Just
click on the country or city where your journey begins...
...I'll tell you the best website to buy train tickets to
neighbouring countries.
Important tips for booking online...
-
Bookings open 90 days in advance, or in some cases 60
days. You can't book before reservations open, but no-one
else can either, so don't worry, the train cannot 'sell out'!
London-Paris & London-Brussels Eurostar reservations open
120 days ahead, but if you're travelling beyond Paris or
Brussels I strongly advise waiting until 90 days before
departure so you can book all your tickets together and make
sure
that all the trains connect.
Note that all European timetables change on the 2nd Sunday in
June and in December and this can shorten the usual 90 days to
just 60 days or less for dates immediately after the change, as
they're always late loading the new data.
More information about when bookings open.
-
Check the
ticket delivery options carefully to avoid being caught out. For example,
the Italian railways website trenitalia.com will happily sell you a ticket from
Paris to Florence or from Zurich to Milan, but tickets can only be collected at Italian stations or sent
to Italian addresses, so it's no good for journeys in the southbound 'to Italy' direction
unless you live in Italy. Whereas the German website bahn.de offers 'self-print' tickets between
Amsterdam & Berlin so can be used to book this journey in
whichever direction you like. I take this into account
in recommending the right website to use for any particular
journey.
-
Use
www.bahn.de as your all-purpose online European timetable!
It's often best to start planning a complex journey using the
excellent, fast & capable all-Europe timetable at the German
Railways site
www.bahn.de. OK, so it won't give fares, at least not
outside Germany, but it'll give train times almost anywhere in
Europe, even for complex international journeys. Try
using
www.bahn.de to plan your whole journey, then break the
journey into manageable chunks and book each section using the
relevant countries' own websites. For example, neither
trenitalia.com nor tgv-europe.com will book a journey (or even
come up with train times) from Rome to Marseille. But bahn.de will come up with train times for you very easily, and
you can then go to trenitalia.com to book the Italian trains and
to tgv-europe.com to book the French bit.
-
Split longer journeys into
easy-to-book stages: Most online booking systems can't
handle the most complex multi-leg journeys. So having used
www.bahn.de to find an end-to-end journey, the most
important tip
for a complex booking is to break that journey down into
manageable chunks that the online systems can cope with. For example,
none of the rail operator websites are capable
of booking a journey from Amsterdam to Marbella near Malaga in
Spain all in one go. But
www.thalys.com will book Amsterdam-Paris and if you treat
Paris-Madrid & Madrid-Malaga as two separate stages, the Spanish
Railways website www.renfe.com
will book both of these for you. And a local ticket from
Malaga to Marbella can easily be bought on the day at the
station, so no need to worry about that bit. As you can
see, a bit of creative thinking is sometimes required!
-
Sometimes it can be better to book by phone: First, if there's a persistent technical problem with the online
systems, cut your losses and pick up the
phone! People forget you can still do this!
Second, if you have some specific requirements, such as
wanting a specific seat or a seat in a specific carriage, you
may need to book by phone.
Third, there are journeys that simply can't be booked online
at all, for example many
eastern European journeys such as Warsaw-Kiev,
Budapest-Bucharest or Bucharest-Istanbul to name just a few.
In fact, there's a
few trains which
can't be booked at all outside the country in question, for
example trains within Bulgaria or Greece.
Finally, if you're
booking a more complex journey, you may prefer to book all your tickets
together by phone, even though you pay a booking fee, rather
than have to make multiple bookings on several websites making sure that each of these connects.
Each seat61 country page gives
specific step-by-step instructions for booking a journey from the UK to
that particular European country, so just select your destination country
from the menu on the left. But just for the record, here's a general
summary of the best way to buy train tickets from the UK to
Europe:
You can buy cheap train+ferry
'SailRail' tickets from London or any station in Great Britain to Dublin online
on the London to Ireland page from just £38 one-way.
If all you want is a Eurostar ticket from London to Paris
or Brussels, the best way to book is online direct
from Eurostar at
www.eurostar.com. You simply print out your own
ticket, or if you prefer tickets can be sent to any UK,
French or Belgian
address or you can choose to collect them at the
station in London, Paris or Brussels
using the e-ticket
machines. Eurostar bookings open 120
days before departure, longer than most other European trains. Although
www.eurostar.com is capable of booking through
tickets from London to many cities in
France, it won't book overnight trains
or tickets to every destination, so I'd recommend using either www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents) or
www.tgv-europe.com
(for residents of any country) for destinations beyond Paris or
Belgium, as they offer more destinations, give you more control
over each booking, will also book overnight trains, and often
offer cheaper options. Remember that Eurostar tickets to
Brussels are valid to any station in Belgium, not just Brussels,
see the Belgium page.
London to Amsterdam or any Dutch station by train+ferry: London-Amsterdam (or any
Dutch stations) by train+ferry via Harwich-Hook of Holland can
be booked online at
www.dutchflyer.co.uk, see the
Netherlands page for full details.
London to Amsterdam by Eurostar: Simply buy a
ticket to Brussels at
www.eurostar.com, which is automatically valid to any
station in Belgium, selecting the option to print your own
ticket at home. Then buy an Essen-Amsterdam ticket in
Brussels when you get there for just 22 euros one-way, 44
euros return (this is the little Essen in Belgium just before the
Dutch border, not the bigger Essen in Germany). No advance
reservation is necessary for the hourly intercity trains from
Brussels to Amsterdam and the price doesn't change, you just buy a ticket at a fixed price
at the ticket office and hop on. You're now covered
for the whole Brussels-Amsterdam InterCity journey, there's no
need to get off at Essen.
www.eurostar.com accepts all credit cards, not just UK
ones.
Dublin to London for 40 euros...
You can buy
cheap flexible 'SailRail' tickets for train & ferry travel from
any rail station in Ireland to any rail station in Britain at
www.irishferries.com. Dublin to London costs 40
euros. Cork, Limerick, Galway or Sligo to London costs 60
euros. Any day, any time. Travel on the Swift fast
ferry costs a few euros more. More details on the
London to Ireland page.
...then
onwards from London to Paris or Brussels:
After buying a
cheap SailRail ticket from Dublin or anywhere in Ireland to
London at
www.irishferries.com, buy a Eurostar ticket from London
to Paris or Brussels from £39 one-way, £69 return, at
www.eurostar.com, allowing plenty of time to change trains
and stations in London, in case of any delay. You arrive
at London Euston station, you can walk (10 minutes) along to St
Pancras station where Eurostar departs.
...or onwards
from London to Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany & beyond:
See the
relevant country page for details, from the menu on the left.
Dublin to
Amsterdam...
You can take
the 08:05 ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, connecting with a train
arriving at London Euston at 16:38 Mondays-Saturdays, 16:44
Sundays, see the Ireland
page. Catch the Underground or a taxi from Euston to
Liverpool Street station, then travel onwards overnight to Amsterdam by Dutch
Flyer train & night ferry with private cabin, see the
London to Amsterdam page for
details.
| |
To buy train tickets within France & from France to
neighbouring countries, use
www.tgv-europe.com. |
Train journeys wholly within
France...
If you're a UK resident, you can book French train tickets online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
which will book any train in France including overnight trains,
with prices in pounds and tickets sent to any UK
address. Residents of any country can buy tickets at French Railways
own website,
www.tgv-europe.com (in English) or
www.voyages-sncf.com
(in French), but
see this advice on how to use
it first, especially if you live in the USA. Seat reservation is compulsory for almost all French
long-distance trains, and cheap advance-purchase fares called
'prems' are available if you book in advance, so book in advance if you can.
www.tgv-europe.com will send tickets to any country
worldwide except the USA (the
advice on using it explains why!).
Paris to London, from £39...
There's Eurostar
train from Paris to London via the Channel Tunnel almost every
hour throughout the day, taking just 2 hours 15 minutes, centre to centre, much
faster and more comfortable than flying.
Fares from £39 one-way or £69 (89 euros) return. The best way to
buy
Eurostar tickets is direct with Eurostar at
www.eurostar.com. See the
London to Paris by Eurostar page
for more information about Eurostar and the Eurostar
journey. You print out your own ticket.
From other French towns & cities to London, it's best to
buy tickets
using either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country, tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA,
see this advice on how to use
it first). The London to
France page will help with UK-France routes & train
times, in either direction, and show you what French daytime
TGV and overnight trains are like.
Paris to other UK towns & cities...
You can buy through tickets from Paris to 130 UK towns &
cities including York, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge,
Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol at
www.eurostar.com, one-way or return in either direction.
However, even if you live in France, you must select 'United Kingdom' as your country of residence
on the
www.eurostar.com
country selection page so that you make the booking in pounds sterling on the UK
version of Eurostar's website. These 130 UK regional destinations will
not show up if you select 'France' or 'België'
or 'Belgique' as your country of residence (If you don't get offered this
country selection when you go to
www.eurostar.com,
simply select 'tools', 'delete browsing history' on your browser and delete your
cookies). This is allegedly because UK train companies won't accept
payment in euros, so only the pound-based UK version of the Eurostar site can
sell tickets to these UK destinations beyond London. Or perhaps we just
don't want any French people visiting York or Bath or anywhere beyond
London! There are no problems in selecting 'United Kingdom' as your
country of residence even if you really live in France.
Paris to Brussels, Bruges & Amsterdam, from 35 euros...
Thalys high-speed trains link Paris with Brussels
(1
hour 20 minutes), Antwerp, Rotterdam & Amsterdam (3
hours 9 minutes) regularly throughout the day at up to
186 mph. From city centre to city centre, it's
faster than flying, and certainly more relaxing.
You can book Thalys trains online at the Thalys website
www.thalys.com (for residents of any country, you
print your own tickets) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK address). If
you have any trouble with thalys.com, you can also book
Thalys trains from Paris to Brussels or Amsterdam using
www.b-europe.com, although they add 3 euros for credit
card payment.
Booking tip: When using
www.thalys.com, if you book to 'Brussels ABS' (or
'Bruxelles TGB' in French) instead of just 'Brussels'
you get a Thalys ticket to Brussels plus an onward
journey by any suitable connecting train (except Thalys
or German ICE) to any Belgian station within 24 hours of
arriving in Brussels. This is much cheaper than buying a
separate onward ticket to Bruges or Ghent! For
more information about Thalys, see the
Thalys page.
Paris to Luxembourg from 39 euros...
Direct high-speed TGV trains link Paris with Luxembourg in
2 hours 15 minutes, several times daily. You can book these trains online at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA or
can be collected at the station, but
see this advice before using it).
Paris to
Switzerland from 29 euros: Paris to Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Zurich...
TGV Lyria high-speed trains link central Paris with
key Swiss
cities including Geneva (3h05),
Lausanne, Basel (3h30), Bern (4h30) & Zurich (4h45). From city centre to city centre, it's
quicker than flying, and much more relaxing.
You can book these trains online at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways own website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA or
they can be collected at the station see this advice on how to use
it). Alternatively, residents of any country
can book tickets from Paris to anywhere in Switzerland
using the Swiss Railways website
www.sbb.ch, as long as
you're offered the option to self-print tickets when the
delivery options come up. This option will appear
for booking cheap train-specific fares, but not for the
fully-flexible fares. Prices are the same as on
tgv-europe.com. You can find out more about Lyria TGV
trains & facilities on board on the
TGV Lyria page
or at the Lyria website,
www.tgv-lyria.com.
Paris to Italy from 35 euros: Paris to Rome,
Florence, Milan, Turin, Verona,
Venice...
Paris to Milan, Verona, Venice by direct 'Thello' sleeper train:
There's a daily overnight sleeper train from Paris to
Milan, Verona and Venice, effectively faster than flying, and it'll save a
hotel bill too. The train has 6-berth & 4-berth
couchettes, and 1, 2 & 3 bed sleeper with washbasin,
plus a restaurant car. See the London to
Italy page for more information on times and prices,
see the
Thello sleeper train page for an illustrated guide
to on board accommodation. Thello plan to restart a
Paris-Florence-Rome sleeper train in June 2012.
-
The 'Thello'
sleeper train
leaves Paris Gare de Lyon at 19:45 and arriving in Milan at
05:38, Verona 08:00 and Venice Santa Lucia on the banks of
the Grand Canal at 09:34, a short walk from the Rialto
Bridge and St Mark's Square.
-
Fares start at
just 35 euros with couchette, 100 euros with bed in a 2-bed
sleeper.
-
Anyone from
any country
can book this train in either direction using this
method:
-
Go to
www.trenitalia.com, and enter 'Paris' to Venice' in
the journey planner and look for the direct EN
(EuroNight) train with no changes in the search results.
-
Ignore the fares at this stage, as it is only showing
full-price fares. Select the direct EN train and
hit 'Continue'.
-
On the next page, change the accommodation type to the
type of couchette or sleeper you want. 'Double
seat compartment' is simply a poor translation of 2-bed
sleeper. 'Single seat compartment' similarly
should read 'Single bed compartment'. Note that
you are booking individual berths - so if you book 2
tickets in a 2-berth sleeper, you'll get the whole
compartment, if you book 2 tickets in a 3-berth sleeper
you'll get two of the three beds, with the third berth
sold to someone else.
-
Still on the same page, look for the 'More fares' drop
down box and change it first to 'Smart'. See if
this cheapest fare is available for your selected date
and accommodation type. If not, try 'Go' instead,
which is the next cheapest. Smart fare =
'budget train fare', no refunds, no changes. Go
fare = next cheapest fare, limited changes or refunds.
-
Once you've found the cheapest fare, be it 'Smart' or
'Go', proceed with the booking.
-
Select the option 'Ticketless with invoice by email'.
You don't need a ticket, you simply pay and book online,
then quote your booking reference on board.
Paris to Turin or Milan by daytime TGV trains: There are
also two daily daytime TGV trains from Paris to
Turin & Milan, leaving Paris Gare de Lyon at 07:41 and
15:04, taking 7 hours to Milan, quite a scenic and
relaxing run. These can be booked at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways own website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country, tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA, or they can be picked up at the station,
but
see this advice on how to use
it). From 11 December 2011, these TGVs will be
run entirely by SNCF (French Railways) with no
Trenitalia involvement. Onward tickets from
Milan to other places in Italy should be booked at
www.trenitalia.com.
How to buy onward tickets
within Italy: The raileurope.co.uk or tgv-europe.com
booking system will book the direct trains Paris-Milan, but may struggle with Paris-Naples
or Paris-Pisa, both of which require a change of train.
So use raileurope or tgv-europe.com to book (in this example)
the Paris-Milan train, then book onward connections in
Italy separately at the
Italian Railways site,
www.trenitalia.com,
see
this advice on using it. You'll find discounted
'Mini' fares at trenitalia.com as well as
full-price flexible fares, but Rail Europe can only sell
the full-price fares.
Paris to Spain from 68 euros: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada,
Alicante...
Paris to Barcelona & Madrid by Elipsos sleeper trains:
There are excellent overnight sleeper trains from Paris to Barcelona & Madrid, with
cosy sleepers, an elegant restaurant and a bar,
see the photos & information here.
In effect it's faster than flying and it'll save a hotel
bill too.
-
For Barcelona,
the Elipsos trainhotel 'Joan Miro' leaves Paris Gare d'Austerlitz 20:32, arrives Barcelona 08.24 next morning.
-
For Madrid,
the Elipsos trainhotel 'Francisco de Goya' leaves Paris Austerlitz at 19:45, and arrives Madrid at
09.10 next morning. Doesn't run on Tuesday or
Wednesday nights from November until March.
-
Fares start at
72 euros with a bed in a 4-bed sleeper.
The best way
to book these trains is online at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, or you can
collect tickets at the station, but
see this advice on how to use
it. You can also book at
www.renfe.com,
printing out your own ticket.
Residents of the USA & Canada can also book this train
online using
www.raileurope.com,
Australians at
www.raileurope.com.au,
and in Asia, Africa or South America at
www.raileurope-world.com.
Paris to Barcelona by daytime high-speed train: There are
now two daily TGVs from Paris to Figueres with
connection to Barcelona, leaving at 07:20 and 15:20,
journey time about 7 hours.
Fares from 68 euros. Direct TGV trains will link
Paris with Barcelona from December 2012, with the
journey time reducing to around 5½ hours. These
trains can also be booked online at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, or
you can collect tickets at the station,
see this advice on how to use
it). Tip: You may see cheaper prices if
you split the journey into Paris-Figueres and
Figueres-Barcelona.
Cheapest way to book tickets
within Spain: The raileurope.co.uk system can book
onward trains within Spain, but only at full fare, not the cheap
advance-booking web or estrella fares. The tgv-europe.com
booking system will book the direct trainhotels Paris-Madrid
or Paris-Barcelona, but can't book onwards trains to Malaga or
Alicante.
So use raileurope or tgv-europe.com to book the Paris-Madrid train
(for Seville or Malaga) or the Paris-Barcelona trainhotel (for
Valencia or Alicante), then book onward connections in
Spain separately at the Spanish Railways website
www.renfe.com - see
this step-by-step guide to using renfe.com. Similarly, it may struggle with (say)
Nice-Barcelona, so break the journey into logical stages, and try first booking Montpellier-Barcelona, then
click 'add another ticket' and book a connecting
Nice-Montpellier journey. Frequent trains link Madrid
with Seville, Malaga & Cordoba, also Granada & Cadiz.
Frequent trains link Barcelona with Valencia & Alicante.
The Spain page will help with connecting
trains, just look for the relevant destination section and
ignore the London-Paris part. Paris to Portugal
from 114 euros with sleeper:
Lisbon, Faro, Porto
Leave Paris late
afternoon, arrive Lisbon next morning!
-
Travel from Paris
to Irun on the Franco-Spanish border by high-speed TGV, leaving
Paris Montparnasse at 15:50 and arriving Irun at 21:35.
Fares from 20 euros if you pre-book at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.www.tgv-europe.com
(for residents of any country, tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA, or you can collect tickets at the
station, see this advice on using it).
-
Then take the famous
'Sud Express', now an excellent 'trainhotel' sleeper train, from
Irun to Lisbon, leaving Irun at 22:00 and arriving at Lisbon
Santa Apolonia at 10:31 next morning, flexible fare 94 euros
with a bed in a 4-bed sleeper. The trainhotel has 4-berth
Tourist sleepers, 1 & 2-bed Preferente sleepers with washbasin,
and Gran Clase 1 & 2 bed sleepers with shower & toilet. You'll find more details on
the London to Portugal page.
Book the Irun to Lisbon Sud Express at the Spanish railways
website www.renfe.com, printing out your own tickets.
See
this step-by-step guide to using renfe.com.
-
For the
Algarve, change at Lisbon Oriente for an InterCity train to
Faro. For Porto, leave the Sud Express at Coimbra B
and take a train north to Porto, details on the
London to Portugal page.
Paris to Germany from 39 euros: Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Berlin
Option 1: City Night Line sleeper trains
from Paris to Munich, Berlin & Hamburg: An
excellent
City Night
Line sleeper train leaves
Paris Est at 20:20 and arrives next morning in Munich at
07:16, Hamburg at 08:37 and Berlin at 09:01. Fares
from 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99
euros with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. You can
easily book this train online at
www.bahn.de
and print out your own ticket. You can also book
at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com
(for residents of any country, tickets sent to any
address worldwide except the USA or can be collected at
the station, but
see this advice on
using it). For technical reasons, Rail Europe
& tgv-europe.com cannot book 4-berth couchettes on these
sleeper trains, but bahn.de can.
Option 2: Direct high-speed daytime
trains from Paris to Cologne, Stuttgart, Mannheim,
Frankfurt, Munich: There's
a whole range of direct daytime high-speed trains from Paris
to Frankfurt (3h45), Stuttgart (3h40), Munich (6
hours) or Cologne (3h30). Paris-Cologne
Thalys trains
can be booked online at
www.thalys.com. Trains from Paris to Mannheim,
Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Munich can be booked at either the German
railways website
www.bahn.de (residents of any country) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways' own website
www.tgv-europe.com
(for residents of any country, tickets sent to any
address worldwide except the USA or can be collected at
the station, but
see this advice on
using it). I recommend that you book any onward trains within Germany, such
as Cologne-Berlin or Frankfurt-Berlin, at
www.bahn.de, because the German railways website has all the
cheap fares within Germany, whereas the other websites
won't show all these cheap fares.
Paris to Austria from 72 euros: Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Vienna
Option 1:
The easiest way to travel from Paris to Austria is to
take the excellent overnight
City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich leaving
Paris Est at
20:20 and arriving Munich Hbf at 07:16 next morning.
Then travel from Munich to Linz or Vienna by fast modern
RailJet train, leaving Munich at 09:27 and arriving
Vienna at 13:40. Or take a EuroCity train
departing Munich at 08:27 and arriving Salzburg 10:09;
Or another EuroCity train departing Munich at 09:31 and
arriving Innsbruck at 11:33. Fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper start at 43 euros with a seat, 59 euros in a
couchette, or 79 euros in a 2-bed sleeper, bookings
normally open 90 days in advance, it's easy to book this
train online at
www.bahn.de
and print out your own ticket. Fares from Munich to
Innsbruck or Salzburg start at just 19 euros, Munich to
Vienna from 29 euros, book these trains online as a
second transaction at
www.bahn.de.
Option 2:
You can also get from Paris to Austria in one day using
daytime trains. Book a Paris-Munich TGV at
www.bahn.de. Tickets can also be booked at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com
(for residents of any country, tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA or can be
picked up at the station, but it
has quite a few quirks, so see this advice on how to use
it). Then as a second separate ticket use
www.bahn.de to book a connecting train from Munich to
Innsbruck, Salzburg or Vienna, allowing at least 45
minutes to change trains in Munich. Paris
to Prague (Czech Republic), Warsaw & Krakow (Poland) from 72
euros...
Option 1:
-
Travel from
Paris to Cologne by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Paris Nord
at 18:01 arriving Cologne at 21:15 (check times for your date of
travel as they may vary). Fares start at 35 euros if you
book online at
www.thalys.com.
-
Then travel from Cologne to
Prague or Warsaw by overnight sleeper train, leaving Cologne at
22:28 by
City Night Line sleeper train arriving in central Prague at
09:31 next morning, or on the
'Jan Kiepura' EuroNight sleeper train to Warsaw arriving
Warsaw Centralna at 10:25 next morning. Fares for both
these trains start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a
couchette or 99 euros with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, and you can
easily book online at
www.bahn.de
and print out your own ticket. For Krakow, buy an onward
ticket when you get to Warsaw.
Option 2:
-
Travel from Paris to Berlin by excellent
City Night
Line sleeper train, leaving Paris Est at 20:20 and
arriving Berlin Hbf at 09:01 next morning. Fares start at
just 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99 euros in
a 2-bed sleeper, you can book this train online at either
www.bahn.de (the German Railways website, for residents of any country,
you simply print your own ticket) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways'
own website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA,
see this advice on how to use
it).
-
Then travel by the
following onward trains also
bookable at
www.bahn.de with fares from 29 euros: Berlin depart
09:40, Warsaw arrive 15:05; Berlin depart 09:35, Krakow arrive
19:45; Berlin depart 10:48, Prague arrive 15:28.
The
London to Poland and London to the
Czech Republic pages have more information about the
journey via both these options.. Paris to
Budapest (Hungary), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zagreb (Croatia) from
72 euros...
Option 1:
-
Travel from
Paris to Berlin by City Night
Line sleeper train, leaving Paris Est at 20:20 and
arriving Munich Hbf at 07:16 next morning. Fares start at
just 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99 euros in
a 2-bed sleeper, you can book this train online at either
www.bahn.de (the German Railways website, for residents of any country,
you simply print your own ticket) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways'
own website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA,
see this advice on how to use
it).
-
For Budapest, depart Munich at 09:27 by
modern Railjet train
arriving Budapest at 16:49, fares from 39 euros, book online at
www.bahn.de.
-
For Ljubljana or Zagreb, depart Munich at 08:27 by
air-conditioned EuroCity train, arriving Ljubljana at 14:31 and
Zagreb at 17:00, fares from 39 euros, book online at
www.bahn.de.
Option 2:
-
First take the 15:24 high-speed TGV from Paris to Munich
arriving 21:38. Fares from 39 euros, book online at either
www.bahn.de (for residents of any country,
you simply print your own ticket) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, but
see this advice on how to use
it).
-
Then take the sleeper train leaving
Munich at 23:40 with a portion for Budapest arriving 08:49 next
morning, and a portion for Zagreb arriving 08:40. The
Zagreb sleeper must be booked by phone, but the Munich-Budapest
sleeper can be booked online at
www.bahn.de.
Paris to
Copenhagen (Denmark) from 78 euros, Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway)...
Option 1:
-
Travel from
Paris to Cologne by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Paris Nord
at 18:01 arriving Cologne at 21:15 (check times for your date of
travel as they may vary). Fares start at 35 euros if you
book online at
www.thalys.com.
-
Then travel from Cologne to
Copenhagen, leaving Cologne at 22:28 by excellent
City Night Line sleeper train to Prague arriving
10:02 next
morning. Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a
couchette or 99 euros with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, and you can
easily book online at
www.bahn.de
and print out your own ticket.
-
For Stockholm, a fast X2000
train leaves Copenhagen at 12:37 arriving Stockholm Central at
17:39. There are also connections from Copenhagen to Oslo.
Tickets from Copenhagen to Stockholm & Oslo can be booked online
at www.sj.se (see
advice on using sj.se). Tickets are self-printed or
can be collected from the SJ
ticket machines at Copenhagen main station.
Option 2:
-
Travel from Paris to Hamburg on the
excellent City Night
Line sleeper train, leaving Paris Est at 20:20 and
arriving Hamburg Hbf at 08:37 next morning. Fares start at
just 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99 euros in
a 2-bed sleeper, book this train online at
www.bahn.de (the German Railways website, for residents of any country,
you simply print your own ticket) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or French Railways'
own website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA,
see this advice on how to use
it).
-
Then travel from Hamburg to Copenhagen by
EuroCity ICE train,
leaving Hamburg Hbf at 09:28 and arriving Copenhagen at 14:10.
Fares for this train start at 29 euros, book online at
www.bahn.de
and print out your own ticket.
-
Allow at least an hour in
Copenhagen for connections, then book an onward ticket to
Stockholm at www.sj.se
(see advice on using
sj.se).
Paris to Athens (Greece)...
Paris to Athens takes less
than 48 hours via the ferry from Italy, and it's a great
journey. It can be booked online in 3 stages, see the
London to Greece page for times,
fares and how to buy tickets, just ignore the London-Paris part.
The overland journey from Paris to Athens via Belgrade or
Bucharest cannot be booked online it has to be booked by
phone. Paris to Kiev (Ukraine),
Bucharest (Romania) & Istanbul (Turkey)...
Journeys from
Paris to Ukraine & Turkey cannot be booked
online, they need to be
booked by phone.
For Paris to Istanbul, see the Turkey page
and ignore the London to Paris part. Paris to Moscow (Russia)
There is a
twice-weekly direct Russian sleeping-car from Paris to Moscow
taking 2 nights,
see the Russia page for details. You can book this direct
sleeper online at
www.tgv-europe.com. Alternatively, you can use the
daily Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car (see
the Russia page for details), which can also be booked at
www.tgv-europe.com. Once you've booked the
Cologne-Moscow sleeper, add it to your basket and still on
www.tgv-europe.com click 'another ticket' and book a
connecting Thalys train
from Paris to Cologne. Allow at least 90 minutes to
connect in Cologne.
| |
To check train times & fares within Belgium, use
www.b-rail.be.
You can buy tickets easily at the station on the day. |
Train journeys wholly within Belgium...
You can check Belgian train times & fares at
www.b-rail.be,
and buy tickets online. But
Belgian internal trains don't require seat reservations, you
just buy a ticket at the station and hop on, so no need to book
in advance. The price is a kilometric tariff, so the price
is the same even if you buy tickets at the station on the day of
travel. However, buying a print-your-own .pdf format
ticket online can save time at the ticket office.
Brussels to London from £39...
Book at
www.eurostar.com. There are regular Eurostar
trains from Brussels to London, taking just 1 hour 55 minutes
or so. You can print out your own ticket or choose to
collect tickets at the station.
Brussels to other UK towns & cities...
You can buy through tickets from Brussels to 130 UK towns &
cities including York, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge,
Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol at
www.eurostar.com, one-way or return in either direction.
However, even if you live in Belgium, you must select 'United Kingdom' as your country of residence
on the
www.eurostar.com
country selection page so that you make the booking in pounds sterling on the UK
version of Eurostar's website. These 130 UK regional destinations will
not show up if you select 'France' or 'België'
or 'Belgique' as your country of residence (If you don't get offered this
country selection when you go to
www.eurostar.com,
simply select 'tools', 'delete browsing history' on your browser and delete your
cookies). This is apparently because UK train companies won't accept
payment in euros, so only the pound-based UK version of the Eurostar site can
sell tickets to these UK destinations beyond London. Or perhaps we just
don't want any Belgians visiting York or Bath or anywhere beyond
London! There are no problems in selecting 'United Kingdom' as your
country of residence even if you really live in Belgium.
Brussels to Paris & France, from 35 euros...
High-speed Thalys trains trains link Brussels with Paris
in just 1h20. You can
book these trains online at
www.thalys.com and print out your own ticket or collect
tickets at the station in Brussels. Direct French TGVs
also link Brussels with French cities such as Lyon &
Marseille, book at the Belgian railways website
www.b-europe.com,
remembering to select 'international'.
Brussels to Rotterdam & Amsterdam, from 35 euros...
There's a choice of two train services on this route. 1.
High-speed Thalys trains
link Brussels with Amsterdam in just 1h55. Reservation
is compulsory, fares vary like air fares so you'll find cheap
fares if you book in advance and more expensive fares on the
day. You can buy Thalys tickets online at
www.thalys.com and print out your own ticket or collect
tickets at the station in Brussels. 2. Alternatively,
there's an hourly 'normal' InterCity train, no seat
reservation necessary, the fare is fixed so it costs the same
even on the day of travel, you just buy a ticket and hop on,
easy. However, these trains are not high-speed so take 3
hours. You can buy a ticket for these InterCity trains
at
www.b-europe.com or simply buy your ticket at the station on
the day.
Brussels to Luxembourg for 35.40 euros...
An hourly InterCity train links
Brussels Midi (also known as Brussel Zuid) with Luxembourg.
You can check times and buy tickets online at the Belgian
railways website
www.b-europe.com, printing out your own ticket.
However, the price doesn't change so it's the same even on the
day of travel and no reservation is needed,
so it's just as easy to buy a ticket at the station and hop on.
Brussels to Germany from 39 euros: Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin,
Munich...
There are two types of train between Brussels & Cologne,
and you can book both types at
www.b-europe.com and print your own ticket or collect it
in Brussels. The
majority of departures are high-speed
Thalys trains taking 1h55, and you can also book these at
www.thalys.com (select 'Belgium - English'). Alternatively, there are
four
trains a day operated by German Railways with their superb
high-speed ICE train
which run beyond Cologne to Frankfurt. You can
also book the ICE departures at
www.bahn.de. If you're
going from Brussels beyond Cologne to
other destinations in Germany, you can book the whole journey
at
www.bahn.de if you use an ICE train between Brussels &
Cologne, but if you want to use a Thalys train you'll need to
book in two stages, Brussels-Cologne at
www.thalys.com or
www.b-europe.com, then Cologne onwards at
www.bahn.de. Allow at least 20 minutes to change
trains in Cologne.
Brussels to Austria & Hungary: Vienna, Innsbruck,
Salzburg, Budapest...
Hop on the 16:28
high-speed Thalys train from Brussels Midi to Cologne and take the excellent
Austrian railways
EuroNight sleeper train overnight from Cologne at 20:05 to Linz &
Vienna, arriving at 9am next morning. First, book
the sleeper train from Cologne to
Vienna online at either
www.bahn.de or
www.oebb.at. Then book a connecting
Brussels-Cologne Thalys train using either
www.thalys.com (for residents of any country, you print
your own tickets) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address) or (if you
want the ICE train between Brussels & Cologne)
www.bahn.de. Allow at least 45 minutes in Cologne to
make a safe connection. For Budapest, hop on a morning
RailJet train,
taking just 3 hours. You can buy this online at
www.oebb.at
or at the station in Vienna.
You can also travel by daytime trains from Brussels to
Salzburg, Innsbruck or Vienna, but follow this advice:
First find your train times for the whole journey by asking
the journey planner at
www.bahn.de for Brussels to Austria. Make a note of
the trains you want. Then book the journey in two stages
by splitting it at Cologne, for example first book
Brussels-Cologne at
www.thalys.com, then book a separate journey from Cologne
to Austria at
www.bahn.de. This way, you'll benefit from any cheap
Belgium-Germany fares on one section and cheap Germany-Austria
fares on the other.
Brussels to Switzerland: Basel, Zurich & beyond...
The three daily direct daytime trains from Brussels to Basel &
Zurich can be booked online at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
Belgian Railways website
www.b-europe.com
(tickets collected in Brussels).
There is now no direct sleeper train, but it's possible to use the
Cologne-Switzerland sleeper booked at
www.bahn.de with a connecting
Brussels-Cologne ticket booked at
www.raileurope.co.uk
or
www.thalys.com. Allow at least 45 minutes in
Cologne for connections, and remember that for a one-way trip
on Thalys, return fares can be cheaper than one-way fares.
Brussels to Italy from 70 euros: Milan, Florence, Rome, Verona,
Venice
Hop on an afternoon Thalys from Brussels Midi to Paris, change
stations in Paris by metro or taxi, then take a direct sleeper
train from Paris to Florence, Rome, Milan, Verona or Venice.
You'll find details of these sleeper trains on the
London to Italy page, simply
substitute any suitable Brussels-Paris connection for the
London-Paris Eurostar connections shown on that page.
You can book in two stages. First book the Paris-Italy
sleeper train at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, or can
be collected in Paris). Then book a
connecting Thalys train from Brussels to Paris at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address)
www.thalys.com (for residents of any country, you print
your own tickets). Allow at least 90 minutes in Paris to
change trains and stations.
Brussels to Spain from 107 euros with sleeper: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville,
Granada, Alicante...
Take an afternoon high-speed Thalys train from Brussels Midi to Paris (Gare du Nord),
change stations in Paris by metro or
taxi, then take the
trainhotel
overnight sleeper train from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz to Madrid or Barcelona with
sleepers, restaurant & bar.
You'll need to leave Brussels at around 16:00-16:30 to connect
with the Madrid train which leaves Paris at 19:45, or around
17:15 to connect with the Paris-Barcelona train which leaves
Paris at 20:32. Journeys from Brussels to Spain can be booked
online in two separate
stages: First book the sleeper from Paris to Madrid or Barcelona using either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address) or
www.renfe.com (for residents
of any country, you print out your own ticket) or
www.tgv-europe.com (also for residents of any country,
tickets collected in Paris, but
read this advice on using it). Then book Brussels to
Paris at
www.thalys.com (for residents of any country, you print
your own tickets) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only). Onwards tickets
from Madrid to Seville, Granada or Malaga or from Barcelona to
Valencia or Alicante can be booked online at
www.renfe.com,
which lets you print your own tickets.
For more information about these trainhotels, including photos
inside & out, see the London to Spain page
or the trainhotel website
www.elipsos.com. Onward tickets from Madrid to
Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Granada or from Barcelona to
Valencia & Alicante can be booked at
www.renfe.com.
The London to Spain page will explain how to transfer from
Madrid Chamartin to Madrid Atocha, and what the best onward
connections are after you arrive in Madrid or Barcelona by
trainhotel, just ignore the London to Paris part of the
journey!
Brussels to Portugal from 122 euros: Lisbon, Porto, Faro
You take a mid-morning
Thalys train from Brussels to Paris,
change stations in
Paris by metro or taxi, then take an afternoon (15:50) TGV
from Paris Gare Montparnasse to the Spanish frontier at Irun
to connect with the overnight 'Sud Express' trainhotel sleeper
train to Lisbon. Book the Brussels-Paris train at
www.thalys.com. Book the Paris-Irun TGV at either
either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK
address) or the French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, or you can pick up tickets at the station
in Paris,
see this advice on how to use
it). Then use the Spanish railways
website
www.renfe.com to book the trenhotel from Irun to Lisbon.
You print out your own tickets, see
this step-by-step guide to using renfe.com. For the
Algarve, change at Lisbon Oriente for an InterCity train to
Faro. For Porto, alight from the Sud Express at Coimbra
B and take a train north to Porto. You may find the
information on the London to Portugal
page useful.
Brussels to Prague (Czech Republic), Krakow, Warsaw
(Poland) from 62 euros...
Hop on the 18:25 high-speed
ICE train from Brussels to Cologne, then the
direct sleeper train from Cologne to Prague or Warsaw, leaving
at 22:28 and arriving Prague around 09:30 or Warsaw around
10:30 next
morning. Some sleepers on these sleeper trains even have
a private shower & toilet. To buy tickets, first, book the
direct overnight sleeper train from Cologne to
Prague or Warsaw online at
www.bahn.de.
Fares start at just 43 euros with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette,
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper if you
pre-book, bookings normally open 90 days in advance. The Cologne to Prague sleeper train is a
City Night Line
train, the Cologne to Warsaw sleeper train is the Polish
'Jan
Kiepura' EuroNight train. Then book a connecting
afternoon Brussels-Cologne train using either
www.bahn.de (for residents of any country, you print
your own tickets, fares from 19 euros if you pre-book) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address). Allow at least 45 minutes in Cologne to
make a safe connection. Onward tickets from Warsaw to
Krakow can easily be bought on arrival in Warsaw.
Brussels to Copenhagen (Denmark) from 62 euros, Brussels to Oslo (Norway)
& Stockholm
(Sweden)
Hop on the 18:25 high-speed
ICE train from Brussels to Cologne, then the
direct City Night
Line sleeper train from Cologne to Copenhagen, leaving Cologne around
22:28 and arriving in Copenhagen around 10:00 next morning.
Some sleepers on the sleeper train even have a private shower
& toilet. Then take a Swedish X2000 onwards to Stockholm, leaving
Copenhagen around 12:37 and arriving around 17:39.
Brussels-Cologne ICE fares start at 19 euros,
Cologne-Copenhagen fares start at just 43 euros with a seat,
59 euros
in a couchette, or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper if you
pre-book, bookings normally open 90 days in advance. To buy tickets, first book the
City Night Line
sleeper train from Cologne to
Copenhagen online at
www.bahn.de. You print out your own ticket. Then book a connecting
Brussels-Cologne train using either
www.bahn.de (for residents of any country, you print
your own tickets) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address). Allow at least 45 minutes in Cologne to
make a safe connection. Onward
tickets from Copenhagen to Stockholm or Oslo can then be booked online
at www.sj.se
(no booking fee) or
www.bokatag.se
(small booking fee) or if you can't get your credit card to
work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for
English). Tickets are collected from the SJ ticket machines at
Copenhagen main station.
Brussels to Moscow (Russia)
Take a late afternoon Thalys to Cologne.
There is a direct Russian sleeping-car from Cologne to Moscow,
leaving at 22:28 and taking 2 nights. It cannot be booked online, only
by phone.
See the London to Russia page for
details.
Brussels to Istanbul (Turkey)
See the advice
above on travelling from Brussels to Vienna. In Vienna you
can pick up the London-Istanbul route suggested on the
London to Turkey page.
| |
To check train times & fares within the Netherlands, use
www.ns.nl. You can
buy tickets at the station on the day. |
Train journeys wholly within the Netherlands
You can check Dutch train times and fares at
www.ns.nl.
Dutch trains don't require seat reservations, you just
buy a ticket at the station and hop on, so there's no need to book in
advance. The price is a simple kilometric tariff, so the price is
the same even if you buy tickets at the station on the day of
travel. One-way tickets are valid any time that day, just
remember to validate them in the little yellow machines on the
platform before getting on the train. Return tickets are
twice the price of a one-way and are valid for return by any
train the same day. If you want to come back the next day
you'll need two one-ways. Children under 4 travel free,
children 4 to 11 inclusive can buy a 2.50 euro Railrunner ticket
giving unlimited travel all over the Netherlands all day, as
long as they are accompanied by an adult using a normal ticket. Incidentally,
be warned, Dutch ticket machines are the
most useless in Europe, accepting neither credit cards nor bank
notes, just coins and Dutch bank cards, so unless you have a
wheelbarrow full of euro coins like a character out of the Weimar
Republic, you will probably
need to buy tickets at the ticket office, where they charge 0.50
euros extra. You must pay in cash at the ticket office, as
Dutch ticket offices don't accept any recognised credit cards. And you cannot buy tickets at
www.ns.nl, even
though it at first looks as if you can, because they have no way
of accepting any payment as they don't accept MasterCard or Visa
there either. Thankfully, the ticket machines at Amsterdam
Centraal now accept MasterCard & Visa for a 1 euro fee, but
those at other Dutch stations still don't. This is a
significant problem for travellers to the Netherlands.
Amsterdam to London from £39...
You can travel from Amsterdam to London either by Eurostar via
Brussels (5½ hours) or
by train+ferry via Hoek van Holland-Harwich (either daytime or
overnight with cabin).
Amsterdam-London by train+ferry from £39: This is the
low-cost but high-comfort option, by train from Amsterdam or
anywhere in the Netherlands to Hoek van Holland, then across
the North Sea on the world's largest superferry to Harwich,
then by train on to central London. There's an overnight
service with a private cabin which can save both time and
expensive hotel bills, leaving Amsterdam Centraal at 18:59,
arriving London Liverpool Street station at 08:48 next morning. See the
London to the Netherlands page for full details. For
one-way or return journeys starting in the Netherlands, you'll
need to
follow the advice for booking online at Stena Line's Dutch
site, www.stenaline.nl.
Amsterdam-London by Eurostar from 50 euros: This is the
high-speed train option, with a range of departures daily
taking 4-5 hours from Amsterdam Centraal to London with one
easy same-station change of train in Brussels. You can book a
ticket from any Dutch station to London via Eurostar using www.nshispeed.nl, and you print out your own ticket.
Alternatively, buy a Eurostar
ticket from Brussels to London online at
www.eurostar.com, selecting the option to print out your
own ticket at home. This is automatically valid from any
station in Belgium to London. Then all you need to do is
buy an open ticket from Amsterdam to Essen for around 26 euros
one-way, 52 euros return (the little Essen in Belgium, not the
better-known bigger Essen in Germany). You can buy this
at the station on the day of travel, as no advance
reservation is necessary for the hourly intercity trains from
Amsterdam to Brussels and the price doesn't change, you just buy a ticket at a fixed price
and hop on, and you're now covered for the whole
Amsterdam-Brussels InterCity journey, no need to get off at
Essen. This is usually the easiest and cheapest way to
book an Amsterdam-London train journey.
Amsterdam to Paris & France, from 35 euros...
High-speed Thalys trains
run every few hours from Amsterdam & Rotterdam to Paris in just 3h20,
city centre to city centre, faster than flying. Anyone
from any country can book these trains online at
www.thalys.com and print
out your own ticket. Onward trains within France can
then be booked using the French railways website
www.tgv-europe.com, with ticket collection in Paris
or tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA. Alternatively, UK residents can
also use
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address) for
booking both Amsterdam-Paris and onward trains within France.
Amsterdam to Brussels & Belgium, from 35 euros...
There's a choice of two train services on this route.
Regular high-speed Thalys trains
link Amsterdam with Brussels in just 1h55. Reservation
is compulsory, fares vary like air fares so you'll find cheap
fares if you book in advance and more expensive fares on the
day. You can buy Thalys tickets online at
www.thalys.com and print out your own ticket.
Alternatively, there's an hourly 'normal' InterCity train, no
seat reservation necessary, the fare is fixed so it costs the
same even on the day of travel, you just buy a ticket and hop
on, easy. However, these trains are not high-speed so
take 3 hours. You can buy a ticket for these InterCity
trains at the station on the day or buy a print-at-home ticket at
the Dutch railways site www.nshispeed.nl,
or if that doesn't work for you, you can also buy them at
the Belgian railway site,
www.b-europe.com.
Amsterdam to Luxembourg for 60 euros any time, any day...
There are regular trains from the Netherlands to Luxembourg.
No advance reservation is necessary, check times and prices
at www.nshispeed.nl
and buy online, or simply buy at the station.
Amsterdam to Basel, Zurich & Switzerland from 43
euros...
There is an excellent
City Night Line
sleeper train
direct from Amsterdam Centraal to Basel & Zurich in
Switzerland, leaving around 20:30 and arriving in Zurich
around 08:20 next morning. The train has
couchettes (4 & 6-bunk) and sleepers (1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, some
with private shower & toilet, breakfast included). You
can easily book this train at the German Railways website
www.bahn.de,
fares start at just 43 euros with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette,
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper if you
pre-book. Bookings normally open 90 days in advance, you pay by
credit card and simply print out your own ticket.
Onward tickets from Basel or Zurich to any station in
Switzerland can be bought on board the sleeper train, for
about 29 euros each way (ask your sleeper attendant for a
Swiss connection ticket).
Alternatively, you can travel from Amsterdam to Switzerland by
daytime train. You can buy tickets from Amsterdam to
major Swiss cities at the German railways website
www.bahn.de, but follow this advice: First find your
train times for the whole journey by asking the journey
planner for Amsterdam to Switzerland, and make a note of the
trains you want. Then book the journey in two stages by
splitting it at a key interchange point within Germany, for
example first book Amsterdam-Cologne from 19 euros, then book a separate
journey from Cologne to Zurich from 29 euros. This way, you'll benefit
from any cheap Netherlands-Germany fares on one section and
cheap Germany-Switzerland fares on the other, whereas if you
book all in one go only expensive full fares will be shown as
this is not a journey starting or ending in Germany (remember,
it's the German Railways website that you're using!).
Amsterdam to Italy from 69 euros: Milan, Florence,
Rome, Venice
There are no direct trains from Amsterdam to Italy.
However, there is an excellent overnight
City Night Line
sleeper train from Amsterdam Centraal to Basel & Zurich
in Switzerland, leaving around 20:30 and arriving in Zurich
around 08:20 next morning. It has couchettes (basic
sleeping berths in 4 & 6-bunk compartments) and sleepers (1,
2 & 3 bed rooms, some with private shower & toilet,
breakfast included), with fares starting at just 43 euros
with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper if you pre-book. You can then take an onward
train through the scenic Swiss Alps to Milan, changing at
Milan's amazing Centrale station for high-speed trains to
Rome, Florence or Venice. Zurich to Milan start at
just CHF30-45 (about 20-30 euros) if you pre-book.
First book the sleeper train from Amsterdam to either Basel
or Zurich (either works, it's your decision) at the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de. You pay by credit card and print out
your own ticket. Then go to
www.sbb.ch and
book an onward ticket from Basel or Zurich to Milan,
collecting tickets at the station in Basel or Zurich.
Allow at least 45 minutes to change trains in Basel or
Zurich. Onward tickets from Milan to anywhere in Italy
can be bought online at the Italian railways website,
www.trenitalia.com,
see
this advice on using it.
Amsterdam to Spain from 107 euros with sleeper: Madrid,
Barcelona, Malaga, Seville, Alicante
Take a mid-afternoon Thalys high-speed
train from Amsterdam to Paris Gare du Nord in just 3
hours 20 minutes,
cross Paris by metro or taxi, then
take one of the excellent overnight 'trainhotel' sleeper
trains from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz to Madrid or Barcelona,
leaving in the evening and arriving next morning. For
more information about the trainhotels with photos inside &
out,
see the London to Spain page. Journeys from the
Netherlands to Spain can be booked online in two stages - I
suggest doing a dry run first on both sites to check prices
& availability: First book the overnight trainhotel
from Paris to Barcelona or Madrid using either the Spanish
railways website
www.renfe.com
(for anyone from any country, you simply print out your own
ticket) or the French railways website
www.tgv-europe.com
(for anyone from any country, tickets collected at the station
in Paris, but
see
this advice on using it as it's quirky) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only, tickets sent to UK addresses or collected
at the station in Paris). Then book a connecting
Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris at
www.thalys.com (for anyone from any country, you simply
print your own ticket) or
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only, tickets sent to any UK address), allowing
at least 90 minutes to change
trains and stations in Paris. Onwards tickets from
Madrid to destinations such as Seville, Malaga or Granada,
or from Barcelona to Valencia or Alicante can be booked
separately at
www.renfe.com.
You may
find this advice on using renfe.com helpful.
Amsterdam to Portugal from 122 euros: Lisbon, Porto,
Faro
You take a morning Thalys
train from Amsterdam to Paris,
change stations in
Paris, then take an afternoon (15:50) TGV from Paris
Gare Montparnasse to the Spanish frontier at Irun to connect
with the overnight 'Sud Express' trainhotel sleeper train to
Lisbon. Book the Amsterdam-Paris train at
www.thalys.com. Book the Paris-Irun TGV at either
either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA, or you
can collect tickets at the station in Paris). The
booking system at tgv-europe.com has quite a few quirks, so
before booking,
see this advice on how to use it. Then use the
Spanish railways website
www.renfe.com to book the trenhotel from Irun to Lisbon.
You print out your own tickets,
see this step-by-step guide to using renfe.com.
For the Algarve, change at Lisbon Oriente for an InterCity
train to Faro. For Porto, alight from the Sud Express
at Coimbra B and take a train north to Porto.
Amsterdam to Germany from 19 euros: Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt,
Cologne, Munich
There are regular high-speed ICE trains from
Amsterdam to Düsseldorf (2h12), Cologne (2h38) and Frankfurt
(3h56), and InterCity
trains from Amsterdam to Hanover & Berlin (6h22), with
fares from just 19 euros to Cologne, 39 euros to Berlin.
There's also a daily
City Night Line sleeper train from Amsterdam to Munich
leaving Amsterdam Centraal around 20:30 arriving
Munich at 07:16 next morning, fares start at just 43 euros
with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette, or 99 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper if you
pre-book. The easiest way to book
all these trains is at the German Railways website
www.bahn.de.
Bookings normally open 90 days in advance, you pay by credit
card and simply print out your own ticket. Fares from Amsterdam to Germany start at just
19 euros.
Amsterdam to Austria from 48 euros: Vienna, Salzburg, Linz,
Innsbruck
For Amsterdam to Vienna, the most time-effective option is
with an overnight sleeper! First book the
Cologne-Vienna sleeper train
leaving Cologne around 20:05 using either the German railways
website
www.bahn.de or the Austrian railways website
www.oebb.at.
You print out your own ticket. Fares start at just 29
euros with a seat, 39 euros in a couchette, or 69 euros in a
2-bed sleeper, if you
pre-book (check both sites - the Austrian site may be
cheaper!). Bookings normally open 90 days in advance, you
pay by credit card and simply print out your own ticket. Then book a connecting
Amsterdam-Cologne ICE train using
www.bahn.de with fares from just 19 euros. Allow at least 45 minutes in Cologne
between trains.
For Amsterdam to Innsbruck or Salzburg, first book
the Amsterdam-Munich
City Night Line
sleeper train using
www.bahn.de and print out your own ticket.
Fares start at just 43 euros with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette,
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper, if you
pre-book. Then use
www.bahn.de again to book a connecting train from Munich
to Salzburg, Linz, Innsbruck or Vienna from 19 euros to
Salzburg or Innsbruck, 29 euros to Vienna, allowing at least 45
minutes to change trains in Munich.
Daytime travel from Amsterdam to Austria (via Cologne, with several changes) can be
booked at
www.bahn.de, but follow this advice: First find your
train times for the whole journey by asking the journey
planner for Amsterdam to Vienna, and make a note of the trains
you want. Then book the journey in two stages by
splitting it at a key interchange point within Germany, for
example first book Amsterdam-Frankfurt, then book a separate
journey from Frankfurt to Vienna. This way, you'll
benefit from any cheap Netherlands-Germany fares from 19 euros on one
section and cheap Germany-Austria fares from 29 euros on the other, whereas
if you book all in one go only expensive full fares will be
shown as this is not a journey starting or ending in Germany
(remember, it's the German Railways website that you're
using!).
There is an excellent
City Night Line
sleeper train from Amsterdam to Prague every night.
Leave central Amsterdam at 19:01, arrive in Prague city centre at
09.30 next morning! The train has
couchettes (simple sleeping berths in 4 & 6-bunk compartments) and sleepers (1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, some
with private shower & toilet, breakfast included).
Fares start at just 43 euros with a seat, 59 euros in a couchette,
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper if you
pre-book, bookings normally open 90 days in advance. You can easily buy tickets for this sleeper train
online at the German Railways sleeper train
website,
www.bahn.de. You pay by
credit card and simply print out your own ticket. Easy, and
it saves a hotel bill too!
You can take the excellent direct
Jan Kiepura sleeper train from Amsterdam to Warsaw,
leaving Amsterdam Centraal at 19:01
and arriving in Warsaw around 10:25 next morning. It has
reclining seats, economical couchettes (4 & 6 berth
compartments) and comfortable sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3
berth compartments, including some deluxe sleepers with private shower & toilet).
You can book it online at
www.bahn.de and print out your own ticket. Onward
tickets from Warsaw to Krakow can be bought on arrival in
Warsaw.
Amsterdam to Budapest (Hungary) from 68 euros...
Option 1 is
to leave Amsterdam around 12:30, change in Frankfurt to arrive
Munich in the evening, fares from 29 euros. Then take the sleeper 'Kalman Imre'
overnight from Munich to Budapest arriving next morning, fares
from 39 euros with couchette.
First book the sleeper from Munich to Budapest using
www.bahn.de. Then book a connecting Amsterdam-Munich
journey also using
www.bahn.de. Allow at least an hour to change trains
in Munich. Option 2 is to take the overnight
Amsterdam-Munich
City Night Line sleeper train, leaving Amsterdam around
20:30 and arriving around 07:16, easily booked at
www.bahn.de with fares from
59 euros including a
couchette. Then use
www.bahn.de again to book the excellent
Railjet train from
Munich around 09:27 to Budapest arriving around 16:49, with
fares from 39 euros. You print out your own tickets.
Amsterdam to Copenhagen (Denmark) from 43 euros, Amsterdam
to Oslo (Norway) & Stockholm
(Sweden)
There is an excellent
City Night Line
sleeper trains
direct from Amsterdam to
Copenhagen, with connections for Oslo & Stockholm. Leave central Amsterdam at
19:01,
arrive in Copenhagen just after 10:00 next morning. All these trains have
couchettes (4 & 6-bunk) and sleepers (1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, some
with private shower & toilet, breakfast included, with
fares from just 59 euros including a couchette if you pre-book. You
can easily book this sleeper train at the German Railways sleeper train
website,
www.bahn.de. You pay by
credit card and simply print out your own ticket.
Connecting tickets from Copenhagen to Stockholm &
Oslo can be booked online at
www.sj.se (no
booking fee) or
www.bokatag.se
(small booking fee) or if you can't get your credit card to
work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for
English). Tickets are collected from the SJ ticket machines at
Copenhagen main station. Allow at least 1 hour to change
trains in Copenhagen.
Amsterdam to Moscow (Russia)
There is a direct Russian sleeping-car from Amsterdam to
Moscow every day, leaving Amsterdam Centraal at 19:01 and
taking 2 nights. It can be booked online at
www.tgv-europe.com with tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA.
Amsterdam to Istanbul (Turkey)
See the advice
above on travelling from Amsterdam to either Vienna or Budapest.
In Vienna or Budapest you pick up the London-Istanbul route
suggested on the London to Turkey page.
| |
To check train times & fares within Switzerland, use
www.sbb.ch. |
Train journeys wholly within Switzerland
You can check fares and train times at
www.sbb.ch, and
buy tickets online.
However, apart from a few tourist trains such as the
Glacier Express, Swiss trains
don't require seat reservations, you just buy a ticket at the
station and hop on, so no need to book in advance. The
price is a kilometric tariff, so the price is the same even if
you buy tickets at the station on the day of travel.
Switzerland to London from 74 euros...
See the London to Switzerland page for more information
and Switzerland-London train times. You can book from
anywhere in Switzerland to Paris using
www.sbb.ch (residents of any
country, ticket collection at Swiss stations or in many cases
self-print), then book a connecting Paris-London Eurostar ticket
at
www.eurostar.com, allowing at least 1 hour to
cross Paris.
Switzerland to Paris from 29 euros...
There are direct high-speed TGV trains from Switzerland
to Paris, for example Geneva to Paris
3 hours 10 minutes, Zurich to
Paris 4½ hours. You can book Switzerland to Paris
journeys at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA,
see this advice before using it).
Switzerland to Italy from CHF34 (£18)
There are daytime
EuroCity trains from key Swiss cities to Milan (with an
occasional through service to Venice),
although
sleeper trains from Basel, Geneva, Bern &
Zurich to Rome ceased running in December 2009.
Switzerland-Italy journeys can be booked at
www.sbb.ch (residents of any
country, ticket collection at Swiss stations),
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents),
www.raileurope.com
(US/Canadian residents),
and
www.raileurope.com.au
(Australian residents),
www.raileurope-world.com (New Zealand,
Asia, Africa & South America). You may need to book onward
connections within Italy separately at
www.trenitalia.com, but
see this advice on using it.
Warning: Trenitalia.com will also book Switzerland
to Italy trains, but ticket collection is only at Italian
stations or by post to Italian addresses, you cannot self-print
or collect in Switzerland, so it's no good for buying tickets in
this direction.
Switzerland to Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne,
Copenhagen from 43 euros...
There are excellent City Night Line sleeper trains from Zurich or Basel
direct to Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne &
Copenhagen, with couchettes (6 & 4 bunk) and sleepers (1, 2 &
3 bed, some with private shower & toilet, breakfast included).
You can easily book these using
www.bahn.de, look for the direct 'CNL' service with 0
changes. You simply print out your own ticket.
Fares from 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros with a couchette, 99
euros in a 2-bed sleeper. Onward tickets from
Copenhagen to Stockholm & Oslo can be booked online at
www.sj.se (no
booking fee) or
www.bokatag.se
(small booking fee) or if you can't get your credit card to
work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for
English). Tickets are collected from the SJ ticket machines at
Copenhagen main station.
Switzerland to Germany from 39 euros...
The German Railways website
www.bahn.de can book many journeys from Switzerland to
Germany, for example St Moritz to Munich or Zurich to
Frankfurt or Berlin.
Switzerland to Austria from CHF35 (25 euros)...
There is a
direct sleeper train from Zurich to Vienna, with both
couchettes and sleeping-cars, some sleepers with private
shower and toilet. It appears
to be bookable in either direction using the Austrian Railways
website,
www.oebb.at,
as you simply print out your own ticket
in .PDF format. Simply click 'English'
top right, then click 'International tickets', then make your
booking. If you manage to
book this train this way, let
me know! Daytime EuroCity trains from Zurich to
Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna via the amazingly scenic Arlberg
Pass cannot easily be booked online, but must be
booked
by phone, although residents of the USA & Canada may be
able to book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Switzerland to Spain from 72 euros with sleeper...
There's an
excellent Elipsos 'trainhotel' from Zurich, Bern & Geneva to Barcelona
in Spain, with cosy sleepers, restaurant car & bar. It runs 3 times a week all year round,
leaving Switzerland on Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings
arriving Barcelona next morning.
The Gran Clase sleepers even have a private shower & toilet, and
the Gran Clase fare includes a 3-course dinner with wine and breakfast. Change in
Barcelona for Madrid, Valencia, Alicante. Anyone from any
country can book this train at
www.renfe.com,
and you simply print out your own ticket. UK residents can
book this train at
www.raileurope.co.uk. Residents of the USA & Canada can book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Switzerland to eastern Europe
There's a
direct City Night
Line sleeper train from Basel to Prague which you can easily book
online at
www.bahn.de,
you pay online and print out your own ticket. Other
trains to eastern Europe are not generally bookable online,
but must be
booked
by phone.
Journeys starting in
Italy
|
Train journeys wholly within Italy
You can book Italian train tickets online at
www.trenitalia.com, but first
see this advice
on using it. Seat reservation is now required
on most long-distance trains (and included in tickets bought
online), although outside busy holiday
periods it's easy to buy tickets at the station on the day of
travel if you want. However, cheap 'Mini' fares are now
available if you pre-book, and booking online offers a
hassle-free 'ticketless' option on most fast trains, where you
book and pay online and simply quote your booking reference to
the conductor on board the train. It's painless and works
a treat, with no need to queue at the ticket office.
See this advice
on using the trenitalia website, and if you have any
problems, buy your Italian train tickets from either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(if you're in the UK, but not all Italian trains
featured),
www.raileurope.com
(if you're in the USA),
www.raileurope.ca (if you're in Canada) or
www.raileurope.com.au (if you're in Australia),
or
www.raileurope-world.com
(if you live in New Zealand, Africa, Asia or South America).
Italy to France: Paris, Nice, Monte Carlo,
Venice, Verona or Milan to Paris by Thello sleeper train:
There is a direct 'Thello' sleeper train with couchettes (6 & 4 bunk)
and sleepers (1, 2 & 3 bed) from Venice, Verona & Milan to Paris, also 3 daytime TGV trains
from Milan & Turin to Paris (7 hours). Leave
Venice 19:57, arrive
Paris 09.30 or so next morning! See the
Thello sleeper train page and the London to Italy page
for more information about times, fares and on board
accommodation. You should book this sleeper train at
either the Italian
railways website,
www.trenitalia.com (read this
advice on using it) or you can book it at
www.thello.com. Look for
'smart', 'Go' or 'Depart' fares as these are the
advance-purchase cheap deals. It's 'ticketless', you
simply quote your booking reference on board. Note that there
won't be
any Rome-Florence-Paris sleeper train from 11 December 2011
until June 2012, see here for the
reasons.
Milan or Turin to Paris on one of 3 daytime TGV trains:
Three daily French railways TGVs link Milan (Porto Garibaldi
station) and Turin with Paris. You must now book these
in either direction at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents) or
www.tgv-europe.com, with self-print tickets. You
can no longer buy tickets at the Italian railways website or
at Italian stations as from December 2011 they are operated
entirely by French railways with no Trenitalia involvement.
Connections from other Italians cities to Milan or Turin
should be booked at
www.trenitalia.com.
Italy to Monaco or Nice:
For journeys from Rome, Florence, Venice or anywhere in
Italy to Nice or Monte Carlo, try booking
to Nice first using
www.trenitalia.com,
read this
advice on using the Trenitalia website. It will
probably fail to find prices or sell tickets to Nice, but here's
an easy solution: Use
www.trenitalia.com to book from anywhere in Italy to
Ventimiglia, which is the border station where most Italian
trains terminate. Look for a cheap 'Mini' fare, or
to stay flexible, a 'Base' fare. Ventimiglia is a
short hop by frequent local train to Nice, simply buy a
ticket for the half-hourly local train to
Nice at the station when you get to Ventimiglia, no
reservation necessary, it costs about 5 euros and you
simply hop on the next train.
Italy to London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne...
First, book the sleeper train from Venice, Rome,
Florence, Bologna, Milan to Paris at
www.trenitalia.com (See the London to Italy page
for more information about times, fares and on board
accommodation), or a Milan to Paris TGV, but
read this
advice on using the Trenitalia website. Look for
'Smart price' fares. Allow at least 90 minutes to
change trains and stations in Paris, preferably a bit
more. Then book your onward train from Paris to
London at
www.eurostar.com,
or from Paris to Brussels or Amsterdam at
www.thalys.com. For Amsterdam, you can also book
daytime trains from anywhere in Italy to Basel at
www.trenitalia.com, allowing plenty of time for connections,
then book the Basel to Amsterdam
City Night
Line sleeper train at
www.bahn.de.
This is actually easier if you start with the sleeper
train, then work backwards to find a connection that
gets you to Basel at least an hour before departure.
Italy to Spain from 72 euros including sleeper...
There's an excellent Elipsos 'trainhotel' from Milan & Turin to
Barcelona in Spain, with cosy sleepers, restaurant & bar.
It runs 3 times a week all year round, on Mondays, Wednesdays &
Fridays from Milan. Change in Barcelona for Madrid,
Valencia, Alicante. The Gran Clase sleepers even have en suite shower & toilet, and
the Gran Clase fare includes dinner and breakfast. Anyone from any country can book this train at
www.renfe.com,
and you print out your own ticket. UK
residents can also book this train at
www.raileurope.co.uk. Residents of the USA & Canada can book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Italy to Germany from 39 euros...
The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right) can book
the sleeper trains from Rome & Florence to Munich, and from
Venice to Munich.
It can also book the daytime trains Verona-Munich,
one of which per day starts in Milan and one in Venice. You print out your own
ticket in .pdf format.
www.trenitalia.com can also book the sleeper trains from
Rome, Florence or Venice to Munich (as it runs these jointly
with the Germans, look for 'smart price' in the 'More fares'
drop down box), but it cannot now book the
Verona-Innsbruck-Munich EuroCity trains (or journeys from other Italian
cities to Germany via these trains) as these trains are now
operated by the Germans and Austrians in open competition with
Trenitalia, and Trenitalia no longer recognises their existence
(congratulations to the EU, by the way, whose 'competition'
policy has brought this fragmentation about!). So a
daytime journey from Venice, Milan, Rome or Florence to Munich
now needs to be booked in two stages, first using
www.trenitalia.com to book the Venice, Florence, Rome or
Milan to Verona train, allowing at least 40 minutes to change in
Verona, then use
www.bahn.de to book Verona-Munich.
There is in fact one daily through train from Venice to Munich,
around 13:34 and a good one to take, which can be booked in one
go at
www.bahn.de.
Journeys from Italy via Switzerland to Frankfurt & Cologne can
be booked using
www.trenitalia.com for Milan-Basel, then
www.bahn.de for Basel SBB to Frankfurt or Cologne.
Italy to Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna, from 39 euros...
There's a direct sleeper trains from
Rome & Florence to Vienna and another sleeper train from Venice
to Salzburg & Vienna. These can be booked online at
www.trenitalia.com, look for the direct train with 0 changes
in the search results. Select the train you want, and on
the next page change the drop-down box marked 'More fares' to
'smart price', a cheap advance-purchase fare. Remember to
select the type of couchette or sleeper you want. 'Double
seat compartment' actually means 2-bed sleeper! You
collect tickets at any Italian station.
See
this advice on using the Trenitalia website. A
word of warning: The Austrian
railways website oebb.at will also book these sleeper trains
from Italy to Austria,
but even though it offers self-print tickets these must be
endorsed by an Austrian conductor on an outward journey from
Austria in order to be valid. In other words, don't use oebb.at to book one way tickets
for these sleeper trains from Italy to Austria.
The daytime service from Venice to Vienna can be booked at the
Austrian railways website
www.oebb.at.
However, travelling this route by daytime train now involves
taking a bus from Venice to the Austrian border. The
reason is that Trenitalia pulled out of this service a few years
ago, forcing Austrian railways to lay on a bus between Venice
and Villach, in connection with its own domestic trains from
Villach to Vienna, even though there's a perfectly serviceable
railway all the way from Venice! Personally, I'd avoid the
bus and stick with trains all the way going via Verona and
Innsbruck, using the excellent German/Austrian EuroCity trains
with proper restaurant cars, which travel up the scenic Brenner
Pass, see the paragraph below. The
daytime EuroCity trains from Venice & Verona to Innsbruck via
the scenic Brenner Pass can be booked at the Austrian railways
website www.oebb.at.
You can book through to Salzburg or Vienna via this route if you
put 'Innsbruck' in the 'via' box, to avoid it showing the more
direct route which sadly now involves a bus, as explained in the
paragraph above. The Verona to Innsbruck trains are now run by
the Germans and Austrians in their own right, with no Trenitalia
involvement, so they don't show up at all on trenitalia.com and
cannot be booked by Trenitalia, even at the station. If
you're coming from Venice, there is one direct train a day
leaving Venice around 13:34, this can be booked at
www.oebb.at.
Other journeys from Venice to Austria involve a change at
Verona, and you'll need to book Verona to Innsbruck at
www.oebb.at,
then add a connecting Venice to Verona ticket at
www.trenitalia.com, allowing at least 40 minutes to change
at Verona.
Italy to Switzerland, Prague, Zagreb, Budapest from
39 euros...
www.trenitalia.com, can book international trains from major
cities in Italy to
Switzerland, also the sleeper trains from from Venice to Zagreb
& Budapest. But
first, see
this advice on using the Trenitalia website. Look
for 'smart price' fares as these are the advance-purchase cheap
deals. Tickets can be picked up at any main station in
Italy (ideal for people living outside Italy), or posted to any
Italian address. Trenitalia.com
sometimes struggles
with overseas credit cards, so if it does try calling your
bank to un-block the Trenitalia website, or buy Italian
international tickets from
www.raileurope.co.uk
(if you're in the UK, best prices but not all Italian trains
featured),
www.raileurope.com
(if you're in the USA),
www.raileurope.ca (if you're in Canada) or
www.raileurope.com.au (if you're in Australia),
or
www.raileurope-world.com
(if you live in New Zealand, Asia, Africa or South America). Note that the Austrian railways website
www.oebb.at
cannot be used to book the sleeper trains from Italy to
Austria, because although it can book them in either direction
with print-your-own ticketing, because of annoying regulations
imposed by the Italians, inward sleeper train tickets to Austria are only
valid if they have been stamped by the conductor on an outward
journey from Austria.
Italy to Ljubljana in Slovenia
There's now only
one train a day across the frontier from Venice to Ljubljana, a
sleeper train passing through Ljubljana at 2am. However,
there's a clever way to travel between Venice or Trieste and
Ljubljana that's cheap, relatively frequent (every hour or two),
interesting & scenic.
See here for details.
Journeys starting in
Spain
|
Train journeys wholly within Spain
You can book almost any long distance train in Spain online at
www.renfe.com,
with cheap 'Web' and 'Estrella' fares shown and no booking or
postage fees, you simply print out your own ticket.
However,
see this
step-by-step guide to using renfe.com first. It can't handle journeys involving a change of
train, so for example Bilbao to Seville changing in Madrid will
need to be booked as Bilbao-Madrid then Madrid-Seville.
If you have any
difficulty using renfe.com, use the Rail Europe 'world' website
www.raileurope-world.com.
Rail Europe's 'world' website (but not yet their UK one) has
been linked directly to the Renfe ticketing system so it can
sell Spanish train tickets painlessly at the same prices
as Renfe.com, including the cheap 'web' and 'estrella' fares,
with just a 4 euro booking fee and no problems with credit card
acceptance. Anyone from any country worldwide, including
the UK, most of Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, Asia
and Africa can use this system, with payment in euros and
print-at-home tickets. Booking tips:
'Second class' means 'Turista', 'First class' means
'Preferente', it cannot book Club class. If you live in
the UK, you'll find the UK is listed as 'England', 'Scotland' &
'Wales'! Feedback
if you use their site would be appreciated.
Spain to Paris from 72 euros including sleeper...
There are excellent 'Elipsos
trainhotels' from Barcelona (depart 21:00) to Paris (arrive
09:00) and from Madrid (depart 19:00) to Paris (arrive around
08:30). They have cosy sleepers, an elegant restaurant and
a cafe-bar. The Gran Clase sleepers even have a private
shower & toilet and the gran clase fare includes a 3 course
dinner with wine, coffee and liqueurs plus breakfast. UK residents
to buy tickets from Madrid or Barcelona to Paris is using
www.raileurope.co.uk,
and after booking this you can add it to your basket, click
'continue shopping' and add a Eurostar ticket from Paris to
London as part of the same transaction. Allow at least 90 minutes to change trains & stations in
Paris. Residents of
any country can use the Spanish Railways website
www.renfe.com
to buy tickets for the Madrid or Barcelona to Paris trainhotels,
and you simply print out your own ticket, with no postage or
booking fee, and all the cheap fares shown if available.
However,
see this
step-by-step guide to using renfe.com first. You can book
any connecting trains within Spain (for example, Malaga to
Madrid, or Alicante to Barcelona) at
www.renfe.com.
Spain to Montpelier, Marseille, Nice...
Try booking at
www.raileurope.co.uk
or
www.tgv-europe.com. If it struggles with (for example) Barcelona-Nice, try booking Barcelona-Montpellier
on one of the direct trains first, then click 'add another ticket'
and book a connecting Montpellier-Nice train. Creative
thinking may be required!
Spain to London from 117 euros...
See the
London to Spain page for details.
Spain
to Switzerland & Spain to Italy, from 72 euros...
There's
an excellent Elipsos 'trainhotel' from Barcelona to Bern & Zurich in
Switzerland (change in Zurich for Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna)
and from Barcelona to Turin & Milan (change for Rome, Florence,
Venice). It runs 3 times a week all year round, leaving
Barcelona on Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday evenings, arriving
in Switzerland & Italy next morning. It has reclining seats, sleepers (including some
'gran clase' with private
shower), restaurant and bar. The Gran Clase fare includes
a 3-course dinner with wine and breakfast. Several websites will book
these trains: Anyone from any country can book this train
at www.renfe.com,
with cheap fares usually available, and you print out your own
ticket. UK residents can also book this train at
www.raileurope.co.uk. Residents of the USA & Canada can book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Spain to Portugal: Madrid to Lisbon from 49.95
euros...
There's an excellent 'trainhotel' sleeper train from Madrid to
Lisbon, with sleepers, reclining seats, restaurant & bar.
Residents of any country can book this train at
www.renfe.com (see
advice on using renfe.com), and this is now the cheapest way
to buy tickets for this train, as cheap fares are often
available which are not shown on other websites, and there are
no booking fees or postage fees, you simply print out your own
ticket. Alternatively, UK residents can book this train online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
which can be easier to use, just select Madrid to Lisbon with an evening departure. Residents of the USA & Canada can book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
www.tgv-europe.com can also book this train, with
tickets sent to most countries worldwide except the USA (make
sure you select a sleeper not a seat after choosing a price).
There's no rail link from southern Spain into
the Algarve, but there are Seville-Faro buses several times
daily, see
www.alsa.es.
Spain to Brussels, Amsterdam & Cologne from 107
euros...
Take the excellent
Elipsos trainhotel from Madrid or Barcelona to Paris, see the
Spain to Paris section above. Onward tickets from Paris to
Amsterdam, Brussels or Cologne can be bought at
www.tgv-europe.com, with ticket collection in Paris or
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA (see
advice on using tgv-europe.com). Allow at least 90 minutes to
change trains & stations in
Paris.
Trains wholly within Portugal...
www.cp.pt allows
online booking of Lisbon-Porto and Lisbon-Algarve trains.
Lisbon to Madrid
from 49.95 euros......
There's an excellent 'trainhotel' sleeper train Lisbon to Madrid, with sleepers
(some 'gran clase' with private shower & toilet), reclining seats, restaurant & bar.
Residents of any country can book this train at
www.renfe.com (but first
see this
advice on using renfe.com), and this is now the cheapest way
to buy tickets for this train, as cheap 'Web' & 'Estrella'
advance-purchase fares are often available which are not shown
on other websites, and there are no booking fees or postage
fees, you simply print out your own ticket. Alternatively, UK residents can book this train online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
which can be easier to use, just select Lisbon to Madrid with an
evening departure. Residents of the USA & Canada can book this train online using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Residents of any country except the USA can also use
www.tgv-europe.com to book the Lisbon to Madrid sleeper
train, with tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA
(make sure you select a sleeper not a seat after choosing a
price).
There's no rail link from the Algarve into southern Spain, but there are
Faro-Seville buses several times
daily, see
www.alsa.es.
Lisbon to Paris & London...
See the London to Portugal page for
details.
| |
To buy train tickets within & from Germany, use
www.bahn.de. |
Train journeys wholly within Germany
www.bahn.de will book all German long-distance daytime trains
and City Night
Line overnight sleeper trains. Seat
reservation is optional on most German long-distance trains,
compulsory on overnight sleepers, but there are some great
advance-purchase fares if you book in advance, so pre-booking is
recommended. Tickets sent to any address or in some cases
you can print your own tickets.
Germany to London from 49 euros...
See the London
to Germany page for train times and more information.
the German railways website
www.bahn.de (English button at the top) can sell
'London Spezial' tickets from anywhere in Germany to
London from 49 euros, you simply print out your own
tickets.
Germany to Paris from 39 euros...
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA) can book the direct
international daytime trains from Cologne, Frankfurt,
Stuttgart & Munich to Paris, also the sleeper trains from
Munich, Berlin & Hamburg to Paris. The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right) can
also book sleeper trains between Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or
Stuttgart and Paris. You
just print out your own ticket.
Germany to Amsterdam, Brussels, Austria, Italy, Denmark,
Switzerland, Poland, Prague, Ljubljana, Zagreb (by daytime
trains)
The German
railways website,
www.bahn.de can book tickets for
many direct international daytime trains starting in Germany.
Top tip for Germany-Prague: If booking from (say)
Cologne or Frankfurt to Prague,
www.bahn.de has an annoying habit of only suggesting
journeys via the awful railway-run bus from Nuremberg to Prague,
which of course you don't want. Put 'Dresden' in the 'via'
box to force it to find options by train.
Germany to Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Prague (by
direct sleeper train) from 43 euros...
The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right) can
book the excellent
City Night Line sleeper trains from Cologne or Dusseldorf to
Prague, Copenhagen, Warsaw, from Munich to Venice, Florence &
Rome, and from Cologne to Zurich. Fares from 43 euros in a
seat, 59 euros with a couchette or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper.
Booking normally opens 90 days in advance and you simply print out
your own ticket. Onward tickets from Copenhagen to
Stockholm & Oslo can be booked online at
www.sj.se (no
booking fee) or
www.bokatag.se (small booking fee) or if you can't get your
credit card to work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75
(touch tone 6 for English). Tickets are collected from the SJ
ticket machines at Copenhagen main station.
Germany to Vienna & Linz (by
sleeper train)...
The excellent
EuroNight sleeper train from Cologne & Frankfurt to Vienna
can be booked online using the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right, you
print out your own tickets) or
www.oebb.at. Fares start at 29 euros in
a seat, 39 euros with a couchette or 69 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper, if you pre-book, maximum 90 days ahead. The Austrian Railways website
www.oebb.at can
also book this train.
You book online and print out your own ticket. Check both
sites - the Austrian site may be cheaper!
Germany to Italy from 39 euros...
There's an excellent
City Night Line sleeper train
from Munich (depart 21:02) to Venice, Florence & Rome.
Book it online at
www.bahn.de. You can book direct from anywhere in
Germany to Venice, Florence or Rome using this train at
www.bahn.de, no need to buy separate ticket to Munich.
www.bahn.de will also book daytime trains from anywhere in
Germany to Verona in Italy. This is as far as most German
trains go, so bahn.de can't book beyond Verona, so use it to
book from anywhere in Germany to Verona, allow at least 45
minutes to change trains, then buy an onward ticket from Verona
to Florence, Venice or Rome at
www.trenitalia.com.
Germany to Spain...
www.raileurope.co.uk
(for UK residents, tickets sent to any UK address) or the
French Railways website
www.tgv-europe.com (for residents of any country,
tickets sent to any address worldwide except the USA) can book the
Paris-Madrid & Paris-Barcelona overnight 'trainhotels'.
As a separate transaction, it can then book a connecting
Thalys train from Cologne to Paris.
You can also travel
Munich-Zurich by daytime train then by trainhotel overnight
from Zurich to
Barcelona (which runs 3 times a week), booking the first train at
www.bahn.de and the sleeper train at
www.renfe.com. Allow at least 90 minutes in
Zurich to connect.
Germany to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland...
Direct trains link Hamburg with
Copenhagen, book at
www.bahn.de. There's an excellent
City Night Line sleeper train
from Cologne to Copenhagen, with onward connections for Oslo and
Stockholm, you'll find more information on the
Sweden page (just ignore the
London-Cologne bit!).
Book it online at
www.bahn.de, looking for the direct CNL train with 0
changes. Book your onward tickets from Copenhagen to
Stockholm or Oslo at
www.sj.se. For
Finland, you'll find ferries the best bet from Travemünde or
Rostock in Germany to Helsinki, see
www.finnlines.com.
Germany to Moscow (Russia)...
There is a direct Russian sleeping-car from Cologne to Moscow
every day, leaving Cologne around 10pm and taking 2 nights.
It can be booked online at
www.tgv-europe.com with tickets sent to any address
worldwide except the USA. However, the direct trains
from Berlin to Moscow & St Petersburg cannot be booked
online, only by phone to Deutsche Bahn.
Germany to Istanbul (Turkey)
You can pick up the London-Istanbul route
suggested on the London to Turkey page
in Munich. This journey cannot be booked online, only by
phone.
| |
To check train times & fares in Austria, see
www.oebb.at. |
Train journeys wholly within Austria...
www.oebb.at.
Seat reservation is optional on most Austrian internal trains,
so there's little advantage in pre-booking, you can just turn up
buy a ticket and hop on.
Austria to London from 78 euros...
See the London to Austria page for
full details of times, fares and how to buy tickets.
From Vienna, you'd use
www.bahn.de or
www.oebb.at to book the
EuroNight sleeper train from Vienna to Cologne, fares
from 29 euros in a seat, 39 euros with a couchette or 69
euros in a 2-bed sleeper (check both sites - the Austrian
site may be cheaper!). Then use
www.bahn.de again to book a Cologne to London ticket by
ICE and Eurostar.
From Innsbruck or Salzburg, you'd first book the
excellent Munich-Paris
City Night Line sleeper
train at German Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right, you
print out your own tickets). Fares start at 43 euros in
a seat, 59 euros with a couchette or 99 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper if you pre-book, maximum 90 days ahead. Then
use
www.bahn.de again to book a connecting ticket from
Innsbruck or Salzburg to Munich, from 19 euros. Then book a connecting
Eurostar from Paris to London using
www.eurostar.com, from 45 euros.
Austria to Brussels from 48 euros...
From Vienna, first book the excellent
EuroNight sleeper train from Vienna to Cologne using the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right, you
print out your own tickets). Fares start at 29 euros in
a seat, 39 euros with a couchette or 69 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper, if you pre-book, maximum 90 days ahead. Then book a connecting
ICE train from Cologne to Brussels from just 19 euros also at
www.bahn.de, allowing at least 45 minutes in Cologne.
Austria to Germany from 29 euros...
You can book daytime trains from Vienna, Innsbruck or Salzburg
to anywhere in Germany from 29 euros, using
www.bahn.de, and in most cases you simply print out your
own ticket. You can also book the direct overnight
sleeper trains from Vienna to Cologne, Vienna to Berlin, and
Vienna to Hamburg online at
www.bahn.de.
Austria to Amsterdam from 48 euros...
From Vienna, first book the
excellent
EuroNight sleeper train from Vienna to Cologne using the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right, you
print out your own tickets) or
www.oebb.at. Fares start at 29 euros in
a seat, 39 euros with a couchette or 69 euros in a 2-bed
sleeper, if you pre-book, maximum 90 days ahead (check both
sites - the Austrian site may be cheaper!). Then book a connecting
ICE train from Cologne to Amsterdam from just 19 euros also at
www.bahn.de, allowing at least 45 minutes in Cologne.
Alternatively, you can also book Vienna to Cologne at the Austrian
railways website
www.oebb.at. If using oebb.at, first click 'English'
top right, then 'Online-Ticket' top left, then click the
EURO-Night square. From Innsbruck or
Salzburg, first book the direct
City Night Line sleeper
train from Munich to Amsterdam online at
www.bahn.de. Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59
euros with a couchette or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper if you
pre-book, maximum 90 days ahead. Then use
www.bahn.de again to book a connecting ticket from
Innsbruck or Salzburg to Munich, from 19 euros.
It's possible to travel from Austria to Amsterdam in one (long)
day, using excellent German
ICE trains. It can be booked at
www.bahn.de, but the top tip here is to split the journey,
first booking Vienna (or Salzburg) to Frankfurt (select
Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof), allow at least 45 minutes for
the connection, then book Frankfurt to Amsterdam. This way
you'll see cheap fares from 39 euros Vienna to Frankfurt and
from 29 euros Frankfurt to Amsterdam. Austria to Italy
or Switzerland from 39 euros...
The Austrian
railways website,
www.oebb.at,
can book many international
journeys starting in Austria, with many cheap deals available
online if you book in advance, for example Vienna to Rome or
Zurich or Venice with a couchette from 59 euros. Change 'language' to 'English' top
right, then click 'Online-tickets' top left, then 'International tickets', then make your
booking. You print out your own ticket in .PDF format.
Easy! Warning: Trenitalia.com will also book
Austria to Italy trains, but ticket collection is only at
Italian stations or by post to Italian addresses, you cannot
self-print or collect in Austria, making it a no-no.
Austria to Spain from 101 euros with sleeper...
The best route is
Vienna/Salzburg/Innsbruck to Vienna by scenic daytime train
with fares from 29 euros,
then overnight aboard the excellent three-times-weekly Zurich-Barcelona
'Elipsos trainhotel' with fares from 72 euros in a 4-bed
sleeper. UK residents can go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
first book the trainhotel from Zurich to Barcelona, add to
basket, then book a suitable connection from Vienna, Innsbruck
or Salzburg to Zurich, allowing at least an hour to connect in
Zurich. US & Canadian
residents can book online in a similar way using
www.raileurope.com,
and Australians can book at
www.raileurope.com.au.
Residents of any country can book from Zurich to Barcelona at
www.renfe.com, then
Vienna/Innsbruck/Salzburg to Zurich at either the Austrian
railways site
www.oebb.at or (as long as it gives you a self-print
delivery option) the Swiss railways site
www.sbb.ch. Onward trains within Spain are best booked using
www.renfe.com.
Austria to Budapest from 19 euros...
A whole range of trains link Vienna and Budapest every day, many
of which are now modern
Railjet trains. Some of these run direct from Salzburg
or Linz to Budapest, too.
You can easily buy Vienna-Budapest tickets at the station, as no
reservation is required, or you can book online at
www.oebb.at with special
advance-purchase offers from 19 euros (£17) one-way. Change 'language' to 'English' top right, then
click 'Online-tickets' top left, then 'International tickets', then make your booking.
You print out your own ticket in .PDF format. UK residents
can also book
online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but without any offers.
Austria to Prague from 29 euros...
Comfortable EuroCity trains link Vienna and Prague several times
a day, book them using www.oebb.at, with special
offers from 29 euros one-way. Change 'language' to 'English' top right, then
click 'Online-tickets' top left, then 'International tickets',
then make your booking. You print out your own ticket in
.PDF format. If
you're a UK resident, you can book Vienna-Prague online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but no special offers.
Austria to Bratislava from 14 euros...
It's easy to buy
a Vienna-Bratislava ticket at the station, it only costs 14
euros. Trains run every hour,
Austria to Warsaw, Krakow...
There's a daily direct sleeper train, the 'Chopin', from Vienna
to Warsaw and Krakow, with economical couchettes (6-bunk per
compartment) and a comfortable and secure sleeping-car (1 2 or 3
beds per compartment).
If
you're a UK resident, you can book Vienna-Prague online at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Or buy at the station, which will be the cheapest option.
Austria to Istanbul (Turkey)
You can pick up the London-Istanbul route
suggested on the London to Turkey page
in Salzburg, Linz or Vienna. This journey cannot be booked
online, only by phone.
...wholly within Denmark
www.dsb.dk will
book Danish internal long-distance trains, though you may have
to use it in Danish (no real problem!).
Seat reservation is optional on most Danish internal trains.
Copenhagen to London from 78 euros...
See the London to Denmark page for
details.
Copenhagen to Paris from 78 euros; Copenhagen to Brussels
from 62 euros...
First book the excellent
City Night Line
sleeper train from Copenhagen to Cologne at
www.bahn.de.
Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros with a couchette or
99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper. Booking normally opens 90
days in advance and you simply print out your own ticket. Then book a connecting ticket from Cologne
to Brussels from just 19 euros using
www.bahn.de
or from Cologne to Paris from just 35 euros at
www.thalys.com. Allow at least 30 minutes to change
trains in Cologne.
Copenhagen to
Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Prague from 43 euros...
The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right) can book
the excellent direct City Night Line sleeper trains from
Copenhagen to Cologne, Amsterdam, Prague or Basel in
Switzerland. Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros
with a couchette or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper. Booking
normally opens 90 days in advance and you simply print out your
own ticket.
Daytime trains between Copenhagen and Germany can also be booked at
www.bahn.de,
using the direct Copenhagen-Hamburg EuroCity trains.
Copenhagen to Sweden, Norway, Finland
There are two ways to book trains from Copenhagen to
Stockholm, Gothenburg or Oslo. The easy but expensive way is to use
www.raileurope.co.uk,
with tickets sent to any UK address. Rail Europe charges
a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Stockholm trains for all
dates and departures, this is the international tariff made
available to other European railway operators by the Swedish
Railways. The second, far cheaper way is to book
using either www.sj.se (no
booking fee, see my
advice on using it here) or
www.bokatag.se
(English button bottom right, small booking fee). On both
www.sj.se &
www.bokatag.se
you'll see the actual Swedish Railways prices, which vary like
budget airline fares. If you book several months in
advance you can find really cheap fares available, much
cheaper than with Rail Europe, rising to pretty much the same
level as Rail Europe closer to departure. You pay online
and collect your ticket from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket
machines which have been installed at Copenhagen main station.
If you can't get your credit card to work on either of these
sites, simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). For overnight ferries Stockholm to
Helsinki, see www.silja.com or
www.vikingline.com.
Copenhagen to
Italy
The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de (English button top right) can book sleeper trains between
Copenhagen and Basel in Switzerland. Then use
www.sbb.ch to
book a connecting train from Basel to Milan, and
www.trenitalia.com to book onward trains within Italy.
Train journeys wholly within Sweden
You can book Swedish trains at
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on using
it here) or
www.bokatag.se
(small booking fee). Tickets are collected from the
self-service machines at all main stations, or you can print
your own ticket. If you can't get
your credit card to work on either of these sites, simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English). Seat
reservation is compulsory on most long-distance trains, and
there are cheap deals if you book in advance, much more
expensive fares if you pay on the day of travel.
Stockholm to Copenhagen & Oslo
You can book trains from Stockholm to Copenhagen or Oslo at
either
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on
using it here) or
www.bokatag.se
(English button bottom right, small booking fee), with ticket
collection from the SJ ticket machines at all Swedish stations
and also installed at Oslo & Copenhagen, or print your own
ticket. If you can't get your credit card to work on
either of these sites, simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75
75 (touch tone 6 for English). There are some great cheap
deals available if you book in advance.
Stockholm to Amsterdam, Cologne, Prague, Switzerland, Italy
There is a direct
City Night Line
sleeper train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, Cologne, Prague
& Basel, leaving around 18:00 and arriving next morning.
Coming from Stockholm, simply book a connecting
Stockholm-Copenhagen high-speed train at
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on
using it here) or
www.bokatag.se
(English button bottom right, small booking fee), with ticket
collection from the SJ ticket machines or print your own ticket.
Allow at least 45 minutes, preferably more, to connect in
Copenhagen. This makes a cost-effective and time-effective
way to get from Stockholm to the heart of Europe without flying!
For Italy, book an onward train from Basel to Milan at
www.sbb.ch then
book onward trains within Italy at
www.trenitalia.com. Allow at least an hour to connect
in Zurich and in Milan.
Stockholm to Brussels & London
See the
London-Sweden page for details.
Stockholm to
Finland
Overnight cruise ferries from
Stockholm to Helsinki can be booked online at
www.silja.com
or www.vikingline.com.
Train journeys wholly within Norway
www.nsb.no will
book Norwegian internal long distance trains.
The 'English' button is top right. Seat reservation is
compulsory on most long-distance trains, and there are cheap
deals if you book in advance so it's well worth pre-booking.
When you reach the fares page, use the drop-down list of fare
types to see if you can change 'ordinaer' (full fare) to 'minipris'
(cheap advance purchase fare, which only appears if there is a minipris available, either 199Kr, 299Kr or 399Kr depending
on availability). 'Okonomi' means standard class,
any fare including the word 'Komfort' means first class
with larger seats, more space, laptop power points and
complimentary tea and coffee.
Oslo to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on using
it here) or
www.bokatag.se
(English button bottom right, small booking fee, accepts all
cards) will book
international trains from Oslo to Stockholm, Gothenburg &
Copenhagen. You pay
online and pick up your tickets from a Swedish Railways (SJ)
ticket machine installed outside the NSB travel centre at Oslo
Central station. If you can't get your credit card
to work on either of these sites, simply call SJ telesales on
+46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English). UK residents can also book
trains from Oslo to Copenhagen online at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
though only the full-fare international tariff is offered.
Onward journeys from Copenhagen to Paris, London, Germany etc
should be booked as per the Journeys starting
in Denmark section.
Journeys wholly within Finland
www.vr.fi will
book any Finnish long-distance train.
Helsinki to St Petersburg & Moscow
The two daily 'Allegro' trains from Helsinki to St Petersburg and the overnight
sleeper train 'Tolstoi' from Helsinki to Moscow cannot be booked online, but can be
booked by email with Finnish Railways,
see the Finland page
for more details.
Helsinki to Stockholm
Two ferry companies run luxurious overnight cruise
ferries from
Helsinki to Stockholm. Book online with either
www.silja.com
or
www.vikingline.com. Helsinki
to Germany
The cruise ferry from
Helsinki to Rostock in Germany can be booked with
www.finnlines.com. You can book onward trains
Rostock-Berlin at
www.bahn.de then travel on to Paris, Switzerland
etc. as shown in the 'Journeys starting in Germany' section
above.
Train journeys wholly within Hungary...
These are probably most easily and
cheaply bought at the station in Hungary.
Budapest to London...
See the London to Hungary page for
train times, fares and how to buy tickets.
Budapest to Munich, other
destinations in Germany, Amsterdam, Paris...
You can buy tickets from Budapest to Munich & other cities in
Germany, one way or return in either direction, at the
German Railways website
www.bahn.de, from 39 euros. For Amsterdam or Paris,
book the excellent
City Night Line
sleeper trains from Munich to Amsterdam or Munich to
Paris as a second booking on
www.bahn.de, fares from 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros with
a couchette or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper.
Budapest to Vienna, Prague...
You can buy tickets from Budapest to neighbouring countries
from as little as 13 or 19 euros (no refunds, no changes at
these prices) at the Hungarian Railways site,
www.mav-start.hu, with some patience! Click 'English' top right.
Bookings open 60 days ahead. Remember that Vienna is
listed in German as 'Wien' and Prague in Czech as 'Praha'.
To see prices after doing a basic timetable enquiry, click
'international', look for the box marked '1. utas szuletesi
datuma' and enter your date of birth, in the format 'yyyy.mm.dd'.
Then click 'Jegyinformaciok'. Click on the orange
arrow next to a price, then on the next orange arrow that
appears. Then select a train and click 'Jegy a kosarba'
(add to basket). You'll need to quickly register,
click the link in the confirmation email you will then
receive, then log in and pay for your ticket online.
You collect the ticket from the self-service kiosk at main
Hungarian stations including Budapest. You may find it
helpful to use Google language tools, or the translate
facility in the Chrome browser, as parts of the process end
up in Hungarian! It cannot currently sell tickets for
sleepers or couchettes, only seats. I have yet to use
this myself, so feedback
would be appreciated.
Important: Reports suggest
some or all foreign credit cards are rejected, but do try and let
me know!
Tip 1: Budapest to Vienna trains don't require a
reservation, so you may as well just buy at the station when
you're there. It'll cost about 35 euros full-price, so
you won't get the cheaper 19 euro internet fare, of course,
but you'll have no problems getting the train.
Tip 2: Budapest to Linz or Salzburg:
Annoyingly, the Austrian railways website
www.oebb.at won't sell
'inbound' tickets from Budapest to Austria,
but if you're travelling from Budapest to Linz or Salzburg,
try booking Budapest to Munich at the German
railways website
www.bahn.de. This will happily sell inbound tickets
from Budapest to Germany, and if you find a 29 or 39 euro
cheap 'spezial' fare to Munich, you can simply get off the
train in Linz or Salzburg no problem, and this is
significantly cheaper than paying for a full-price ticket on
the day at the station in Budapest.
Budapest to Krakow, Warsaw,
Bucharest, Belgrade, Berlin, Zurich...
There are
direct overnight sleeper trains on these routes with
economical couchette (6 berth) and more comfortable and
civilised sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with
washbasin. You cannot book these sleeper trains
online, but try this agency:
www.centraleasteurope.com/train_tickets.htm. I
have had no reports about them, and have not used them
myself, so if you use them
feedback would be
appreciated!
Budapest to other destinations...
Some journey cannot be booked online. For example,
Budapest to Sarajevo can easily be bought at the station and
costs around 57 euros.
| |
To buy train tickets within the Czech Republic & from
Prague to Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Berlin, see
www.cd.cz/eshop. |
Prague to London from 92 euros...
See the London to Prague page for
train times, fares and how to buy tickets.
Prague to
Amsterdam, Cologne, Brussels from 43 euros...
There is a direct
City Night Line
sleeper train from Prague to Cologne & Amsterdam which
you can easily book online at
www.bahn.de.
Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros with a couchette
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper.
Book it to Cologne if you're heading for Brussels, then use
www.bahn.de
to book a connecting ticket from Cologne to Brussels, from
19 euros.
Prague to
Zurich, Basel, Copenhagen from 43 euros...
There is are direct
City Night Line
sleeper trains from Prague to both Copenhagen, Basel and
Zurich overnight, leaving central Prague at around 18:30 and
arriving next morning. You can easily book online at
www.bahn.de.
Fares start at 43 euros in a seat, 59 euros with a couchette
or 99 euros in a 2-bed sleeper.
Prague to
Munich, Berlin, Dresden & Germany from 29 euros...
The German
Railways website
www.bahn.de can book tickets from Prague to Dresden, Berlin, Munich or Hamburg by daytime
trains from just 29 euros, and you print out your own ticket. Top tip for
booking Prague-Germany on
www.bahn.de: If booking from Prague to (say) Cologne
or Frankfurt,
www.bahn.de has an annoying habit of only suggesting
journeys via the railway-run bus from Prague to
Nuremberg, which of course you don't want. Simply put
'Dresden' in the 'via' box to force it to find options by train.
Alternatively, you can also buy cheap tickets from Prague to
major cities in Germany at the Czech railways
online shop,
www.cd.cz/eshop, again with self-print tickets.
Prague to
Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Vienna, Italy...
There are direct daytime and/or sleeper
trains from Prague to Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna.
To book them either:
(a) Use the
Czech railways 'eshop', see the paragraph below. This
will book daytime trains but not sleepers from Prague to
neighbouring countries, from just 19 euros if you pre-book.
(b) Contact
train booking agency
www.czech-transport.com to book sleeper trains from
Prague to Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest.
(c) Buy at the
station when you get there, there are almost always places
available.
The Czech Railways
'eshop'
www.cd.cz/eshop can book
daytime trains (but not overnight sleeper trains) from Prague
to major cities in neighbouring countries, including Krakow &
Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Dresden & Berlin, at
cheap Czech prices (Feedback
from anyone who uses this system would be welcome).
However, don't try and use the e-shop for journeys in the
other direction (from countries outside the Czech Republic
to Prague), as these tickets aren't valid unless stamped
by the conductor on an outward journey from Prague.
Using the
popular overnight train from Prague to Krakow? It
leaves Prague Hlavni daily at 20:17 and arrives Krakow at
07:18 next morning. In the modernised sleeping-car, this train is a very comfortable, safe and
time-effective option. However, I strongly recommend
you don't use the Rail Europe websites in the USA,
Australia, Canada etc to book the Prague-Krakow sleeper
train, as there appears to be an issue with the way it
handles pricing and accommodation choices on this popular
train. Book it at the station instead, there's almost
always places available. At the station, the fare from
Prague to Krakow is only 35 to 40 euros, plus approximately
11 euros supplement for a couchette in a 6-bunk compartment,
20 euros for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 27 euros for a bed in
a 2-bed sleeper. Only a 2nd class ticket is now
required for a 2-bed sleeper on this train, a 1st class
ticket is only necessary if you insist on a single bed
sleeper. A sleeper is recommended, it's a comfortable
Polish sleeping-car with an attendant on duty, sturdy locks
and chain on each compartment door, and tea or coffee next
morning is included in the fare.
Train journeys wholly within Poland...
You can book Polish domestic intercity trains such
as Warsaw-Krakow at
www.intercity.com.pl (here's a direct link to their online
sales page:
https://bilet.intercity.pl). The English button is top
right, and you'll need to use the Polish spellings of cities
such as 'Krakow' and 'Warszawa'. You pay online with a
credit card and print out your own ticket. If you use this
system successfully (or are unsuccessful!)
feedback would be
appreciated, as it has not yet been confirmed that it
accepts UK and other non-Polish cards. Alternatively, contact highly-recommended Polish train ticketing
agency
www.polrail.com, who can arrange train tickets for travel
within Poland, or for international trains starting in Poland,
for example Warsaw to Moscow, or Krakow to Prague. Warsaw
to London...
See the London to Poland page for
train times, fares and how to buy tickets. You can book
the Warsaw to Cologne sleeper train online at
www.bahn.de,
then book a connecting ticket from Cologne to London also at
www.bahn.de.
Warsaw to Amsterdam
or Cologne from 49 euros, Warsaw to
Brussels from 68 euros...
There is a direct
EuroNight sleeper train from Warsaw & Poznan to Cologne & Amsterdam
which you can book online at
www.bahn.de.
This has cheap fares available if you book in advance.
Book it to Cologne if you're heading for Brussels or London,
then use
www.bahn.de
to book a connecting ticket from Cologne to Brussels or London.
Warsaw to Berlin from 29 euros...
www.bahn.de
can also book the Berlin-Warszawa Express trains between Warsaw
and Berlin, and the 'Wawel' InterCity train between Krakow and
Berlin. Krakow
to London...
See the London to Poland page for
train times, fares and how to buy tickets.
Krakow to
Berlin from 29 euros...
www.bahn.de
can also book the Berlin-Warszawa Express trains between Warsaw
and Berlin, and the 'Wawel' InterCity train between Krakow and
Berlin. Krakow to
Prague from 46 euros in couchettes, 62 euros in a 2-bed sleeper...
There is a direct sleeper
train from Krakow to Prague, leaving Krakow at 21:54 daily and
arriving at Prague's central Hlavni station at 07:50 next
morning. In the modernised sleeping-car, this
train is a very comfortable, safe and time-effective option.
However, I strongly recommend you don't use the Rail
Europe websites in the USA, Australia, Canada etc to book
the Prague-Krakow sleeper train, as there appears to be an
issue with the way it handles pricing and accommodation
choices on this popular train. Book it at the station
instead, there's almost always places available, or contact
highly-recommended Polish train ticketing agency
www.polrail.com, who can arrange train tickets for all
international trains starting in Poland and can offer ticket
collection in Krakow or tickets sent to your home country. At
the station, the fare from Prague to Krakow is only 35 to 40
euros, plus approximately 11 euros supplement for a
couchette in a 6-bunk compartment, 20 euros for a bed in a
3-bed sleeper, 27 euros for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper.
Only a 2nd class ticket is now required for a 2-bed sleeper
on this train, a 1st class ticket is now only necessary if
you insist on a single bed sleeper (this was changed some
years ago, but Rail Europe still seems to insist on
selling you a first class ticket for a double sleeper,
making them a very expensive way to book). A sleeper
is recommended, it's a comfortable Polish sleeping-car with
an attendant on duty, sturdy locks and chain on each
compartment door, and tea or coffee next morning is included
in the fare.
Other routes: Warsaw to Moscow, Prague, Vienna, Budapest or Kiev...
www.intercity.com.pl gives some international fares and
train times from Poland but these international trains generally
have to be booked either at the station or via an agency.
Try contacting highly-recommended Polish train ticketing agency
www.polrail.com, who can arrange train tickets for
international trains starting in Poland, for example Warsaw to
Moscow, or Krakow to Prague. Warsaw Centralna station has
a modern international office, open 09:00-19:30 daily, it's in a
corner of the main hall (Sala Glowna).
Direct Russian sleeper trains link Moscow with Warsaw,
Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Nice, Helsinki and
many other European cities. There's also a direct train
from St Petersburg to Warsaw and Berlin. These trains
cannot be booked online, so contact a reputable Russian
ticketing agency such as
www.realrussia.co.uk to arrange tickets. They can
also help with Russian visas. Don't forget you'll need a
Belarus transit visa for journeys from Moscow to Warsaw, Berlin,
Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris.
Journeys starting in other eastern
European countries generally can't be booked online, but need
to be
booked by phone. You might also consider simply
buying them at the station. Fares for international journeys in eastern Europe are difficult to
find online, so here are some approximate fares as a rough
guide. These are all one-way adult 2nd class
fares. 1st class fares are 50% more than the 2nd
class fare. Returns are normally twice the
one-way, but in many cases there are reductions for
return tickets. Children under 12 travel at half
fare.
|
Prague-Krakow
35 euros*
Prague-Budapest 78 euros*
Prague-Vienna 48 euros
Prague-Bratislava 44 euros
Prague-Bucharest 153 euros
Prague-Belgrade 82 euros
Prague-Warsaw 65 euros
Budapest-Krakow 65 euros
Budapest-Prague 78 euros
Budapest-Bratislava 28 euros
Budapest-Bucharest 80 euros
Budapest-Vienna 37 euros
Budapest-Warsaw 83 euros |
|
Budapest-Moscow 97 euros
Budapest-Istanbul 124 euros
Budapest-Belgrade 39 euros
Budapest-Sofia 84 euros
Budapest-Thessaloniki 118 euros
Budapest-Kiev 69 euros
Budapest-Zagreb 36 euros
Budapest-Sarajevo 57 euros
Warsaw-Budapest 73 euros
Warsaw-Prague 54 euros
Warsaw-Vienna 63 euros
Warsaw-Budapest 83 euros
Ljubljana - Venice
see here |
|
Vienna-Prague about 50 euros**
Vienna-Budapest 37 euros**
Vienna-Warsaw 63 euros
Bucharest-Istanbul 40 euros
Bucharest-Belgrade 142 euros
Belgrade-Istanbul 43 euros
Belgrade-Sofia 45 euros
Belgrade-Zagreb 44 euros
Belgrade-Budapest 39 euros
Belgrade-Venice 80 euros
Sofia-Istanbul 18 euros |
* This is full-price. There are cheap fares from just 496Kr (19 euros) available on daytime
trains if you pre-book using
www.cd.cz/eshop
& print out your own ticket. At the station (but not
online) you can also buy cheap tickets for travel in a sleeper,
from 69 euros per person in a 2-bed sleeper.
** Cheap fare from 19 euros if booked online at
www.oebb.at.
See the useful links page for a
complete list of national railway websites for each country.
|
|
Other UK ticket agencies...
If
you live in the Republic of Ireland...
If you live in
the USA
or Canada...
If you live in Australia or New Zealand...
If you live in
any other country -
India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Israel or South Africa...
Paying
for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's probably
just a tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip.
You will see so much more, and know so much more about what you're
looking at, if you have a decent guidebook. For the
independent traveller, I think the best ones out there are either the Lonely Planet or
the Rough Guide. Both guidebooks are excellent, and you won't regret buying one..!
Alternatively, the 'Europe by Rail' guide combines country information
with basic train information.
