View Full Version : Anyone try to get a hold of Rail Europe lately?
BuffloSoldier
10 Apr 2006, 03:35 PM
Constantly busy. In the phone queue until I just give up. Anyone else actually talk to someone in the last few weeks there?
Shibb
10 Apr 2006, 04:51 PM
What do you need? You can just walk up to any AAA outlet and they'll sell you a Eurrail pass, and the better ones will advise you on what you need if you explain your travel plans to them. Don't need to be a member for this, fwiw.
jorge805
10 Apr 2006, 05:23 PM
Bypass those agencies and get it direct from the supplier, eurail: www.eurail.com
roadkit
10 Apr 2006, 08:45 PM
I spoke to them last week. No holding, no nothing, they picked right up - the reason I called was because I wanted to buy the Germany pass with 4 extra days, but their website was defaulted to the "maximum number of extra days = 0" option.
branko97
10 Apr 2006, 08:53 PM
I bought directly from Eurail and got my passes within about a week. Did use raileurope.com for reservations on a train from paris to cologne, as neither bahn.de nor the french train system would do the Thalys reservation-only online.
BuffloSoldier
10 Apr 2006, 09:47 PM
Trying to set up reservations.
Will try again tomorrow.
dirk diggler
10 Apr 2006, 10:37 PM
Bypass those agencies and get it direct from the supplier, eurail: www.eurail.com
No, Rail Europe is the supplier of rail passes sold outside of Europe.
Their biggest customer is www.ricksteves.com
I remember reading somewhere that more Americans buy passes via Rick Steves than directly from Rail Europe itself. The main reason being, that while the cost is the same, RS throws in lots of freebies like guide books and dvds.
Shibb
11 Apr 2006, 06:56 AM
Trying to set up reservations.
Will try again tomorrow.
You might be able to set up reservations direct with DeutscheBahn if you're only concerned with travel in Germany.
branko97
11 Apr 2006, 09:08 AM
You might be able to set up reservations direct with DeutscheBahn if you're only concerned with travel in Germany.
you can make reservations directly through deutsche bahn for travel within Germany if you set up an account on the site (bahn.de). You print the reservations yourself. It's cheaper, too.
BuffloSoldier
11 Apr 2006, 09:13 AM
I have to make reservations outside of Germany as well.
BuffloSoldier
11 Apr 2006, 09:23 AM
Now I'm getting a message saying they can't take the call due to "high call volume and a systems upgrade".
Got through today after about 45 minutes on hold. Good people though - worked out all my reservations with them.
dcat74
20 Apr 2006, 04:03 PM
Be careful using Rail Europe. They do not list all the trains that are available. Try www.bahn.de instead. That is the official site for the German Train system. It lists many more trains and you can purchase online.