Eurail Stories

Sometimes it can be hard to find space to sit on European trains. I know the first time Craig travelled in Europe that was the case! So how can you ensure you find a great place to sit?

Make a reservation: most European trains, especially international and intercity trains, allow you to reserve a seat when you book your ticket. If you’re travelling on a Eurail pass you can buy an extra supplement at the train station. You must do this several hours before your train arrives and you often have to do this a day in advance. The price of a booked ticket depends on the country you are travelling in.

It’s not always necessary to make a reservation (although it’s compulsory on some trains). Try to be aware of public holidays beginning and ending as well as the week-long commuters heading home for the weekend.

If you’re not willing (or too late) to make a reservation you might still have a chance.

1. Move quickly

Those hunched grandmas may look slow, but not after you’ve received several elbows in the ribs. It’s often a case of first on first served.

2. Divide and conquer

If you’re part of a group, split up and find what you can. Rendezvous using your mobile phones.

3. Check the reservation signs

Sometimes a seat reservation will begin after you plan to leave the train. Score! If things look desperate you’ll at least get a seat part of the way.

4. Ask people to move their stuff

Seats are for people, not bags or coats. Don’t feel embarrassed about asking people to move their things. Try to be nice though: you don’t want to be sitting next to an angry passenger for several hours.

5. Sit where you’re not meant to

There’s a certain risk involved here, but playing the dumb tourist can help you. If there are no standard seats left check if the mother’s compartment is empty, buy a drink in the restaurant and drink it very, very slowly or risk invading first class.

After spending five months in the island nation of Malta it was really time to leave. I booked a Eurail pass, planned furiously then caught the ferry over to Sicily.

I had a Eurail Global Pass planned and ready but I didn’t want to start it for a couple of weeks. I bought tickets on the overnight train to Rome. What an experience! I spoke no Italian, the sales agent no English. He kept saying “reservation” over and over but I had no idea what he was talking about. I didn’t have a reservation!

In Italy you have to validate tickets before you travel using yellow punches on the platform. Luckily I saw some people doing it or I wouldn’t have known. The whole situation was bewildering.

Locusts

Then the people started to gather. Like swarming locusts, every University student on the whole island jammed onto the platform. Everyone wanted to get back to Rome after the Summer holidays. Person after person arrived until the platform was seething with teens and twenty-somethings. I suddenly understood why “reservation” was so important.

As the train pulled into the station everyone swarmed to the edge and a scrum ensued around each door. People fought to get out; people fought to get in. I jumped in where I could — my massive backpack concussing a couple of unfortunates behind me — and found a seat. A seat!

Relief followed by panic

As people started sitting in the corridors I realised how full this train was. And then I realised I was sitting in first class. There was no way I could afford a first class supplement but damned if I was sitting on the coridor’s steel floor for the next 12 hours.

One person in my cabin spoke a little English and, even better, he was in the same situation. With assurances his seat would be there when he returned he left to speak with the conductor. How many euros would my underhand “supplement” be? I had no idea but it was going to be more than the couple it would have cost me to make a reservation before hand!

We were in luck. The train was so packed with people the conductors had decided to abolish the divide between first and second class and I settled in to enjoy my so-called luxury. My introduction to European rail journeys was certainly hectic but that mad energy has made me come back time and time again.

Craig was using an individual train ticket from Trenitalia, the Italian rail company. Find out about Italy Rail Passes.

Wow, check out this steamy article on the Indie Travel Podcast as Dave Prine talks of his passionate affair with the European rail system…

I have a confession to make: I had a tawdry affair in Europe. It started out innocently, but before long it escalated into a full-blown relationship. I spent the better portion of a year getting to know her. I returned to Europe several summers in a row and continued the relationship, often exploiting it to my advantage. After a while, we lost touch when I stopped traveling. But last year, I returned and was reunited with my true love: the European rail system.

Hot stuff? I think so. Read all of Love on the Rails here.

How would you describe your relationship with Eurail?