Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Posted 15 years ago
Greetings guys, I am Volodymyr from Ukraine and I just bumped into this great world of interrail :D . I am going to a summer school in Portugal in July-August, and decided, that this offer is the most affordable for us, typical students.
But then, we have a little problem - the itinerary is so long that it is almost unpredictable and hard to plan. Well, I did all the research with timetables and the route is as follows: Cierna nad Tisou - Bratislava - Vienna - Munich - Metz Ville - Paris <Day Stop> And then the 2nd part Paris - Madrid - Lisbon. As you can see, the trip is long, so it would be no use to take only slow regional trains as we want to get to our school on time.
Here is the problem. At least half of the trains on our way require some reservations, but because we will use most of major railroads it would be next to impossible to reserve all trains in advance. What should we do then? Reserve for the first part of the trip? Or reserve most important trains, like TGVs? Or, if we (there will be 2 or 3 of us) rely on our destiny, and do most of the reservations on spot (like 1-2 days before the trips) what is the chance of us being lucky and getting on all the right trains?
One practical question. If I arrive, say, in Bratislava (or Vienna) , how far can i possibly reserve on those train stations (i.e. would I be able to reserve trains from Vienna to Paris if they require international crossings?). And does reservation mean that I actually get free ticket, only paying reservation fees?
Sorry for a lot of questions, but I am really puzzled. Would appreciate any practical help (or advice ;) )
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi ...
If you want reservations (and at least for the night trains I recommend it to you) do it in the summer months as early as possible. You can do it up to 2 months in advance - and the best and cheapest way will be to do it at a big railway station.
I am not sure about Bratislava - but at Vienna you will get all the reservations you need for your tour. :)
If you know the dates you want to travel, buy the reservations - but keep in mind: you won't then be free any more. For example you really enjoy your stay in Munich, but have to take the train to France, you have to take it - as otherwise your reservation will be lost.
And reservation mean that you get a seat - but I do not recommend reservations.
If you NEED a supplement for a train ( [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u] ), the seat reservation (or bed reservation at a night train) is already included.
Train schedules: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
All the best, Peter :)
Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Thanks a lot for such comprehensive answer, I feel much better about the trip now 8)
Reservation in advance sounds unreal for me, since in Ukraine trains stations don't do reservations for trains abroad. And dealing with dozen of reservations over the internet sounds too complicated, since as a I understood, you have to reserve each train separately on the company website :|
So far the best variant is to go to Vienna without reservation and do all the reservations there. But can someone confirm that I would be able to reserve trains, say, all the way up to Paris? And are the surcharges prices listed a kind of reservation, or you have to pay separate reservation fee?
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
You should be able to make reservations for the whole trip at the stations in Vienna (depending on the guy at the counter though). The supplements include a reservation.
Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Thanks for clearing it up ;) . I tried the route planner ( I did it all manually before, but now it looks like it really offers most convenient connections) and those are options I got [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u] (choose Lisboa Oriente if it asks). I could deal with the guy at the counter :P but I wonder whether is it technically possible to reserve such itinerary (let's say option 3 on that list) all the way to Portugal :o ? If it is so easy and POSSIBLE, than HURRAY
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
I'd suggest the following route:
Wien 1820 - 2230 Munich
Munich 2244 - 0930 Paris
Go to Eiffel Tower (or Notre Dame etc)
Paris 1550 - 2125 Irun
Irun 2200 - Lisboa 1103
Less changes, less risk to miss a train. Especially the tight connections night train - TGV are risky. ;) Also from you could take an earlier connection to Paris to Irun but TGV usually are on time.
It may be advisable to spend a little more money an book a couchette or even a sleeper on the Irun - Lisboa Sud Espresso as there are eight seats per compartment...
Depending on where you have to go in Lisboa it might be better getting off at the terminus Santa Apolonia.
Last year I made all reservations for our Iberian tour (four people) from Graz without problems. :)
Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Wow, thanks for suggestion. But I can't really see the Munich-Paris itinerary you posted. The only connection like that includes chage:
MUNCHEN METZ VILLE 22:44-6:15
METZ VILLE PARIS 6:25-7:49
Is this this one you are talking about? Will it be enough to have 10 minuets before the train (second one is TGV)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
That's what I was talking about. ;)
The online train planner gives you the fast connection where you have to change in Metz, however the terminus of the night train is Paris. IMO the connection time is to short to rely on, especially on a trip like yours.
Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Damn, you are so right :o I couldn't see that train until I have chosen direct route Munich-Paris. That makes it much easier :P
You are my savior :os Could you please give me more details how to make reservation at the cash desk in Vienna - do I just show my Interrail and printed itinerary, and say that I need reservation only? Will I get printed tickets for all the route? Sorry for so many question, but I kinda will feel safe after knowing that.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Yup, just go to the counter, show your IR pass and tell/show them for which trains you need reservations - each reservation will be printed separately, there wont be any problems going to other countries with your reservations issued by ÖBB.
Just keep questioning if there are any problems. ;)
Carolus
Traveller
5 comments
Thanks a lot =) I noticed that you are from Graz, what a coincidence :) - next week I am going to Austria for the summer school organized by Graz University, which will be held in Seggau castle near Leibnitz .