Does anyone have experience with RailEurope.com?
I am planning a trip to Europe in Feb 2009 and was simulating the train costs. I was using a combo of the German, French and Swiss rail websites and RailEurope.com. I also was looking at passes, point to point tickets etc. What I cant figure out though, is why the site RailEurope.com charges me at least $50 for reservations even if you have a railpass (eurail 4 country pass) for the countries you are going through. For example a trip from Zurich to Munich is $50 with a railpass…why?? What is the point of the railpass if I have to pay so much in fees? Are there sites that let you reserve for free? How can I get the website of the EC, ICE, etc. with info on how much it will cost with the eurail pass.
The railpass allows you ‘free’ train travel (well, you’ve already paid for it), but only on slow trains. To take the faster/nicer trains, or to get reservations on the more popular trains, you have to pay a supplemental fee. These fees can be as little as a couple of Euros, or, as you discovered, quite high. If you look at the prices without the pass though, you’ll see the difference.
Going from Zurich to Munich is a popular international route, and the train you want to reserve is probably an express train or some other special type, so they’ll probably charge a hefty fee.
To save on supplemental fees, you can take the smaller, slower local trains instead of the international express lines. This means that instead of a direct route from Zurich to Munich, you would stop and switch trains at several trains along the way. It’s a lot slower, and it’s sometimes a hassle, but it also lets you see parts of the country you wouldn’t otherwise see, and, of course, it saves you money.
On longer routes, night trains tend to have larger supplements than day trains because you definitly need a reserved seat/bunk, and fewer people want to waste 11 hours sitting on a train during the day. It’s a trade off though, because night trains can save you money on accomidations.
If you are willing to be a little flexible, you can minimize reservation costs. Just ask the attendants at the station about various routes you can take. If you’re feeling even more spontaneous, just take the small local trains that take you in the right direction. The worst that could happen is that you spend the night in a train station and continue your journey the next day.
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