Take it from us, travelling by rail is by far one of the best ways to see Europe. More often than not, you board your sleek transport in a beautiful old-world station, take your comfy spacious seat (ain’t no cramped cattle-class seating here!), and then settle into perhaps the best view of all: watching the famous European countryside fly past your window.
As the world passes you by, you can pass your hours reading, playing cards with friends, catching up on sleep, or editing your photos. Heck, you can even grab a bite to eat in the dining car if you wish. Then, your journey concludes in an equally beautiful station right in the heart of your destination. Winning. At. Life.
While train travel through Europe wins at life, there are a couple of things you should know before you step aboard to help you win at life too. Because you don’t want to be stranded, hiding on the toilet to avoid ticket inspectors because you forgot to validate your ticket now, do you?
1. Book Ahead
Just because you have a Eurail pass doesn’t mean you have a reserved seat for your entire journey. You still need to book in-advance.
Plan ahead and save yourself the trouble of rides standing the whole way. It’s generally recommended you reserve your seats at least 2 months from your departure, either by booking online or dropping into the main train station to sort out your tickets. Be sure to put together a itinerary too which includes all the top places in Europe you want to see, allow for some flexibility too.
2. Remember to Validate
Running late and racing to board a train from Venice to Verona a couple of years ago, we didn’t even think to validate our tickets.
Sure enough, not long after we’d made it out of the station, a ruthless Italian ticket inspector came to check our validated tickets. Needless to say he didn’t side with compassion and fined our asses €100 each.
Learn from our mistakes and remember to validate your ticket at one of the ticket machines near the platform every. time. you. travel.
3. Don’t Be Late
Gone are the days of tardy departure times and poor service, train travel in Europe is big business and customers demand brilliant service. Trains do leave on time, so don’t be late.
Make sure you’re at the station at least 15 mins before your departure time and you’ll have enough time to find out which platform your train departs from (Murphy’s law states it’ll be the one farthest away when you’re in a rush!), grab last minute supplies (Pringles, duh) and visit the little boys or girls room.
4. Night Trains Can Be Your Friend
If you’re travelling Europe by rail, try to plan your longest journeys overnight. There are a few reasons for this one: if you’re with your partner, you can bunker down and have a romantic night in; if you’re with your friends, you’ll have a cabin to yourselves to stay up all night talking and causing mischief.
But the main reason is that it will save you a night’s accommodation, and you’ll arrive into the middle of your destination early and ready to explore. Hells yeah!
Most overnight trains are extremely modern, with comfy bunk beds, clean showers and toilets, and restaurants if you’re hungry. Just remember tip 1 and book ahead.
5. Stock Up on Food Before You Travel
We can’t stress this enough. No one wants to feel hangry or parched with no access to food on a long train journey. NO ONE. We get hangry even writing about it!
Food is bountiful (and brilliant) everywhere in Europe, especially so around train stations. Most have at least one supermarket and a few food outlets, so stock up on the essentials before you board and don’t waste your money on overpriced train food.
6. Have Fun, But Be Respectful
Loud, obnoxious talking, laughing and music on trains is not okay, ever. Most of the time you’ll be travelling with locals; the young, old and families. Respect them as you would like to be respected in your home country. Don’t get us wrong, you can still have fun playing Cards for Humanity or Uno, or chatting about the hottie from that bar you don’t remember the night before. Just tone it down a little.
7. Keep an Eye on Your Belongings
Europe isn’t unsafe, but it isn’t as if things don’t get stolen. Opportunists live everywhere and given the opportunity, they WILL steal your belongings. Some people may see this as a positive (YAY, new clothes) but most people don’t.
If you’re travelling in a group which is prone to falling asleep, appoint someone to stay awake and watch your gear. If you’re alone, put your bag between your feet or pin those eyelids up and stay awake.
8. Drop Your Stuff and Move Down the Train, FAST
A pet hate of many; when you board the train, don’t stop in the middle and take your time finding the best spot on the rack for your backpack, or unpacking things you may want later. Drop your belongings and find your seat, fast. Most of the time you’ll have a line of people behind you impatiently waiting to hop on, scared they’ll miss the train if you don’t HURRY UP!
