EurailPass - First Class or Second Class?
 

Hi,

I am deciding between the SelectPass Saver youth and Selectpass saver for the 6 days of train travel (over 2.5 weeks) planned for my honeymoon this summer. The difference is $60pp.

I am inclined to book first class, given that it is a honeymoon and we might as well go all out, but two things concern me:
(1) I've read that there's not much difference between 1st and 2nd class on most trains, so part of me feels the $120 would be better spent on nice dinners, spa treatments at a hotel, or something else
(2) We are a young couple - 24 and 22 - and I wasn't sure if we would seem out of place, or worse - rich spoiled Americans - to others on the train if we were in first class.

That said, if the air conditioning is better and/or seats are materially more comfortable, I'll probably go 1st class. Given that my only European travel experience has been the budget-trip (hostels and cheapest trains possible), I don't have a clue if first is worth the expense.

Would appreciate thoughts of anyone who knows the difference and could recommmend one way or another. I've gotten a lot of help (and ideas) from the FT community so far.

FYI - train trips are Paris-->Geneva, Geneva<-->Montreux (day trip), Geneva-->Florence (overnight), Florence-->Rome, Rome-->Venice, Venice-->Milan.

Thanks!!!

Chris

One big bonus with first class is that it's going to be less crowded. Second class is often standing room only, especially at peak times, and even if you have a seat the journey may not feel very comfortable with people standing all around you and half sitting on your lap. If the difference is only 60 dollars I'd say "Go for it".

As for seeming out of place... I don't think so. People travel first class for all sorts of reasons, not just because they're rich. I had a first class pass for a few months as a student when I working for British Rail over the summer - I was 22 at the time and very much looking the scruffy student. And you will probably see quite a few backpackers in first class - people who are just slightly too old to qualify for the youth pass but plenty young enough to travel with a backpack on their backs.

The further south you go in Europe the more important it is to travel the trains in First. Italy gets especially crowded--even in First at times. In second you may wind up standing in the aisles. Since this is a honeymoon, I recommend First AND get seat reservations! :)

You should absolutely, positively travel first class, especially since your trip is in the peak summer tourist season. My experiences with Eurail were years ago when I was your age, but I was always really glad I was in first class. Your bride deserves a first class honeymoon, n'est pas? The $120 difference in cost is negligible when compared to the advantages of first class. There will be many twenty-somethings in first class on your trains, and few of them will be "rich."

As mentioned by another poster, be sure you have seat reservations in advance, whenever possible. I don't know how flexible your travel plans are, whether you have advance hotel reservations for your itinerary, but be mindful of summer crowds.

Enjoy your honeymoon! :cool:

Thanks
 

Thanks - this definitely confirmed my gut feel and alleviated any worries.

With respect to seat reservations, should I make them now (2 months advance) from U.S., or should I just do on first day in each city (2 days ahead of departure).

Am definitely going to book the sleeper car ahead of time. Can I do that through Eurail as well (pay the extra cost)?

Chris

Train reservation between Paris and Geneva should be made well ahead of time (very crowded between Paris and Dijon due to commuters) Come early enough to the station as the TGV in the evening is very long (double-length between Paris and Bellegarde, almost border to Switzerland)

Geneva-Montreuy and back, no need for reservation at all. It is just a hop of almost an hour and there are trains every half an hour. Avoid traveling between 6 AM and 8 AM and 5 PM - 7 PM (lots of commuters).

Trains to and inside Italy, well in advance and make sure to read a paper during your trip everyday as the Italians as well as the French have the knack to go on strike during peak season period.

Have a great trip. Try to find out how much the reservations cost through Eurail. Depending on the cost and if its worth it, I could make them from here (Switzerland) and send them to you, (I go to ATL every week) if you so wish. You still have plenty of time.

Definitely make the seat reservations now, especially on the long haul segments. Through Rail Europe, and from the U.S., seat reservations run $11 each - in Europe, they are 3 euros each. (that is per seat and per train segment; if you change trains, another reservation is required for that set of seats.) I seem to remember that you can't make seat reservations for travel within Switzerland, i.e. Geneva-Montreux, but not positive.
I'm doing a mid-June trip in France with the whole family, and some segments I wanted on TGV were sold out already, so I got on it in a hurry.
And, as everyone else pointed out, travel in 1st! Far more comfortable and quiet.

Train reservations
 

Just checked on RailEurope (is there a better place to get tickets ahead of time)

Costs to me for 2 reservations are:

$120 - London to Paris (2nd class)
??? - Paris to Geneva (wouldn't let me book online)
??? - Geneva to Florence (they are emailing me quote on price of sleeper)
$38 - Florence to Rome
$38 - Rome to Venice
$38 - Venice to Milan

I'm more than likely going to make all reservations ahead of time due to the fact I have hotel reservations set in each place (and an important flight back home from Milan). Are the prices above reasonable, or are there better places to order from?

Thanks again!

Chris

Were these rates for reservations or travel included? It seems outrageous to me. If this is the case, let me check in the morning what the rates are at Swiss Railways. They make them for all over Europe. $38.- is far too much for reservation alone. For ZRH-Paris or ZRH-Milan, I usually pay approx. $3.- regardless of class.

I would say first class is better, but I have encountered some loud and obnoxious American vacationers in First and obsessive mobile phone using Europeans in First. Its usually more comfortable, but sometimes more sterile.

I remember fondly the look on my brother's face on our way from Rome to Perugia while listening to some guy spout all he knew about Italy to his friends. We had the luck of listening to them all the way back too.

lala

I recommend First Class, and there's only one time I regretted being in First Class (rather than coach). I was going from Prague to Budapest, I think - and the coach cars were brand new and climate controlled, while the First Class cars were quite old and cold. We ended up going and sitting in coach and were much more comfortable there - but obviously had the flexibility to do so since we had paid for First.

Chris,

For Geneva to Montreux, note that there are, generally, NO reservations on internal Swiss services.

Tony Bailey

For that number of trips, there is a cheaper way to reserve in advance from the US. There's a different agency that charges a single fixed fee for all of your reservations plus the standard Europe reservation fee.

I'll do a bit of research and report back in this post when I find that agency.

PDH

EDIT: OK, I'm back with more info...

The other agency is EurAide, http://www.euraide.de

They charge you the actual price in Euros plus US$45 for shipping and handling the entire order. Their US (Florida) contact is at 914-480-1555. Have your trip details written down before calling - they may ask you to fax or email your info to them.

Here's their "how to reserve" page.

First or Second Class?
 

You've already gotten good advice and I'm just going to agree with it, but my husband and I always travel First Class on trains even though we're extraordinarily cheap in many aspects of our travel. It is quieter and roomier, and when I'm sitting in a First-Class compartment watching the Alps go by and drinking bad instant coffee, I feel extraordinarily rich.

Generally it's a quiet crowd. We were once subjected to a guy who chattered in Italian the entire trip and must have said, "Ciao, ciao, ciao, bye, bye, bye" at least 8 times before he actually terminated the call- but he's part of our travel stories. And once we ended up having a nice conversation about Anglican church poliitcs with the Anglican Bishop of Aberdeen and the Orkneys, whom we met going from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.

Have a great time!

I also don't know what these prices include. on the French railway site I see that the one-way, second-class fare from Venice to Milan is about $33. I assume Raileurope is including a reservation fee, but Raileurope has always been much more expensive than if you bought the tickets in Europe. A 5-day, 3-country(continental Europe + Ireland) selectpass in first class costs $356; a 5-day, 3-country(continental Europe + Ireland) youth selectpass (under age 26) in second class costs $249, and it may be worthwhile buying individual tickets, rahter than a pass. I've never had any problems getting reservations after I arrive in Europe, except in Poland, providing I was flexible on departure times and even on routing. Sleepers are more of a problem, however. I almost always just get on a train, albeit in first class, and just look for a seat. I may have to change seats diring the trip if a passenger with a reservation pops up. You can make all your European reservations in Paris, by the way; you needn't wait until you get to Switzerland or Italy. If you are really worried, I would get the tickets and reservations by mail from Europe, not from the Raileurope office in the U.S. The German railway (www.bahn.de) is very reliable and will send tickets (also for foreign trips) to the U.S., but their site doesn't give the price for foreign trips; for that go to the French railway site (www.sncf.conm), but they have problems sending tickets to the U.S.
Enjoy your trip, and don't get too worked up about being stranded; there is always an alternative routing or timing.