ChrisJBarnes13
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 15 years ago
sorry if there are loads of these threads but i was wondering having never interrailed before, how long in advance do i need to book the sleeper trains? The ones I am going on are probably quite popular, but would i be alright booking them a couple of days in advance? for example, i am making the following journeys in couchettes. Paris to Rome, Rome to Venice (daytime, not actually in couchette), Venice to Budapest, Budapest to Bratislava (daytime also), Vienna to Krakow, Krakow to Prague, Prague to Berlin, Berlin to Amsterdam.
if for example i get off the prague to berlin train and then proceed to the ticket office to book the berlin to amsterdam couchette for 2 days later, will this work or am i being incredibly optimistic?
thanks in advance
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
that should be fine, its what i did/do. Try not to head for the paris-italy sleeper on a friday evening though
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Difficult to say - depends all on time of day (for day trains) and day of week. From my experience I can tell that the sooner you buy your reservation the better. Especially if you have to rely on a certain connection.
However the way you described is common too - making the reservations for the next part of the route when you arrive at the town you are currently staying in.
To the trains:
Paris to Rome :arr: if you dont get reservations for this train you can alternatively go with TGV to Zurich/Bern and take another night train from there to Rome
Rome to Venice :arr: day time travel, dont expect troubles here, check schedules online and compare the differnet train categories with their relevant supplements to save some €
Venice to Budapest :arr: if you dont get reservations for this train you can alternatively go via Austria
Budapest to Bratislava :arr: no reservation required
Vienna to Krakow :arr: no reservation required
Krakow to Prague :arr: no reservation required when going by international day trains; you shouldnt have problems getting a reservation for the night train
Prague to Berlin :arr: no reservation required when going by international day trains; no night train connection
Berlin to Amsterdam :arr: no reservation required when going by international day trains; no night train connection
Flo :)
ChrisJBarnes13
Traveller
3 comments
thanks for the replies both of you. however to flo- when you say no reservation required does that mean you can literally just turn up and pay for a couchette there and then? also, you say there is no night trains for prague to berlin and berlin to amsterdam? however the [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] website says there is a train at 01:02 from berlin spandeau to amsterdam? it also says there is an 03:40 train from prague to berlin arriving at 09:30? thanks
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Berlin - Amsterdam: My bad, there is a night train, however I get contradictory info about this train from the online train planners. :|
Prag - Berlin: Of course there is the mentioned train at 0340 but I never thought anybody would consider taking it. ;)
Wien - Krakow: My bad again, there is a compulsory reservation on both night and day trains.
ChrisJBarnes13
Traveller
3 comments
oh right haha thanks yeah when in prague we plan to make a good evening of all the cheap beer and then stroll onto the train at 340 and fall asleep straight away! thanks again for your help
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
this guy has the right idea...
rygb2009
Traveller
2 comments
is it possible to reserve couchettes or cabins online in advance? I'm travelling this summer on some of these connections, and would find it much easier to do it all online before we left because we're not staying in many places that long so I dont want to have to waste precious time in a train station trying to reserve our places then! If not, has anyone booked by phone before and how did it go?? thanks for any advice in advance ;)
rygb2009
Traveller
2 comments
oops sorry just found this
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
sorryyy!