Rail Europe Inc

We used this to buy tickets from Budapest to Vienna and from Vienna to Prague for our Eastern Europe trip. I wouldn’t use it again, because:
— The tickets are more expensive than buying directly.
— They do not give you an electronic ticket — instead, you have to pay to get your ticket mailed to you.
— They do not make a seat reservation for you on the train, which means serious hassle finding a seat on international trains where most other people have a reservation.
Instead, I would recommend buying tickets at the station, or asking your hotel concierge to help you buy. You shouldn’t have a problem buying a train ticket a couple of days in advance.

Unnecessary and opaque. Here are the things you need to know (at least in Spain)
1. Tickets booked through Rail Europe can’t be exchanged at the station, only through rail Europe.
2. Fine print (which I read after booking, my fault) states that you pay a fee to Rail Europe in addition to whatever exchange fees the rail co charge
3. These apply even if you book «flexible» tickets (exchangeable for minimal fees)

Please, please, please, do not use this service. It looks like a nice and user-​friendly site, but it is a ripoff, and all of the ticket confirmation codes are invalid in Italy! Because they are a ticket reseller, it is also more expensive than if you book direct through the train sites. Read on for my experience, but I highly recommend you not use this service.
When my husband and I were planning our first trip to Europe, we wanted to travel by train to get from country to country. Rail Europe had the most user-​friendly website, and without independent knowledge of how to coordinate trains between countries, we assumed Rail Europe would be a good place to use.
We were absolutely wrong. After our purchase, everything seemed ok – we were able to print tickets for England and France at home, and it simply said that when we arrived in Italy we would need to enter our confirmation code to print tickets at the stations. It seemed simple enough. However, when we arrived in Italy, we discovered that all trains were Trenitalia, and that the confirmation codes issued through Rail Europe were invalid. When we first had the problem, we waited in a long line and nearly missed our train to talk to Trenitalia staff. Multiple staff members became involved in our case, and none could figure out the problem or how to use our confirmation codes from Rail Europe. Despite their best intentions and trying to be helpful, the best they could offer was to sell us a new ticket and ask for a refund from Rail Europe.
We boarded our first train with the instructions from Trenitalia staff to explain the situation and buy a ticket from the conductor when he came by. He never came, so we did not have an issue on this ride. However, in the meantime, we emailed Rail Europe for advice. It was a kind email. When they responded (which was not immediate, so we had to deal with this issue again before we heard from them), they evidently did not read our initial email. We clarified that we did not need a refund, but that the Trenitialia staff didn’t know what to do with us except tell us to contact Rail Europe and perhaps get a refund and re-​purchase tickets in Italy. Rail Europe denied us a refund we did not ask for. They also blamed us for nearly missing our train, stating that because we booked the first and second legs ourselves, the 25 minute layover was insufficient so it was our fault. They completely ignored the fact that we could not GET our tickets. They also booked us various trips with multiple legs with much less than 25 min layovers.
I was infuriated to receive their response, which not only did not address our concern or offer any solutions, but in fact blamed us for the problem. I responded stating that their response was completely unacceptable and stated that they needed to respond to me urgently, as all the remaining tickets we had were booked in Italy through Rail Europe. They never responded again. My husband and I wasted valuable travel time getting to every Trenitalia station early to see if anyone there might be able to help us. No one could figure it out. As a result, we rode trains with only receipt/​confirmations, but not actual tickets, worrying the whole time that we would be fined for something we could not control. The stress and time this took was ridiculous.
Finally, the very last station had a man who figured out how to issue our tickets. Unfortunately, his English was not great so we do not know what he did to make the confirmation codes work. We had to handle the entire thing on our own. I NEVER heard back from Rail Europe, despite various emails including stating that I was completely disappointed and would ensure that review sites heard about their unprofessional, unacceptable practices.
So, buyer beware. Book through Trenitalia directly if traveling in Europe. Someone should penalize Rail Europe for taking money from consumers and not providing the service/​ticket that they say they are. I hope someone may read this and it may save you the stress, anxiety, and time that we had to spend trying to resolve it.

Was a great way to compare prices and book Eurostar online in USD. I bought my ticket about a month in advance from London. All we had to do was print out confirmations. High rating for convenience and clarity!

It’s a great way to get from Brussels to CDG.
Rail Europe doesn’t seem as organized as Thalys who has knowledgeable representatives on the platform to help you.
We got comfortable in our car when all at once the entire train emptied out and everyone rushed over to a train on the other side of the platform. We ended up on the wrong car because some Air France reps pointed us in the wrong direction. The conductor didn’t come around the entire trip to CDG so it worked out. The moral of the story is travel light so you can be quick on your feet when something like that happens.

I used Railpass from the US to purchase a train ticket from Madrid to Sevilla in July 2014. The process was fairly straightforward and I had an E-​ticket in no time; however, be warned. Due to a scheduling error I was put on another flight that arrived 6 hours earlier than I had planned. I thought I could easily use my E-​ticket to get on an earlier train; however, I was sorely mistaken. Officials at the train station in Madrid informed me that because I bought through Railpass I could not change the ticket at the station. Instead, I had to change the ticket through Railpass. The problem is that the Railpass offices were closed. Even if they were open, they would not have changed the ticket on the day of travel. As a result I had to burn 5 hours in the Madrid train station until my original train left for Sevilla.
Not a bad service, but read the fine print and know that you likely won’t have much flexibility in using the ticket (unless you pay for it.)

Horrible experience with rail europe! would not recommend booking with them! I purchased online a ticket from paris to Antibe which cost 174dollars, got the confirmation code and payment verification. Upon going to the kiosk at the train station to get my ticket per directions given, i was unable to get ticket, said my name was not found as a reservation (i tried three times). I went to the help desk and the lady said she could not find my name for that departing train, so i had to buy another ticket for another train! Now after having been in touch with rail europe many times they refuse to refund my money for a ticket i paid for but never got due to their own failure in the system, that is theft. I am so displeased with this company and their service i wish i could give them no stars.

Expensive and little flexibility. One small thing goes wrong and you are faced with buying new tickets with no credit for what you already purchased. You are better off just purchasing your tickets on the day of travel at the local ticket counter.

DONT DO IT. DO NOT BOOK TICKETS ON THIS SCAM.
I booked 2 First Class tickets totaling $ 720 for 4 days of travel on our Honeymoon within Spain on Rail Europe. This company Rail Europe is an incredible rip off and their value add is nothing but a scam. Once I got to Madrid, I found out I could not make reservations for my trains over the phone nor using the Rail Europe app as advertised. As a point of reference, I speak Spanish fluently so there was never a language barrier. Once I got to the train station in Madrid the wait was 1hour and 50 minutes – not kidding-​to make our RESERVATIONS. But the worst is yet to come, the reservations were 10 euros each person for each segment, hence I paid an additional 60euros or $ 81 just for making the reservations. The ticket agent in Madrid told me that to get First Class reservation/​tickets I would have pay DOUBLE, yes 120 euros or $ 162. She was honest enough to tell me that there was absolutely no difference whatsoever between the seats or accommodations so I should just save the money. When I showed her the train schedule on Rail Europe app she said, «eso es fantasia» that translates to, «that is just fantasy». My next trip I will simply buy my tickets/​reservations from the freaking kiosk at the train station, saving myself the hassle, the money and the time. Rail Europe is an epic FAIL.

It’s bad enough that this company massively overcharge for items you can buy for less in person (we found this out when checking prices during our trip) and tries to sell you things you do not need. But know that when you have a problem, they will not lift a finger to help.
We sent them several tickets for refund. They claimed not to receive one pair of tickets (the really expensive ones, go figure!) and refused to issue a refund. In good faith, we checked to make sure we did not still have the tickets at home. We did not. I can therefore only assume that they lost the tickets. Instead at least of trying to contact the rail company to explain the situation and see if they could figure out a way to right the situation, Rail Europe did… nothing. In fact, they essentially accused us of trying to pull a fast one (as if the rail company couldn’t somehow void the tickets to make sure that this wasn’t the case). Now I’m out several hundred dollars and many frustrating hours of time fighting them and filing a dispute for the charge with my credit card company.
I will NEVER do business with this company again, and neither should you.

Rail Europe does a convenient job in easing anxiety about train travel when it comes to ticket buying. The part that lacks is once you are there and you are traveling, it becomes a whole new ball game.
We purchased tickets for several cities and exchanges. The tickets were available as stated and there were no hiccups in that matter.
The problem we had was our tickets didn’t tell us when to change trains, so we were going in the opposite direction of where we needed to be. In another set of tickets, the tickets did tell us where to switch, but on a second set it didn’t. So that was a hiccup that we could have done without.
All in all, you can get away with buying tickets at the station the day of. The trains are not overflowing with people to where you have to purchase ahead of time. RailEurope provides a service that can be utilized, but it is not necessary.

Easy to book. Seats were comfortable. Only bummer is they insisted on mailing us our tickets from Carcassonne to Barcelona, incurring an express mail fee.
We were able to print out our train tickets from Barcelona to Paris— so why couldn’t we do that with the other trip?

I used Rail Europe to purchase individual tickets on Eurostar and Thalys trains and it was nice to have one-​stop shopping experience. The site has some helpful travel information as well information on the train stations themselves. You can go out to the individual sites themselves and purchase tickets separately as well and compare if there are any exchange rate differences or promotions, etc. I didn’t notice any so I purchased all my train tickets for Europe through their website. We didn’t have any problems on the trains while in Europe so I would use them again. I didn’t buy the Rail Pass as a few other Unilocalers mentioned so I can’t comment on how useful or how good of a deal they are.

Beware of Rail Passes on this site, its a scam. You think simply comparing the Rail Pass vs. what it would cost to book individually would be sufficient but you are wrong.
When buying the rail pass, you learn deep into the process that printing the pass isn’t an option and you’re required to pay $ 18 for shipping
After you buy the rail pass and try to book a specific train, o $ 50 reservation fee AND an additional $ 18 for shipping.
Also, even if you happen to find a ticket that is acceptable to print out, they still nickle and dime you an extra $ 8 TO PRINT IT ON YOUR OWN.
If possible, I would very much recommend using the Rail Carrier’s website or working through an honest, trustworthy travel agent. I highly recommend AGAINST using Rail Europe. BEWARE

I have traveled using Rail Europe numerous times. Here are a few helpful hints that may help you avert disaster, or at least some headaches.
Rail Europe is good for buying rail passes for one or multiple countries. However, it is often tough to know how helpful the passes actually are. Once you have made your purchase, you are stuck with it, and Rail Europe will most likely do nothing to help you at this point. So as you are deciding whether or not to buy…
1. Most of the countries you probably want to visit (Spain, France, Italy, etc) require seat reservations on top of your pass. You can buy these in advance or risk limited availability and long lines at train stations. If you are a worrier, buy them in advance. If not, you may be ok.
2. A first class pass is not much more than 2^nd class in some situations. On nicer trains you avoid crying babies and loud cell phone conversations (mostly) in first class. However, first class seat reservations can easily run over 50 € a piece, while second class reservations may be 5 – 10 € each. If you are traveling in a country like Germany, which does not require passes for the most part, first class is a good option.
3. Some countries, France in particular, view rail passes about the same way a U. S restaurant would view pesos. Just because there is a train you want doesn’t ‘t mean they’ve allocated seats (or more than 3 – 4 seats) on that train for pass-​holders. They might say «we only have first class seats available and you have a second class pass.» This is perhaps another, albeit crappy, reason to consider the 1^st class pass.
4. If you have a very specific itinerary, you may consider buying point to point tickets well in advance from the sources in Europe.
5. Many smaller towns and out of the way spots are on slow local trains. You can use your pass for these, but you may find that you spent 75 € worth of pass to go from Florence to Pisa, when buying a round trip ticket at the station is much cheaper.
6. Eastern European trains are slow, but cheap. They also don’t have quite the summer tourist crush like France or Italy have. A pass can probably be skipped here.
7. Overnight accommodations are extra on all trains. This is fun to do once, perhaps, but very expensive. Once I paid 120 € on top of my pass for a bunk. I shared a room with someone who went to bed at 7 pm, snored all night, and woke up at 4 a. m, then proceeded to dress for over an hour. Never again.
8. Traveling with large suitcases is a bit of a mistake anyway, but many of these trains can’t accommodate large bags above seats. You will have to put your bag at the end of the car, where, while it has a 90% chance of being safe, it is not always the most comforting thought.
9. If you like jumping off the train at many spots or plan to spend an hour or two at a number of stops each day, the rail pass can be good. They can also be an ok value for some longer journeys.
10. Waits in train stations for reservations can be another real pain. Expect slower, more inefficient service the farther south of Germany you go.
11. Europe has bargain airlines that make all airlines in the US and Canada (including Southwest) like professional thieves. If you can travel light and book in advance, air travel may be cheaper and faster. I flew from Paris to Bordeaux on Air France (which is no bargain) cheaper than a first class seat on the train. Ryanair, Air Berlin and others can be huge bargains.
In conclusion, I would do my homework before I bought a pass. Check out. The Man in Seat 61 on line. This site has a wealth of good info.

Bad experience. Don’t bring luggage… there is no where to store it on the train. I was put on the upper level and had to negotiate a spiral stair case with a large piece of luggage. I fell going down, but was able to right myself before I hit the floor. The ride itself was reasonably quick but I recommend upgrading to 1^st class. And never go for the upper deck unless you are not luggage.
Rail Europe charges a small premium for getting the ticket in the US but that is really unnecessary. Most of the trains I took one could have booked that same day at the station.

I wish all train experiences in the US were as delightful as Rail Europe. The website is a little tedious to navigate around, but what do you expect when you merge multiple-​country train lines to one interface. :)
I loved our seats. We loved how clean. We loved the ease of boarding (didn’t feel like a herd of cattle). We love that even for coach class, you get an assigned seat. No stress looking for a seat or worrying that you won’t have overhead bag space.
We took one leg from Brussels to Paris – coach class. Fast and easy. We then transferred train stations in Paris (that got a little hairy during rush hour), but easily found our track for the TGV from Paris to Zurich – first class. First class is the way to go, for sure. Bigger seats, excellent service. Can’t wait to ride again!

We had two train legs on our vacation in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. The high-​speed train from Barcelona to Madrid and the train from Madrid to Granada. Both were «business class».
An enjoyable experience — and much faster than flying. On time, clean, and good service (although the food was nothing to write home about).

We used Rail Europe to buy train tickets for a two week trip to France. Service was efficient and as stated. I would use them again for train tickets. We chose to purchase a Paris Museum Pass at a small shop near Notre Dame when we arrived rather than from Rail Europe because it was simple and less costly.
We bought a first-​class French Rail Pass for each of us good for three days in one 30 day period. Then we reserved TGV tickets as soon as the Rail Europe site allowed – 90 days in advance as I recall. As a result we had one of the few four-​person booths with tables on all 3 trains.
We paid to have one set of tickets delivered to us in the US because we needed it on the day of arrival in France. The rest I printed out at the yellow self-​service kiosks (which have menus in multiple languages, including English) located in the French train stations. It was simple — but if you have never used one I recommend either printing out your ticket at a kiosk days earlier than your departure (if you happen to be at a train station), or arrive 30 – 40 minutes before your train departs to provide yourself plenty of time to work the machine and position yourself to board at the right car.

The process of booking and getting the tickets was so easy. The train schedules that they used a few months in advance all held up through our trip. I’ve traveled Europe a number of times and this was probably one of the smoothest times that I’ve used the train system.
They got our tickets to us pretty soon after they were ordered and the price was great to purchase them in advance prior to our vacation. Reservation system worked great too!
Thanks guys