Europe Train Tickets

Probably 10 % of railpass tourists would’ve traveled more cheaply by buying Europe train tickets as they went. While point-to-point Europe train tickets are sold by travel agents in the United States or some other countries, you can keep your choices open by buying europe train tickets as you will need them. Europe train tickets are sold at a lot of travel agencies in Europe, at staffed ticket windows and automated machines in stations, and on some countries’ national rail web sites. Personally, bridge any communication gap by writing out your plan: destination city, date, time (if you want a reservation), how many people, first or second class.

Buy Europe train tickets at the station:

Europe Train Tickets

UK rail stations don’t sell total Europe train tickets, and the Eurostar ticket office at St Pancras can only sell tickets as far as Paris or Brussels.  But once you’re in mainland Europe, most main railway stations can sell international europe train tickets

, at least for trains originating in that country and often for other countries as well.  Here’s a rough guide as to whether buying Europe train tickets at the station is a good idea or not:

Buying Europe train tickets on the day at the station is not the cheapest option for other journeys & a very bad idea for Eurostar journeys:  For most long distance international journeys in western Europe, and for inter-city journeys within countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway and even the UK, there are cheaper fares if you book in advance, more expensive fares if you buy on the day of travel.  And reservation is compulsory on most western European international trains and on all long-distance trains within France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal & Sweden, so tickets can indeed ‘sell out’ at busy times, even though there are usually places available even on the day.  It therefore pays to pre-book these journeys if you can.  Eurostar is an extreme example, as London to Paris starts at just ￡39 if you book in advance, but you’ll pay a whopping ￡140+ if you try to buy on the day of travel.  So don’t turn up at the station without a ticket unless you have to.  In Italy, full-price fares aren’t too expensive so buying at the station is still a reasonable option, but even there, you can get a 15% or 30% discount by pre-booking at the Trenitalia website.

Buy Europe train tickets in person:

Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk) has a travel centre at 1 Regent Street, London, SW1Y 4XT, open 10:00-18:00 Mondays to Fridays, 10:00-16:00 Saturdays, nearest Underground Piccadilly Circus.  It gets very busy in the Summer, so allow plenty of time.  Rail Europe are a subsidiary of French Railways, so are good for journeys to France and via France to Italy, Spain, Switzerland, but they don’t always have the best prices for travel via Brussels to Germany, Austria, eastern Europe & Scandinavia, for which you’re often better off calling Deutsche Bahn’s (German railways) UK office.

TrainsEurope (www.trainseurope.co.uk) has a desk at St Pancras station in London, inside the domestic travel centre marked ‘National Rail Tickets’ underneath platforms 1-4.  It’s open 09:30-17:30 Monday-Friday and most Saturdays 10:30-16:30.  Unlike the Eurostar ticket office, it can sell tickets for journeys all over Europe, and make European seat, couchette or sleeper reservations.

Cambridge railway station also has a TrainsEurope desk to sell Europe train tickets, open 11:00-17:00 Tuesday-Friday, and their main office is at March railway station, Cambridgeshire, open 09:00-17:30 Monday to Friday, closed Saturdays & Sundays.

Buy Europe train tickets by phone:

If it online booking seems too daunting, you may prefer to buy Europe train tickets by phone from a specialist booking agency.  This usually costs a bit more than booking online as agencies normally charge a booking fee, which in the UK varies between ￡8 & ￡35.  Some agencies are better than others for particular journeys because of the reservation system they use, so click on the links below for a list of recommended agencies in the UK and worldwide, and read the advice before picking up the phone:

The TrainsEurope desk at St Pancras station in London can sell Europe train tickets, unlike the Eurostar ticket office which can only sell Eurostar tickets to Paris or Brussels!  It’s located in the National Rail travel centre, open 09:30-17:30 Monday-Friday & most Saturdays 10:30-16:30.

Rail Europe: 0844 848 5 848

Irish Rail: (01) 703 1885

Buy Europe Train Tickets Online:

European Train Tickets Online

The best way to buy Europe train tickets is online direct from the relevant European train operator.  This way, you’ll pay the cheap European prices, with no middle-man, no booking fees, no postage costs or agency mark-ups.  There are often cheap deals available if you book in advance, and you can browse availability & prices for different dates at your leisure.  The website you need to use depends on which journey you want to book and on what ticket delivery options it offers, check links below for cheap Europe train tickets:

Buy Europe train tickets in India at www.raileurope.co.in

Buy Europe train tickets in Singapore at www.raileurope.com.sg

Buy Europe train tickets in Hong Kong at www.raileurope.hk

Buy Europe train tickets in Japan at www.raileurope-japan.com

Buy Europe train tickets in South Africa at www.raileurope.co.za

Buy Europe train tickets in Brazil at www.raileurope.com.br

Buy Europe train tickets in Israel at www.raileurope.co.il

Or in any other country www.raileurope-world.com