Trains in Europe - Get the best fares Tips to help you find the best prices for European train travel
Some tips to help you take advantage of the best available train fares
for rail journeys in Europe, and between the UK and Europe.
Just as in the UK, tickets cost less the
ealier you book.
A
source of frustration for rail passengers is that it is not possible
to book train journeys further ahead than 4 months (120 days). This
restriction applies to Eurostar travel, the high speed passenger
trains that run through the Channel Tunnel to Paris, Lille and
Brussels. Most of other European train companies are evn more
restrictive, only letting you book up to 90 days (3 months) before
travel.
Some help is
available so you can be first in with your bookings and get the best
fares. Sign up to the Rail Europe email reminder. This means you can
plan your journey and search for tickets as usual, then opt to receive
the reminder as soon as the bookings are opened.
A useful trick is to try buying tickets for
each stage of a connecting journey separately. This works because if
you book your trip as one complete journey the same conditions will be
applied throughout, whereas it is possible that better terms and
prices could be applied to different stages of the trip. This is
especially true if you are crossing countries and more than one train
company is involved.
This does involve some more work on your part, but can sometimes
result in considerable savings on a long journey.
Here’s how to book connecting journeys online:
Firstly plan the journey as one single trip.
Make a note of any connections you need to
make and the timings. Then enter each stage as
a separate search, which will bring up all of the class and
flexibility options available for each train journey.
Choose your preferred travel class and ticket flexibility for each
stage and add them separately to the shopping basket.
Keep a note of the original timings so you can make sure you allow
enough time to make any connections, perhaps allowing a little longer.
Once you’ve added all your journey stages to the basket, check the
prices against the total journey price and decide which is the best
way to book your journey.
Don't forget the discounts that may be
available. Many train companies offer child, youth and senior fares.
The qualifying conditions for such fares – and the amount of the
discount – often varies between train operators.
So good luck and here's to a fast, comfortable
and economical train journey in Europe!
Trains in Europe
is part of the Drive-Alive family of websites dedicated to surface
travel in Europe.