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Train from Amsterdam to Paris
Sat, 04/14/2007 - 11:15
materialgirl
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Hi, I had a question about trains and reservations… We are landing in Amsterdam May 3 at 6:30 am and want to head to Paris in the afternoon to begin our trip (we are going to tour Amsterdam for a few days at the end before we leave).. We were worried that the train would be full if we didn’t make reservations, so I went online to raileurope.com and did a search for trains from Ams. to Paris, and since I have a railpass I checked off that box.. But it says that reservations are already all sold out for all trains that day! However, when I search for just a 2nd class ticket for those cities, it says that there are still some available. How does that work? And should I be worried that there are no trains available? I didn’t think that early May was high season yet! Thanks for any help that you guys can give me Smile

Sat, 04/14/2007 - 11:59
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nivid
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First off, don’t bother using RailEurope.  If you want to look at train schedules use the German rail site:

http://reiseauskunft…

You can head to Paris from Amsterdam typically every hour.  Not all the trains are direct though (most of the time you’ll have to make a change in Brussels).

It doesn’t even matter when your travelling (even in peak season), you’ll never not be able to get on a train.  It works best if you buy your reservation a day or 2 before.  It’s really ok, you’ll get what you need that close to the trip.  There are also times where you don’t even need a reservation anyway.  I’m sure you could even get it when you arrive in Amsterdam that morning (there’s a train staion right in the Schipol airport, so you could buy it right there).



Sat, 04/14/2007 - 15:14
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materialgirl
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Thank you so much! The site that you gave me makes so much more sense than Rail Europe, lol.

Sat, 04/14/2007 - 15:37
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Thalys trains are pretty much a monopoly on this route.  You can check seat availability and buy tickets at www.thalys.com  I’d also suggest reading this bit of information on Thalys trains amd the special reservations and also how to avoid the Thalys trains (and their expensive reservations) by making a connection or two.
http://www.railsaver…