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Corks118
Traveller
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Posted 11 years ago

I'm looking at how to book reservations for trains through the railcc shop and getting a little confused. The reservation for the train in Italy (for example) says 10 Euros but when I do it through the shop it says it's £13. Am I doing something wrong? I'm not sure if I'm trying to buy a ticket rather than simply a reservation.

Also, are reservations easy to purchase once you're on your travels?

Thanks.

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Peter
Traveller
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replied 11 years ago

Hi.
Please read the yellow box bellow the reservation information on the website telling:
Note: the given prices may vary due to service or handling fees. Depending on whether you purchase the reservations/tickets online, at a ticket machine or at a railway station.

Why? No one earns money by selling reservations - it is an EXTRA service for Interrailers. But the person who print the reservation and send it by letter to you has to be paid as well.

Yes, you can buy reservations as well during your trip.

Peter

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Corks118
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replied 11 years ago

Right, so the £13 is the correct cost along with my InterRail pass?

Would it be cheaper to book a reservation at the train station itself as opposed to online?

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Peter
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9333 comments

replied 11 years ago

I suppose you talk about this type of train?
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/frecciabianca/trenitalia-fb/48[/u]
The the price in Italy at the station is EUR 10.
:)

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Corks118
Traveller
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replied 11 years ago

Thanks, I'm just trying to get my head around it all.

Looking at train connections from Rome to Florence, there are others which take a couple of hours longer but don't seem to require a reservation. Am I okay to just get on that train and not pay anything extra?

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Peter
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replied 11 years ago

Reservations for day trains are usually no problem to get a day before departure in Italy. Buy them at ticket machines (option: Global Pass). So you stay flexible.
And if you want to travel for free, you can use the regional trains, or as well IC train (reservation for EUR 3).
Just enter the free trains and take a seat: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/rome-to-florence[/u]
:)

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Corks118
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replied 11 years ago

Think I'm getting the hang of it now!

Thanks Peter, helpful as ever.

One other thing I've noticed, when I go to the online shop and look at reservations, it says the reservation is for a Eurail passholder but I have an InterRail pass. Is this right?

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Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 11 years ago

Yeah, this is ok.

In Italy, you are really doing fine when purchasing the reservations directly at the machines (you can do it at the counter as well of course but the machines really work good), no need to fuss around with online reservations. That way you can also stay much more flexible, just as Peter said.
On the Rome to Florence route you can save money by using the about two hourly IC trains where reservation is cheaper (3€) and not compulsory (but recommended) and not lose too much time compared to the FA and FB highspeed trains.

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Corks118
Traveller
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replied 11 years ago

Thanks. For Italy it's only really an issue from Rome to Florence as that's the only long journey I'll be doing, unless it's necessary from Venice to Gorizia, which I haven't checked yet.

For flexibility purposes it seems best if I book the reservations at the machines or counters in the station, although I'll continue to check on here (to familiarise myself with it if nothing else!).

Are there any trains that are strongly recommended I make reservations for? I know the night trains are, and I'm planning on spending at least one night on a train (Budapest to Prague).

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Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

replied 11 years ago

Hi.
Venice to Slovenia is free. Have a look here: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/travel-lake-bled-train/[/u]
Night trains: you can never preview it if a train will be full or not. If you know the exact travel date, book it some days in advance: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train[/u]
Peter :)