What's the best way to buy advance train tickets in Europe?
April 1, 2019 9:27 AM Subscribe
I want to buy two reserved tickets for the Thalys high-speed train from Paris to Amsterdam on June 18th. I tried to do this yesterday and got so frustrated...
On the eurail site they kept trying to get me to buy a Eurailpass (ALL we want are those two tickets on that one train, one way from Paris to Amsterdam). I just couldn't get to a place where I could buy the tickets. I probably spent an hour on this with no tickets bought.
I wound up on some other site called Rail Europe (raileurope.com), which turns out to be a travel agency. I tried to buy the tickets on the site and three times it told me my credit card didn't go through and no reservation was made, no order number, etc. But when I checked on my credit card site, there were THREE identical charges for those tickets. Luckily, when I complained, Rail Europe quickly removed all charges. But now I still want to get the train tickets for June 18th!
Any ideas of how to do this reliably and hopefully without extra fees?
On the eurail site they kept trying to get me to buy a Eurailpass (ALL we want are those two tickets on that one train, one way from Paris to Amsterdam). I just couldn't get to a place where I could buy the tickets. I probably spent an hour on this with no tickets bought.
I wound up on some other site called Rail Europe (raileurope.com), which turns out to be a travel agency. I tried to buy the tickets on the site and three times it told me my credit card didn't go through and no reservation was made, no order number, etc. But when I checked on my credit card site, there were THREE identical charges for those tickets. Luckily, when I complained, Rail Europe quickly removed all charges. But now I still want to get the train tickets for June 18th!
Any ideas of how to do this reliably and hopefully without extra fees?
Best answer: Not Eurail.
Buy directly from the train companies. They all have etickets via their websites.
For thalys, as mention www.thalys.com, or the Belgian rail website: www.b-europe.com, or the Dutch national train NS https://www.nsinternational.nl/en/home
posted by humboldt32 at 9:42 AM on April 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Buy directly from the train companies. They all have etickets via their websites.
For thalys, as mention www.thalys.com, or the Belgian rail website: www.b-europe.com, or the Dutch national train NS https://www.nsinternational.nl/en/home
posted by humboldt32 at 9:42 AM on April 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Or for an all in one English option use Trainline.com. Prices are in pounds but it's useful to see everything laid out with nice UX. I found two tickets on your date for £50 each leaving in the morning.
posted by teststrip at 10:07 AM on April 1, 2019
posted by teststrip at 10:07 AM on April 1, 2019
Response by poster: DONE!!! via thalys.com. Took 5 minutes, no problems paying. THANK YOU!
posted by DMelanogaster at 10:18 AM on April 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by DMelanogaster at 10:18 AM on April 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I see this question has been answered but for future reference—
Yes to seat 61.com—never travel by train without checking there
Another option for European bookings isLoco2 (www.loco2.com).
posted by Logophiliac at 10:34 AM on April 1, 2019
Yes to seat 61.com—never travel by train without checking there
Another option for European bookings isLoco2 (www.loco2.com).
posted by Logophiliac at 10:34 AM on April 1, 2019
All the European train company's websites have english versions.
The thing about loco2 and trainline.com is that they don't have full access to the pool of tickets. When I checked NS there were €35 tickets, which it seems, trainline.com didn't show.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:42 AM on April 1, 2019
The thing about loco2 and trainline.com is that they don't have full access to the pool of tickets. When I checked NS there were €35 tickets, which it seems, trainline.com didn't show.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:42 AM on April 1, 2019
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posted by grouse at 9:32 AM on April 1, 2019 [8 favorites]