Travel advisors are often tasked with searching for the best deals for their clients. As such, here is Rail Europe’s cheat sheet for saving quite a few bucks, which advisors can also share with their clients when booking rail travel to Europe.
Rail Europe’s basic savings tips
- To save up to 70% off tickets, book in advance and travel during off peak times.
- For multiple trips over a few days, especially when involving a few countries, consider a Eurail Pass over point-to-point tickets.
- Where flexibility isn’t required, opt for non-flexible tickets.
- Where possible, opt for slower regional trains where seat reservations aren’t usually required – they’re often more scenic anyway.
- Enjoy savings with railcard reductions. In the UK, most railcards offer 1/3 off tickets; and in Spain, the Carné Joven railcard offers youth discounts on fully-flexible tickets. Travellers under 27yo in Germany save 50% on the BahnCard 50, while those under 30 or over 60 in Italy can enjoy 50% discounts with the CartaFRECCIA.
- Where applicable, save on a night’s accommodation and travel on night trains.
- Note that children 4-11yo travel for free with parents using the Eurail Pass, and children under 16yo travel for free with guardians using the Swiss Travel Pass.
Germany’s Deutsche Bahn’s Sparpreis tickets
Deutsche Bahn’s Sparpreis tickets apply to many cross-border trips to almost any city in Germany, as well as trips that traverse the country from different start and end points internationally. The Sparpreis Europa offers more flexibility than the Super Sparpreis Europa; and while these fares often come with no views, certain tickets include a ‘City Ticket’ granting free access on Germany’s public transportation network to/from the departure/arrival station.
The TGV offers great value fares called Prem’s that must be booked in advance. While tickets typically come on sale three months in advance, this is extended during the summer months. Discounted tickets are also available on the international TGV Lyria services to Italy Switzerland, and can be booked up to 120 days in advance. If using the Frecciarossa service, then bookings can be made up to 180 days in advance. When travelling from Spain, consider jumping on a night train to save a night’s accommodation aboard the budget-friendly OUIGO service.
A great alternative for the Swiss Travel Pass is the Swiss Half Fare Pass, which is great for longer stays as it’s valid for one month. While the former provides holders unlimited access to all of the country’s public transportation system and up to 50% off mountain rail and cableways and free entry to 500+ museums, the latter grants holders 50% off public transportation tickets across the country and on most mountain rails.
Aside from booking in advance, travellers should note that return fares can often be cheaper than one-way fares; and early morning or mid-week departures tend to be priced more favourably. When travelling from London to French destinations beyond Paris, it’s also often cheaper to combine the Eurostar ticket with an onward TGV service.
To score cheap train tickets in Italy, select a ‘Super Economy’ fare, which covers all domestic Trenitalia trains. Note also the ‘Bimbi Gratis’ family offer allows children under 15 to travel for free in groups of 2-5 people, with at least one adult. This discount is available on Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca and Intercity trains for travel within Italy.
Spain’s ‘Basico’ fares are the cheapest train ticket on Renfe services. Consider also travelling aboard Ouigo, the budget provider that connects popular destinations in Spain via high-speed trains for less. In terms of booking horizons, Renfe tickets are released 75 days in advance and Ouigo trains can be booked up to a year in advance.
