save €35
2nd class pass users save €25  
- Zurich Hb to Basel SBB by any train
- Basel SBB to Mulhouse-Ville by TER train
- Mulhouse-Ville to Paris Gare de l'Est by TER train,which  typically departs at around 15:30.

Paris ↔ Geneve and Lausanne

Option 1:
1st class pass users save €25
2nd class pass users save €15
The alternative route
- Paris Gare De Lyon ↔ Bellegarde by Lyria train*
- Bellegarde ↔ Geneve-Cornavin by TER / Leman Express train
- Geneve-Cornavin ↔ Lausanne by any train
*= The Lyria trains will be travelling between Paris and Geneve.
The connection in Bellegarde is pictured at the top of the page.

Option 2:
1st class pass users save €35
2nd class pass users save €25  
- Paris Bercy / Paris Gare De Lyon ↔ Lyon-Part Dieu by TER train
- Lyon-Part Dieu ↔ Geneve-Cornavin by TER train
The TER trains between Paris and Lyon are more frequent at weekends compared to Monday to Friday.

Paris ↔ Milano

This alternative route is also much more scenic than that taken by the direct trains.
1st class pass users save €35
2nd class pass users save €21 
The alternative route:
- Paris Gare de l'Est ↔ Colmar, Mulhouse-Ville or Strasbourg by TGV InOui train or Lyria train; mandatory reservations required
- Colmar, Mulhouse-Ville* or Strasbourg ↔ Basel SBB by TER train
- Basel SBB ↔ Lugano by IC train**
- Lugano ↔ Milano Centrale by Tilo train
* = The TER trains take a Strasbourg - Colmar - Mulhouse ↔ Basel SBB route.
**= It can be quicker to travel Basel SBB ↔ Zurich Hb and Zurich Hb ↔ Lugano

Paris ↔ Barcelona

1st class pass users save €25
2nd class pass users save €15
The alternative route:  
- Paris Gare de Lyon ↔ Perpignan* by TGV InOui train; mandatory reservations required
- Perpignan ↔ Port Bou by TER train
- Port Bou ↔ Barcelona by MD train
*= When travelling from Paris, you will be leaving the train heading to Barcelona when it arrives in Perpignan.

Saving Money On Other Routes with comparatively expensive fees

Barcelona ↔ Montpellier, Nimes, Narbonne and Perpignan

Option 1:
1st class pass users save €22
2nd class pass users save €14 
Take the AVE trains on the Barcelona ↔ Montpellier, Nimes, Narbonne and Perpignan route instead of the TGV InOui trains.

Option 2:
1st class pass users save €35
2nd class pass users save €25
The alternative route:
- Barcelona-Sants ↔ Port Bou by MD train
- Port Bou ↔ Montpellier, Nimes, Narbonne and Perpignan by TER train

Basel / Bern ↔ Milano

This alternative route is also more scenic than that taken by the direct trains.
1st class pass users save €13
2nd class pass users save €11
The alternative route:
- Basel SBB ↔ Bern by IC train
- Bern ↔ Domodossola by IR / Lotschberger train
- Domodossola ↔ Milano Centrale / Milano Porta Garibaldi by Regionale Veloce train

Zurich ↔ Milano

1st class pass users save €13
2nd class pass users save €11
The alternative route:
- Zurich Hb ↔ Lugano by IC or EC train
- Lugano ↔ Milano Centrale by Tilo train   

Innsbruck ↔ Verona

1st class pass users save €18
2nd class pass users save €13
The alternative route:
- Innsbruck ↔ Brennero by S-Bahn train
- Brennero ↔ Verona by Regionale Veloce train
Depending on the time of day, when travelling between Brennero, additional connections may be required in Bolzano and / or Trento. 

Journeys in Italy

Users of both 1st and 2nd class Eurail and Interrail passes need to pay mandatory reservation fees of €13 to travel on the Frecce train services (except the now rare Frecciabianca services).

However, pass users only have to pay a fee of €3 to travel by the Intercity services, which are typically a slower and less frequent alternative, to taking the Frecce trains, on these routes:

• Milano - Bologna ↔ Rimini - Ancona - Bari - Lecce
• Trieste - Venezia Mestre - Padova ↔ Bologna - Firenze-Rifredi - Roma
• Milano - Bologna - Firenze-Rifredi ↔ Roma - Napoli - Salerno