I have the same question..any replies?

Additionally..

I have to take a train from Luzern to Venice.
IT is a Euronight.

Can I reserve ahead..just the previous day?

I’ll try to get all the questions from both of you….

It is easy to buy tickets from the automated kiosks in Italy or from trenitalia.com. Generally you can wait until the day you travel, buy a ticket from the kiosk and hop on the next train. However, if you take a train that requires a reservation you need to buy your ticket (with reservation) at least an hour in advance. If you’re using a railpass (so don’t need a ticket, just a reservation)or your route involves more than 2 connections, you can’t use the kiosk so you need to plan on waiting in line for at least an hour. In that case, I’d plan on being to the station 2 1/2 hours before train time. All in all, getting tickets and reservations a day in advance for popular destinations is a good idea if reservations are required ("R" in a square on timetable or departure board) or recommended ("R" in a circle).

For overnight trains (which virtually always require reservations) I’d reserve about 3 days in advance — and as early as possible if you want something other than a reclining seat or the 6 berth couchette or if you’re traveling on Friday or Sunday night.

Some trains require reservations. On other trains you can make reservations but they’re not required. You can reserve seats in either 1st class or 2nd class on trains that accept reservations. On some trains (local, district or regional trains) reservations aren’t accepted at all — and there may be only 2nd class service.

Anyone can buy 2nd class train tickets — the under 26 only applies to buying a 2nd class eurailpass.

One good tip I read somewhere on this forum — when you arrive in a new city buy your tickets and reservations for the next trip before you leave the train station.

Thanx Old lady…

I am extremely impressed by your knowledge and patience..on quite a few questions I have posted across verious forums.

Now if you were only a young lady…..….just kidding.

One more quick question…

I am in the US..and can use RailEurope/Pass to reserve my tickets.
I already have an Eurail 6 day SelectPass.

I need to reserve TGV PAris- Montreux (Switzerland)
And Euronight Luzern- Venice

The thing is..RailEurope adds about 15$ for shipping..
wondering if it is worth it…

What do you think?

More so,since I am just spending a couple of days..at each place..and it would be a criminal waste of time to be at the station for 3 hours.

german trains are un beatable in this world

Reservations for TGV trains cost 4 euros in Europe. By the time you read all the fine print, I think you’ll find a $ 10 handling fee for reservations (but not for railpasses) in addition to charging at least $10 for that 4 euro reservation plus the $15 shipping fee. I would not buy reservations before you get to Europe if you can possibly avoid it. I think you’ll find similar fees and overcharges for the night train.

The really long lines for reservations are in Italy — lines aren’t nearly so bad in France. It MAY be possible to buy reservations from automated kiosks in France (I have not tried it). Also, you only have to wait in line once — you should be able to buy both reservations at the same time in Paris. Since the Paris train stations are also major hubs for local transportation you will probably be in or near a station on your first day in Paris…

YES! someone already has a post on the first page of the board regarding what I need to ask about.

I have a 7 day 5 country select pass.

If I am going from Brennero to Milan and I have a connection from Verona that requires a reservation, Can I use a kiosk to get the reservation? I only have about 20 mins between trains so I need to make sure I can get on the train in Verona to Milan without a problem. please reply. This is the last connundrum on my itinerary!! WOO!

Also – If i can’t get it at the kiosk and I have to wait in line for a stupid reservation, should I board the train and pay for the reservation on the train? I’m not going to be in italy until I get to brennero, so maybe I can get the reservation there. However, I am going to be in Brennero fairly early on a monday – at 10 AM. I don’t even know if that little station will be open to get reservations there for my next trip, or if 15 minutes is enough time to get that at Brennero while I’m there.

This is my schedule for that day:

Munchen – Kufstein 6:40 – 8:04
Kufstein – Brennero 8:34 – 10:02
Brennero – Verona (connection to Milan) 10:14 – 12:59
Verona – Milan 13:19 – 14:55

Please help! THank you thank you. oldlady rules.

Since you know which trains you want to take, you can make all your reservations (even for the Italian trains) at once in Munich — as I recall it was relatively painless/line-free there.

However, I’m not really sure you need reservations for the trains in Italy. I don’t think the Brennero – Verona EC train requires a reservation — so I’d try to make one, but if I didn’t have time I wouldn’t worry about it. For Verona to Milan there are a couple of trains an hour to choose from and only about 1/2 require reservations, so just take the next train if you don’t have a reservation.

wow, okay. so if I can make reservations for italian trains while at munich Hbf, I’ll just do that during my stay there before I leave. I had no idea that you could do that. I figured all the train stations only sell tickets for the countries they’re in.

according to trenitalia.com, there is no reservation needed for brenner to verona, but the second leg of the trip to Milan from Verona is IC. I read on slowtrav that italian stations have handwritten cardboards for their traintimes! ha! I’m going to have to be really clear-headed when I get to these places so that I can maneuver through these stations as fast as possible. wish me luck! thanks again, oldlady. your a wealth of train knowledge!

Trust me, Junebug — by your second or third train trip you’ll be an expert. Everything about European train travel makes perfect sense AFTER you’ve experienced it. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense the way you expect it’s going to…

I don’t think IC (Intercity) trains actually require reservations — think it’s only recommended. The EurostarItalia trains on this route do require reservations and they’re something like 18 euros, so I’d avoid eurostarItalia trains — they’re only 10 to 30 minutes faster. Since it’s a short trip, I wouldn’t worry too much about a reservation if it isn’t required.

Go to http://railpass.com/… click on "info center" then "using your railpass" then "supplements." It gives a complete list, by country, of trains that require supplements and/or reservations.

that website direction is pure gold, oldlady. Exactly what I’ve been looking for….thanks again