Seat & Sleeper Reservations

Information on booking seat reservations with a rail pass

We highly recommend that you pre-purchase your passholder fares (seat reservations) or sleeper accommodation for high speed and night trains as far in advance of your travel date as possible.

High speed trains operate like an airline so you need a physical seat number like 22B. A rail pass is a voucher and has no seat numbers so on most "High Speed trains" you will need to purchase a "Passholder Fare" A pass holder fare is a heavily discounted fare designed especially for passengers travelling with a rail pass. A pass holder fare gives you a seat number allowing you to travel on a particular train.

Seat reservations on most high speed trains are compulsory whether you have a Eurail Pass or not. We suggest you pre-purchase your tickets from us before you go. You can book your seat reservations in Europe at the station before your trains departure but you do run the risk of the train being sold out.

Trains that require a compulsory seat reservation are France (TGV), Italy (Eurostar Italia, Swiss - Italy Eurocity & Artesia), Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg "Benelux" (Thalys) and Spain (Alvia, Alaris, Altaria, Euromed and AVE). Seat reservations are at an extra cost. Night trains also require a supplement for sleeping accommodation.

Seats on such trains can be in high demand, especially during the summer holiday months of July and August and peak times of the day - furthermore, the number of seats allocated to Eurail Pass holders can be limited.

To book passholder fares online with the below booking engine you just need to tick the box that states all passengers have rail pass .Please note that some cannot be booked until 3 months in advance. Please refer to our how far in advance can I book page for exact timelines.

Note: Your pass must cover all countries that the train travels through.

Passholder fares explained:

There are various passholder fares available for different trains. Below is a list of what fares are valid on what trains:

Artesia Day or Artesia Night train:

There are 2 types of Passholder fares available for the Artesia Day/Night train which are defined below:

• Passholder 1 fares are valid for passengers with a Pass covering both France AND Italy. (Cheapest Passholder fare)
• Passholder 2 fares are valid for passengers with a Pass covering France OR Italy (More expensive Passholder fare as entire journey is not fully covered by Pass)