Planning a European Rail Trip: Putting it together

Whether you have or haven't needed to use the suggestions for working out how to travel to and from your chosen European destinations by train, you need to move to the stage when you can make the trip happen.

No matter your budget or travel preferences, booking tickets at the station immediately before hopping on a European long-distance train is usually not a good idea.
And note the specific reference to long-distance, as the suggestions on this guide are focused on taking express trains day or night.

If regional and local trains will be the optimum mode of travel between the destinations on your wish list, then you can buy tickets at the last minute - Because prices are fixed, seat reservations won't matter, train departures can't sell out etc.

However when taking a journey by long-distance trains, day or night, advance planning can pay off:

• There are multiple methods for saving money if you plan ahead such as: Booking cheaper types of tickets; Checking whether a rail pass will be a money saver; Working out if a railcard will suit you etc
• Having an idea of how seat reservations work and whether they do or don't apply to a route, can make the journey itself infinitely more pleasant
• Time can matter in multiple ways - The trains leaving at the most popular times can sell out completely, be more expensive and be busier.
• Travel dates and days of the week matter - Timetables are more likely to be altered from the norm at weekends; Fridays can be busier / more expensive; Days around national holidays create higher demand etc.
• Routes matter: The start and end of the working day impact on some journeys, while on others it's the fact that they go to and from popular tourist resorts that matters more.

Why it can be a good idea to think about the timing of your journeys?

You now know that you'll want to go from A to B, but you're on holiday, so ideally you want your trip to be as pleasant as possible,
The fewer the number of people you will be sharing a train with, the more likely it is that you can enjoy this happy scenario.

Hence if you will be taking a journey on routes on which the trains are comparatively frequent, the suggestion is to have these tips front of mind:

• On Mondays to Fridays and Sundays travel away from cities on trains departing between 11:00 and 14:00.
• On summer Saturdays trying to avoid setting off from cities before 13:00 / 1pm.
• On Fridays and Sundays try to avoid boarding trains between 13:00 and 19:00.
• At holiday times, the trains before 14:00 on the holiday itself can be exceptionally quiet.
• On holiday weekends, when the Monday is the day off from work, trains on the Sunday tend to be exceptionally quiet.
• On holiday weekends, when the Friday is the day off from work, trains on the Saturday tend to be exceptionally quiet.
• Particularly avoid the days before Christmas, after the New Year and either side of Easter.

In common with all the nuggets of advice on this guide there is no guarantee that these suggestions will become a reality, but they typically make a difference.

These timings can also make a difference as to whether a journey on an optimum train will even be possible.
That's because a very small percentage of departures can sell out, when the flip-side of the times above apply, because that's when trains are likely to be busiest
Though sold out departures tend to impact specific routes, namely:

• Eurostar trains to and from London departing between 08:00 and 18:30
• The TGV InOui services on Friday and Saturdays from Paris to the French coast in summer and the French ski resorts in winter; and back to Paris on the Sunday.

• Eurostar trains to and from Paris / Amsterdam on the afternoon and evenings of Friday and Sunday.
• The high-speed trains between France and Spain
• Italian Intercity trains on the coastal routes
• Trains between Oslo and Stockholm.

What are the benefits of travelling First Class?

Other than the overall environment of the seating areas being more spacious and comfortable, there is a less obvious benefit of travelling in First Class or it's equivalents, namely it won't typically be as busy as Second Class.

Though inevitably this isn't universal, the trains which go to and from cities where people gather for business. are in effect mobile work stations on Monday to Fridays.
At weekends on routes to and from leisure destinations, on which the higher first class price doesn't apply to child fares, First Class can be a popular choice for savvy families.

However, if your overall trip will be easier if you travel on popular routes at times of high demand, look twice and compare First and Second Class.
On those routes listed above and more, you will be often be able to find reservations and tickets in First Class and its equivalents, when Second Class is sold out.

Travelling with kids

If your travel party includes children going First Class can be particularly worth factoring into your planning in these circumstances:

• When booking the cheapest type of tickets for long-distance rail journeys in Austria and Germany, children under 15 go free - but it doesn't matter if the adults book 1st or 2nd class.
• Kids aged 12 and under can travel for free with 1st class adult ticket bookers on trains In Belgium.
• Special tickets for children aged 12 and under are available for less than €3 in The Netherlands and three kids with such tickets can travel with adults who have booked 1st class tickets.
• Adults booking First Class InterRail and Eurail passes can book up two child passes (12 and under) at no additional cost- though any seat reservations for the kids will cost extra.

Should you take a trip with tickets or a rail pass?

A key decision to be made when putting together a multi-location European rail trip is whether to travel with tickets or a  Eurail / Interrail pass.
In effect the passes are a multi-train + multi-day ticket.
So the core idea is that if you will be travelling a sufficiently long-distance and / or making a high number of journeys within a specific period of time, the passes are money savers.

Though another factor is whether travelling with a pass instead of tickets, will make the trip easier to book and manage.
Two factors in particular are worth considering:

(1) When booking tickets for trains / journeys on which reservations are mandatory, the allocation of the specific seat(s) is automatically included as a complimentary benefit of the booking.
But Eurail / Interrail pass users need to proactively book reservations for these journeys, so these bookings are an additional cost.

(2) The cheapest tickets for travel by European long-distance trains are always departure specific, meaning that you have to travel by the train you select when booking.
So you then need to be sure that you will be at the station in time.
In contrast when using rail passes on routes with frequent trains, you can decide which train to take whenever it suits you.
If a reservation is mandatory on a frequent route, you can book it the day before, or in the morning, or when you get to the station.

Scenarios in which the balance can tip towards a 'Global' multi-country pass:

A 'Global' multi country rail pass can be more likely to save you money if one or more of these criteria apply to your trip:

• You travel First class: The price difference between 1st and 2nd class passes can be lower than the price difference between multiple 1st and 2nd class tickets - Plus on some routes the mandatory reservation fees charged to Eurail/Interrail pass users are the same, regardless of the class of pass being used.
• Will be travelling with one or two children aged 12 and under, per adult.
• Want to travel on the Swiss Mountain Railways covered by Eurail / Interrrail.
• Wil be travelling at times when high demand can push up ticket prices, such as between June – September, or either side of Christmas, or during the Easter holiday.
• Will be planning a trip less than a month ahead, as the cheapest ticket prices are more likely to have sold out.
• You make a return journey to and from the UK by Eurostar - yes the reservation fees are high for pass users, but so are the ticket prices, hence the cost per day using of pass + the reservation can be cheaper.

Scenarios in which the balance can tip towards travelling with tickets:

Booking a series of tickets can be more likely to be cheaper if one or more of these criteria apply to your trip:  

• You want to take mostly night trains and travel in the sleeping accommodation; the reservation fees can be similar regardless of whether you travel with tickets or passes.
• Are happy to book discounted tickets months in advance - and then be committed to taking the trains you are then booked on to.
• Will be mainly travelling in eastern Europe.
• Will be taking multiple trips from and to France on direct high speed trains.

So if either of the two sets scenarios summarized above apply to your trip, making a price comparison between passes and tickets can be worth the effort.

What's worth being aware of regarding reservations / assigned places on European trains?

As a starting point, it's good to know that when taking a long-distance journey on European day trains, seat reservations / assigned places are either:

• Not available = the situation when taking national express trains in Belgium and The Netherlands.

• Mandatory = included when purchasing tickets, but rail pass users need to be proactive and book them prior to boarding.
• Optional =can be booked at an additional cost regardless of whether travelling with tickets or using rail passes.

Note that when reservations are optional the train operators can sell more tickets than the number of seats on the train.
Plus those who have booked last minute at stations can board - hence seats are not guaranteed, regardless of whether you have booked tickets in advance, or will be travelling with a Eurail / Interrail pass.

On night trains the ticket and rail passes only include the journey, but seats or any type of sleeping accommodation, must be reserved at an additional cost, regardless of whether you will be travelling with tickets or rail passes.

General advice on when to make optional reservations

When travelling 2nd class:

Based on taking 100s of long-distance European rail journeys, when travelling 2nd class on day trains, I choose to pay the cost and make the reservation if two or more of these criteria apply:

- the journey is longer than 90 minutes,

- the frequency of train service is 1 x train every OTHER hour, or less,

- I will be joining a train at an intermediate station (if I'm joining a train at start point. I aim to be at the station a minimum of 30mins prior to departure, so that I can be among the first to board)

- will be boarding at any station between;

08:30 and 10:30 on Mon– Sat

16:30 and 18:30 on Mon- Thurs

14:30 and 19:30 on Friday

08:00 and 12:00 on summer Saturdays

14:30 and 19:30 on Sundays.

I also always make the reservation when taking trains on either side of national holidays.

Hence I try to plan my trips on routes with optional reservations, so that two or more of these factors won't apply

When travelling 1st class:

I only make optional reservations when travelling on day trains in First Class if I will be boarding a train;

• From a city between 16:30 and 18:30 on Monday to Thursday; to avoid the executives heading home from their days of business.
• When boarding trains on Fridays between 15:00 and 19:30.
• When boarding trains heading to cities on Sundays between 13:00 and 19:00.

Because these are the only three scenarios in which I've boarded in to 1st class on trains with optional reservations and not been able to find a seat.
So this can be another tick in the 'why 1st class can be easier than 2nd class' box.

What's good to know about making connections

If you make taking only direct trains a key criteria of your trip planning, you can miss out on being able to get from A to B at all, so will end up crossing out some of your wish-list destinations.

There can be a seeming lack of logic to whether direct trains will or won't be available.

Some popular routes with no direct trains:

• Amsterdam ↔ Hamburg
• Switzerland to/from Firenze/Florence, Roma and Napoli
• Innsbruck to/from Firenze/Florence, Roma and Napoli
• Paris to/from Hamburg, Madrid, Roma and Venezia/Venice
• Marseille - Nice ↔ Genova - Milano
• Madrid ↔ Lisbon
• Salzburg - Villach ↔ Ljubljana - Zagreb
• Warszawa ↔ Vilnius
• Bordeaux ↔ San Sebastian

Locations which can only be fully explored by connecting to and from local trains include Mont-St Michel, Monaco, Neuschwanstein Castle, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the Cinque Terre and the Swiss mountain resorts.

Pertinent Information:

When planning a trip it's good to know that:

1. Connections of under 10 mins are features of the rail timetables for the national trains in Switzerland and The Netherlands, and much more often than not, they can be relied upon
2. Despite the ticket companies offering tickets - and therefore their journey planners showing end-to-end journeys by more than on train as being available; Connections between long-distance trains are hardly ever guaranteed.
3. The tickets agents tend to prioritize the fastest possible end-to-end journey times, so will offer connections into the next onward train, even if it will be leaving within 15 mins
4. Conversely they often won't offer tickets along a route if the time between trains is more than an hour.
5. Therefore when using the ticket agents as journey planning tools, it can be tricky to get an idea of all the journey options.
6. Connections can be particularly unreliable when different companies are operating each train service - which is the norm when making such journeys along international routes.
7. Connections between express of trains of 15 mins or less are built into the German rail timetable, but German trains aren't particularly punctual.
8. Stastics can be hard to come by, but on my most recent 300 journeys by European trains; around 80% were within 10mins of schedule, around 10% were 15 to 30mins late, 3% were up to an hour late and 2% of them were delayed by more than an hour.

Hence when selecting the specific trains that you want to travel by, you can have an easier trip when connecting between long-distance trains if you factor these suggestions into your planning:

• When making connections at large stations, try to allow at least 30 mins to make the transfer. (Unless you will be connecting between national trains in Switzerland and The Netherlands).
• That 30 minutes is split between a 15-20 mins contingency for the train arriving late + the time required to transfer to your next train.
• If you're offered a choice of options for your end-to-end journey, select one which sets off sooner than the last routing of the day.
• If you're only offered one option, check to see if you can actually set off earlier from your start point; Look up a separate tickets for that first leg of your journey if need be.
• Of plan a connection so that you have more than two hours between trains, drop your bags in the left-luggage and set off exploring, or have a long lunch in a restaurant in or near the station.

Some stations are hubs for making connections, but are also in a nice part of town, or at the very heart of a city - these include Birmingham New Street, Bologna Centrale, Edinburgh Waverley, Firenze S.M.N. Geneve-Cornavin, Innsbruck hbf, Koln Hbf, Leeds, London St Pancras (head towards Coal Drop Yards), Luzern, Oslo S, Praha hln, Salzburg Hbf, Stockholm C, York and Zurich HB.

When should I book the trip?

Neither tickets can be booked or reservations can be made until they are released for sale - and they are synced, they become available at the same time.

These periods of time typically are:

• 1 month ahead = Poland (national)
• Up to 2 months ahead = Denmark (national), Czechia (national) and Hungary (national)
• 12 - 13 weeks ahead = Norway
• Up to 3 months ahead = Great Britain
• 2 - 6 months ahead = Spain (national - but the the AVE trains to/from Madrid can be looked up 6 months ahead)
• Up to 4 months ahead = France (national)
• Up to 4 months ahead = the IC day and night trains in Italy
• Up to 6 months ahead = Austria*; Germany* Sweden*; Switzerland*; the Frecce trains in Italy; Eurostar; Other international high-speed trains from/to France

*= national and international routes.

Noe that in countries with booking periods which are typically longer than 2 months ahead; if you then look up a journey more than 2 months ahead for a travel date after the second Sunday in December, there’s a good chance that you won’t find the anticipated tickets available.
That's because of the annual timetable change which occurs on the second Sunday in December.
Though tickets for Eurostar trains are available 6 months ahead regardless.

Reacting to these time periods is more important on routes and services on which the most popular departures can sell out in advance,- because the trains have mandatory reservations and therefore a limited number of places.

Routes on which 1st and 2nd class can sell out

*= routes which only have mandatory reservations during June - August.

Routes on which 2nd class can sell out

Night train routes on which the sleeping accommodation can sell out

How do I know this?
These lists are based on the six pan-European trips I have taken, plus the many itineraries I have planned for users of my Concierge Travel Service.

Six things most worth knowing about tickets for European long-distance rail travel

1. It’s possible to make significant savings if you book online in advance for journeys by national express trains within Austria, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
2. it’s possible to make significant savings if you book online in advance for all international express trains - the day and night trains
3. Prices will rise between the tickets being placed on sale and the date of travel
4. The more popular a departure is, the more expensive it will be - demand can be a bigger influence on price than distance
5. On routes with frequent services, some departures will be cheaper than others.
6. There is usually no direct correlation between the price of 1st and 2nd class tickets, the difference can be €10 or less, or more than twice the cost of 2nd class.

Being aware of the terms and conditions:

If you will be booking a trip months ahead it can be worth paying attention to the terms and conditions of different types of ticket.
In general the cheaper ticket types are less flexible and have restrictions around transfers to alternative departures - When booking ahead you will need to select a specific departure when booking the cheapest tickets.
The cheaper a ticket, the less likely it is that you will be able to refund it, if you subsequently need to alter your plans.

Tickets which typically can't be refunded when the usual train service is available, include:
- Advance tickets for journeys in Great Britain.
- Super Economy tickets for journeys in Italy.
- Super Saver/ Super Sparpreis tickets in Germany
- Supersaver/Sparbillette tickets in Switzerland
- Sparschiene tickets in Austria
- Non-Flexible tickets in Norway
- Non-rebookable tickets in Sweden
- Basico tickets in Spain

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