pdmcfc
Traveller
4 comments
Posted 9 years ago
Hi Everyone,
I am planning my first euro trip by train ([b]in August 2015 mostly[/b])
It would be[b] a 10 days trip[/b] and rough plan for now is as below.
[b]Copenhagen to Prague by flight
Prague - Berlin - Cologne - Brussels / Bruges / Antwerp (any 2 or all 3 of these in Belgium) - Amsterdam
Fly back to Copenhagen from Amsterdam[/b]
I already checked possible alternatives available in Euro rail passes and I think [b]Benelux+Germany regional pass [/b]suits the above plan the best.([b]5 days + 1 bonus day if booked before 30th April 2015[/b]).
My friend(Indian working in USA , who will travel on tourist visa) will be joining me and I think he is eligible for Eurail pass (correct me if I am wrong). So we will get discount as we will be booking pass for 2 .
[list:2ayy66g1]Please let me know if above plan looks good or I can add / remove some cities in above plan(visit better places than above).
Is this plan fine or I am trying to cover too many things in 10 days?
Is the Benelux+Germany pass good choice or train tickets will suit better for above plan?
Any help with schedule planning (trains , stations etc. ) will be great.
[/list:u:2ayy66g1]
I am open to ideas if you have any other valuable advice for me.Cheers !!
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
In your profile it says you are from Sweden so you would probably need an Interrail pass instead of a Eurail pass.
Anyway, you might consider getting regular advance fare tickets instead of rail passes.
Prague - Berlin; Berlin - Cologne and Cologne - Brussels can all be booked through our partner link with Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
Belgium - Amsterdam is available on the website of NS or B Europe (Dutch and Belgian Railways) at [ux]https://rail.shop/nsinternational[/ux] and [u]https://rail.shop/beurope/[/u]
I think this would be better value than getting rail passes - however you would be then fixed on a certain train on a certain date.
The route seems reasonable for ten days - you can easily spend two days in Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam; if you add one day each in Cologne, Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp it already adds up to ten days so I would not add another city.
Flo 8)
pdmcfc
Traveller
4 comments
Hey Flo,
Thanks a lot for your reply , my wait is finally over :D .
I did some more research since yesterday on the available routes.We don't intend to spend 2 full days in each of Amsterdam and Berlin, we will cover as much as we can in 1 day , instead will visit a friend in Luxembourg.
I have been in Sweden for more than a year now , so I should be eligible for Interrail pass , but my friend coming in from States would be on tourist visa and will need Eurail pass .
Currently [b]Eurail has a good offer where we get 15% discount on buying pass for 2 people and also 1 day extra if we book before 29th April 2015. Thats why I am trying to get this pass(that would be around 500 EUR for 6 days).[/b]
Aso we may skip a city here and there if needed and with pass we will have that flexibility.
Do you see any issue with this?
So now the rough plan is like below
[b]Copenhagen to Prague by Flight
Prague-Berlin (Normal train ticket)
Berlin - Cologne (Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Cologne - Luxembourg(Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Luxembourg - Brussels (Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Brussels - Brugges and back(Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Brussels - Antwerp and back (Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Brussels - Amsterdam (Eurail Benelux + Germany Pass)
Fly back to Copenhagen from Amsterdam[/b]
Let me know if you still think that regular tickets will suit better for the above schedule than a Euro pass.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
If you want to stay flexible throughout the trip you should go with the Eurail pass option.
You can support our work by buying through our partner link: [ux]https://rail.shop/eurail[/ux] - thank you! :)
FYI: Eligbility for Interrail is not depending on the duration of your stay in Europe anymore; as long as your residency is in Europe you are eligible for Interrail. As long as your passport does not show your residency in Europe you should be fine getting a Eurail pass though.
pdmcfc
Traveller
4 comments
Hey Flow,
I am back with additional questions.As I read that even If a person has Euro pass , he still needs to go for a reservation in some cases.This brings me to my next set of questions.
[list:21q1wm2m][b]If I buy regular tickets instead of pass , does that automatically come with reservation or even in that case I need to get a reservation separately?
As per the itinerary that I mentioned above , during which all journeys do you think I might need a reservation?[/b](I think it is a must for Prague-Berlin at least not sure about others)
[/list:u:21q1wm2m]
P.S. I dropped the plan of Luxembourg :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Whether you have to make a reservation or not has nothing to do if you are travelling with Interrail/Eurail or regular tickets in general.
Some trains have compulsory reservation: If you are travelling with a rail pass (Interrail/Eurail) you will have to get an extra reservation for such trains; if you are travelling with regular tickets the reservation is included in the ticket in most cases.
Have a look at a list of trains which do/do not require a reservation here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
On your route you can easily travel without any extra reservations:
Prague - Berlin: Not required (where did you read about that?!)
Berlin - Cologne: Not required
Cologne - Brussels: Not required on direct ICE trains; required on direct Thalys trains; not required on other connections
Brussels - Antwerp - Amsterdam: Not required on IC trains; required on Thalys trains; read more here: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/train-amsterdam-brussels/[/u]
Melona
Traveller
10 comments
Hello,
Do you have a specific reason for staying in Brussels (going back there a few times)?
If so, that's okay, because the train journeys are quite short.
If not, I would suggest going from Brussels to Bruges, from Bruges to Antwerp and from Antwerp to Amsterdam. Saves you a bit of time and you won't have to worry about getting the train back to Brussels. It might also be a bit cheaper to stay in the other cities, but I'm not sure about that.
pdmcfc
Traveller
4 comments
Hey Melona,
Thanks for detailed response.I was looking for a direct train , hence could see only 1 train from Prague to Berlin and it has reservation required.(EN 476,Euro Night).
Also on the other point that you suggested i.e. travelling back to Brussels.I am also thinking on similar lines currently as I think opting for a pass makes sense only if have to use it multiple times within 2 cities other wise advance fare tickets serve me well.
Thanks for the help,Cheers !!
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Why would you travel with EN 476 from Prague to Berlin, leaving Prague 0430? This train indeed requires a reservation, all other trains leaving Prague every two hours from 0630 until 1830 do not require a reservation. Where are you looking for schedules? You may have a look at [ux]http://plan.rail.cc[/ux] :)
pdmcfc
Traveller
4 comments
I am back again with a doubt guys :)
From all your replies above , basically it means that reservations are not required on any of the routes that I need to use during my whole travel.
I checked the schedules from link shared by you (tickets sales haven't opened yet for august 2015)and could see that the trains within Belgium and between Belgium - Amsterdam have a very good frequency i.e. at least 1 direct train every 1 hour.
[b]So do I need to buy these tickets in advance or it would be fine even If I buy them when I am in there?[/b]
Just so that my schedule is flexible when I am travelling in these 2 countries.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Yes, you can also buy these tickets locally on the day of departure. Regular fare tickets are open tickets with which you can use all trains on your route, you are not fixed to one particular departure.