A nasty surprise experienced by quite a few first-time
rail travellers is that seat reservations are not included with an
Interrail pass. This means that you need to learn the “fine art” of buying seat
reservations.
To do this, you have 3 main options. These are:
Buy seat reservations directly from a rail provider.
Buy seat reservations from an online platform.
Buy seat reservations from Eurail (the “Interrail
app”).
Buying seat reservations directly from a rail provider
Even if it can be somewhat tricky, buying seat
reservations directly from the rail providers for each leg of your journey has
some advantages:
Many rail providers allow you to select your preferred
seat from a seat map.
Seat reservations purchased directly from rail
providers are (almost always) cheaper.
Because each rail provider has its own (unique) system
for making seat reservations, I will explain how to make seat reservations with
specific rail providers, where relevant, in the section on suggested
itineraries.
Buying seat reservations directly from an online
platform
It is fairly straightforward to buy seat reservations
from DB International and Rail Europe.
When
entering your journey details and before you click on “Search”:
·
Check
“Interrail”.
Buying seat reservations from Eurail
Buying seat reservations from Eurailshould be seen
as a “last resort”. It is almost always more expensive than booking seat
reservations directly from rail providers. However, for some journey legs,
Eurail is the only option for Interrail pass holders to buy seat reservations.
This is how to buy seat reservations using Eurail if
you have an Interrail pass:
Create an account and login using the same details
(e.g., e-mail address) that you used to purchase and activate your Interrail
pass.
Click on “Seat reservations – Book seats” and enter
the city or station from which you are departing, the city or station which you
are traveling to, and an approximate departure time.
Choose the trip you created when you purchased and
activated your Interrail pass.
If seat reservations are required (or recommended),
click on “Book seats”.
Choose from available reservation classes (e.g., first
or second class) and add them to your cart.
(If no options are available, passholder seats are
probably sold out. This can happen, especially on Eurostar. If it does, choose
another train. The best way of avoiding this happening is to book early.)
Pay for your seat reservations.
In most cases, your seat reservations will be sent to
you by e-mail within a few minutes.
The option you should choose for buying seat
reservations will depend on where you are travelling to. In the second part of
this chapter, I will explain what you need to know to buy seat reservations for
the routes described in the final chapter (“Suggested itineraries”) of this
book.
Seat
reservations for travel from Sweden
Interrail
passholders are required to buy seat reservations for rail travel in
Sweden:
with
SJ to Haparanda (for Finland)
with
SJ to Oslo, Trondheim and Narvik (for Norway)
with
either SJ or Snälltåget to Copenhagen (for Denmark, mainland Europe and the British
Isles)
Interrail
passholders can buy seat reservations from SJ (https://www.sj.se/) as follows:
When
entering your journey details and before clicking on “Search journey”, click on
“Traveller 1, Adult” (or your name if you have an account with SJ).
Check
“Travels with travel card.”
Scroll
down and select “Interrail or Eurail.”
The
prices you now see for cancellable tickets are for Interrail
passholders.
You
are able to either select seats from a seat map or enter seating
preferences.
Your
seat reservations will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
Interrail
passholders can buy seat reservations from Snälltågetas follows:
After
entering your journey details:
Check
“I have an Interrail or Eurail Pass”.
Enter
your pass number and click on “Validate”.
The prices you now see are for Interrail
passholders.
You
are able to enter seating preferences.
Your
seat reservations will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
Seat
reservations for onwards travel in Finland
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel
in Finland with Finish Railways.
You
can buy optional seat reservations or pay for a cabin (on night trains) by calling
Finish Railways on +358 923 192 902. Seat reservations cost 25% of the
ticket price for the same train. Cabins cost 50% of the ticket price for the
same train.
You
are able to either select seats from a seat map or enter seating
preferences.
Your
seat reservations will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
Seat
reservations for onwards travel in Norway
Interrail
passengers are required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel in
Norway with Norwegian State Railways.
You
can buy seat reservations from Enturas follows:
After
entering your journey details, click on “1 adult …”.
Remove
“1 Adult” and add 1 “Interrail/Eurail seat reservation”.
Select
1st or 2nd class and enter your Interrail pass number.
Click
on “Confirm selected”.
Click
on “Search”.
The
prices you now see are for Interrail passholders.
You
are able to select seats from a seat map.
Your
seat reservations will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
Seat
reservations for onwards travel in Denmark
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel
in Denmark with Danish State Railways.
You
can buy optional seat reservations from Danish State Railways (https://www.dsb.dk/) as follows:
When
entering your journey details and before clicking on “Søg rejse”, select “0
passagerer” (0 passengers) and “1 plads” (1 seat).
The
prices you now see are for seat reservations only.
You
are (sometimes) able to select seats from a seat map.
Your
seat reservations will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
Seat
reservations for onwards travel to, in and beyond Germany
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for a rail journey
that starts and ends in Germany.
Interrail
passengers can be required to buy seat reservations for rail journeys to/from
Denmark, as well as for onwards travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Austria, Switzerland, Czechia and Poland, as well as Croatia and Hungary (via
Austria).
Interrail
passengers are required to buy a “passholder seat reservation” (which
costs more and is not the same as a seat reservation) for onwards travel
to France. This cannot be purchased from DB International. (For ways to
purchase “passholder seat reservations” for onwards travel in France, see “Seat
reservations for onwards travel in France”.)
Enter
the station your journey details (number of passengers, first or second class)
Enter
stopovers (for any overnights) and how long these should be.
(This is an iterative process: You will need to adjust stopover lengths
until you find your preferred itinerary.)
Set
the minimum transfer time to 45 minutes.
(Why? Because German trains are very often delayed.)
Check
“Book seat only”.
Click
on “Search”.
The
website will respond with some suggested itineraries. The prices for which are
for seat reservations only.
If
none of the suggested itineraries work for you, click on “Modify details” and I
suggest making small changes to the length of any stopovers or adding a
stopover to force a longer transfer time. Click on “Change” to see some new
suggestions. This is an iterative process and (with a little persistence) you
can often find a much better itinerary.
If
one of the suggestions does work for you, select it by clicking on “Continue”.
If
none of the suggested itineraries work for you, click on “Modify details” and I
suggest making small changes to the length of any stopovers or adding a
stopover to force a longer transfer time. Click on “Change” to see some new
suggestions. This is an iterative process, and with a little persistence, one you
often find a much better itinerary.
If
one of the suggestions does work for you, select it by clicking on “Continue”.
The
website responds with an option to select seats from a seat map on most trains
which are operated by DB. On most other trains, seats are assigning automatically.
(Note:
Sometimes one or more legs of your journey will be missing from the seat
reservations offered to you by DB International. This happens if (1) seats
cannot be reserved, e.g., on some regional trains (This is not a problem.), (2)
a train is very busy (This is not usually a problem. You can still travel and
you will probably find a free seat.), or (3) seats cannot be reserved by DB
International, e.g., on some trains operated by other rail providers (This is a
problem if seat reservations are required. If this happens make sure to
reserve a seat with the rail provider for that leg of your journey.)
After
selecting seats, click on “Continue” and pay for them.
You
will receive an e-mail with your seat reservations within a few minutes.
(Tip:
I recommend using DB International to buy seat reservations for as long a
stretch of your journey as possible. This is because you pay one seat
reservation fee irrespective of how many legs you travel, how many stopovers
you make, and how long they are. This includes overnight stopovers! For
example, on a rail journey from Stockholm to Amsterdam, it makes more sense to
make seat reservations for Copenhagen to Amsterdam with DB International than
to make separate seat reservations for Copenhagen to Hamburg (with Danish State
Railways) and only use DB International for onwards travel from Hamburg.)
Onwards
travel in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
Interrail
passengers are not required to (and cannot) buy seat reservations for
onwards travel on domestic trains in the Netherlands (operated by Dutch
National Railways), Belgium (operated by Belgian National Railways) and Luxembourg (operated by Luxembourg State
Railways), as well as cross-border trains within these
countries. Just use your Interrail pass, get on any train and sit in any
available seat. One exception is Eurostar (formerly Thalys): They charge a lot
of money for tickets and seat reservations for cross-border journeys that can
be easily accomplished using domestic trains.
Onwards
travel to Great Britain
Interrail
passengers are required to buy “passholder seat reservations” for the
Eurostar to Great Britain (London).
You
can buy passholder seat reservations from Rail Europeas follows:
Enter
your journey details.
Click
“Add a rail pass” and select “Interrail Global Pass” (1st or 2nd
class).
Click
on “Search”.
The
website will return a list of possible journeys.
Choose
your preferred one.
Enter
your passenger details.
Click
on “Add to basket” and pay for your seat reservations.
You
will receive an e-mail with your seat reservations within a few minutes.
Onwards
travel in Great Britain
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel
in Great Britain. However, seat reservations in Great Britain are free.
Seat
reservations can be obtained online for all British rail providers from
Great Western Railway as follows:
Create
an account and login.
Click
on “My account” (or “Hello, …”).
Click
on “Make a booking” (or “View bookings”).
Click
on “Make a seat/bike reservation”.
Enter
your journey details and choose “Standard” of “First class”.
Choose
an itinerary and select “Anytime Single” (It doesn’t actually matter what you
choose as you are not buying a ticket).
Click
on “Continue” and make a seat reservation.
You
will receive an e-mail with your seat reservations within a few minutes.
(I
have no idea why this works …).
Onwards
travel in Ireland
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel
in Ireland.
Seat
reservations can be obtained online from Irish Railfor standard class only as follows (first
class seat reservations need to be made at railway stations):
When
entering your journey details and before clicking on “Go”, set the number of
“Adults” to “0” and the number of “Reservation Only” to “1”.
Select
the cheapest option (which is often free), noting that if you select first
class, you are paying for an upgrade (not just a seat reservation), and if you
want to pay only for the seat reservation, you need to do so at a railway
station.
Click
on “Book tickets” a couple of times.
Click
on “Manual Seat Selection” to choose seats.
Confirm
your seat selection, skip forward, proceed as a guest, enter your details and
pay if there is a fee, and download your seat reservation
Onwards
travel to (and in) France (and to Spain)
Interrail
passengers are required to buy “passholder seat reservations” for almost
all long-distance trains to/from and in France (operated by French National
Railways (and partners) and all long-distance as well as many
regional trains to/from and in Spain (operated by Spanish National Railways).
Interrail
passengers are not required to (and cannot) but seat reservations for
most regional trains (“Trains Express Régionaux” – operated by French National
Railways) in France.
You
can buy passholder seat reservations from Rail Europeas follows:
Enter
your journey details.
(For
journeys between France and Spain, you need to make separate bookings to/from
Barcelona to access passholder seat reservations.)
Click
“Add a rail pass” and select “Interrail Global Pass” (1st or 2nd
class).
Click
on “Search”.
The
website will return a list of possible journeys.
Choose
your preferred one.
The
website will prompt you to enter any seating references (e.g., Aisle or Window,
Upper or Lower Deck on double-decker trains) or to select your seat from a seat
map.
Indicate
your seating preferences.
Choose
a delivery method (“Print-at-home” or “Mobile ticket”).
Enter
your passenger details.
Click
on “Add to basket” and pay for your seat reservations.
Your
seat reservations will be delivered in the manner you requested within a few
minutes.
Onwards
travel in Switzerland (and to Italy)
Interrail
passengers are not required to (and cannot) buy seat reservations for
onwards travel on domestic trains in Switzerland (operated by Swiss Federal
Railways: https://www.sbb.ch/).
Interrail
passengers are required to buy “passholder seat reservations” for onward
journeys from Switzerland to Italy, and for long-distance trains in Italy.
(For
journeys between Switzerland (Zürich or Basel) and Italy, you need to make
separate bookings to/from Milan to access passholder seat reservations.)
Click
“Add a rail pass” and select “Interrail Global Pass” (1st or 2nd
class).
Click
on “Search”.
The
website will return a list of possible journeys.
Choose
your preferred one.
The
website will prompt you to enter any seating references (e.g., Aisle or Window,
Upper or Lower Deck on double-decker trains).
Indicate
your seating preferences (or choose your seat from a seat map for some Italian
trains).
Choose
a delivery method (“Print-at-home” or “Mobile ticket”).
Enter
your passenger details.
Click
on “Add to basket” and pay for your seat reservations.
Your
seat reservations will be delivered in the manner you requested within a few
minutes.
Interrail
passengers are not required to (and cannot) buy seat reservations for
onwards travel on regional trains (“Regionale” and “Regionale Veloce”) in Italy
(operated by Italian State Railways).
Onwards
travel in Austria (and to Slovakia, Slovenia and Italy)
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel
on domestic trains in Austria (operated by Austrian Federal Railways) or to Slovakia (as far as Bratislava).
Interrail
passengers are required to buy seat reservations to continue to Slovenia
(Ljubljana) and northern Italy (Trieste).
You
can buy seat reservations from Austrian Federal Railways as follows:
Enter
your journey details.
Click
on “Book ticket”
Check
“Seat reservation only”.
Click
on “Find”.
The
website will return a list of possible journeys.
Choose
your preferred one.
Choose
1st or 2nd class.
Click
on “Continue to reservation”.
Choose
your seating preferences.
(You are sometimes able to choose your seat from a
seat map.)
Click
on “Continue” (several times) to enter your name and e-mail address and to pay
for your seat reservations.
You
will receive an e-mail with your booking confirmation within a few minutes.
(Note:
Seat reservations (and tickets) can be purchased from Austrian Federal Railways
for onwards travel to Croatia (via Slovenia), Serbia and Hungary. However, seat
reservations (and tickets) for onwards travel to all of these countries can
also be purchased from DB International, which makes more sense for journeys
from Sweden.)
Onwards
travel in Czechia
Interrail
passengers are required to buy seat reservations for onwards travel in
Czechia (operated by Czech Railways).
You
can buy seat reservations from Czech Railways as follows:
Enter
your journey details, 1st or 2nd class, and click
“Search”.
Select
your preferred route and choose “Purchase a ticket” or “Purchase reservation
only”. (If you are purchasing a ticket, click on “Add a reservation”.)
Select
a seat from the seat map.
Pay
for your tickets and/or seat reservation.
Print
out your tickets and/or seat reservation.
Onwards
travel in Poland
Interrail
passengers are not required to buy seat reservations for regional trains
in Poland (operated by Polish Railways).
Interrail
passengers are required to buy seat reservations for long distance
routes in Poland (operated by Polish Railways).
You
can buy seat reservations from Polish Railways as follows:
Login
(or Register and Login).
Click
on “Buy a ticket”.
Check
“Buy a reservation for your ticket”.
Enter
your Interrail pass number and its validity.
Enter
your journey details and click on “Search for a connection”.
Select
your preferred route and click on “Buy a ticket”.
Choose
1st or 2nd class.
Enter
your seating preferences or select a seats from the seat map if this option is
available.
Click
on “Go to summary” and pay for your seat reservation.
Print
out your seat reservation.
Seat
reservations for travel to other countries in Europe
Travel
to the following countries by rail is more challenging (but doable). Route
specific information concerning journey planning, tickets and seat reservations
can be found on the Suggested itineraries page:
Greece
(Athens)
Ireland
(Dublin and Belfast)
Portugal
(Lisbon)
Romania
(Bucharest)
Bulgaria
(Sofia)
Moldova
(Chişinău)
There are currently
no cross-border rail connections to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and
North Macedonia and Serbia.
