Hi Everyone, hoping someone can fill me in as i am struggling to understand how it works.
Do i have to have a rail pass? Or can i just buy a ticket and reserve a seat on the train i want?
Also uncertain if i do need a pass will i need a
3 country or 4 country as we plan on train travel between Venice to Milan - Milan to Geneva - Geneva to Nice - Brussels to Paris?
Very greatful for any information.
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It is a bit hard to understand exactly what you are asking in relation to Belgium/Brussels. It seems you are arriving in Venice, then travelling from there to Nice via Milan and Geneva, and then from Brussels to Paris: are you flying from Nice to Brussels? Are you flying out of Paris? This makes a difference as there are trains from Brussels to CDG airport rather than to Gare du Nord.
As a general rule there is no point in buying a rail pass at all for Italy or in buying any pass covering x countries when you are only taking one journey per country. Depending on exactly what you are doing in France a pass covering that country might be useful, it%26#39;s hard to say. The problem is that if you would be travelling by certain premium trains e.g. in Italy, EuroStar Italia, in France, TGV and between Paris and Brussels, Thalys to Gare du Nord or TGV to CDG, you would have to pay a supplement on top of the rail pass anyway, as they never include reservations and these trains are reservation only.
You can buy all your tickets at the station just before travel, but with TGV trains this needs to be at least an hour before - indeed better to go down to the station the day before, or perhaps buy ticket when you arrive for the day you intend to leave - and Thalys up to a couple of hours before but for cheaper fares you must book at least 2 weeks in advance (see www.thalys.com).
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Ok thank you for your response, i will breifly outline our planned trip. Flying into Rome for 2 days then bus to Amalfi Coast 4 days, fly to Venice for 3 days train to Milan overnight stay the train to Geneva 3 days train to Nice 3 days fly to Brussels 4 days train to Paris 3 days fly from CDG home to Australia.
For train travel what am i required to do or is my choice. I would prefer to have it all aranged before we leave Australia.
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As regards the bit that is relevant to the BRUSSELS FORUM: since you are flying into Brussels and want to stay in Paris before you fly out from there, you do need to book the Thalys from Bruxelles-Midi to Paris-Nord, see www.thalys.com. This train is reservation only, however you can still reserve after you arrive in Brussels since you will have 4 days here. Just go to the international window at any of the Brussels stations (I use Gare du Luxembourg). Otherwise, it is possible that you could buy it at Gare du Midi up to 2 hours before departure, but this is taking something of a risk, and of course you will not qualify for any of the cheaper rates which require purchase e.g. 2 weeks in advance (although you can%26#39;t qualify for the very cheapest rates anyway as you won%26#39;t be buying a return ticket).
If I understood correctly, between Venice and Milan you want to go by night train: if true, you need to book this/these, however do check the timetable because the only overnight connection I found on a weekday night, departing Venezia Santa Lucia at 23:30, involves a 2 hour wait at Bologna between 02:17 and 04:12, which doesn%26#39;t seem very convenient to me! Anyway, both trains being ICN (InterCity Night) you must book, either on the Trenitalia website or in person at Santa Lucia, say the day before you want to travel.
Milan-Geneva-Nice does not in my opinion justify a rail pass although I believe there are calculators on the Eurail, Eurorail etc. (resale agencies) websites you can use to check this.
Between Milan and Geneva you will have to book (you can do so in Venice) if you want the most convenient departures, with no changes, e.g. 08:25, 12:25, 14:25 or 16:25 as these are Eurocity trains, for which reservation is compulsory. Between Geneva and Nice-Ville also you have to take at least 1 TGV, for which reservations are required. Again, however, you don%26#39;t need to buy from Australia, although you can if you want to; you can do everything either at your first stop in Europe or as you go, always bearing in mind that for SOME of the trains you want, you can%26#39;t just turn up 30 minutes beforehand and expect to get on.
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en will give you timetables and also indicate whether reservations are required.
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Thankyou so much your reply has supplied us with the information we needed.
Very greatful for your help
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Hi MNJ33
Having been in a similar dilemma to you, I checked out the %26quot;Eurail%26quot; sites overseas as well as sites in Australia that sell passes and tickets. I looked into the price of tickets vs a rail pass.
For the three Aussie rail sites that I know of - there may be more - check out the following:
http://www.railplus.com.au/
http://www.trainticket.com.au/
http://www.raileurope.com.au
I%26#39;ve bought tickets at one of these sites before and it is very easy to do either over the phone if you%26#39;re not sure, or on the internet.
After booking my tickets and passes,they arrived quickly by registered post. All sites should have areas where you can check out the prices of passes as well as train costs between cities such as Paris and Brussels.
If you book and pay for them in advance, it%26#39;s one less thing you have to pay for when your over there, but you do need to factor in poastage and handling costs, ticket issuance fees etc. On the other hand, you might get a better deal by buying as and when you need the tickets, especially if you%26#39;re not travelling long distances or making more than a handful of train trips.
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Thank you for these links, i shall check them out
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