Gall1987
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 13 years ago
Hi
Me and 2 friends are going InterRailing for the first in August and we have now ordered our pass and train tickets etc, but we are now need some advice on booking the reservations. I understand that there isn't simply a website that you can use to book all reservations, so we were going to just book the next train reservation at the ticket office once we arrive in each station. This should mean that we arrive in a station and will be booking a reservation a few days before we depart. However I'm not sure if this will work as I've been made aware that French and Spanish trains fill up really quickly.
We are going to the following cities and listed is the train we will be using to depart from that city:
Paris (Depart 11th) - Paris Austerlitz to Barcelona Sants @ 20:33
Barcelona (Depart 14th) - Barcelona - Lyon @ 09:00
Lyon (Depart 15th) - Lyon Part Dieu - Rome Termini @ 19:22
Rome (Depart 18th) - Rome - Munich @ 19:05
Munich (Depart 20th) - Munich - Berlin @ 20:48
Berlin (Depart 22nd) - Berlin Lich - Amsterdam Centraal @ 23:59
Amsterdam (Depart 25th) - Amsterdam Centraal - Paris @ 09:16
If anyone could go any advice on how much each leg will cost and how we will go about booking the reservations, or anywhere that we may be going wrong.
I really appreciate any advice/tips on this :D
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
Paris - BCN: You have chosen the expensive Elipsos night train. Have a look here for cheaper alternatives :arr: https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/france/fr
BCN - Lyon: Again, expensive option to go via the new HSL. You will need three reservations, one for BCN - Figueras (Alaris, 6,50€), two for the TGV (Figueras - Nimes and Nimes - Loyn) which cost 6€ each
Cheaper alternative which takes two hours longer (9 vs 7 hours) is to go with regional trains along the classic route via Girona - Portbou to Nimes and then with TGV to Lyon; departure BCN 0916
Lyon - Roma: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/paris-rome-en-227/7[/u]
Roma - München :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/rome-munich-cnl-484/34[/u]
München - Berlin :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/munich-berlin-cnl-1246/29[/u]
Berlin - Amsterdam :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/prague-amsterdam-cnl-456/14[/u]
Amsterdam - Paris :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-paris-train/f1472[/u]
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
Flo 8)
Gall1987
Traveller
2 comments
[quote]Hi!
Paris - BCN: You have chosen the expensive Elipsos night train. Have a look here for cheaper alternatives :arr: https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/france/fr
BCN - Lyon: Again, expensive option to go via the new HSL. You will need three reservations, one for BCN - Figueras (Alaris, 6,50€), two for the TGV (Figueras - Nimes and Nimes - Loyn) which cost 6€ each
Cheaper alternative which takes two hours longer (9 vs 7 hours) is to go with regional trains along the classic route via Girona - Portbou to Nimes and then with TGV to Lyon; departure BCN 0916
Lyon - Roma: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/paris-rome-en-227/7[/u]
Roma - München :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/rome-munich-cnl-484/34[/u]
München - Berlin :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/munich-berlin-cnl-1246/29[/u]
Berlin - Amsterdam :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/prague-amsterdam-cnl-456/14[/u]
Amsterdam - Paris :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-paris-train/f1472[/u]
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
Flo 8) [/quote]
Thanks very much for that, that's excellent and really appreciated.
There's just a few more things I wondered if you could help with?
I'm struggling to find the cheaper option from Barcelona to Lyon. The only reason we are stopping in Lyon is because we want to go from Barcelona to Rome and that seemed the most sensible place to stay and break the journey up, unless there is another option?
Also when we book a reservation and there are changed for example Lyon to Rome has three changes and it states that the cheapest reservation we can have is 25 euros, does this mean that there isn't a seat option on these trains if it only shows beds etc?
When there are changes and connections do we ask for a reservation from say Lyon to Rome or do we have to ask for a pay for separate reservations for each leg of a journey?
We may have to choose the most expensive option between Amsterdam and Paris due to the time of our booked Eurostar train back to London.
How far in advance would you say we book the reservations? I take it we would be best booking them as we arrive at each station? For example, for arrive in Paris on the 8th, would we be best going to the international ticket window on the 8th and booking the Paris Austrerlitz - Port Bou leg on the Barcelona journey, or would that be too late? I'm not exactly sure how quickly they fill up.
Sorry if that seems a lot of questions. I just want to make sure we know exactly what we're doing and it runs as smoothly as possible with it being the first time we have done InterRailing.
Thanks :D
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
Barcelona - Lyon:
Barcelona Sants 0916 - 1200 Cerbère
Cerbère 1226 - 1302 Perpignan
Perpignan 1325 - 1514 Montpellier Saint Roch
Montpellier Saint Roch 1628 - 1820 Lyon Part Dieu :arr: TGV, 6€ reservation
Lyon is a nice city, so why not choose this option. Leaving the next day with the night train leaves you with enough time to explore the city. :)
The other option would be to go the whole way along the mediterranean coast via Nice. We already have this route included in our database, have a look here
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/barcelona-to-nice[/u]
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/nice-to-rome[/u]
This option would leave you either almost no time in Nice (just a sleepover) or less time in Roma (if you stay some hours in Nice and leave late).
The night train on the Lyon - Roma connection runs Paris - Dijon - Roma and does not offer regular seats - only couchettes and sleepers. We only show those categories which are available in each train. ;)
Reservations are in most cases only for one train (not for the whole route), so for this night train ask for a reservation Dijon - Roma.
Can you still change your Eurostar ticket? You could go Bruxelles - London instead of leaving from Paris?
When to make reservations is one of the most difficult questions... :D Usually it is the best way to do as you have described. However, for Fridays and Sundays it might be a good idea to get the reservation even earlier.
Some reservations can be made online (which means you can also check availability) :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
Hope this cleared everything up - if you have further questions, just ask. ;)
Flo 8)
PS:
[quote]Thanks very much for that, that's excellent and really appreciated. [/quote]
Great! No problem...spread the word! ;)
Gall1987
Traveller
2 comments
[quote]Hi!
Barcelona - Lyon:
Barcelona Sants 0916 - 1200 Cerbère
Cerbère 1226 - 1302 Perpignan
Perpignan 1325 - 1514 Montpellier Saint Roch
Montpellier Saint Roch 1628 - 1820 Lyon Part Dieu :arr: TGV, 6€ reservation
Lyon is a nice city, so why not choose this option. Leaving the next day with the night train leaves you with enough time to explore the city. :)
The other option would be to go the whole way along the mediterranean coast via Nice. We already have this route included in our database, have a look here
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/barcelona-to-nice[/u]
:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/nice-to-rome[/u]
This option would leave you either almost no time in Nice (just a sleepover) or less time in Roma (if you stay some hours in Nice and leave late).
The night train on the Lyon - Roma connection runs Paris - Dijon - Roma and does not offer regular seats - only couchettes and sleepers. We only show those categories which are available in each train. ;)
Reservations are in most cases only for one train (not for the whole route), so for this night train ask for a reservation Dijon - Roma.
Can you still change your Eurostar ticket? You could go Bruxelles - London instead of leaving from Paris?
When to make reservations is one of the most difficult questions... :D Usually it is the best way to do as you have described. However, for Fridays and Sundays it might be a good idea to get the reservation even earlier.
Some reservations can be made online (which means you can also check availability) :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
Hope this cleared everything up - if you have further questions, just ask. ;)
Flo 8)
PS:
[quote]Thanks very much for that, that's excellent and really appreciated. [/quote]
Great! No problem...spread the word! ;) [/quote]
Thanks. We've decided we're going to use the alternative route to get to Barcelona, and we're going to book that train three days in advance once we arrive in Paris, would you say that this is early enough? I'd do it online if I could but obviously that doesn't seem a viable option.
One more thing, and I'll use the Lyon - Rome train as an example. We are going to need reservations for the night train, but will we also need to ask for reservations for the other trains used during this leg of the journey, or can we just get on these?
Thanks :D
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi,
you can make online reservations for the Lunéa night trains in France :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/france/fr[/u]
Check out Paris - Barcelona options here: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/paris-to-barcelona[/u]
Lyon - Dijon is by TER :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en-type-country/transport-express-rgional/sncf-ter/37[/u]
Dijon - Roma by the mentioned night train
Flo 8)