How to Make Interrail or Eurail Passholder Reservations

Using an Interrail or Eurail pass is a great way to travel around Europe, although making advance passholder reservations for certain trains can be difficult in a couple of countries.

On this page, I’ll explain how Interrail and Eurail reservations work and how you can make them.

Interrail and Eurail reservations

With an Interrail pass (for those living in Europe) or a Eurail pass (for those living outside Europe), you get unlimited train travel across most of the European continent for a set duration, ranging from a few days within a month to three consecutive months.

An Interrail or Eurail pass is a great way to explore Europe, as it offers plenty of freedom and flexibility, and can represent excellent value as well.

In many countries, you don’t necessarily need any reservations to hop on trains with a Eurail or Interrail pass, as you can simply take any available seat.

Then there are countries where seat reservations are optional on long-distance or high-speed trains, and can be made either free of charge (such as in the UK) or for a small fee directly with the train operator (as in Germany or Austria, for example).

In the popular travel destinations of Spain, Italy, and France, reservations are obligatory for Interrail and Eurail pass holders on high-speed or long-distance trains.

Reservations for Interrail and Eurail passholders in Spain, Italy, and France can be notoriously difficult to book online, as the national train operators in these countries do not offer this option.

Waiting to reserve these trains until you arrive at the railway station might be fine during the low season, but it could cause problems during the high summer season or peak travel days, with popular routes often being fully booked well in advance.

Booking passholder reservations with Rail Europe

Although some high-speed and long-distance trains in Spain, France, and Italy can be reserved through the official Interrail/Eurail website, not all are available for booking there.

A much better option for making Interrail or Eurail passholder reservations is to use Rail Europe, as their online booking service can reserve all trains in Spain, France, and Italy, and offers additional advantages over using the Interrail’s own booking system.

Among the advantages of using Rail Europe for Interrail and Eurail passholder reservations are:

• No booking fee is charged, and you only pay for the reservation itself
• Allows you to check availability and passholder reservation costs in advance
• Allows you to select your actual seat on the train (window or aisle, or even upper or lower deck on TGV Duplex trains in France)
• Able to reserve all long-distance and high-speed trains in Spain, Italy, and France
• If you have a first-class Interrail or Eurail pass, you can also book Premium Interrail Comfort reservations for Spanish AVE high-speed trains. This premium first class includes access to the Sala Club lounge at the station and complimentary food and drinks served at your seat.

On DiscoverByRail, you’ll find a helpful guide explaining how to use Rail Europe to make Interrail and Eurail passholder reservations.

Note that you cannot use an Interrail or Eurail pass on Ouigo trains in France.

The international Trenitalia high-speed Frecciarossa train service between Paris, Lyon, Turin, and Milan is also not accessible with an Interrail or Eurail pass — use the French TGV trains on this route instead.

Conclusion

If you need to book Interrail or Eurail passholder reservations on long-distance or high-speed trains, you can do so through Rail Europe, which is particularly useful for travel in Spain, Italy, and France.

Rail Europe offers wider availability and more booking options than even Interrail and Eurail’s own reservation service, so if you’re travelling in this part of Europe, look no further than this website for all your passholder fares and reservations!