ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Posted 11 years ago
Hi railccs
I am planning a tour using a Eurail Pass (consecutive days) in July and August 2013.
Many of my planned journeys will be by night train and will require reservations/supplements.
Also a few daytime journeys show either “Reservation Compulsory” or;
“Please Reserve”,
“Reservation Optional” or
“Reservation possible but not required”.
I intend to buy my Eurail Pass from railcc online shop if possible to do this from Australia. I would do this in January or February to make sure that I can validate it within the required six months of purchase. My first rail journey is planned for 1 July (Helsinki to Turku) and I proposed to validate the Pass on that day in Helsinki..
I would also prefer to make my compulsory reservations and pay for the required supplements through the railcc online shop if possible to do this from Australia.
Questions:
1. Is it possible for me to buy the Pass online through railcc from Australia?
2. Is it possible for me to buy all the reservations and supplements online through railcc from Australia? [My current count is 25 overnight journeys and about 6 “Reservation Compulsory” day trains spread over July and August.]
3. Will there be enough time for the tickets etc to be mailed to me in Australia taking into account the apparent two month maximum advance booking periods (or maybe less) for some journeys?
4. If I provide the railcc online shop with my complete itinerary, do they offer a complete booking service or will I need to go online almost every day as the relevant booking periods for each journey open?
5. Is it possible for me to book through railcc online for:
* Eurostar,
* train tickets for two days travel within England (not covered by Eurail),
* point-to point tickets for the parts of two journeys within Poland (also not covered by Eurail); and/or
* ferry tickets?
Best Wishes and Happy Travelling
Richard
(ardeeay)
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Hi Richard.
Here your answers:
1) YES. Shipping is possible worldwide. Shipping fees to Australia: USD 7. Shipping time: up to 7 business days, but usually much faster.
2) NO. A lot of reservations for rail pass travellers are not available online. It is not a railcc problem, it is a problem that the national railway companies simply do not offer it for online sales. Recommended is to buy reservations at railway stations in Europe. You could get some already in Helsinki for example if you start there.
If you give me details about your route, I can forward you to the places where to get reservations.
If you have the possibility, don't travel in July or August. It is peak travel time. Much more relaxing in May, June, September or October.
3) YES. Shipping is within a maximum of 7 business days.
4) Eurail is not an all inclusive holiday like you know. So you have to get your reservations on your own. In general, travel agencies do not earn any money on reservations (as railway companies don't rally pay a commission for it). But the ones you can get online are easy to get. All other like said above, at a railway station in Europe.
No worries ... relax, if you book 4 weeks in advance of your travel date, you will easily get seats/beds in trains.
5) Eurostar: NO - only possible to book by phone for the rail pass discount: [ux]https://rail.cc/en/eurail-train-reservation/eurostar/est-est/78[/u]
I recommend to buy a special fare ticket instead of the rail pass discounted ticket, as special fares are often cheaper: [ux]https://rail.shop/beurope[/ux]
Train ticket UK: YES - buy here: [ux]https://rail.shop/virgintrains[/u]
Poland: NO - buy here: [u]https://rail.shop/pkpic[/ux] or at a station in Poland.
NO. Which one do you want to use?
Just have a look on the routes here on railcc which will often show you free connections if available, saving your money: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-eurail-route[/u]
Have a sunny weekend, Peter :)
ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Hi Peter
Thank you for a most speedy and very comprehensive reply. Your local knowledge and experience is invaluable to people like me on the other side of the world.
Your advice to avoid July and August is the second time that I have received the same suggestion today. (An Australian friend who had spent some time in England told me the same thing this morning - he told me that any time after Easter would be good.) I will probably re-work my draft Itinerary (currently fourth draft) to travel in mid-May through to the end of June.
Once I have figured out these adjustments, I will send you details about my route, so that you can forward places where I can get reservations. Thanks.
Being a 68 year-old planner and perhaps not as totally spontaneous as other travellers, I like to have the critical bookings made in advance! But I can certainly wait for the non-critical ones until I get to Helsinki.
As there will be plenty of time for postage, I will certainly buy my Eurail pass through the railcc Online Shop
I am hoping to reserve first class sleepers (one person, with en suite) on the night trains so that I avoid hotels (but know that I will pay for significantly higher supplements). I am planning the trip largely because I enjoy trains and not hotels, and I reckon I have earned the more expensive luxury of the sleepers. Getting my own reservations will be both a challenge and enjoyable for me. It is the ones like CNL sleepers that I would like to tie up before leaving home, so I will attempt to book 4-6 weeks in advance of my travel date, and trust that the postage time will be long enough.
For Eurostar I have already found that I can get a special fare ticket on some of their journeys for £38.00 = $59 = €47.50, reservation included, whereas a Passholder fare is €89! I think I will do that online.
I will check railcc shop for UK and Poland point-to point tickets when I am closer to fixing the dates (and the new 2013 timetables are available in the next few days or weeks).
For ferries, I plan to use either Tallink Silja Line or Viking Line from Turku to Stockholm (overnight); then DFDS Seaways from Koebenhavn to Oslo and return.
Question:
Will there be a night train running from Malmo to Oslo in mid-May? Because if so I would prefer to use the trains.
The next ferry would be Stena Line from Hoek van Holland Haven to Harwich; then finally the Irish Ferries or Stena Line from Holyhead to Dublin and return.
I will have a look at the routes on railcc to see if there are any discounted connections available, possibly saving some money.
For me much of enjoyment is in the preliminary planning phase, so I am not concerned about the possible changes I will have to make (or choose to make) between now and next (northern) Summer.
It is a beautiful Spring day here with a temperature of 22 degrees C. I hope you are also enjoying a pleasant weekend.
Richard :D
(ardeeay)
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Hi Richard ...
Here Autumn is coming in big steps. Foggy this morning and cold. ;)
Concerning the season you travel: in the summer months it is only hot in the cities and a lot of tourists everywhere on the hot spots, in trains, in hotels and hostels. So if possible, do it like your friend told you as well: try it in the period after Eastern.
Some additional information: the ferries are available to book in advance. You can check it here for information if a discount is available or not: [ux]https://rail.cc/en/eurail-ferry[/u]
For the ferry Netherlands to the UK, there is a discount but only if booking via their Netherlands version of the website.
For UK tickets, it is maybe even cheaper to book them via nationalrail.co.uk - have a look on it.
The link [u]https://rail.shop/pkpic[/ux] will forward you to the Polish railway website.
More information about bookings then if your route is more fixed. And we will find a way to get the critical bookings in advance.
If you have more questions or if I did forget answering something, just let me know! :)
Peter :)
ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Hi Peter
No, you did not forget anything major! :D
Thanks for answering my queries and for all the links you gave me to follow up. There was one thing which you may not know until new timetables are published:
Will there be a night train running from Malmo to Oslo in mid-May? Because if so I would prefer to use the trains instead of ferries from Koebenhavn to Oslo and return.
I have started on Itinerary Draft 5, so I will see how it works out with the new dates before sending any more questions.
Cheers
Richard
(ardeeay) :)
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Hi Richard...
No there won't be a night train on Malmö to Oslo I suppose.
The common way is from Copenhagen via the big bridge to Malmö, Gothenburg, Oslo:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/copenhagen-to-oslo[/u]
Peter :)
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Hej Richard,
- there has been a Malmö - Oslo night train until rather recently; anyway since two years or so it has been withdrawn (sadly), together with the Stockholm - Oslo night train. As far as I am aware of there are currently no plans on reintroducing these trains since even the Malmö - Stockholm night train is one the edge.
The new timings for net year will be published soon, then we will know for sure.
- regarding the Hook van Holland and Holyhead - Dublin ferries, it is no problem to book a ticket upon arrival at the terminal. For the first trip I can recommend to travel overnight since they offer very comfortable cabins with ensuite shower, toilet and TV. The latter trip only takes less than four hours so it does not really make sense to get a cabin; I would travel during the day, since the route along the north welsh coast is quite scenic.
- For UK tickets, check nationalrail, where you can find advance tickets which are often really cheap (as opposed to regular fare tickets); alternatively you might think about a Brit Rail pass, depending on how much you have planned to travel in the UK (there are two quite comfortable sleeper services in case you want to try these out). ;)
Flo 8)
ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Hej Flo and Peter,
I had reluctantly come to the same conclusion about the Malmö - Oslo night train, but had seen a few older posts in various places about the train and was hoping that it may still run in Summer. I will watch for the new 2013 timetables but I am not getting too hopeful. It is sad that there will be no night train from Sweden to Oslo, because from Oslo you can still get to Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim (and on to Bodo) by night train but can’t get there (Oslo) overnight in the first place. :(
Flo: I have recently come to the same conclusion about the Hook van Holland - Harwich and Holyhead - Dublin ferries. The overnight trip in an ensuite cabin on the former and the daytime trip on the latter would fit in very well with my current plans. :D
Because I lived in the north of England in the 70’s (and in London in the 1940’s!! ;) ) I won’t be spending much time in the UK on this trip. I will simply transit the UK on my way to Dublin and then return via London in order to try out Eurostar, hopefully with a cheap advance purchase ticket.
As well as nationalrail I have been looking at new.raileasy.co.uk for their cheap advance purchase RailSail tickets from Harwich right through to Dublin for £38. Because I can be a bit flexible in my timing this could be a real possibility. :)
Thanks for your continuing advice and suggestions. :)
Cheers
Richard
(ardeeay) :D