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On this page I explain...
which
trains & operators are covered by Interrail/Eurail in each country;
which
trains in each country require a reservation and which don't;
how much reservations cost for specific trains in each country;
how to make reservations online for each specific route or train.
Select the country where a train starts. Prices per person per journey. Children (even with a free pass) pay the same reservation fee as an adult. Reservation costs are the same for both Eurail & Interrail. You can check these prices at www.eurail.com or www.interrail.eu. And remember, making reservations is entirely separate from managing the pass itself. Last updated February 2023.
Don't expect train ticket websites to sell passholder reservations - most don't. However, you can make passholder reservations online for some trains if you know which website to use. Many reservations can be made using the official Interrail & Eurail reservations service. Look up each specific journey below and I will tell you if you can reserve online, and which website to use.
Select the country where your journey starts
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Austria
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on Austrian Federal Railways (ΦBB), www.oebb.at.
That includes all local & mainline trains run by ΦBB and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run jointly by ΦBB & the national railways in those countries.
Passes also give unlimited travel in 2nd class on competing Westbahn trains between Vienna, Linz & Salzburg, www.westbahn.at. If you have a 1st class pass, you can use 2nd class for free but must pay a 9.90 for Westbahn first class.
Passes give unlimited travel on privately-run Regiojet trains between Vienna & Prague, Vienna & Budapest, seat reservation required.
Passes give unlimited travel on Micotra trains between Villach & Tarvisio in Italy.
Passes give unlimited travel on Raaberbahn trains between Vienna/Graz & parts of Hungary.
Help with train times
For train times within Austria see www.oebb.at
See international train times & routes from Vienna
See international train times & routes from Salzburg
See international train times & routes from Innsbruck
Using a pass on trains within Austria
Using a railpass in Austria is easy, as reservation is optional not mandatory on almost all Austrian Railways (ΦBB) domestic daytime trains, and there are no supplements to pay, even on railjet trains. So you can simply hop on any train, find an empty seat and show your pass when asked.
You can make a seat-only booking online for around 3 per seat at the ΦBB website, see the instructions here.
As well as ΦBB, you can also use competing Westbahn trains between Vienna, Linz & Salzburg. These give free travel in 2nd class for holders of all classes of pass, reservation optional. If you have a 1st class pass, you can use 2nd class for free or pay a 9.90 for Westbahn first class.
Nightjet sleeper train from Vienna to Bregenz (per person): Couchette in 6-bunk compartment 22, couchette in 4-bunk compartment 30, bed in 3-bed sleeper 50, bed in 2-bed sleeper 65 to 79. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Belgium
By Nightjet sleeper train, Vienna or Innsbruck to Brussels: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017.
Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to France
By Nightjet sleeper train, Vienna or Salzburg to Paris: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017.
Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Germany
By IC, ICE or railjet train: No fee. Seat reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and show your pass, nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a seat reservation for a few euros at either the German Railways site (4.50 see the instructions here) or Austrian Railways site (3, see the instructions here). Reserving is a good idea at busy times.
Salzburg-Munich by BRB regional train: No fee, no reservation possible, just hop on and sit anywhere you like.
Vienna-Salzburg-Munich Westbahn trains (6 per day, competing with the normal 2-hourly railjets): Free travel in 2nd class for holders of all classes of pass, reservation optional. If you have a 1st class pass, you can use 2nd class for free or pay a 9.90 for Westbahn first class.
By Nightjet sleeper train: Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Vienna or Innsbruck to Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg by Nightjet: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154.
Vienna to Berlin by Nightjet: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 114, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 134. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is needed for all Nightjet accommodation types.
Using a pass on trains to Netherlands
By Nightjet sleeper train, Vienna to Amsterdam: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Switzerland
By daytime railjet train, Vienna, Linz, Salzburg Innsbruck to Zurich: No fee. Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and show your pass, nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways site, see the instructions here. This is a good idea as it's a long journey, especially at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons. This is a lovely ride through the scenic Arlberg Pass, see the railjet & scenery photos, tips & information on the Arlberg Railway page.
By Nightjet sleeper train, Vienna or Linz to Zurich: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 114, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 134. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, this is new from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Italy
By daytime EuroCity train, Innsbruck to Verona, Bologna or Venice: There is a passholder surcharge for travel on these Brenner Pass EuroCity trains, 10 in 2nd class or 15 in 1st class, a reserved seat is optional for an extra 3 per seat. You can either board the train without a reservation, sit in any empty unreserved seat and pay the surcharge on board when the conductor comes round, or make a seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here. See photos & information on the Munich & Innsbruck to Venice page.
By daytime railjet train, Vienna or Villach to Venice: There is a passholder surcharge for travel on these Vienna-Venice railjet trains, 10 in 2nd class or 15 in 1st class, a reserved seat is optional for an extra 3 per seat. You can either board the train without a reservation, sit in any empty unreserved seat and pay the surcharge on board when the conductor comes round, or make a seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here. See the railjet & scenery photos & information on the Vienna to Venice page.
By daytime EuroCity train, Vienna to Trieste: There is a passholder surcharge for travel on the extension into Italy, 2.60. Make an optional seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here.
By Nightjet sleeper train, Vienna or Salzburg to Venice, Milan, Florence or Rome: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 114, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 134. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Hungary
Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck to Budapest by railjet, EuroCity or other express train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and show your pass, nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways site, see the instructions here. This is a good idea at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons. More information about Vienna to Budapest trains.
Vienna to Budapest by private operator Regiojet, a few trains per day, www.regiojet.com): Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Vienna Hbf. More information about Vienna to Budapest trains.
Using a pass to the Czech Republic
Vienna to Prague by railjet train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and show your pass, nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways site (see the instructions here). This is a good idea at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons. More information about Vienna to Prague trains
Vienna to Prague by Regiojet train: Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, you can approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Vienna Hbf. More information about Vienna to Prague Regiojet trains.
Vienna to Cesky Krumlov via Ceske Velenice: This is all on regional trains, so no reservation necessary or possible, just hop on and show your pass. However, Interrail & Eurail passes don't cover the GWTR local trains between Ceske Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov, this only costs 1.80 or so, you can pay on board the GWTR train using the ticket machines which take cash & contactless cards. How to plan this journey.
Using a pass on trains to Slovakia
Vienna to Bratislava by hourly regional train: Just hop on and sit in any empty seat, no reservation necessary or possible.
Vienna to Bratislava by once per day railjet: Reservation is optional, you can hop on the train and show your pass with nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways site, see the instructions here. This is a good idea at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons.
Vienna to Kosice & Slovakia by InterCity (IC): Reservation is required, this varies from 3-12 in 2nd class or 13-22 in 1st class depending on distance.
Using a pass on trains to Poland
Vienna to Krakow or Warsaw by daytime EuroCity train: Reservation is compulsory, seat reservation fee 3. This is just a normal seat reservation like any other passenger with a pre-existing ticket would make, you can make a reservation online at the ΦBB website for 3, see the instructions here.
Vienna to Krakow or Warsaw by EuroNight sleeper train: 29 for a couchette in 6-berth, 39 for a couchette in 4-berth, 44 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 59 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 119 for a bed in a single-bed sleeper, 79 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, 139 for a bed in a single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet (all fine with 2nd class pass). Passholder reservations for this train can be made online at the Austrian Railways website, see the instructions below, but only for this eastbound direction as a hard-copy reservation ticket must be collected in Austria.
Using a pass on trains to Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia
Vienna to Ljubljana, Zagreb or Belgrade by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and show your pass, nothing more to pay unless you want a reserved seat. You can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways website, see the instructions here.
Using a pass on trains to Romania
Vienna to Sighisoara, Brasov or Bucharest by Dacia Express sleeper: Couchette in 6-berth 13.40, couchette in 4-berth 20, bed in 3-berth sleeper 28, bed in 2-berth sleeper 42. Bed in single-berth sleeper (requires 1st class pass) 98. Passholder reservations for this train can be made online at the ΦBB website, if you follow the instructions below, you can now print out your own reservation.
Belgium
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on Belgian National Railways (SNCB), www.belgiantrain.be.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by SNCB and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by SNCB & the partner railways in those countries.
Help with train times
For train times within Belgium see www.belgiantrain.be
See international train times & routes from Brussels
See international train times & routes from Bruges
Using a pass on Belgian trains
Using a railpass in Belgium is easy, as reservation is not necessary or even possible on Belgian domestic trains. You can simply hop on any train, find an empty seat and show your pass when asked.
There are two exceptions
The Brussels airport trains require a 5.20 supplement, paid at the station or on board the train.
High-speed Thalys trains are reservation compulsory and carry a hefty 15+ passholder reservation fee, so avoid using them for domestic Belgian journeys such as Brussels-Antwerp or Brussels-Liege, use the alternative Belgian InterCity trains for free instead.
Using a pass on trains to Great Britain
Brussels to London by Eurostar: Eurail & Interrail passes now cover Eurostar from Brussels to London, on payment of a special passholder fare of 30 in standard class or (if you have a 1st class pass) 38 in standard premier. You can make Eurostar passholder reservations online as explained here.
Using a pass on trains to France
Brussels to Paris by high-speed Thalys train: A passholder reservation fee applies, 25 in either class. Passholder places are limited by a quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book sooner rather than later! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
To save money or if all Thalys tickets have sold out: You can travel from Brussels to Paris avoiding Thalys by using regional trains Brussels-Charleroi-Maubeuge-Paris as shown here as Brussels-Paris option 2. It takes around 4h30, there's only 1-3 departures per day with 2 changes of train, but no reservations are necessary, no extra to pay, just board the trains and show your pass.
Brussels to other French destinations such as Lyon, Avignon, Marseille by direct TGV by-passing Paris: A passholder reservation fee applies, 20 in 2nd class, 30 in 1st class, passholder tickets be booked online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
No reservation is necessary or even possible for the regular cross-border regional trains from Belgium to Lille.
Using a pass on trains to the Netherlands
Brussels to Amsterdam by high-speed Thalys train: A passholder reservation fee applies, 15 in 2nd class, 25 in 1st class. Passholder places on Thalys are limited by a quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book sooner rather than later! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service as explained here.
Brussels to Amsterdam by hourly InterCity (IC) train: There's no fee if you use the regular hourly InterCity trains, although these take just over 3 hours rather than 2 hours. These have no reservations, you can just hop on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. You can check times at www.b-europe.com (Tip: Select Direct trains only and look for trains marked IC). Incidentally, there is definitely no need to pay the Dutch 2.70 high-speed IC Direct supplement when making an international journey from Belgium to Amsterdam on these trains, whatever the Railplanner app may say, the supplement only applies when making a Dutch domestic journey such as Rotterdam to Amsterdam.
Using a pass on trains to Germany
Brussels to Cologne & Frankfurt by ICE high-speed train: No fees! Reservation is optional, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you like, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros at the German Railways website, see the instructions here. This is a good idea at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons.
Brussels to Cologne by Thalys high-speed train: A passholder reservation fee applies, 25 in either class. Passholder places are limited by quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book early! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service as explained here, although the obvious solution is to save your money by taking an ICE instead!
Brussels or Antwerp to Berlin by European Sleeper overnight train: Not currently covered by Interrail or Eurail, but this could change, watch this space...
Using a pass on trains to Austria
By Nightjet sleeper train, Brussels to Vienna or Innsbruck: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Luxembourg
Brussels to Luxembourg by InterCity trains: Seat reservation neither necessary nor possible, you just hop on any train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked.
Bosnia
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by ZFBH/ZRS (Railways of Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Reservation not required on local trains.
Reservation is necessary to travel on the excellent Talgo trains between Sarajevo & Mostar, Banja Luka and Bihac, 0.50 in both classes.
Help with train times
See train times Sarajevo-Zagreb
See train times Sarajevo-Mostar
Bulgaria
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), www.bdz.bg.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by BDZ and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by BDZ & the partner railways in those countries.
Help with train times
For train times within Bulgaria see www.bdz.bg
See international train times & routes from Sofia
Using a pass on national trains
Local trains, barz & patnicheski trains do not require reservations.
Seat reservation is compulsory on express trains (Expresen), this costs around 0.50 and can only be done at stations in Bulgaria.
Sleeper trains within Bulgaria: Bed in 3-bed sleeper 5.80, in 2-bed sleeper 7.80, in single-bed sleeper 15.
Using a pass on international trains
Sofia to Dimitrovgrad, Belgrade or Bucharest by daytime train: Reservation is obligatory on all main international trains, but a seat reservation only costs around 1.25. Reservations cannot be made online, but there are always places available, just make reservations at the station. See tips for buying tickets (or making reservations) at Sofia station.
Sofia to Istanbul by sleeper train: 10 supplement for a couchette in 4-berth compartment or 15 supplement for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. If you have a 1t class pass, a single-bed sleeper all to yourself costs 35.
Croatia
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by Croatian Railways (HZ), www.hzpp.hr.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by HZ and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by HZ & the partner railways in those countries.
Passes are not accepted on Regiojet's summer-only sleeper train between Prague & Split.
Help with train times
For train times within Croatia, see www.hzpp.hr
See international train times & routes from Zagreb
See international train times & routes from Dubrovnik & Split
Using a pass on Croatian trains
Air-conditioned ICN trains from Zagreb to Split and InterCity trains between Zagreb & Rijeka, Osijek, Cakovec: Reservation necessary, 3.60 in both classes.
Zagreb-Split sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 10. Bed in 3-bed sleeper 15, bed in 2-bed sleeper 25, bed in single-bed sleeper 40.
Reservations cannot be made online, but it's easy to make a reservation at the station, places almost always available.
Alternatively, if it's just a seat, try asking for a reservation by email to rezervacije@hzpp.hr. Feedback appreciated, let me know if that email changes.
Using a pass on international trains
Zagreb to Ljubljana or Lesce-Bled: Reservation optional, try asking for a reservation by email to rezervacije@hzpp.hr. Feedback appreciated, let me know if that email changes. You can also to reserve a seat for 3 at least on some departures, using the Austrian ΦBB website, see the instructions below. In this case, it's just an ordinary seat reservation, so you use the Seat only - no ticket link to run the enquiry.
Zagreb to Vienna, Budapest or Belgrade: Seat reservation is optional, you can just get on the train, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, this costs around 3. If you want a seat reservation on the direct Zagreb to Vienna train, you can make it at the Austrian Railways website as shown here.
Zagreb to Munich or Zurich by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Czech Republic
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on Czech Railways (CD), www.cd.cz. That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by CD and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by CD & the partner railways in those countries.
Passes also give unlimited travel on most Regiojet trains, see www.regiojet.com. However, passes are not accepted on Regiojet's summer-only sleeper train between Prague & Split/Rijeka.
Passes now also give unlimited travel on Leo Express trains, www.leoexpress.com.
What's not covered
Passes are not valid on private local train operators Arriva or GWTR.
Trains to Cesky Krumlov: Your pass covers the Czech Railways (CD) trains from Prague or Linz to Ceske Budejovice, which is the junction station for the branch line to Cesky Krumlov. But the local trains from Ceske Budejovice to Cesky Krumlov are now operated by private operator GWTR which doesn't accept Interrail or Eurail passes. However, the fare is less than 2, so all you have to do is buy a ticket for this short 40-minute hop, either at the green & orange GWTR ticket kiosk at Ceske Budejovice or using the machines on board the train which take contactless cards or cash. There's a once-daily Prague-Cesky Krumlov direct train run by CD, your pass is of course valid on this CD train all the way to or from Cesky Krumlov.
Help with train times
For train times within the Czech Republic see www.cd.cz.
See international train times & routes from Prague
See international train times & routes from Cesky Krumlov
Using a pass on Czech trains
On the fast tilting SuperCity (SC) trains between Prague & Ostrava, reservation is compulsory for a 8 fee, you can make these reservations online at the CD website, see the instructions here.
On EuroCity, InterCity & other express trains you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked, although you have the option to reserve a seat if you like for around 3. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here.
On Regiojet trains (see www.regiojet.com, for example Prague-Ostrava or Prague-Brno) seat reservation is compulsory, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Prague Hlavni.
On Leo Express trains, 2nd class passes in economy, 1st class passes in business class (or standard plus class), reservation required but free of charge, you can make passholder reservations in person at their Prague or Ostrava offices or online at leoexpress.com following the advice here. Upgrade to Premium class is not possible.
Using a pass on trains to Germany
Prague to Berlin or Dresden by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional, so you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. However, these trains get very busy so reserving a seat for around 4 is a good idea, especially in summer or on Friday & Sunday afternoons at any time of year. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here. See the photos, video, tips & info on the Prague to Berlin page.
Prague to Munich by express train: Reservation is optional, so you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here. See the photos, video, tips & info on the Prague to Munich page.
Prague to Nuremberg & Frankfurt via Cheb or Schwandorf: You can check times from Prague to Germany via these two useful routes at www.cd.cz, clicking Advanced options, then Travel via and then entering Cheb or Schwandorf in the via box. These routes avoid the need to use any long-distance buses! Reservation is unnecessary on these two routes route unless the Prague-Cheb train is a SuperCity (SC) trains when a 7 fee applies. You can make a Prague-Cheb SuperCity reservation online at the CD website, see the instructions here.
Using a pass on trains to Austria
Prague to Vienna by railjet train: Reservation is optional, so you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. However, reserving a seat for around 4 is a good idea on this busy route, especially in summer or on Friday & Sunday afternoons at any time of year. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here. See the photos, video, tips & info on the Prague to Vienna page.
Prague to Vienna by Regiojet (www.regiojet.com): Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Prague Hlavni. See the photos, video, tips & info on the Prague to Vienna page.
Prague to Linz (for Salzburg & Innsbruck): Reservation is optional on both the Czech train to Linz and onward Austrian railjet trains to Salzburg & Innsbruck, so you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here. Seat reservations from Linz to Salzburg or Innsbruck can be made at the Austrian Railways website, see the instructions here. See the photos, video, tips & info on the Prague to Salzburg page.
Using a pass on trains to Switzerland
Prague to Zurich by EuroNight sleeper train (both routes): With 2nd class pass, bed in 3-berth sleeper 45, bed in 2-berth sleeper 58, bed in single-berth sleeper 110. With 1st class pass, bed in 3-berth deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 45, bed in 2-berth deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 58, bed in single-bed deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 110.
Passholder reservations for Prague to Zurich sleeper trains can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Prague to Zurich by daytime trains with a change at Munich or Linz/Salzburg: None of the daytime trains Prague-Munich & Munich-Zurich or Prague-Linz and Linz-Salzburg-Zurich require reservations, you can just hop on and show your pass when asked. Seat reservations are optional, you can make a normal seat reservation from Prague to Munich or Linz at the CD (Czech Railways) website as shown here. you can make a normal seat reservation from Munich to Zurich at the German Railways website as shown here or from Linz or Salzburg to Zurich at the Austrian Railways website as shown here.
Using a pass on trains to Hungary
Prague to Budapest by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional, so you can just board the train, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. However, reserving a seat for around 3 is a good idea. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here.
Prague to Budapest by sleeper train: 21 for a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, 31 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 72 in a single-bed sleeper, all bookable with a 2nd class pass. More information about the Budapest to Prague sleeper train.
Passholder reservations for Budapest to Prague sleeper berths can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Prague to Budapest by private operator Regiojet (www.regiojet.com): Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Prague Hlavni.
Using a pass on trains to Slovakia
Prague to Bratislava by EuroCity train: Reservation optional, so nothing to pay unless you want a reserved seat for 4. If you want a reserved seat, simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here.
Prague to Poprad Tatry & Kosice by fast tilting SuperCity (SC) trains: Reservation compulsory, 8 reservation fee. Simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD (Czech Railways) website, see the instructions here.
Prague to Bratislava, Poprad Tatry, Kosice & Slovakia by Regiojet train (www.regiojet.com): Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure or go to the Regiojet/Student Agency sales point at Prague Hlavni.
Using a pass on trains to Poland
Prague to Krakow or Prague to Warsaw by daytime EuroCity train: Reservation is compulsory, but only costs around 3.50 per seat. Simply make a normal seat reservation at the CD website, see the instructions here.
Prague to Krakow or Warsaw by EuroNight sleeper train: 13.40 per person in 6-bunk couchette, ?? in 4-bunk couchette, bed in 3-bed sleeper 20, bed in 2-bed sleeper 30, bed in single-bed sleeper 70, bed in 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet ??, bed in single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet 80.
Passholder reservations for the Prague to Krakow/Warsaw sleeper train can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Prague to Krakow by Leo Express (see timetable here): 2nd class passes entitle you to free travel in economy, 1st class passes to free travel in standard plus or business class. Reservation is required but free of charge, you can make passholder reservations in person at their Prague or Ostrava offices or online at leoexpress.com following the advice here. Upgrade to Premium class is not possible.
Denmark
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by DSB = Danish State Railways, www.dsb.dk.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by DSB and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by DSB & its partner railways in those countries such as SJ (Sweden), DB (Germany). Passes also cover local trains run by Arriva.
Passes give free travel on the Φresund trains between Copenhagen, Malmo & Gothenburg.
Other pass benefits
30% discount on Stena Line ferries (including Frederikshavn-Gothenburg)
Help with train times
For train times within Denmark www.dsb.dk.
See international train times & routes from Copenhagen
Using a pass on Danish trains
No reservations necessary and nothing extra to pay on any normal Danish domestic train, including Danish InterCity trains. Just hop on and show your pass. Optional reserved seat on longer-distance trains 3.90 per seat.
Using a pass on trains to Germany
Copenhagen to Hamburg & Berlin by EuroCity train: Reservation is usually optional, but over the last few years it's been made compulsory in the summer months June-September, and it's strongly recommend at all times as these trains get very busy. Reservation fee around 5. You can make a seat reservation online at the German or Danish railways website, following the instructions here.
Using a pass on trains to Sweden
Copenhagen to Malmo & Gothenburg by Oresund Link regional trains: No reservation necessary or even possible, just hop on any train, sit where you like and show your pass when asked.
Copenhagen to Stockholm by SJ's X2000 train: Reservation compulsory, passholder reservation 6.60 in 2nd class, 16 in 1st class.
You can make Copenhagen-Stockholm passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes. You can also make them with no added booking fee at www.sj.se following the instructions below.
Estonia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by Estonian railways = Elron, elron.ee.
Other pass benefits
Special fares on Tallink-Silja Line ferries Helsinki-Tallinn, Stockholm-Tallinn.
Help with train times
For trains within Estonia, see elron.ee.
See international train times & routes from Tallinn.
Using a pass on national trains
Reservations aren't needed, just hop on and show your pass. But prices are incredibly cheap, don't buy a pass for Estonia before checking normal train fares.
Finland
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by VR = Finnish state railways, www.vr.fi.
Other pass benefits
50% discount on Viking Line ferries Stockholm-Helsinki and Stockholm-Turku.
Special fares on Tallink-Silja Line ferries Stockholm-Helsinki, Stockholm-Turku, Helsinki-Tallinn.
30% discount on Finnlines ferries Helsinki-Travemόnde & Helsinki-Rostock (Germany).
Help with train times
For trains within Finland, see www.vr.fi.
See international train times & routes from Helsinki.
Using a pass on Finnish trains
Reservation on InterCity & Pendolino trains is optional, if you want a reserved seat it costs 5 to 10 in 2nd class or 10-15 in 1st class, depending on distance.
Sleeper trains to Lapland: Bed in 2-bed sleeper 40, Bed in 2-bed sleeper with shower & WC 45, bed in single sleeper 100, bed in single sleeper with shower & WC 110.
You can make passholder reservations at the station or by phone by calling www.vr.fi.
France
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on SNCF = French national railways, www.sncf-connect.com/en.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by SNCF and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by SNCF & the partner railways in those countries including Thalys (to Brussels & Amsterdam). TGV-Lyria (to Switzerland), Renfe (Spain), DB (Germany). The Mont-Blanc Express is covered, as it's run by SNCF.
Virtually all major international trains to or from France require reservation, as explained below
What's not covered?
Passes don't cover the Paris metro or RER (express metro) routes run by the Paris urban transit authority RATP, but are valid on a few RER routes run by SNCF.
Passes don't cover Ouigo lo-cost trains. Ouigo is a separate company, even though it's an SNCF subsidiary.
Passes don't cover Trenitalia's Frecciarossas on the Paris-Lyon-Turin/Milan route as Trenitalia France is a separate company (but they cover SNCF TGVs on this route).
Passes don't cover the Nice-Digne private railway.
Other pass benefits
30% discount on Irish Ferries (www.irishferries.com) direct France-Dublin ferries. You cannot book online with this discount, but call them and it can be done over the phone or at the port.
Help with train times
For trains within France see www.raileurope.com.
See international train times & routes from Paris
See international train times & routes from Nice
See international train times & routes from Marseille
See international train times & routes from Lyon
See international train times & routes from Bordeaux
See international train times & routes from Toulouse
See international train times & routes from Montpellier
See international train times & routes from Strasbourg
Using a pass on French trains
In France, you must pay a passholder reservation fee for almost all long-distance trains.
TGV high-speed trains: These run on all major long distance routes, and seat reservation is compulsory. A limited number of 10 passholder reservations is offered on each TGV. When these sell out passholders can reserve any remaining places for a higher 20 reservation fee up to the point where the train is actually full. Passes are not valid on Ouigo budget TGVs, as Ouigo has been set up by SNCF as a separate company.
Intercitιs with compulsory reservation: These run on routes such as Paris-Limoges-Toulouse, Bordeaux-Toulouse-Marseille-Nice. Seat reservation compulsory, passholder reservation fee 10.
Intercitιs de nuit overnight trains within France, for example Paris-Nice, Paris-Toulouse-Latour de Carol: Reclining seat 10, couchette in a 2nd class 6-bunk compartment 21.60, couchette in a 1st class 4-berth compartment (with 1st class pass) 21.60.
Train Nomad: This is a brand name used for mainline trains between Paris & Normandy, such as Paris-Caen-Cherbourg, Paris-Rouen-Le Havre. Seat reservation is compulsory, 10. Confusingly, as they're operated by the Normandy region they are shown as TER in some ticketing systems/timetables.
Regional trains = TER, Trains Express Rιgionaux. Reservation not necessary or even possible, hop on, sit in any empty seat, show your pass when asked.
How to make passholder reservations for France online
You CANNOT make passholder reservations at the French Railways website sncf-connect.com.
Option 1, you can make passholder reservations for French trains online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes. This system can reserve TGVs, Intercitιs & Intercitιs de nuit. You may find they only open reservations 90 days ahead.
Option 2, you can make passholder reservations for TGVs (but not for Intercitιs or Intercitιs de nuit) at travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv, and bookings here open up to 4 months ahead. This website also lets you check availability and prices (is it 10 or 20 on your train?) before you buy a pass, as it doesn't require a pass number to run an enquiry, only to make a reservation. As you can see from the URL, this is a page run by the Belgian Railways, but it's re-badged for the Interrail/Eurail organisation and not accessible via the normal B-europe.com home page. This special page is designed to be accessed via the Interrail/Eurail Railplanner app for in-app reservations, but there's no reason why you can't use it directly on a desktop or laptop if you know the URL to access it (which you do, I just gave it to you!). If it doesn't accept your mobile pass number, simply generate a pass cover number from your mobile pass number using this special page: www.eurail.com/en/book-reservations#/generatePassCoverNumber.
How to make passholder reservations at stations when in France
You can make passholder reservations at staffed counters of course, but it's easier & quicker to use one of the SNCF self-service ticket machines, this not only saves time you can see for yourself which trains have availability. The self-service machines have a touch screen which can be switched to English. If you don't immediately find Eurail/Interrail in the list of passes & discounts, click other (something like that!) and you'll find it hidden away.
Using a pass on trains to Great Britain
Eurostar from Paris, Lille or Calais to London: Eurail & Interrail passes cover Eurostar to London on payment of a passholder reservation fare of 30 in standard class if you have a 2nd class pass or 38 in standard premier if you have a 1st class pass. You can make Eurostar passholder reservations online as explained here.
Using a pass on trains to Belgium, Netherlands
Paris to Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam by Thalys high-speed train: You must pay a passholder reservation fee, 25 to Brussels or 30 to Amsterdam in either class. There's a quota for passholders which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book early! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
To save money or if Thalys trains have no passholder places left: You can avoid using Thalys by taking regional trains Paris-Maubeuge-Charleroi-Brussels as shown here as Paris-Brussels option 2. It takes much longer than Thalys, there's only 1-3 departures per day with 2 changes of train, but no reservations are necessary, no extra to pay, just board the trains and show your pass. You can then take the hourly classic InterCity train from Brussels to Amsterdam.
Direct TGVs from Lyon & other French cities to Brussels: Reservation compulsory, 20 in 2nd class, 30 in 1st class. Passholder reservations can be made online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes.
Using a pass on trains to Luxembourg
Paris-Luxembourg by TGV: Reservation compulsory, 10 fee in both classes.
You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes.
Using a pass on trains to Switzerland
Paris to Switzerland by TGV-Lyria TGV high-speed train: A passholder reservation fee applies, 29 in 2nd class, 39 in 1st class from Paris to Basel, Zurich, Geneva or Lausanne. These new rates apply from 1 July 2023.
The good news is that TGV-Lyria passholder places shouldn't run out as they're taken from the top full-price quota.
You can make passholder reservations for TGV-Lyria using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes.
If you can book 2-3 months ahead, regular advance-purchase tickets start at 29 including reservation, booked at www.thetrainline.com.
How to travel Paris-Switzerland avoiding the TGV-Lyria passholder fee:
Option 1, take a TER regional train from Paris to Mulhouse then a TER regional train from Mulhouse to Basel SBB, no reservation necessary or possible on either train. Find times using www.bahn.de/en, click Types of transport & de-select High-speed trains then run a Paris-Basel enquiry.
Option 2, take a TGV from Paris to Strasbourg (10 or 20 fee) then a TER regional train from Strasbourg to Basel. Find times using www.bahn.de/en, click Stopover and enter Strasbourg, then run a Paris-Basel enquiry. Make the Paris-Strasbourg TGV reservation using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
Option 3, take one of the several Paris-Lyon TER regional trains (no reservation needed, just hop on & show your pass, but they take 5h rather than 2h by TGV) then another TER regional train from Lyon to Geneva (no reservation required, just hop on & show your pass). Find times using www.bahn.de/en, clicking Stopover and entering Lyon Part Dieu and clicking Types of transport and de-selecting High-speed trains, then running a Paris-Geneva enquiry.
Using a pass on trains to Italy
Paris to Turin or Milan by SNCF (French Railways) TGV train
Reservation is compulsory, you must pay a hefty passholder reservation fee, 31 in 2nd class, 45 in 1st class.
You can buy passholder tickets online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes.
Passholder places are controlled by quota, passholder places can run out even when there are plenty of seats left.
If booking well in advance, even if you've already bought a pass, it may be cheaper to buy a normal ticket from just 29 2nd class, 46 in 1st class including reservation at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com. If you haven't already bought a pass, check point-to-point prices online at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com as even a 49 or 59 fare (which includes reservation) is cheaper than a 55-per-day railpass + 31 passholder reservation fee, if thi9s is all you're doing.
Can you avoid these high fees between Paris & Italy?
Not easily, as there are no local trains across the border on the direct Paris-Milan route. But you could consider going Paris-Nice by TGV (10 fee, or 20 when the 10 reservations sell out) then using local trains along the Mediterranean coast from Nice to Ventimiglia then onwards into Italy. Find times from Nice to Italy using www.bahn.de/en, if you want to stick with fee-free regional trains click Types of transport and de-select High-speed trains and Intercity/EuroCity trains. Look for trains marked TER, R & RV.
Paris or Lyon to Turin or Milan by Trenitalia (Italian Railways) Frecciarossa
Passes aren't currently valid on Trenitalia's Paris-Lyon-Turin-Milan Frecciarossas, because it is run when in France by Trenitalia France, a separate company not a signatory to the Interrail & Eurail schemes, even though it is a subsidiary of Trenitalia. But advance-purchase fares for the Frecciarossa start at 29 which is cheaper than the TGV passholder fee, so check normal prices using www.italiarail.com, www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com.
Cannes, Nice, Monaco to Genoa, Milan & Italy via Ventimiglia
The direct Nice-Genoa-Milan Thello trains were discontinued in July 2021, but you can still travel between Nice & Italy using TER regional trains from France to Ventimiglia on the Italian border, then an onward Italian domestic train, see the Nice to Italy by train page. No reservation needed for the French TER trains to Ventimiglia, nor for Italian regional trains from Ventimiglia to Genoa. Normal reservation arrangements & fees apply to Intercity trains from Ventimiglia, see the Italy national trains section below.
Using a pass on trains to Spain
Paris to Barcelona by TGV: Passholder reservation required, a hefty 35 in 1st or 2nd class.
You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, it's now e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you and can be printed or shown on your phone.
How to avoid these expensive reservation fees
Option 1, Toulouse to Latour de Carol to Barcelona: There are no fees to pay or reservations required on the TER regional trains from Toulouse to Latour de Carol or on the Spanish Cercanias train from Latour de Carol through the Pyrenees to Barcelona, see here for details. Just turn up, hop on and show your pass when asked.
Option 2, Perpignan - Cerbθre- Barcelona: Take a TGV from Paris to Perpignan, 10 reservation fee booked in advance or 20 fee when the 10 fees sell out, book this online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. Or travel to Perpignan from Montpelier, Avignon, Marseille, Nice or wherever. Then take a local TER regional train from Perpignan to either Cerbθre or Portbou and a Spanish Rodalies local train along the scenic coast from Cerebθre or Portbou to Barcelona Sants, no reservation necessary for either train. The easiest way to find Perpignan-Barcelona TER/Rodalies times is to use www.bahn.de/en, clicking Stopover and entering Portbou as a via station with duration left as zero, it also helps to click Types of transport and deselect High-speed trains. Then run an enquiry from Perpignan to Barcelona Sants, this will bring up journeys with one change, at either Cerbθre or Portbou, marked TER, R. If this method stops working for any reason, search for Perpignan to Cerbθre or Portbou TER trains using www.bahn.de/en, then check times of the Rodalies trains from Cerbθre or Portbou to Barcelona Sants at rodalies.gencat.cat/en/horaris.
Option 3, via San Sebastian at the northern end of the Pyrenees: Take a TGV from Paris or Bordeaux to Hendaye on the Spanish border, 10 fee in advance or 20 fee when the 10 fees sell out, easily bookable online as shown here. You'll also find fee-free TER regional trains from Bordeaux or Biarritz to Hendaye, no reservation necessary, just hop on and show your pass. Now take the little Euskotren metro from Hendaye to San Sebastian Amara station, this runs every 30 minutes and takes 37 minutes. It's not covered by Interrail or Eurail, but the fare is only 2.50 or so, just buy at Hendaye Euskotren station. Now take a Spanish train from San Sebastian to Madrid, Barcelona or wherever, reservation fee 10, make the reservation at the station. Check times at www.raileurope.com.
Using a pass on trains to Germany
Paris to Stuttgart, Mannheim, Munich or Frankfurt by TGV Duplex or ICE: Reservation is compulsory, passholder fee 18 in both classes. You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. It's e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you within minutes. Passholder places on these trains are quota-controlled, so can sell out.
Paris to Cologne by Thalys high-speed train: You must pay a passholder reservation fee, 30 in either class. There is a quota for passholder places which can sell out even if the train has seats available, so book early! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
Paris to Munich Ost by Nightjet sleeper train: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Austria
By Nightjet sleeper train, Paris to Salzburg & Vienna: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Germany
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on DB = Deutsche Bahn = German Federal Railways, www.bahn.de. That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by DB and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by DB & the partner railways in those countries.
Passes are valid on the S-Bahns in Berlin, Hamburg & other cities as these are run by DB.
Passes are valid on Austrian-run Nightjet trains, with a seat, couchette or sleeper reservation fee.
Passes are valid on many regional trains that have been outsourced to private operators, for a list of German opertaors see this page - please let me know if this link stops working).
What's not covered?
Interrail passes are not valid on privately-run lo-cost Flixtrain, or on the Kulturzug regional train Berlin-Wroclaw.
Interrail passes are not valid on HSB (the Harz Railway)
Help with train times
For train times within Germany see www.bahn.de.
See international train times & routes from Berlin
See international train times & routes from Munich
See international train times & routes from Cologne & Dusseldorf
See international train times & routes from Frankfurt
See international train times & routes from Hamburg
Using a pass on German trains
Using a Eurail or Interrail pass in Germany is easy, as reservation is optional not mandatory on almost all German domestic daytime trains, even on fast InterCity (IC) or high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains. So you can simply hop on any train, find an empty seat and show your pass when asked.
If you want to reserve a seat, simply make a normal seat reservation for 4.50 2nd class or 5.90 1st class using the German Railways website as explained here.
Nightjet sleeper trains Munich to Hamburg, Munich to Cologne & Dusseldorf: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass to Paris & France
Cologne to Paris by Thalys high-speed trains: A passholder reservation fee must be paid, 30 in either class, with passholder places limited by quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book early! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
Frankfurt, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Munich to Paris by TGV or ICE: A passholder reservation fee applies, 18 in both classes. You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service. Passholder places on these trains are also quota-controlled.
Using a pass to Brussels & Belgium
Frankfurt & Cologne to Brussels by high-speed ICE: No fee! Reservation is optional on these ICE trains. You can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve seat for a few euros fee, you can do that using the German Railways website as explained here.
Cologne to Brussels by Thalys high-speed train: A passholder reservation fee must be paid, 25 in either class. Thalys passholder places are controlled by a quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full, so book sooner rather than later or use the ICE instead. You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service. But the easier and cheaper option is to use an ICE!
Berlin to Antwerp & Brussels by European Sleeper overnight train: Not currently covered by Interrail or Eurail, but this could change, watch this space...
Using a pass to Amsterdam & the Netherlands
Berlin or Hanover to Amsterdam by Intercity (IC) train: Reservation is optional, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here.
Frankfurt, Cologne, Dusseldorf or Duisburg to Amsterdam by ICE train: Reservation is normally optional, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here.
Important: From 17 June to 18 August 2023 reservation is compulsory for cross-border journeys on the Amsterdam-Cologne-Frankfurt ICE trains. Try making a reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here. However, it seems they have disabled the ability to make reservation-only bookings on these ICEs during this period. If so, phone NS Customer Support to make your reservation, on +31 30 23 000 23.
By Nightjet sleeper train, Munich to Amsterdam: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Berlin to Amsterdam & Rotterdam by European Sleeper overnight train: Not currently covered by Interrail or Eurail, but this could change, watch this space...
Using a pass to Luxembourg
The regional trains linking Germany to Luxembourg have no seat reservations, you can just hop on, sit in any empty seat & show your pass when asked.
Using a pass to Switzerland
Various InterCity, ICE & EuroCity trains link Germany with Switzerland. Reservation is optional on all these services. You can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here.
Using a pass on trains to Italy
Munich to Verona, Bologna or Venice by EuroCity train: There is a passholder surcharge for travel on these Brenner Pass EuroCity trains, 10 in 2nd class or 15 in 1st class, a reserved seat is optional for an extra 3 per seat. You can either board the train without a reservation, sit in any empty unreserved seat and pay the surcharge on board when the conductor comes round, or make a seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here.
Munich to Rome, Florence, Milan or Venice by Nightjet sleeper train: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 114, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 134. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Austria
Germany to Salzburg or Vienna by EuroCity (EC), Intercity (IC), ICE or railjet: Reservation is optional on this route, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation using the German Railways website as explained here or the Austrian Railways website as explained here, the latter charges slightly less for a seat reservation.
Munich to Salzburg by BRB regional train: No fee, no reservation possible, just hop on and sit anywhere you like.
Munich-Salzburg-Vienna Westbahn trains (6 per day, competing with the normal 2-hourly railjets): Free travel in 2nd class for holders of all classes of pass, reservation optional. If you have a 1st class pass, you can use 2nd class for free or pay a 9.90 for Westbahn first class.
Nightjet sleeper trains from Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin or Hamburg to Innsbruck or Vienna, (per person): Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass to Copenhagen & Denmark
Hamburg to Copenhagen by EuroCity train: Reservation is usually optional, but over the last few years it's been made compulsory in the summer months June-September, and is strongly recommended at all times of year as these trains get very busy. Reservation fee around 5. You can make a normal seat reservation online at the German or Danish Railways website, see the instructions here.
Using a pass to Stockholm & Sweden
Berlin or Hamburg to Malmo or Stockholm by Snδlltεget night train (daily except Saturdays April-November): Reservation required, 19 in a seat, 39 with a couchette. You can make a passholder reservation online at www.snalltaget.se simply by entering the code INTERRAIL in the box marked Promotion code (if you have one).
Hamburg to Stockholm by SJ EuroNight sleeper train (daily all year): Reservation required. You can book passholder places in couchettes or sleepers at the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount to each passenger.
Berlin to Sweden by daytime trains changing in Copenhagen: See the Germany to Denmark & Denmark to Sweden sections.
Using a pass to the Prague & the Czech Republic
Berlin or Dresden to Prague by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional on this route, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using either the German Railways website as explained here or the Czech Railways website as explained here. It can get very busy in summer and on Fridays & Sundays all year so I'd strongly recommend reserving a seat.
Munich to Prague by Munich-Prague express train: Reservation is optional on this route, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked.
Nuremberg or Frankfurt to Prague via Schwandorf or Cheb: You can check times from Germany to Prague via these two useful routes at www.cd.cz, clicking Advanced options, then Travel via and then entering Cheb or Schwandorf in the via box. On ICE & regional trains you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. The same goes for Czech express trains. Occasionally the Cheb-Prague connection is a CD SuperCity (SC) trains, reservation compulsory, 7 fee.
Using a pass to Poland
Berlin to Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk or Gdynia by EuroCity train: Reservation compulsory, 4 in either class.
You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, but in this case the reservation cannot be e-ticketed, it has to be sent to you at extra cost, so it's 4 + 2 booking fee + 9 postage fee. Consider buying at the station, there are usually places available.
Berlin to Stettin by regional train: No reservation needed, just hop on the train.
Using a pass to Hungary
Berlin or Dresden to Budapest by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional on this route, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using either the German Railways website as explained here or the Czech Railways website as explained here. It can get very busy in summer and on Fridays & Sundays all year so I'd strongly recommend reserving a seat.
Berlin to Budapest by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114, all fine with 2nd class pass. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Munich to Budapest by railjet train: Reservation is optional on this route, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website as explained here.
Munich to Budapest by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114, all fine with 2nd class pass. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass to Slovenia & Croatia
Munich to Ljubljana & Zagreb by daytime train: Reservation optional, you can just get on and sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website as explained here.
Munich to Zagreb by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 20, couchette in 4-berth 30, bed in 3-bed sleeper 60, in 2-bed 80, in single-bed 120. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Great Britain
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all 20+ train operators which make up National Rail, www.nationalrail.co.uk, including LNER, Avanti West Coast, Great Western, ScotRail, Transport For Wales Trains, South Western Railways and so on
Passes don't cover Transport for London's London Underground, buses or trams. But they do cover London Overground and the National-Rail-run Elizabeth Line.
Passes do not cover the Heathrow Express.
If you live in the UK, remember the 2-day limit on using an Interrail pass in your home country.
Help with train times
About Eurostar from London to Paris & Brussels
About Eurostar from London to Amsterdam
See train times & routes from London to mainland Europe
Using a pass on British trains
Overnight sleeper trains
There are just two services in Britain where reservation is compulsory for all passengers including passholders (but read the All other trains in Britain paragraph below), namely the Caledonian Sleepers between London & Scotland and GWR's Night Riviera sleeper between London & Cornwall.
To use a sleeper berth between London & Scotland or London & Cornwall you need to pay the sleeper berth supplement, see the Caledonian Sleeper page for prices & how to book a berth online to/from Scotland or the Sleeper to Cornwall page for how to make reservations to or from Cornwall. A seat reservation on these sleeper trains is free, if you're happy with a seat not a bed.
All other trains in Britain
Reservation on all other trains in Britain is either unnecessary (suburban & local trains) or optional (longer-distance trains). You can just get on any train, find any empty unreserved seat and sit in it, showing your pass when asked.
However, several train operators are shown on the official Interrail & Eurail websites as mandatory reservation for Interrail & Eurail passholders even though they are not compulsory-reservation for normal ticket holders. The list used to include a dozen operators, I'm glad to see it's been shortened to just a few:
LNER (London-York-Leeds/Newcastle-Edinburgh & branches), TransPennine Express (Liverpool-Manchester-York/Leeds-Newcastle & branches) and Avanti West Coast (London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Holyhead, Carlisle & Glasgow)
The Man in Seat 61 says: "In fact, as these operators' trains are NOT in reality 'mandatory reservation' at all for normal ticket holders, this is just Rail Delivery Group being over-the-top. Feedback suggests you'll be fine getting on without a reservation, I doubt conductors know or care, they just check your pass and carry on. However, a reserved seat for a long journey is a very good idea, especially on Friday or Sunday afternoons or morning peak periods. I have so far had one correspondent say they travelled around extensively on these operators without making any reservations at all, and the conductors never worried about it - just as I expected. So make a free seat reservation if you can, but don't worry too much about it if you can't." Feedback appreciated.
In fact, the information on travel in Great Britain on www.myinterrail.co.uk - which is managed by National Rail, who ought to know - differs from that on the Interrail & Eurail website, it confirms that no reservations are compulsory on any British domestic train, other than sleepers.
How to make seat reservations online free-of-charge
Do not pay £££ to make seat reservations through an agency or even via the Interrail/Eurail reservation service. There's now a well-hidden way to make stand-alone seat reservations for free to go with an Interrail or Eurail pass:
Go to www.gwr.com and register for an account. Sign in & click My account. Then click Bookings. Then click the Make a seat/bike reservation box.
Run an enquiry and select a train. It will look as if you need to select a fare, select any fare in the right class, it doesn't matter which, continue and make the reservation. It says you won't be charged and indeed you'll get the free stand-alone seat reservation without needing to enter any payment details.
Even though it's GWR, this works for any train/route/operator where seat reservations are available including LNER, Avanti, Cross-Country, TransPennine & GWR. Please let me know if this process changes, or ceases to work.
Tip for seat reservations on LNER trains: If you want a seat reservation on an LNER train (for example, between London & York, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh) you can also use www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/make-a-reservation to make a free seat reservation to go with a pass, up to 5 minutes before the train leaves its starting station. The advantage over using gwr.com is that you can choose an exact seat from a seating plan on LNER trains if you make a reservation this way. You'll need to register for an LNER account during the process, but no payment is necessary, it's free just like gwr.com. However, gwr.com can reserve seats on any operator, this LNER system can only make reservations on LNER trains.
In person: Simply ask at any staffed station any time up to about 2h before departure, or ideally the day before. There are always places available, even on the day.
Using a pass on Eurostar to Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam
Eurostar to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam: Eurostar can be used from London, Ebbsfleet or Ashford to Lille, Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam if you pay a special passholder fare of 30 in standard class or (if you have a 1st class pass) 38 in standard premier. You can buy Eurostar passholder tickets online as explained here.
Greece
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on Hellenic Train (Greek national railways, www.hellenictrain.gr, formerly TrainOSE). That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by Hellenic Train and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from North Macedonia, Serbia & Bulgaria run by Hellenic Train & the partner railways SZ (Serbia), MK (North Macedonia) & BDZ (Bulgaria), if and when running.
Help with train times
See train times & routes from Athens
Using a pass on Greek trains
InterCity trains including most Athens -Thessaloniki trains: Reservation compulsory, it's free. Cannot be done online, just make a reservation at any main station, there are usually places available on most trains even on the day.
Using a pass on international trains
The supplement for a couchette on the Thessaloniki-Belgrade train (if and when running) is around 8.
Using a pass on the ferries to Italy
Eurail & Interrail passes give 'free passage' on Blue Star & Superfast (Attica Group) Bari-Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Patras, Ancona-Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Patras.
You still have to pay port taxes (7), fuel surcharge (20 to Bari, 40 to Ancona) & high season supplement, 15 in June or September, 25 in July & August.
2nd class passes give a free 'deck passage' which means a place on the ferry but with no specific seat or berth. You can use the seating in the lounge and there's space under cover on deck to use a sleeping-bag if you have one, many backpackers do this. 1st class passes give free passage with an aircraft-style reclining seat.
You can pay extra for a cabin, this starts at 140+ per cabin for a private room with shower & toilet for up to 4 people. There's no discount on the cabin.
Book the ferry online at www.superfast.com, adding a reclining seat or cabin if you like. Pre-booking is recommended in summer as the route gets busy.
Important tip: To book the ferry with Interrail/Eurail discount, select passenger type Adult (26-59) for all passengers with a railpass, regardless of their actual age, then in the Discount box select Eurail or Interrail global pass. You must select Adult because if you select passenger types Child, Juvenile (under 26) or Senior, the Interrail & Eurail pass options don't appear (and price-wise it doesn't matter as the basic fare is 0 anyway). You will then find that this prevents you from entering the correct birth year for children, youths or seniors, so just enter the right date with the wrong year and complete the booking. Then email the Superfast Help Desk (their email address is at the bottom of the booking pages) with the correct date(s) of birth. This is the booking advice provided by Superfast Help Desk themselves.
Eurail & Interrail passes give a 20% discount on Minoan Lines Venice-Igoumenitsa-Patras.
Hungary
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on MAV = Hungarian State Railways, www.mav-start.hu. That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by MAV and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by MAV & the national railways in those countries.
They also cover GySev, a private operator of regional trains in part of Hungary, www.gysev.hu.
Passes also cover private operator Regiojet, who run a handful of Budapest-Vienna-Prague trains in competition with the national operators.
Help with train times
For train times within Hungary, see www.mav-start.hu.
See international train times & routes from Budapest
Using a pass on Hungarian trains
No supplement to pay for travel on local or regional trains.
Reservation for domestic journeys on InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC) & railjet (RJ or RJX) trains is compulsory in Hungary, 0.750 to 2.50 fee per seat. This is a normal seat reservation as for any ticket holder.
You can make a seat reservation online without any booking fee using the MAV app or at the MAV website jegy.mav.hu. You do this by clicking Passengers and discounts and adding the discount International pass Global price to each passenger. This gives 100% discount on the fare, leaving just the reservation fee.
Using a pass on international trains
Budapest to Vienna by EuroCity, InterCity or railjet trains: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways website, see the instructions here. More information about Budapest to Vienna trains.
Budapest to Salzburg, Innsbruck or Munich by railjet train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways site, see the instructions here.
Budapest to Berlin by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on the train, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for around 4.50 at the German Railways site, see the instructions here.
Budapest to Prague by EuroCity train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Czech Railways site, see the instructions here. More information about Budapest to Prague trains.
Budapest to Prague by sleeper train: 21 for a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, 31 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 72 in a single-bed sleeper, all bookable with a 2nd class pass. More information about the Budapest to Prague sleeper train.
Passholder reservations for Budapest to Prague sleeper berths can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Budapest to Munich, Berlin or Zurich by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114, all can be used with 2nd class pass. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Budapest to Krakow or Warsaw by sleeper train: 17 for a couchette in a 6-bunk couchette, 32 for a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, 44 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 83 in a single-bed sleeper, all bookable with a 2nd class pass. Make the reservation at the station, phone an agency, or use the Interrail/Eurail reservation service (hard copy tickets must be posted to you)
Budapest to Bucharest by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-bunk compartment 13.40, 4-bunk couchette 20, berth in 3-berth sleeper 28, berth in 2-berth sleeper 42. Bed in single-bed sleeper (requires 1st class pass) 98. Make the reservation at the station, phone an agency, or use the Interrail/Eurail reservation service (hard copy tickets must be posted to you).
Budapest to Bucharest & Romania by daytime train: Reservation optional, if you want a reserved seat it costs 3. Make the reservation at the station, phone an agency, or use the Interrail/Eurail reservation service (hard copy tickets must be posted to you).
Budapest to Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade on the direct trains: Seat reservations are optional, you can hop on any train, sit in any empty unreserved seat and show your pass when asked.
Regiojet trains from Budapest to Vienna & Prague (www.regiojet.com): Seat reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (only if you have a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Alternatively, approach staff on the train before departure. More information about Budapest to Vienna trains. More information about Budapest to Prague trains.
Ireland
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on IE = Iarnrod Eireann, Irish republic railways, www.irishrail.ie.
Other pass benefits
30% discount on Stena Line (www.stenaline.co.uk) Ireland-UK ferries (Dublin-Holyhead, Rosslare-Fishguard, Belfast-Cairnryan)
30% discount on Irish Ferries (www.irishferries.com) Ireland-UK & Ireland-France ferries (Dublin-Holyhead, Rosslare to Cherbourg & Roscoff, Rosslare to Pembroke). You cannot book online with this discount, but call them and it can be done over the phone or at the port.
Using a pass on Irish trains
No supplement to pay on any internal trains. Seat reservation is never mandatory on any Irish train, you can just hop on and show your pass when asked. For train times see www.irishrail.ie.
Using a pass on international trains
No supplement on the Enterprise Dublin-Belfast trains.
Italy
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on Trenitalia = Italian State Railways, www.trenitalia.com.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by Trenitalia and (if you've a global pass) most international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by Trenitalia & its partner railways in those countries. It also includes trains between Fiumicino airport and Rome.
Passes give unlimited travel on the Milan-Turin-Paris TGVs run by SNCF French Railways, for a fee.
Passes give unlimited travel on Trenord, a consortium of Trenitalia & LeNord which runs regional trains north of Milan including Milan-Tirano, www.trenord.it. However, Lecco-Piona trains and Milan-Malpensa airport Trenord trains aren't covered.
What's not covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover Italo high-speed trains run by private operator NTV Turin/Milan/Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples in competition with Trenitalia.
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover Trenitalia's international Frecciarossa train between Paris, Lyon, Turin & Milan, because whilst in France it is run by Trenitalia France which is a separate company and not a signatory to the Interrail/Eurail scheme, even though it's a Trenitalia subsidiary. You can use it (with a fee) on the competing French Railways TGV between Paris & Turin/Milan instead.
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover the Circumvesuviana Railway Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento, although this is very cheap anyway.
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover the train route run by SAD between Fortezza and San Candido (connecting for Lienz & Austria).
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover trains between Malpensa airport and Milan.
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover the Ferrovia Circumetnea local trains in the mount Etna area.
Eurail & Interrail passes don't cover Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) local trains in the Bari & Lecce area, even though it's now a Trenitalia subsidiary.
Help with train times
For train times within Italy use www.trenitalia.com.
See international train times & routes from Rome
See international train times & routes from Florence
See international train times & routes from Venice
See international train times & routes from Milan
See international train times & routes from Naples
See international train times & routes from Pisa
See international train times & routes from Cinque Terre
Using a pass on Italian trains
Regional trains: Reservations are not required and not even possible on regional trains (Regionale & Regionale Veloce, marked R & RV). You simply get on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked.
However, passholders must pay a passholder reservation fee for almost all high-speed & long-distance trains:
High-speed trains (Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca): A 13 passholder reservation fee applies to all Frecciarossa, Frecciargento & Frecciabianca trains linking Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice, Verona, Turin. It's per trip, so two connecting trains = 2 x 13.
InterCity trains: A 3 passholder reservation fee applies.
Sleeper trains within Italy, including those to Sicily: With any class of pass (1st or 2nd), a couchette in 4-berth costs 41, bed in 3-bed sleeper 48, bed in 2-bed double sleeper 58, single bed sleeper 122. All per person per bed. Passes cannot be used in Excelsior sleepers, only in the regular sleepers branded Deluxe.
Tip: If booking a couchette or sleeper in Italy, first check point-to-point fares at www.trenitalia.com. For example, I've just found a sleeper from Milan to Bari in 6 weeks time for 80.90 (limited-availability super-economy fare with single-bed sleeper included), which is cheaper than paying 122 passholder supplement for a single sleeper. Even if you had already bought a pass, it would be cheaper not to use it! But as fares are dynamic, it depends what fares you see on your date.
How to make passholder reservations for trains within Italy
You CANNOT make passholder reservations at Trenitalia.com.
Option 1, strange as it may seem, the best place to make passholder reservations online for Italian daytime trains is at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at.
This is the cheapest option because you pay no booking fee, just the reservation fee. It works for Italian high-speed & InterCity trains, but not for sleepers or couchettes on night trains.
Go to Austrian Railways www.oebb.at and set up an enquiry for the Italian journey you want, for example from Rome to Florence.
Where it says 1 x adult, click change.
Now click Add discount and run a search for Interrail or Eurail. Select Interrail / Eurail - Globalpass and confirm.
Now run the enquiry, clicking the Find services button then the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
You should see 13 passholder reservations on high-speed trains and 3 reservations on Intercity trains.
If it says Ticket not available, you may have used the Reservation only no ticket link to run the enquiry, you must use the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
Go ahead and buy! You print out your reservation. Do let me know if this method stops working.
Option 2, you can make passholder reservations for Italian high-speed & InterCity trains online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes. There's a 2 booking fee in addition to the cost of the reservation.
The Eurail/Interrail reservations service can also make reservations for sleepers & couchettes on InterCity Notte trains, but there's a problem. If you have a 2nd class pass it only offers couchettes, even though you're entitled to book single or double sleepers with a 2nd class pass. So if you have a 2nd class pass and want to book a single or double sleeper, use option 3 below.
Option 3, to book couchettes or sleepers on InterCity Notte trains, email andy@railtravelcentre.com, the same expert that runs www.discoverbyrail.com. He can arrange passholder bookings for Italian sleeper trains including single or double sleepers whatever class of pass you have. Tickets can be posted to you or he can email the booking reference which is in fact all you need.
Option 4, you can make passholder reservations at stations of course, but you'll need to use the staffed counter, not the self-service machines.
Using a pass to Switzerland
Venice & Milan to Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Bern, Luzern etc. by fast direct EuroCity train: A passholder reservation fee applies, 11 in 2nd class, 13 in 1st class.
Option 1, strange as it may seem, you can make passholder reservations for these Italy-Switzerland EuroCity trains at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at.
This is the cheapest option because you pay no booking fee, just the reservation fee.
Go to Austrian Railways www.oebb.at and set up an enquiry for the Italian journey you want, for example from Milan to Zurich or Geneva.
Where it says 1 x adult, click change.
Now click Add discount and run a search for Interrail or Eurail. Select Interrail / Eurail - Globalpass and confirm.
Now run the enquiry, clicking the Find services button then the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
You should see 11/13 passholder reservations the direct EC trains.
If it says Ticket not available, you may have used the Reservation only no ticket link to run the enquiry, you must use the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
Go ahead and buy! You print out your reservation. Do let me know if this method stops working.
Option 2, you can also make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes.
Milan or Varenna to Tirano, St Moritz, Chur & Zurich via the amazingly scenic Bernina route: No reservation is needed on the two-hourly Italian regional trains from Milan Centrale to Tirano, just hop on and show your pass. No reservation needed on the hourly Swiss local trains from Tirano to St Moritz or on the connecting Swiss trains to Chur & Zurich. Only if you choose to use the special Tirano-Chur Bernina Express panoramic tourist train is a seat reservation compulsory, this can be made online as shown here.
Using a pass to Paris, Nice & France
To Paris by Milan-Turin-Paris TGV
A passholder reservation fee must be paid, a hefty 31 in 2nd class, 45 in 1st class. You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes.
Passholder places are quota-controlled, so can run out even if the train has plenty of seats left. If booking well in advance it may be cheaper to buy a normal ticket, as these start at just 29 2nd class, 46 in 1st class including reservation if you pre-book at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com.
To Paris or Lyon by Milan-Turin-Lyon-Paris Frecciarossa
Passes aren't currently valid on Trenitalia's Milan-Paris Frecciarossas, because when in France they are run by Trenitalia France which is not a signatory to the Interrail & Eurail schemes, even though it is a subsidiary of Trenitalia. But advance-purchase fares for the Frecciarossa can be cheaper than the TGV passholder fee, so check normal prices using www.italiarail.com, www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com.
To Monaco, Nice & Cannes via Ventimiglia
The direct Milan-Genoa-Nice Thello trains were discontinued in July 2021, but you can still travel between Italy & Nice using Italian domestic trains to Ventimiglia on the French border, then French domestic TER local trains from Ventimiglia to Monte Carlo, Nice & Cannes, see the Nice to Italy by train page. Normal reservation arrangements & fees apply to Trenitalia's Intercity & Frecciabianca trains from Milan & Genoa to Ventimiglia, see the Italy national trains section below. No reservation is needed for the French TER trains from Ventimiglia to Nice, nor if you use an Italian regional train from Genoa to Ventimiglia.
Using a pass to Austria & Germany
Venice, Bologna, Verona to Innsbruck & Munich by EuroCity train (the Brenner route): There is a passholder surcharge for travel on these Brenner Pass EuroCity trains, 10 in 2nd class or 15 in 1st class, a reserved seat is optional for an extra 3 or so per seat. You can either board the train without a reservation, sit in any empty unreserved seat and pay the surcharge on board when the conductor comes round, or make a seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here.
Venice to Villach & Vienna by railjet train: There is a passholder surcharge for travel on these Venice-Vienna railjet trains, 10 in 2nd class or 15 in 1st class, a reserved seat is optional for an extra 3 per seat. You can either board the train without a reservation, sit in any empty unreserved seat and pay the surcharge on board when the conductor comes round, or make a seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here. See the railjet & scenery photos & information on the Vienna to Venice page.
Milan to Frankfurt by direct EuroCity train: Reservation compulsory for journeys from Italy, a passholder reservation is 11 in 2nd class, 13 in 1st class for passholders. You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes.
Trieste to Vienna by EuroCity train (via Slovenia): There is a small passholder surcharge for travel on the part within Italy, 2.60. Make an optional seat reservation & pay the surcharge online at the Austrian Railways website by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount exactly as for Nightjet sleeper trains as explained here.
Nightjet sleeper trains: Rome, Florence, Milan or Venice to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna by Nightjet sleeper train. Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 124, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 144. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on the ferries to Greece
Eurail & Interrail passes give 'free passage' on Blue Star & Superfast (Attica Group) Bari-Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Patras, Ancona-Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Patras.
You still have to pay port taxes (7), fuel surcharge (20 from Bari, 40 from Ancona) & high season supplement, 15 in June or September, 25 in July & August.
2nd class passes give a free 'deck passage' which means a place on the ferry but with no specific seat or berth. You can use the seating in the lounge and there's space under cover on deck to use a sleeping-bag if you have one, many backpackers do this. 1st class passes give free passage with an aircraft-style reclining seat.
You can pay extra for a cabin, this starts at 140+ per cabin for a private room with shower & toilet for up to 4 people. There's no discount on the cabin.
Book the ferry online at www.superfast.com, adding a reclining seat or cabin if you like. Pre-booking is recommended in summer as the route gets busy.
Important tip: To book the ferry with Interrail/Eurail discount, select passenger type Adult (26-59) for all passengers with a railpass, regardless of their actual age, then in the Discount box select Eurail or Interrail global pass. You must select Adult because if you select passenger types Child, Juvenile (under 26) or Senior, the Interrail & Eurail pass options don't appear (and price-wise it doesn't matter as the basic fare is 0 anyway). You will then find that this prevents you from entering the correct birth year for children, youths or seniors, so just enter the right date with the wrong year and complete the booking. Then email the Superfast Help Desk (their email address is at the bottom of the booking pages) with the correct date(s) of birth. This is the booking advice provided by Superfast Help Desk themselves.
Latvia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by Latvian railways, www.pv.lv.
Other pass benefits
Special fares on Tallink-Silja Line ferries Stockholm-Riga.
Help with train times
For trains within Latvia, see www.pv.lv.
See international train & ferry times & routes from Riga.
Using a pass on national trains
Reservations aren't needed, just hop on and show your pass. But prices are incredibly cheap, don't buy a pass for Latvia before checking normal train fares.
Lithuania
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on LG = Lithuanian Railways, ltglink.lt.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Vilnius
Using a pass on national trains
Reservations aren't needed, just hop on and show your pass. But prices are incredibly cheap, don't buy a pass for Lithuania before checking normal train fares.
Using a pass on international trains
Not valid on trains to Belarus or Russia.
Good for the train from Kaunas to Bialystok in Poland.
Luxembourg
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on CFL = Luxembourg State Railways, www.cfl.lu.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by CFL and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by CFL & the partner railways in those countries, including for example the French Railways TGVs to Paris, the regular Intercity trains to Brussels, regional trains to Strasbourg.
Other pass benefits
A Eurail or Interrail pass gives free travel on buses run by CFL.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Luxembourg
Using a pass on national trains
Reservation is neither necessary nor possible on Luxembourg domestic trains, just hop on and sit in any empty seat.
Using a pass on international trains
To Brussels or Amsterdam by intercity or regional trains: Reservation neither necessary nor possible, hop on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked.
To Paris by TGV: A passholder reservation fee applies, 10 in either class.
To Trier & Germany by regional train: Reservation neither necessary nor possible, hop on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked.
Montenegro
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on all trains run by ZCG (Railways of Montenegro, www.zcg-prevoz.me).
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by ZCG and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Serbia run by ZCG & partner SZ (Serbian Railways).
Using a pass on national & international trains
A small supplement must be paid on domestic express trains including the international trains to & from Belgrade, but not on purely local trains.
Bar or Podgorica to Belgrade by sleeper train: Couchette supplement 6 in a 6-berth or 14 in a 4-berth. Sleeper supplement 15 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 20 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 40 for a single-bed sleeper, all bookable with 2nd class pass.
Netherlands
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on NS = Nederlandse Spoorwegen = Dutch national railways, www.ns.nl.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by NS and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by NS & its partner railways, including Thalys to Brussels & Paris, the hourly InterCity trains to Brussels run in conjunction with SNCB (Belgian Railways), and the DB (German Railways) trains to Germany.
A pass gives free travel on the following private local train operators who now run trains on lines that were part of the NS network: Arriva (Blauwnet), Connexxion (Breng), Keolis (Blauwnet), Qbuzz (R-Net) and (on cross-border routes to/from Germany) DB Regio & Keolis Deutschland (EuroBahn).
Passes do not cover the RET metro between Hoek van Holland, Schiedam & Rotterdam, so buy a normal metro ticket for around 4.
Tip: Making European seat reservations at stations when in the Netherlands. NS International (Dutch Railways international sales division) charge a fee for making seat reservations at their staffed sales centres at Amsterdam Centraal, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Arnhem etc., in addition to the cost of the reservation: 1.50 per reservation to Belgium or Germany, a whopping 7.50 for reservations to or within all other countries. So make reservations online if you can, or wait until you can get to a ticket office in Germany to make future reservations for other European routes.
Help with train times
For train times within the Netherlands use www.ns.nl.
See international train times & routes from Amsterdam
Using a pass on Dutch trains
Using a railpass within the Netherlands is easy, as reservation is not necessary or even possible on Dutch domestic trains. You can simply hop on any train, find an empty seat and show your pass when asked. That goes for the German InterCity & ICE trains too.
If you have a Eurail or Interrail pass, there is a small 2.70 supplement to pay to make Dutch domestic journeys on the Intercity Direct (ICD) trains between Amsterdam or Schiphol & Rotterdam via the high-speed line. You can pay this at the station (it's sold by ticket machines or the ticket office) or online at Dutch Railways website www.ns.nl.
You can avoid this fee if you use slower trains via the original (non-high-speed) line through Den Haag.
You should avoid making Dutch domestic journeys such as Amsterdam to Rotterdam on the international high-speed Thalys trains, as a reservation is required and a hefty fee payable by passholders. Simply use the alternative Dutch InterCity trains instead!
Using a pass on trains to Austria
By Nightjet sleeper train, Amsterdam to Vienna: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Using a pass on trains to Brussels & Belgium
(1) Using Thalys trains Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp-Brussels: A passholder reservation fee is charged for the high-speed Thalys trains, 20 in either class. Passholder places are limited by a quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book sooner rather than later! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service. You can avoid the need to pay for a reservation by using the slower InterCity trains instead.
(2) Using the slower hourly InterCity trains Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp-Brussels: No fee! Nothing to pay, no reservation needed (or even possible) if you use the slower hourly InterCity trains from Amsterdam & Rotterdam to Antwerp & Brussels, although these take just 3 hours rather than 2 hours. Just get on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. You can check times at www.b-europe.com (Tip: Select Direct trains only and look for trains marked IC).
Incidentally, there is definitely no need to pay the Dutch 2.70 high-speed Intercity Direct supplement when making an international journey from Amsterdam to Belgium on these IC Direct trains, whatever the Railplanner app may say. The 2.70 supplement definitely only applies when making a Dutch domestic journey such as from Amsterdam to Rotterdam or Breda.
Using a pass on trains to Paris & France
A passholder reservation fee applies to the high-speed Thalys trains, 30 in both classes. Passholder places on Thalys are limited by a quota which can sell out even if the train isn't full - so book sooner rather than later! You can make Thalys passholder reservations online at either b-europe.com as explained here or using the official Eurail/Interrail reservations service.
Using a pass on trains to Berlin, Cologne & Germany
Amsterdam to Osnabruck, Hanover & Berlin on Intercity (IC) trains: Reservation optional, you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website, as explained here.
Amsterdam to Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne & Frankfurt on ICE trains: Reservation is usually optional, you can normally just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website, as explained here. Important: From 17 June to 18 August 2023 reservation is compulsory for cross-border journeys on these Amsterdam-Cologne-Frankfurt ICE trains. Try making a reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here. However, it seems they have disabled the ability to make reservation-only bookings on these ICEs during this period. If so, phone NS Customer Support to make your reservation, on +31 30 23 000 23.
Amsterdam to Munich by Nightjet sleeper train: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Amsterdam or Rotterdam to Berlin by European Sleeper overnight train: Not covered by Interrail or Eurail, but this could change, watch this space...
Using a pass on trains to Switzerland
By Nightjet sleeper train, Amsterdam to Basel or Zurich: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
By ICE: Seat reservation is normally optional on the ICE train from Amsterdam to Basel. You can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website, as explained here. However, from 17 June to 18 August 2023 reservation is compulsory for cross-border journeys on these ICE trains, make a reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here.
North Macedonia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on MK = Macedonian Railways mzt.mk.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by MK and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Greece & Serbia run by MK, OSE (Greece) and SZ (Serbia).
At the time I write this all trains linking Greece, Skopje & Serbia are cancelled.
Norway
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on mainline trains operated by the 3 national operators www.vy.no, go-aheadnordic.no & www.sj.no.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Sweden run by Vy or SJ (Swedish railways).
Other pass benefits
50% discount on many regional bus services
30% discount on the Flεm Railway.
Help with train times
For train times within Norway use www.vy.no or www.entur.no.
See international train times & routes from Oslo
Using a pass on Norwegian trains
Reservation is now compulsory on Norwegian long-distance trains with all 3 operators.
2nd class passholders must pay NOK 50 (around 5) per reservation on each train. They can upgrade to Komfort (1st) class for 200-300 NOK, the upgrade cost varies between operators. You can make reservations either:
- at a station in Norway with staffed ticket counter (Oslo Sentral, Oslo Airport, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim);
- on trains run by Vy, by using the chat function at bottom right on the Vy website, www.vy.no. This is easy, they email you a payment link.
- by phone to Vy on +47 61 27 90 88 or +47 61 05 19 10 (no booking fee, the reservation is emailed to you);
- with an added booking fee at www.acprail.com.
1st class passholders can get seat reservations free of charge for travel in Komfort (1st) class using one of these methods:
- at a station in Norway with staffed ticket counter (Oslo Sentral, Oslo Airport, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim)
- by phone to Vy on +47 61 27 90 88 or +47 61 05 19 10 (no booking fee, the reservation is emailed to you);
- for any Norwegian train, using the chat function on www.entur.no. The reservation is emailed to you.
- on trains run by Vy, by using the chat function at bottom right on the Vy website, www.vy.no. The reservation is emailed to you.
Sleeper trains within Norway: Around NOK 1000 (97) for a private sleeper with 1 or 2 beds, per compartment. Book early, sleepers are in high demand.
Using a pass on international trains
Oslo to Stockholm by Intercity train: Reservation compulsory, 6.60 in 2nd class, 16 in 1st class. You can make passholder reservations online at the Swedish Railways site www.sj.se following the instructions below. You can also make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service,
Oslo to Gothenburg by Norwegian train: Reservation optional, 5.40 if you want a reserved seat. If you have a 1st class pass you can get a reserved seat in NSB Komfort (= 1st class) for free if you make the reservation an any Norwegian station.
Poland
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on PKP InterCity = Polish Railways long distance division, www.intercity.pl.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by PKP InterCity and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by PKP InterCity & its partner railways in those countries.
Passes also give unlimited travel on:
PKP Przewozy Regionalne = Polish Railways regional trains, rozklad-pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en.
Koleje Dolnośląskie = some local trains around Wroclaw in lower Silesia.
Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM) = some regional trains around Gdynia.
Interrail passes are not valid on:
Kulturzug regional train Berlin-Wroclaw.
Koleje Mazowieckie = some local trains around Warsaw.
Koleje Śląskie = some local trains in Silesia.
Koleje Wielkopolskie = some local trains around Poznan.
Arriva = a few privatised regional trains around Bydgoszcz/Torun/Gdansk.
The international trains to Ukraine, Belarus, Russia.
Russian international sleeper trains passing through Poland towards Berlin & Paris.
Help with train times
For train times within Poland use www.intercity.pl.
See international train times & routes from Warsaw
See international train times & routes from Krakow
Using a pass on Polish trains
No reservation is necessary or possible for local or regional trains, just get on and show your pass.
EIP (Express InterCity Premium) trains, operated by fast pendolino trains: Reservation compulsory, 10 supplement + free reservation if made at a station in Poland, 10 supplement + 0.25 reservation if made online, or 10 supplement + 3.50 reservation if made outside Poland.
Express InterCity (EIC), InterCity (IC), Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK) & most EuroCity (EC) trains: Reservation compulsory*, free if made at a station in Poland, 0.25 if made online, 3.50 if made at a station outside Poland.
* In fact, some IC & TLK trains are not reservation compulsory, but it's hard to identify these. As a seat reservation is recommended in any case and only 0.25 booked online or free at the station, it's best to treat all PKP Intercity trains as compulsory reservation. However, if you want to see if a particular train can in fact be used without a reservation, go to portalpasazera.pl/en, run an enquiry, find the train in question, click Connection details, then click the 'i' symbol below the departure station to bring up train facilities. In the list of facilities it will either say obligatory reservation or seat booking. If it says seat booking reservation is optional, not compulsory.
Sleeper trains within Poland: Couchette in 6-berth compartment 14, couchette in 4-berth compartment 16, bed in 3-bed sleeper 18.50, bed in 2-bed sleeper 37, single-bed sleeper 70, all fine with 2nd class pass. Cannot be booked online, only at stations.
How to make seat reservations online for Polish trains
You can reserve seats online for trains wholly within Poland using the PKP Intercity website intercity.pl, following the instructions here.
Booking opens 30 days ahead, you can't book before then! It cannot reserve couchettes or sleepers, or reserve seats on international trains, but it will usually happily make passholder reservations for Polish domestic journeys.
Made online, a seat reservation costs 1 zloty (0.25) on a EIC, IC or TLK train or 43 zlotys (10) on an EIP train, with no booking fee. On an EIP train, you can choose your seat from a seat map if you reserve this way.
To reserve couchettes or sleepers on Polish night trains, go to the station or contact reliable booking agency www.polrail.com.
Using a pass to Berlin & Germany
Warsaw, Poznan, Gdynia or Gdansk to Berlin by Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity train: Reservation compulsory, fee 4 in either class.
You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, but in this case the reservation cannot be e-ticketed, it has to be sent to you at extra cost, so it's 4 + 2 booking fee + 9 postage fee. You can also try asking www.polrail.com to book it for you with ticket collection in Warsaw or Krakow. Or simply book at the station, there are usually places available.
Using a pass to Vienna & Austria
Warsaw or Krakow to Vienna by EuroCity train: Reservation is compulsory, seat reservation fee 3. This is just a normal seat reservation like any other passenger with a pre-existing ticket would make, you can make a reservation online at the ΦBB website for 3, see the instructions here.
Warsaw or Krakow to Vienna by EuroNight sleeper train: 29 for a couchette in 6-berth, 39 for a couchette in 4-berth, 44 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 59 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 119 for a bed in a single-bed sleeper, 79 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, 139 for a bed in a single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet (all fine with 2nd class pass). You can make a reservation online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions here.
Using a pass to Prague, Bratislava or Budapest
Warsaw or Krakow to Prague, Bratislava or Budapest by EuroCity train: Reservation required, 3.50. This cannot be done online, make it at the station, there are almost always places available.
Warsaw or Krakow to Bratislava or Budapest by EuroNight sleeper train: 17 for a couchette in a 6-bunk couchette, 32 for a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, 44 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 83 in a single-bed sleeper, 55 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, 93 in a single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, all bookable with a 2nd class pass. This cannot be booked online, ask www.polrail.com to do it for you with ticket collection in Warsaw or Krakow, or use the Eurail/Interrail reservations service (a hard copy ticket must be posted to you at extra cost).
Warsaw or Krakow to Prague by EuroNight sleeper train: 13.40 per person in 6-bunk couchette, ?? in 4-bunk couchette, bed in 3-bed sleeper 20, bed in 2-bed sleeper 30, bed in single-bed sleeper 70, bed in 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet ??, bed in single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet 80.
Passholder reservations for the Warsaw/Krakow to Prague sleeper train can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Krakow to Prague by Leo Express, see timetable here: 2nd class passes entitle you to free travel in economy class, 1st class passes in standard plus or business class. Reservation is required, but it's free of charge, you can make passholder reservations in person at their Prague or Ostrava offices or online at leoexpress.com following the advice here. Upgrade to Premium class is not possible.
Portugal
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on CP = Portuguese national railways, www.cp.pt.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by CP and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Spain and the French border run by CP & its partner Renfe (Spanish railways).
Help with train times
For train times within Portugal see www.cp.pt.
See international train times & routes from Lisbon
See international train times & routes from Porto
See international train times & routes from Faro & the Algarve
Using a pass on Portuguese trains
No supplement to pay on local or InterRegional trains.
InterCity trains, for example Lisbon - Faro: Reservation required, 5.
Alfa Pendular fast tilting trains, for example Lisbon - Porto: Reservation required, 5.
Reservations for Portuguese trains can't be made from outside Portugal, so just make them at any main station when you get there, there are almost always places available.
Using a pass on international trains
Lisbon to Madrid: See here for Lisbon-Madrid timetable & journey details, then see here for reservation requirements & how to book.
Porto-Vigo by express regional train: You must ask for a seat reservation at the station before boarding, free of charge.
Romania
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on CFR = Romanian National Railways, www.cfrcalatori.ro.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by CFR and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries jointly run by CFR & the national railways in those countries.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Bucharest
Using a pass on Romanian trains
InterCity (IC) & InterRegio (IR) trains: Seat reservation compulsory, fee around 1. This is just a normal seat reservation, as for any ticket holder.
Using a pass on international trains
Reservation is compulsory on all international trains from Romania.
Bucharest or Brasov to Budapest on daytime train:
Reservation optional, if you want a reserved seat it costs 3, a normal seat reservation as for any ticket holder. Reservations cannot be made online, make this at the international ticket office in Bucharest.
Bucharest or Brasov to Budapest by sleeper train:
Reservation required, couchette in 6-bunk compartment 13.40, couchette in 4-bunk couchette 20, berth in 3-berth sleeper 28, berth in 2-berth sleeper 42. Bed in single-bed sleeper (requires 1st class pass) 98.
You can make Bucharest-Budapest passholder reservations for sleepers or couchette using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, but in this case the reservation cannot be e-ticketed, it has to be posted to you at extra cost.
However, you can make a Bucharest-Budapest sleeper or couchette reservation on the Dacia Express (but not other trains) online at the ΦBB (Austrian Railways) website following the instructions for using oebb.at below and can print out the reservation.
Bucharest, Brasov or Sighisoara to Vienna by sleeper train Dacia Express:
Reservation required, couchette in 6-bunk compartment 13.40, couchette in 4-bunk couchette 20, berth in 3-berth sleeper 28, berth in 2-berth sleeper 42. Bed in single-bed sleeper (requires 1st class pass) 98.
You can make passholder reservations for sleepers & couchettes on the Dacia Express at the ΦBB (Austrian Railways) website following the instructions for using oebb.at below and can print out the reservation.
Bucharest to Istanbul by sleeper train (runs direct in summer only):
14 supplement for a couchette in 4-berth compartment.
Serbia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on ZS = Serbian Railways, www.serbianrailways.com.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by ZS and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run jointly by ZS & the national railways in those countries.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Belgrade
Using a pass on Serbian trains
Reservation optional on express trains, for 0.90.
Using a pass on national trains
Reservation is optional on the Belgrade-Budapest & Belgrade-Zagreb-Ljubljana trains, you can just get on and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat you can do this at the station for a few euros, this is just a normal seat reservation as for any ticket holder.
Belgrade to Budapest by sleeper train: Couchette supplement 8 in a 6-berth or 10 in a 4-berth.
Belgrade to Podgorica or Bar by sleeper train: Couchette supplement 6 in a 6-berth or 14 in a 4-berth. Sleeper supplement 15 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 20 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 40 for a single-bed sleeper, all bookable with 2nd class pass.
Slovakia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on ZSSK = Slovak Railways, www.zssk.sk.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by ZSSK and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run jointly by ZSSK & the national railways in those countries.
Passes now good for Regiojet trains (www.regiojet.com) for a small reservation fee.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Bratislava
Using a pass on Slovakian trains
Seat reservation is compulsory on all InterCity & EuroCity trains, the cost varies between 1-10 in 2nd class or 7-16 in 1st class depending on distance. It's just a normal seat reservation, as for any other ticket holder.
You can make seat reservations on the Slovakian Railways website predaj.zssk.sk/search: Run an enquiry and find the train you want. Click on the shopping trolley icon then Purchase the ticket. Then click on No Discount, select International ticket/Rail Pass from the list and click Continue. Click Seat ticket to see the reservation options, pick one and make the reservation. At the next stage you'll usually get to choose an exact seat from a seat map. You get a barcode to print or show on your phone.
Using a pass on international trains
Seat reservation is compulsory on all InterCity and EuroCity trains, fee 3. This is just a normal seat reservation, as for any ticket holder. Book at the station, there are almost always places even on the day.
Seat reservation is compulsory on SuperCity tilting trains from Kosice & Poprad Tatry to Ostrava & Prague, 7, a normal seat reservation as for any ticket holder.
Bratislava or elsewhere in Slovakia to Prague by Regiojet train (www.regiojet.com). Reservation required, 1.3 in Low Cost, 2 in Standard, 2.8 in Relax or (with a 1st class pass) 1.3 in Business. Regiojet passholder reservations can be made online at www.regiojet.com: Use the journey planner as if buying a normal ticket. When prices appear, look for the Only seat reservations toggle and use it. Select the train you want, then under Type of ticket purchased select Interrail & Eurail. You print out your reservation or can show it in the Regiojet app. Or book at the Regiojet ticket window at Bratislava Hlavna.
Bratislava to Krakow or Warsaw by EuroNight sleeper train: 17 for a couchette in a 6-bunk couchette, 32 for a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, 44 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, 83 in a single-bed sleeper, 55 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, 93 in a single-bed sleeper with shower & toilet, all bookable with a 2nd class pass. This cannot be booked online, book at the station or use the Eurail/Interrail reservations service (a hard copy ticket must be posted to you at extra cost).
Bratislava to Berlin by EuroNight sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114, all can be used with 2nd class pass. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Slovenia
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on SZ = Slovenian railways, potniski.sz.si.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by SZ and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run by SZ & the national railways in those countries.
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Ljubljana
Using a pass on Slovenian trains
Seat reservation is compulsory on all ICS trains, costing between 2-4 depending on distance.
Using a pass on international trains
Ljubljana to Innsbruck or Munich by EuroCity train: Reservation optional, you can just get on and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat you can make a normal seat reservation for around 4.50 at the German Railways website as shown here. It's just an ordinary seat reservation, so you use the Seat only - no ticket link to run the enquiry.
Ljubljana to Vienna by EuroCity train: Reservation optional, you can just get on and show your pass when asked. If you want a reserved seat you can make a normal seat reservation for around 3 at the Austrian Railways website as shown here. It's just an ordinary seat reservation, so you use the Seat only - no ticket link to run the enquiry.
Ljubljana to Budapest by train: Reservation optional, you can just get on and show your pass when asked.
Ljubljana to Zagreb & Belgrade: Reservation optional, you can just get on and show your pass when asked.
Ljubljana or Lesce-Bled to Zurich by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
Ljubljana or Lesce-Bled to Zagreb: Reservation optional. You can reserve a seat for 3 at least on some departures, using the Austrian ΦBB website, as shown here. It's just an ordinary seat reservation, so you use the Seat only - no ticket link to run the enquiry.
Spain
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on Renfe = Spanish national railways, www.renfe.com.
That includes all domestic high-speed, long-distance, medium-distance, regional and suburban (cercanias/rodalies) trains run by Renfe and (if you've a global pass) international trains to/from France & Portugal run by Renfe, SNCF (France) and CP (Portugal).
Passes also cover FEVE, which runs the narrow-gauge local trains in northern Spain around Bilbao, Gijσn, Leσn & Santander, as it's now part of Renfe, www.renfe.com/es/en/suburban/cercanias-feve (please let me know if that link stops working).
What's not covered
Interrail & Eurail passes do not cover Euskotren (www.euskotren.eus) which runs narrow gauge trains Hendaye-Irun-San Sebastian-Bilbao.
Interrail & Eurail passes do not cover lo-cost Avlo trains or lo-cost Ouigo trains, even though these are subsidiaries of Renfe & SNCF respectively. They also don't cover privately-owned Iryo high-speed trains which compete with Renfe on Barcelona-Madrid.
There is no longer any pass discount on Trasmediterranea ferries to Ibiza or Majorca, or to Morocco. However, normal fare tickets for these ferries can be booked using the Direct Ferries website.
Help with train times
For train times within Spain use www.renfe.com or www.raileurope.com.
See international train times & routes from Barcelona
See international train times & routes from San Sebastian
See international train times & routes from Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Seville, Malaga
Using a pass on Spanish trains
Just about every Spanish long-distance train requires a reservation and fee of 4-13, sometimes more, and even most shorter distance regional trains require a seat reservation. It's safest to assume that the only trains in Spain which don't require any fee or seat reservation are suburban trains (cercanias) around the big cities, which also includes the Barcelona-Latour de Carol & Barcelona-Portbou-Cerbθre routes.
How to make Spanish passholder reservations:
Reservations cannot be made at Renfe.com nor using the Interrail/Eurail reservations service. Spain is a bit of a railpass black hole! You can of course make reservations in person at a Spanish station when you get to Spain.
To make Spanish passholder reservations in advance, email andy@railtravelcentre.com, the same rail expert that runs www.discoverbyrail.com. He can arrange passholder reservations in Spain. Note that reservations cannot be e-ticketed, they are hard-copy and will only to be posted to UK addresses or can be collected from ticket machines in Germany (as the reservations are sourced via the DB system). His normal handling fee is £17.50, but he'll reduce this to £15 if you quote 'seat61' in your email. One handling fee is charged 'per booking', where a booking can be more than one passenger reserved on more than one train. Remember to tell him if your pass is 1st or 2nd class.
How much do reservations cost?
AVE high speed trains (e.g. Madrid to Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz, Malaga, Barcelona & Barcelona to Malaga/Cordoba/Seville):
10 in 2nd class (estandar class, elige fare), 13 in 1st class (confort class, elige fare) or 23.50 in 1st class (confort class, premium fare) with lounge access, drinks & meal included.
EuroMed (Barcelona-Valencia-Alicante),
6.50 in 2nd class (estandar class, elige fare), 10 in 1st class (confort class, elige fare) or 23.50 in 1st class (confort class, premium fare) with lounge access, drinks & meal on weekdays included.
Alvia (e.g. Madrid-Cadiz, San Sebastian-Barcelona, Bilbao-Barcelona, Madrid-Vigo) & Intercity (e.g. Madrid-Algeciras, Madrid-Badajoz):
6.50 fee in 2nd class (estandar class, elige fare) or 10 in 1st class (confort class, elige fare).
Alaris (Madrid-Valencia)
6.50 in 2nd class, 23.50 in 1st class.
Avant high-speed trains for short distances: 4 per seat.
MD (Media Distancia) & TRD trains: Even many shorter-distance regional trains in Spain require a seat reservation: 4 per seat.
Using a pass on trains to France
Barcelona to Paris by TGV: Reservation required, 35 in 1st or 2nd class.
You can make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, it's now e-ticketed, the reservation is emailed to you and can be printed or shown on your phone.
How to avoid these expensive reservation fees:
Option 1, Barcelona to Latour de Carol to Toulouse: There are no fees to pay or reservations required on the local suburban trains from Barcelona through the Pyrenees to Latour de Carol and on the TER regional trains from Latour de Carol to Toulouse, see here for details.
Option 2, Barcelona - Cerbθre- Perpignan: Take a Spanish regional train from Barcelona to Cerbθre then a French TER regional train from Cerbθre to Perpignan, no reservation necessary for either train. Then take a TGV from Perpignan to Paris or wherever, 10 reservation fee booked in advance or 20 fee when the 10 fees sell out, easily bookable online without any booking fee as shown here. The easiest way to find times is to use the Barcelona area regional trains website rodalies.gencat.cat/en/horaris to look up trains from Barcelona to Cerbθre. Then use www.bahn.de to look up trains from Cerbθre to Paris/Lyon/Montpellier/Avignon/wherever.
Option 3, via San Sebastian at the northern end of the Pyrenees: Take a Spanish train from Madrid, Barcelona or wherever to San Sebastian at the northern end of the Pyrenees, reservation fee 10, make this at the station, there's no quota so only sells out at the busiest times. You can check times at www.raileurope.com. Then take the little Euskotren metro from San Sebastian Amara station to Hendaye, which is not covered by Interrail or Eurail, but the fare is only 2.50 or so, buy at the station, it runs every 30 minutes and takes 37 minutes. Then take a TGV from Hendaye to Bordeaux or Paris, 10 fee in advance or 20 fee when the 10 fees sell out, easily bookable online as shown here. You'll also find fee-free TER trains from Hendaye to Biarritz and Bordeaux.
Using a pass on trains to Portugal
Madrid to Lisbon by day trains: See here for Madrid-Lisbon timetable & journey details, and see here for reservation requirements & how to book.
Vigo to Porto by express regional train: You must ask for a seat reservation at the station before boarding, free of charge.
Sweden
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on SJ = Swedish national railways www.sj.se, which runs most Swedish mainline trains.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by SJ and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Denmark & Norway run by SJ & its partner railways in those countries.
Passes also give unlimited travel on:
Φresundstεg = operator of local trains linking Copenhagen, Malmo, Gothenburg.
Arlanda Express airport rail link.
Inlandsbanen private local railway up the inner spine of Sweden.
Snδlltεget = private operator running Malmo-Stockholm & Malmo-Berlin, www.snalltaget.se.
Local operators Arriva, Krφsatεg, Norrtεg, Skεnetrafiken, Vδrmlandstrafik, Vδsttrafik, Mδlartεg.
Tallink-Silja Line ferries Stockholm-Turku (for train to Helsinki). Cabin berths extra.
Free travel on Net Matkat bus service Kemi/Tornio-Haparanda (across the top from Sweden into Finland).
Passes do not cover private operator MTRX running Stockholm-Gothenburg trains in competition with SJ, mtrx.travel.
Other pass benefits
50% discount on Viking Line ferries Stockholm-Helsinki and Stockholm-Turku.
30% discount on Stena Line ferries (including Gothenburg-Frederikshavn in Denmark).
Special fares on Tallink-Silja Line ferries Stockholm-Riga, Stockholm-Tallinn.
Help with train times
For train times within Sweden use www.sj.se.
See international train times & routes from Stockholm
Using a pass on Swedish trains
X2000 tilting trains, for example, Stockholm-Gothenburg or Stockholm-Malmφ: Reservation compulsory, fee 7 in 2nd class or 17 in 1st class (includes a light meal in 1st class). You can make seat reservations online at www.acprail.com (small fee payable, but no credit card rejection problems), or you can make them with no fee at www.sj.se following the instructions below, although sj.se sometimes struggles with overseas credit cards and it's a little non-intuitive.
Seat reservation on Intercity or regional trains: 35 SEK in either class.
Sleeper trains within Sweden: Seat 3, couchette in 6-bunk compartment 20, bed in 3-bed sleeper with washbasin 40, bed in 2-bed sleeper with toilet & shower 50, single-bed sleeper with toilet & shower 75.
Snδlltεget (private competitor to SJ) Malmo-Stockholm: Reservation required, 5 in 2nd class, 15 in 1st class.
Using a pass on international trains
Stockholm to Copenhagen by X2000: Reservation compulsory, 6.60 in 2nd class, 16 in 1st class.
You can make Stockholm-Copenhagen passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes. You can also make them with no added booking fee at www.sj.se following the instructions below.
Stockholm to Oslo by Intercity train: Reservation compulsory, 6.60 in 2nd class, 16 in 1st class.
You can make Stockholm-Oslo passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes. You can also make them with no added booking fee at www.sj.se following the instructions below.
Gothenburg to Oslo: Reservation optional. You can just get on and sit in any empty unreserved seat.
Gothenburg & Malmo to Copenhagen by regular Φresund train: Reservation neither necessary nor possible, just get on, sit anywhere you like and show your pass when asked.
Stockholm or Malmo to Hamburg or Berlin by Snδlltεget night train (runs daily except Saturdays April-November): Reservation required, 19 in a seat, 39 with couchette. You can make the reservation online at www.snalltaget.se simply by entering the code INTERRAIL in the box marked Promotion code (if you have one).
Stockholm to Hamburg by SJ EuroNight sleeper train (daily all year): Reservation required. You can book passholder places in couchettes or sleepers at the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se by adding an Interrail/Eurail discount to each passenger.
Sweden to Germany by day trains changing at Copenhagen: See the Germany to Denmark & Denmark to Sweden sections.
Switzerland
What's covered?
Eurail & Interrail passes give unlimited travel on Swiss Federal Railways (SBB, www.sbb.ch) which runs most inter-city trains and many regional ones.
That includes all domestic trains run by SBB and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from neighbouring countries run jointly by SBB & other national railways.
Tip: If you are also visiting Paris or Italy, it's often cheaper to combine a one-country Swiss pass with a cheap advance-purchase ticket between Paris & Switzerland or Switzerland & Italy, rather than buying a global pass and paying reservation fees for the international trains. So do the maths!
The Glacier Express route from Zermatt to St Moritz is part run by the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) and part by the Rhδtische Bahn (RhB) both now covered by Eurail & Interrail passes. How to make an online reservation for the Glacier Express if you have a railpass.
The Bernina Express route Chur-St Moritz-Tirano is entirely run by RhB, so covered by Eurail & Interrail. How to make an online reservation for the Bernina Express if you have a railpass.
The Golden Pass route Montreux - Interlaken - Lucerne is also fully covered by Interrail & Eurail passes, as is the Mont Blanc Express between Martigny, Chamonix-Mont Blanc & St Gervais in France as it's run by TMR & SNCF.
Interrail & Eurail passes give free travel on these private railways:
AB Appenzeller Bahnen (25% discount on Ligerz - Tessenberg, free on all other routes)
ASM Aare Seeland Mobil
BLS Bern-Lφtschberg-Simplon (which runs the main Bern-Interlaken-Brig line)
CJ Chemins de fer du Jura
FART Ferrovie Autolinee Regionall Ticinesi
FB Forchbahn
LEB Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher
MBC Biθre - Apples - Morges
MGB Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn - new from 2017!
MOB Montreux Oberland Bernois
MVR Transports Montreux - Vevey - Riviera
NStCM Chemin de Fer Nyon - St-Cergue - Morez
RA RegionAlps Martigny - Orsiθres / Le Chΰble
RBS Regionalverkehr Bern Solothurn
RhB Rhδtische Bahn (Disentis-Chur-St Moritz-Tirano)
SOB Sudostbahn
SOB-bt Bodensee Toggenburg Bahn
SSIF Societa Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie
THURBO Mittelthrugau Bahn
TMR Martigny - Chβtelard (- Chamonix Mont Blanc)
TPC Transports publics du Chablais
TPF Transports publics Fribourgeois
TRAVYS SA
TRN Transports rιgionaux Neuchβtelois
Voralpen Express
WB Waldenburgerbahn
WSB Wynental & Suhrentalbahn
ZB Centralbahn
Interrail holders get 25% or 50% discount on these other private train & bus services:
BB Kehrsiten - Bόrgenstock
BET Bergbahnen Engelberg to Titlis
BOB Berner Oberland Bahnen (including Interlaken to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Mόrren, Wengen)
JB Jungfraubahn -
see the train up the Jungfrau page.
LAF Luftseilbahn Adliswil - Felsenegg
PB Pilatusbahn (Alpnachstad-Pilatus Kulm/Kriens-Frδkmόntegg-Pil. Kulm)
RB Rigi-Bahn
SMF-lsm Stφckalp - Melchsee - Frutt
SMtS St-Imier - Mont-Soleil
SthB Stanserhornbahn
SZU Sihltal - Zόrich - Uetliberg
Swiss railways offering free travel & those only giving a discount, at a glance
The easiest way to understand is to see this map of Switzerland's rail network. Solid red line = free travel with a Eurail or Interrail pass. Dotted red line = Discount on regular fares give to passholders. Grey lines (if within Switzerland) = no free travel or discount. Common mistake: The dashed red lines are tunnels, not to be confused with the dotted red lines!
Help with train times
Check train times in Switzerland at www.sbb.ch - their journey planner covers all operators, not just SBB.
See international train times & routes from Switzerland
Using a pass on Swiss trains
Using a Eurail or Interrail pass in Switzerland is easy, as seat reservations are not required for any journey wholly within Switzerland, you just hop on, sit in any empty seat and show your pass when asked. This even goes for international TGV-Lyria and ICE trains on the Swiss domestic part of their journey, where they form part of the regular-interval Swiss domestic train service.
There are only a handful of exceptions, you must pay to make a seat reservation for certain narrow-gauge panoramic trains aimed at tourists, including the famous Glacier Express between Zermatt & St Moritz, the Bernina Express between Chur, St Moritz & Tirano, the Gotthard Panoramic Express, and the Golden Pass Panoramic trains between Montreux & Zweisimmen.
How to make an online reservation for the Glacier Express if you have a railpass.
How to make an online reservation for the Bernina Express if you have a railpass.
Using a pass to Paris & France
Switzerland to Paris by TGV-Lyria high-speed trains: A passholder reservation fee is charged, 29 in 2nd class, 39 in 1st class from Zurich, Basel, Geneva or Lausanne to Paris. Passholder places shouldn't run out as they're taken from the full-fare quota. These new rates apply from 1 July 2023.
You can make TGV-Lyria passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is emailed to you in minutes.
However, if you can book 2-3 months ahead, regular advance-purchase tickets start at 29 booked at www.thetrainline.com and can be cheaper.
How to avoid paying the TGV-Lyria fees: If you're happy paying the TGV-Lyria reservation fee, fine. But if not, you can travel from Switzerland to Paris avoiding TGV-Lyria by taking a TER regional train from Basel SBB to Mulhouse then another TER regional train from Mulhouse to Paris, no reservation necessary for either train. You can find times using www.bahn.de, simply click Types of transport and de-select high-speed train. Similarly, you can take a TER regional train from Geneva to Lyon (no reservation required & no fees) then use one of several TER Lyon-Paris trains (no reservation required, no fees, but they take 5h rather than 2h by TGV). You can find Geneva-Lyon & Lyon-Paris TER times using www.bahn.de, click Types of transport and de-select high-speed train.
Geneva to Lyon, Basel to Mulhouse & Strasbourg by TER regional train: No reservation necessary or possible, hop on, find any empty seat & show your pass when asked.
Using a pass to Amsterdam & the Netherlands
By Nightjet sleeper train, Zurich & Basel to Amsterdam: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 74, bed in 2-berth sleeper 94, bed in single-berth sleeper 144, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 114, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 154. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, as from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the ΦBB website, see the instructions below.
By ICE: Seat reservation is normally optional on the ICE train from Basel to Amsterdam. You can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for a few euros using the German Railways website, as explained here. However, from 17 June to 18 August 2023 reservation is compulsory for cross-border journeys from Germany to the Netherlands on ICE trains, make a reservation using the German Railways website, as explained here.
Using a pass to Italy
Zurich, Basel, Bern, Luzern, Lugano, Geneva to Milan by direct EuroCity train: A passholder reservation fee must be paid, 11 in 2nd class, 13 in 1st class.
Option 1, strange as it may seem, you can make passholder reservations for these Switzerland-Italy EuroCity trains at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at.
This is the cheapest option because you pay no booking fee, just the reservation fee. It works for Italian high-speed & InterCity trains, but not for sleepers or couchettes on night trains.
Go to Austrian Railways www.oebb.at and set up an enquiry for the Italian journey you want, for example from Rome to Florence.
Where it says 1 x adult, click change.
Now click Add discount and run a search for Interrail or Eurail. Select Interrail / Eurail - Globalpass and confirm.
Now run the enquiry, clicking the Find services button then the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
You should see 10 passholder reservations on high-speed trains and 3 reservations on Intercity trains.
If it says Ticket not available, you may have used the Reservation only no ticket link to run the enquiry, you must use the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
Go ahead and buy! You print out your reservation. Do let me know if this method stops working.
Option 2, you can also make passholder reservations online using the Eurail/Interrail reservations service, the reservation is e-ticketed and emailed to you in minutes.
Zurich, Chur & St Moritz to Varenna & Milan via the scenic Bernina route: No reservation is needed on the regular hourly Swiss local trains to Tirano, just hop on and show your pass. No reservation needed on the two-hourly Italian regional train from Tirano to Milan. Only if you choose to use the Chur-Tirano Bernina Express panoramic train is a seat reservation compulsory, you can make this online as shown here.
Using a pass to Austria
Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna by daytime railjet train: Reservation is optional, you can hop on any train and simply show your pass. If you want a reserved seat you can make a normal seat reservation for 3 at the Austrian Railways website as explained here. This is a good idea as it's a long journey, especially at busy times such as Friday or Sunday afternoons. This is a lovely ride through the scenic Arlberg Pass, see the information on the Arlberg Railway page.
Zurich to Vienna by Nightjet sleeper train: Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 114, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 134. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types, this is new from 2017. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Using a pass to Germany
By daytime train: Various InterCity, ICE & EuroCity trains link Germany with Switzerland. Reservation is optional on all these trains, so you can just hop on, sit in any empty unreserved seat & show your pass when asked. If you want to reserve a seat for a few euros fee, use the German Railways website as explained here.
By Nightjet sleeper train from Zurich or Basel to Berlin or Hamburg (per person): Seat 14, couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-berth sleeper 54, bed in 2-berth sleeper 74, bed in single-berth sleeper 124, berth in 2-berth deluxe sleeper 94, berth in single-berth deluxe sleeper 144. Only a 2nd class ticket or pass is now needed for all Nightjet accommodation types. Passholder reservations for nightjet sleeper trains can be made online at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Using a pass to Prague
Zurich to Prague by EuroNight sleeper train (both routes): With 2nd class pass, bed in 3-berth sleeper 45, bed in 2-berth sleeper 58, bed in single-berth sleeper 110. With 1st class pass, bed in 3-berth deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 45, bed in 2-berth deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 58, bed in single-bed deluxe sleeper with shower & toilet 110.
Passholder reservations for the sleeper trains from Zurich or Basel to Prague can be made online at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz, with no added booking fee. Before running the enquiry, click where it says 1 x Adult 26-64 No discount card then click on No discount card , click Interrail and Eurail Pass then select the one you have. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Zurich to Prague by daytime trains with a change at Munich or Linz: None of the daytime trains Zurich-Linz, Linz-Prague or Zurich-Munich, Munich-Prague require reservations, you can just hop on and show your pass when asked. Seat reservations are optional, normal seat reservations from Linz or Munich to Prague can be made at the Czech Railways website as shown here. Normal seat reservations from Zurich to Munich can be made at the German Railways website as shown here, or from Zurich to Linz at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Using a pass to Hungary
Zurich to Budapest by railjet train: Reservation optional. If you want a reserved seat, you can make a normal seat reservation for 3 at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Zurich to Budapest by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Using a pass to Slovenia & Croatia
Zurich to Ljubljana & Zagreb by sleeper train: Couchette in 6-berth 34, couchette in 4-berth 44, bed in 3-bed sleeper 54, in 2-bed 74, in single-bed 114. Passholder reservations for sleepers or couchettes can be made online at the Austrian Railways website as explained here.
Turkey
What's covered?
Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on TCDD = Turkish Railways www.tcdd.gov.tr.
That includes all domestic local & mainline trains run by TCDD in both European & Asian Turkey and (if you've a global pass) international trains to or from Bulgaria & Romania run jointly by TCDD & its partner railways BDZ (Bulgaria) and CFR (Romania).
Help with train times
See international train times & routes from Istanbul
See train times for key domestic routes within Turkey.
Using a pass on Turkish trains
Reservations are required for all long distance & high-speed trains within Turkey, but reservations are free unless you want a sleeper, for which a charge is made. Reservations cannot be made online or from outside Turkey, just make a free reservation at any main station when you get to Turkey.
Using a pass on international trains
Istanbul to Sofia by sleeper train: 10 supplement for a couchette in 4-berth compartment or 15 supplement for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. If you have a 1st class pass, a single-bed sleeper all to yourself costs 35. Cannot be booked online.
Istanbul to Bucharest by sleeper train (summer only): 14 supplement for a couchette in 4-berth compartment.
How to make reservations
Some train operator websites allow reservation-only bookings for passholders, many don't. And even if they do, it works for some routes not others. Here's a list of those that do.
Interrail/Eurail reservations service
Once you have bought a Eurail or Interrail pass so have a valid pass number, you can make passholder reservations for many trains using the InterRail/Eurail reservations service, including Eurostar, TGVs in France, couchette trains in France, Thalys, TGV-Lyria, Paris-Milan TGVs, and daytime & overnight trains in Italy.
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Go to www.interrail.eu or www.eurail.com, click Seat reservations at the top.
Note that this is their website, not the Railplanner app.
Click yes you have a pass, click no you don't have an account, create an account, entering your pass number.
Now use the reservation system journey planner to bring up train departures for the route you want.
There's a booking fee of 2 per person in addition to the reservation cost. Prices shown include the fee, so a 10 reservation is shown as 12.
You'll see the abbreviation IRT a lot. This stands for Integrated Reservation Ticket, and simply means you'll get a ticket and seat reservation combined on one bit of paper rather than two, as would be old-school practice. From a passenger viewpoint, largely irrelevant. And TRN simply means train.
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Trains it can book, with an e-ticket: Reservations shown as e-ticket are automated and emailed to you within minutes.
The system will e-ticket passholder reservations for trains in France & Italy including TGVs, Intercitιs, Intercitιs de Nuit with couchettes, Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca, Italian Intercity train, Italian Intercity Notte sleeper trains, also for Paris-Barcelona TGVs, Paris-Turin-Milan TGVs, Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam Thalys, Paris-Switzerland TGV-Lyria and Switzerland-Italy EuroCity trains.
It can also book optional seat reservations in countries such as Germany & Austria, but you can make those more cheaply, without any added fee using the train operator's website.
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Trains it can book, but with a paper ticket that needs to be posted to you: Reservations shown as paper ticket have to be posted to you for an extra fee (9 to the UK, for example), and this obviously takes time.
Hard-copy tickets have to be issued and posted for Lyon/Marseille-Barcelona AVEs, Budapest-Bucharest daytime & sleeper trains, Berlin-Warsaw & Berlin-Krakow EuroCity trains, Norwegian trains.
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Trains it can't book: The system cannot currently book Spanish or Portuguese domestic trains at all, or trains in the UK, Ireland, Finland, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey. It also can't book Nightjet sleeper trains or Venice-Vienna railjets (but www.oebb.at can book these, see below). It only seems to offer 2nd class reservations on the Munich-Italy Brenner EuroCity trains. In France, it can't book some trains run by the regions, such as Paris-Cherbourg.
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Reservations and your pass are totally separate and not linked in any way: You can make reservations using this service even before you activate your pass, before specifying any travel days or adding any journeys to it. You don't commit yourself to using a train (or a pass day) merely by making a reservation. You can make multiple reservations for the same route if you need to, if you're not sure which train you'll catch, or if you make a reservation then change your plans, it does not affect your pass in any way. And if there's (let's say) 4 of you, all with passes, one of you can make reservations for 4 people this way, no problem. You only need to add the journey in question to your pass (and trigger a pass day on a flexi pass, if it's the first train you're taking that day) when you actually board the train!
How to make reservations on Eurostar, London - Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam
How to make reservations at the French Railways website
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The French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com used to sell passholder reservations on trains wholly within France, and on the TGVs between Paris and Turin/Milan. However, passholder reservations were disabled in 2020, apparently due to high levels of fraud.
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You should now use the Interrail/Eurail reservations service.
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Alternatively, you can try calling SNCF telesales on 00 33 1 84 94 3635. Tip: If they say they can't do pass bookings, be polite but firm, and tell them to use code IR50 for International Interrail bookings and code IR00 for domestic French train bookings. If they refuse, you may need to call back and get someone else!
How to make Thalys reservations at the Belgian Railways website
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To make passholder reservations for Thalys (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam/Cologne), go to the Belgian Railways site www.b-europe.com.
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Click Plan & book then Interrail train passes then scroll down to Book your Eurostar or Thalys pass fare now and click it.
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You are emailed your Thalys or Eurostar e-ticket. Don't worry that it says Interrail when your pass is a Eurail as the reservation is exactly the same for either pass type.
How to make reservations at the Trenitalia website
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The Italian Railways website www.trenitalia.com used to sell passholder reservations on trains in Italy. However, passholder reservations were disabled in 2019 due to high levels of fraud.
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You should now use the Interrail/Eurail reservations service.
How to make reservations at the German Railways (DB) website
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The German Railways website can make reservation-only bookings for seats and for some couchettes & sleepers on trains to, from or within Germany. However, it cannot do reservation-only bookings for Nightjet sleeper trains, you need the Austrian ΦBB website for those as shown below.
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Go to www.bahn.de/en. Set up an enquiry, but instead of clicking the main red Search button at the bottom of the page, click the Seat only (no ticket) link to the left of it.
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Seat reservations normally cost 4.50 per seat. Tip: For journeys to Austria, you can save a euro or two by booking at the Austrian Railways site as shown below. For journeys to Czech Republic, you can save a euro or two by booking at the Czech Railways site as shown below.
How to make reservations at the Austrian Railways (ΦBB) website
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The Austrian Railways website tickets.oebb.at/en/ticket can make passholder reservations in either direction for:
- Nightjet partner sleeper trains including Munich-Zagreb, Munich-Budapest, Zurich-Budapest, Zurich-Zagreb, Berlin-Krakow, Berlin-Budapest;
- the Dacia Express sleeper train between Vienna/Budapest and Sighisoara/Brasov/Bucharest;
- Railjet trains between Vienna & Venice, these have a compulsory passholder fee and optional seat reservation;
- EuroCity trains between Munich/Innsbruck & Verona, Bologna, Venice, also with compulsory passholder fee & optional seat reservation;
- It can also make normal (usually optional) seat reservations on trains to, from or within Austria, for example Vienna-Budapest, Vienna-Zurich, Vienna-Munich, Innsbruck-Zurich or Salzburg-Munich.
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However, there are two different processes, depending what you're booking:
To make special passholder reservations necessary for Nightjet sleeper trains, Nightjet partner sleeper trains, the Vienna-Venice railjets & Munich-Italy EuroCity trains, you add an Interrail/Eurail discount to each traveller and use the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
To make normal seat reservations (which is all passholders need on most other Austrian routes, for example Munich-Vienna, Vienna-Prague, Vienna-Budapest, Salzburg-Vienna, Vienna-Krakow/Warsaw) you simply use the Seat only (no ticket ) link to run the enquiry, not the One-way tickets and day tickets link.
If you're not sure which to use, read the country-by-country information above to see what your specific route/train requires.
To make passholder reservations on Nightjet sleepers, Nightjet partner sleepers or EuroCity/railjet trains between Munich/Austria & Italy.
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Go to tickets.oebb.at/en/ticket (please let me know if this link stops working) and set up a journey enquiry as if you were buying a ticket.
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Where it says 1 x adult, click Change.
Enter the number of passengers, and for each passenger under Adult no discount, click Add discount.
In the Search discounts facility, start typing Inter or Eurail and it'll bring up Interrail/Eurail - Globalpass. Select & confirm.
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Now click the red Find services button followed by the One-way tickets and day tickets link to run the enquiry.
(The usual mistake here is to click the Seat reservation only (no ticket) link)
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If booking a sleeper train, you should now see a 14 passholder seat reservation fee, which you can change to couchette or sleeper, then modify the type of couchette and sleeper to what you want. The passholder couchette or sleeper reservation price should now correspond to those quoted on this page.
Remember that prices are per person per bed, not per compartment - if you book 2 people in a double sleeper or 4 people in 4-berth couchettes, you get a whole compartment, but if you book less than the number of beds in a sleeper or couchette compartment (for example, 2 people in a 3-berth sleeper), other passengers may be booked in with you in the vacant beds.
You print out your reservation or can show it on your mobile.
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If booking a EuroCity or railjet train between Munich/Innsbruck/Vienna & Italy, you should now see the 10 passholder surcharge.
You can add an optional seat reservation for 3 - this is a good idea especially in summer, I strongly recommend a seat reservation.
If you have a 1st class pass, click on the 5 1st class upgrade to get the 15 first class passholder fee. On the Vienna-Venice route, if you have a 1st class pass you can further upgrade to luxurious railjet business class for another 15 if you like - you won't regret it!
Warning: If you have a 2nd class pass, don't upgrade to 1st class. The standard wording used by the ΦBB website makes it look like a tempting 5 upgrade to 1st class. In fact, it's the 'upgrade' from the 2nd class passholder fee to the 1st class passholder fee. Don't buy a 1st class passholder fee if you only have a 2nd class pass! Similarly, the upgrade to business class on a railjet is an upgrade to the 1st class passholder fee - only buy it if you have a 1st class pass.
In your basket, if you click for price details, it will show the Brenner route passholder fee as Aufpreis Brennerverkehr Passzuschlag 1. It will show the Vienna-Venice route passholder fee as Tarvisioverkehr Pass1.
You print out your reservation or can show it on your mobile.
To make seat reservations on daytime trains between Austria & Switzerland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania.
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Seat reservation is optional on these trains, if you want a reserved seat it's the same process as for any other traveller with an existing ticket making a seat-reservation-only booking. In other words, on these trains/routes it's not a special passholder reservation, just a normal seat reservation, and ΦBB has a process for that:
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Go to tickets.oebb.at/en/ticket (please let me know if this link stops working) and set up your journey enquiry.
Click the red Find services button, then click Seat only (no ticket) to make a reservation-only booking.
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Seat reservations normally cost 3 per seat. Make sure you buy it in the same class (1st or 2nd) as your pass. You print out your reservation.
How to make reservations at the Czech Railways (CD) website
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The Czech Railways website can make reservation-only bookings for seats and in some cases couchettes & sleepers on trains to & from Prague & the Czech Republic.
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Go to www.cd.cz and run an enquiry for your journey.
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In the search results, look for the train you want and click the link that says I want a reservation only.
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Go ahead and make a reservation, you simply print it out. Seat reservations normally cost 3 per seat.
How to make reservations at the Polish Railways (PKP Intercity) website
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The PKP Intercity website www.intercity.pl can make seat reservations on trains within Poland for Eurail & Interrail pass holders.
Booking for Polish domestic trains opens 30 days before departure.
There's no booking fee, it normally costs just 1 zloty (0.25) per seat. It costs 43 zlotys (10) for an EIP train.
It can only book seats, not couchettes or sleepers. It can only book domestic journeys, not international ones.
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First, go to bilet.intercity.pl/rejestracja?lang=EN and set up an account (please let me know if this url changes).
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Then go to www.intercity.pl and switch it to English by changing PL to EN top right (repeat this whenever it switches back!).
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Use the journey planner as if buying a ticket. Find the train you want and click the V in the orange box or CHOOSE. Do not click 1st class or 2nd class, you must use the 'V' or CHOOSE button if you just want a reservation not a ticket.
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Now the clever bit. Scroll down and...
Change Number of passengers by normal fare from 1 to 0.
Change Number of passengers with discounts from 0 to the number of seats you want to reserve.
In the Discount/reservation type box, select Interrail/Eurail/NRT/EWT/FIP/OSJD - seat reservation (supplement incl).
That discount option should appear in the long list of discounts, along with Honorary blood donor and Anti-communist opposition activist (who get 51% off, if you were wondering). If it does great, if it doesn't, you'll need to book at the station.
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Click Continue, check that the price is just for a seat reservation not a whole ticket, and buy it. You have several minutes to pay before the seat reservation lapses, so don't hang about (that's why I said to register first). You print it out or can show it on your laptop or phone.
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Tip; The InterRail/Eurail discount may not appear if you choose a multi-train journey. Book one train at a time.
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Tip: If you have problems booking more than 1 passenger, reserve one seat at a time and use the seat map (if booking IEP trains) or the Next to seat already reserved feature (all other trains) to get seats together.
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Tip: the system is clever enough to stop you making more than one reservation using the same ticket/pass number for trains that are due to be in motion at the same time. If the first train hasn't yet left, log in to your account and cancel the first reservation before making the second reservation. You can't cancel after the train has left, so if you miss it and need to reserve on a later train while the first train is still en route, you may need to make an 'unfortunate error' of one digit in your pass number when making the second reservation, which you can later explain to the conductor (if indeed anyone checks your reservation).
How to make reservations at the Danish Railways (DSB) website
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www.bahn.de can sell seat reservations for the international Hamburg-Copenhagen route. Seat reservations usually open 2 months ahead, you simply run an enquiry using the Seat only (no ticket) link. If booking isn't open or can't be done for any other reason it'll say so. You print your reservation or can show it on your phone. I prefer using bahn.de for this route as it lets you specify options such as window seat.
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If bahn.de doesn't work for you, or if you want a reservation on a Danish domestic train, make a seat reservation at the Danish Railways website www.dsb.dk:
Click In English right at the bottom of the page, then scroll back up & click Train ticket to Europe. Now click Buy your international seat reservation and run the relevant enquiry. Here's a direct link to save you doing all that: travel.b-europe.com/dsb-rail/en/reservation-only (please let me know if it changes). The seat reservation costs around 30Kr, about 4. The fact that a price is shown doesn't mean booking is open, you only know that it's open and space is available when you click to reserve. You print out your reservation.
How to make reservations at the Swedish Railways (SJ) website
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You can make reservations on Swedish domestic trains and international trains such as Copenhagen-Stockholm and Stockholm-Oslo at the official Swedish Railways website www.sj.se without any booking fee, although it's been known to struggle with overseas credit cards and it's a little non-intuitive.
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Go to www.sj.se, switch it to English and set up and run an enquiry as if buying a ticket, but under 'customer card' select 'Pass 2 cl (Interrail/Eurail)' or 'Pass 1 cl (Interrail/Eurail)' as appropriate.
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When the results appear, you must select the price in the 'refundable' column as this is the passholder reservation (obvious if you look at the prices, the fares in the other columns are for complete tickets not just reservations!).
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Tip: Enter all passengers as adults, even if there are children in your group. If you include children in the enquiry, it won't work. The reservation cost is the same for children as adults, so this makes no difference.
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Tip: If you have any problems with sj.se, you can also make passholder reservations easily at www.acprail.com, for a small fee.
How to make reservations at the Leo Express website
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Leo Express is a privately-owned open-access operator operating in the Czech Republic and Poland.
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2nd class passes entitle you to free travel in economy class. 1st class pass entitles you to free travel in business class. A reservation is required but can be made for free online or in person at the Leo Express offices at Prague and Ostrava.
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To make a passholder reservation online, go to www.leoexpress.com and use the journey planner.
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Click on the number of passengers field and a box appears to the right which says You can apply further discounts. Click on the Discounts link and select Interrail/Eurail. This applies a 100% discount.
Tips for booking your hotels
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I recommend www.booking.com as you can usually book hotels with free cancellation. That means you can sort your hotels without any risk months before train bookings open, and even change your plans at no cost usually up to 24 hours before checking into the hotel. Any hotels, guesthouses or B&Bs with a review score over 8.0 are unlikely to disappoint.
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Hotels will almost always look after your bags for free if you need to check out and catch an afternoon or evening train, or if you arrive in the morning before you can check in to your room.
Other hotels sites worth trying
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www.tripadvisor.com is a huge resource, and a good place to browse independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
Backpacker hostels
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www.hostelworld.com: If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & VPN
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Always take out travel insurance
You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer. It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit. These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself. Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here. Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.
www.staysure.co.uk
offers enhanced Covid-19 protection and gets 4.7 out of 5 on
Trustpilot.
www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.
If you live in the USA try
Travel Guard USA.
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Get an eSIM with mobile data package for Europe
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for Europe and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list. Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.
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Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top. A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this. The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards. And you can get a Curve card for free.
How it works: 1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android. 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great. See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.
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Get a VPN for safe browsing. VPNs & why you need one explained
When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained. ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I get a small commission to help support this site.
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Always carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from Buy from Amazon.com.
Touring cities & museums? Use hill walking shoes!
One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa. They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities. My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!