Interrail: need to reserver every train ?

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
I hope you bought your Interrail pass here in our partner to support your answer. ;)

Anyway... no... you do not need to reserve every trip. It depends on the country, the connection. Which route you want to travel?

Have a look at this link where you will find information about train [b]reservation[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]

And here you will find [b]connections[/b] avoiding trains with extra fees. Sometimes slower, but free:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]

[b]Paris to Berlin[/b]: check the following link. I recommend the night train which you can book easily online. You simply save travel time and the money you spent for a berth, saves the money for a hostel.
Optional is as well a trip completely without extra fees, but it is a very long one:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/paris-to-berlin[/u]

Peter :)

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

Thanls Peter

The train I want to take is Sofia to Skopje.
Apparently it needs a reservation,
1) does anyone know if this is true
2) where can I make a reservation

My fear is that I'll arrive in Bulgaria,no-one can speak English and I cannot make this reservation.

nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments

your fears are completely unfounded. In fact-learning to cope with these situations, are also one of the joys and/or experiences of travel. xxxxx
as for Sof->sko: there is NO train, for direct it is bus. 4/5 a day from either forecourt or Autogara just left.
The train connection goes via Nis,Serbije and eats loads of time, plus more for the inevitable delays.
Yes, I remember for inetrnational you have to reserve a seat-whcih cost less as 1 GBP in local money. Simply open eyes, find the right office in the station and order xxxxx Once on the train, you will find that seats are not marked as such, that yours will likely taken by others and that it all does not matter.

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

Thanks for the reassurance,
But is a bus covered on interrail?
And how long is the bus?

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
The bus is not covered by Interrail.
International tickets for trains are available at the RILA offices (blue/white logo). It is in Sofia main station in a corner. Main entrance, then turn left under the big scoreboard with the schedules.
They speak good English there. If you want, write down departure and arrival station on a paper, or the train number, the type of berth you want and so on. Relax, it is easy!! :)

The bus terminal is about 3-5 minutes away of the railway station in Sofia. Leave the main station to the left. It is a modern building.

I can't give you more details about travel times, etc.

Peter :)

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

Thanks Peter,
I've been using interrail's website to plan a route.
is this a trustworthy source?

Hetman
Traveller
364 comments

yes. you can trust it.
but if you have some doubts you can always check the information of traditional sites like these mentioned here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-train-route[/u]

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Most online schedule planers are based on the same software and database.
There are no special Interrail schedule planers available.
Do it like Hetman said and also check the special schedules we publish here on railcc.
[u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]

As we search here on railcc for inexpensive travel routes, avoiding trains with extra reservation fees.
Some other websites are only train ticket outlets and want to sell as much as possible. Afterwards they leave the travellers alone without information on how to use the Interrail pass the best way.

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

Thanks everyone:
From whats been written I believe that tickets can be reserved at stations.

Is this true for the following?
Budapest to Bucharest
Bucharest to Brusov
Sofia to Skopje
Ljublana to Salzburg
WIen to Frankfurt

If anyone can provide websites to reserve the Eastern Trains, it will be very helpful.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

Making reservations directly at the station usually is [b]the[/b] way to go. You can make reservations for almost all Europe at (international) counters in most stations.

Online reservation is only possible for certain trains, depending on the country. It is sometimes a convenient alternative to getting reservations at the station.

So, you can make reservations for all connections mentioned directly at most stations in mainland Europe; exception probably will be Sofia - Skopje which will only be possible locally (if any). Also Bucuresti - Brasov probably will only be possible in Romania.

Do you want to travel these routes overnight or during the day?

You can try to get online reservations via [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u] otherwise do it at a station.


Flo 8)

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

At night flo,

Thanks everyone
I think I'm probably being too paranoid about this..

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

I can understand that - but just relax, as soon as you will be on the first trains you will see that is not that complicated at all. :)

If you are already fixed on your travel dates, you could make some reservations already at Berlin Hbf. Eg:

Budapest - Bucuresti:

:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/budapest-to-bucharest[/u]

Ljubljana to Salzburg is only needed for the night train - which arrives very early in Salzburg. Have a look at the connections (Zagreb -) Ljubljana - München here:

:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/zagreb-to-munich[/u]

Wien - Frankfurt can be done during the day with ICE, no reservation needed. Or with the expensive overnight train which requires a reservation:

:arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/vienna-duesseldorf-en-420/44[/u]


Flo 8)

Slouette
Traveller
6 comments

Cheers,

Another question, is it possible for me to store bags at every train stations.
I wonder as I will spend only one day at Paris, and don't want to carry my backpack around.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well, at most large stations you will either find lockers or a manned baggage storage.

Costs are usually ~4€ for 24 hours but this can vary - Paris is rather expensive, but it is still reasonable if you only want to spend the day there to leave your luggage at a station. :) We did so very often already...


Flo 8)