Rail Reservations: buy thru travel agent or buy in Europe?

I am leaving for Europe in less than 2 weeks, and have already purchased a Eurail Select pass. For trips requiring compulsory reservations, should I buy now (through a travel agent or on the internet), or will it be cheaper if I wait till I get to Europe? The travel agent is quoting me around $38 (30 Euros) per reservation, which I thought was a bit expensive. How much will it cost if I buy it in Europe?

Also, I%26#39;m not sure if these schedules get sold out pretty quickly.

Venezia Santa Lucia (4-23-07) - Paris Bercy 20:04 - 8:23

Paris Nord (24-24-07) - Amsterdam Central 9:55 - 14:06

Paris Austerlitz (4-29-07) - Madrid Chamartin 19:43 - 9:13

Cerbere (5-04-07) - Nice Villa 23:55 - 8:40

Thanks!

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The reservations will definitely be considerably less than $38 in Europe. It%26#39;s been 7 years since I bought reservations but they were in the $5-10 range then. The cheapest will be in a train station where you will have to wait your turn. This might or might not entail a long period of time. More expensive, but faster, will be reservations purchased at any American Express office.

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Thanks for the reply.

This might be a silly question, but can I purchase all my reservations for the entire trip from one train station (i.e. as soon as I arrive in Europe), or do I have to buy the reservation from where the train actually leaves?

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Given that three of your four trips are overnight you will be paying not just for the reservations but also a supplement for sleeping accommodation. You need to check exactly what kind of accommodation you are getting for 30€. My guess is that it will be second class couchettes. Some of these trains *may* have comparmments with ordinary seats. I would not recommend those for long overnight trips and even the second class couchettes provide marginal comfort and little or no privacy.

if you are satisfied that your TA is booking the kind of accommodation you want, I would go ahead and book now. For one thing I think you might have difficulty booking all your trains when you arrive in Italy, though you can certainly book your French departures all at one time in Paris. Secondly, reservations on the Thalys (Paris-Amsterdam) route are expensive even if booked in Europe, I believe 25€ from Paris to Amsterdam. Finally, May 1 is a major holiday in France and that *may* affect a couple of your trains.

Just as a matter of interest how are you getting back from A%26#39;dam to Paris and how are you getting from Madrid to Cerbère? (Not that you have to tell me if you don%26#39;t want to...)

Good luck — and have a great trip!

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Thanks for the advice. Will keep this in mind.

I%26#39;m also going on the Thalys for the trip from Amsterdam to Paris, but I may drop by Brussels so I%26#39;m intentionally not making reservations to keep my options open. For Madrid to Cerbere, I might also drop by Barcelona for one night.

Any other tips for me? Thanks!

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