One more thing: Don’t board the train before people get off Also, many of the train companies have apps on which you can view schedules, buy tickets, and look up which platform your train is departing from. If you have a tight connection, look up the platform your next train is departing from BEFORE your train arrives

You forgot an all-important one... TURN UP ON TIME, the time shown is the DEPARTURE time, NOT the time you turn up, as at that time the train WILL or SHOULD be leaving the platform.

Lots of good tips here. I'd like to add or emphasize these: 1. There are lots of videos of first hand railway experiences here on UKposts where you can see what it's like to travel on a particular train. Very useful for preparation and orientation. 2. Flixbus offers long distance bus connections all throughout Europe. This can be an alternative for trains. But do keep an eye on the duration of layovers. Those can sometimes be quite long and there isn't always a comfortable location for waiting. 3. When you're planning your trip, take more time for changing trains. Especially if you're traveling with luggage and/or children, you are not going to make it to a platform on the opposite end of a large railway station you've never been to before within 10 minutes. It's often better to plan to skip a connection and have some time to spare to look around the station and grab a bite to eat or a coffee. It makes for a much better traveling experience. This also protects you from the consequences of short delays - especially if you have a ticket for a specific train at a specific time. 4. If you're traveling in or through Germany, expect delays and cancellations, because DB is struggling. Double down on tip 3. 5. If there is an announcement on the train, watch the body language of the locals on the train. If it is an unexpected announcement, people will react differently than to "the next station will be x". Politely ask whether someone can tell you what was said in English. Extra points for learning how to say that in the local language. 6. Even if you're frustrated, be polite to the railway staff. If you go full Karen on them, they might decide that they don't understand your language or even have you removed from the train or railway station by the police.

When I need a seat on a very busy train I ask the people with bags on the seat beside them. They are hoping a bag on a seat will discourage others and nobody will ask but I go to them first. Call me petty 🙂

Aside from luggage theft, in some countries, ESPECIALLY France and the UK, unattended luggage could get seized by the Police very quickly. They are very particular about that in France and the UK because of terrorism concerns.

Mark, great info, as always. Some adds: 1. Listen to conductors and pay attention when boarding. Some coaches/carriages are different classes, and the differentiations aren't always overly clear. 2. Sometimes trains split to two different destinations, so pay attention to what car you need to be in. 3. Remember to look for both departure and arrival times. Trains that depart to your destination earlier might not always get there earlier. In Austria, I had a ticket on the 1pm express from Salzburg to Hallstatt, but thought I'd save time and got on the 12pm train instead, only to find I was on the local, and watched my original 1pm express pass us halfway there. Ugh.

Wolter, you're such a gift! Thank you so much for these tips.

I totally agree about the importance of reservations. This past summer, a man had to stand the whole four hour trip from Vienna to Munich because he didn’t have reservations.

I travelled around Europe on trains. A £12 flight from Manchester to Berlin, Berlin to North Western Poland, a 3 day wedding Poland then an 8 hour train from the baltic coast to krakow. An 8 hour train from krakow to bratislava Slovakia, then a 2 hour train to vienna in Austria. It was an awesome 3 week adventure. It was part of 27 countries i visited in 3.5 years

In Germany all shops are closed on Sundays! Except the shops at the station !

Anyone who's ever been to Schiphol knows it's incredibly easy to take the wrong train by accident. So even if you do, don't worry. You're not the first and you won't be the last. The conductor (and nice other passengers) will know what to do.

I (Dutch) feel like adding: Europe is a patchwork of countries, and the railways (often state-controlled) are among the stronger proofs of that. (The EU tries to have people change from airways to railways for "shorter" distances - and had made us painfully aware of how patchy the railways here still are.) Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thather had the EU deregulate many fields, including railways. "Exclusive" regional time-limited licenses are auctioned off, with some regional government deciding the terms and paying (or receiving) the winning price. This has increased the patchiness in the Netherlands (where I live) and in Germany (a federal state!), but (to my knowledge) not at all in Belgium (also a federal state). As the Dutch situation differs quite a bit from Mark's experience, I'll tell a bit or of what may be more like the other extreme: Here in the Netherlands, state-owned NS still dominates passenger transport by train. However, many secondary lines in the Eastern provinces are run by Arriva, a UK company in the process of being sold by DB (the predominant German railway company, state-owned) to US investors. One province still lacks toilets at all in its trains (by Arriva). To my knowledge, there is no seat reservation at all in Dutch domestic trains (and no provision in the coaches to show reservations) and no buffet at all. (There may be vending machines for candy bars in some rolling stock.) The train sets of Arriva feature quite a sticker with rules near the doors. Eating and drinking may well be among the "don'ts" there. Many Dutch domestic trains lack space for big luggage. If there is, chances are that you'll find bicycles there (which require an additional ticket). If there isn't, don't be afraid to have your luggage occupy seats (like I do with my Brompton folding bike, which can pass for "no ticket required" luggage), but do try to be cooperative in finding arrangements. Paper tickets have become the exception here (in Dutch domestic public transport at all), and ticket booths are limited to a few busy stations. The customary way is having a (nation-wide) chip-card or a QR-code on a smartphone to "check in" at your station of departure and "check out" at your station of arrival. Changing operators (still) requires one to check out with one and check in with the other, often made easy by the two scanners standing side-by-side on a platform. Just present your card or code in the correct direction... Many Dutch railway stations (as well as at least some in Belgium and Germany) may feature no staff at all. There will be a ticket vending machine, and every platform (didn't verify that!) features some pole with notices like "i" and "sos". There you can speak to some railway crew member elsewhere. A relatively new feature (at least to me, and in the Netherlands) is an indication on the destination displays on the platforms of the length of the train and from which letter sign to which letter sign on the platform it is expected to stop. It may be even more specific when international trains (those with coach numbers) are involved. One not-patchy thing: our European railway timetables share a date for major changes, especially for international services. It's a Sunday in December, and in 2023 it's December 10. This year, expect major changes, generally considered improvements. Like more night trains.

A new Wolters World video always puts me in a good mood :)

I'd nuance the Eurail Pass thing. You have to do the calculations beforehand, but especially if you travel in more expensive countries (Switzerland, Norway, the UK...), it's quickly a better deal to use a Pass. For the longer-distance trains in Western Europe, you can find very cheap tickets, but only if you book far in advance. If you prefer to stay flexible, than again, the Pass is a good idea. That said, even with a Eurail pass, certain trains sell out fast. I'm especially thinking of night trains and Eurostar. Night trains sell out (especially the more expensive berths), and Eurostar has limited availability, even if there are still tickets available, they might not sell the Eurail Pass supplement anymore. Between Brussels and Paris, there are reservation-free alternatives, but to London... And even if Eurail Pass with reservations is cheaper in Spain, having to deal with getting those reservations can be off-putting (they don't sell them online, only at the station). So yes, Eurail is definitely not always the best option, especially in Eastern Europe or when you're using mostly local trains in Southern Europe, but if you do need a flexible travel option and are travelling in some more expensive countries, I would consider getting one.

One of my favorite things to do when I am in Europe is travelling by train. When I am in France, I don't just stay in Paris. I do many train trips to many different departments. I've been to Nantes, Bordeaux, nice, st Tropez and I also visit the countrysides. And when I go from one EU country to another, I refuse to fly.

Great video! A few things to add. If you’ve never really travelled by train before and you have a reserved seat it is important to realize that you have a coach assignment in addition to a seat assignment. It can be stressful to find your correct coach at the station when the train comes and if you get on any coach it can be difficult to navigate to your coach while onboard especially if you have luggage. It depends but some stations have screens that display the train configuration and there’s sings on the platform with various zones such as zone A, B, C etc. You look at the screen and find your coach and look for what zone your coach is expected to stop in at the station. If you can do this it’ll save you a lot of stress when the train arrives. As Mark said in the video luggage on trains can be a problem. If you’re like me and travel with checked luggage sized bags I have a few recommendations. First consider just flying. Overall it will be less stressful if you have large bags. But if you’re planning to travel on the train with large bags I would recommend when possible buying a premium cabin such as first class because there’s usually less people in them so there’s more space to store your luggage. Additionally on double decker trains if you’re able to I recommend sitting on the upper level and if you can carry your large bags upstairs you will actually probably find room for them because no one really wants to do that. In some places they also have services that will “check” your luggage to your destination. But keep in mind your luggage doesn’t necessarily travel with you like how it does when checking a bag on a plane so it usually takes longer for it to get to the destination. But they do usually offer you to check it in early so it’ll be there when you arrive. With regards to the convenience factor of a train over flying it can honestly really depend on which is less stressful to do and is more convenient. While trains do have the benefits of they typically arrive and depart from the city center and there’s less formalities to go through beforehand such as checkin and security. You do have to be more “in tune” with what’s going on in my opinion between finding your train and when to get off. On a plane at least if you fall asleep for the whole flight you shouldn’t end up somewhere you didn’t intend to 😂. Also it can be easy to overlook that at an airport when traveling with large bags you aren’t navigating them through the entire airport just to the checkin counter. This can be difficult to do at train stations because they can be really busy and it can be hard to find room onboard. Additionally if you fly a lot and are comfortable in airports you likely will have an easier time finding your way around an airport than a train station.

I have to give you credit for making me a better traveler. My grown kids will say I'm paranoid, but it's not that.... It's that I'm more worldly wise than they are, and there's issues out there. I'd like to think of it as.... I'm a very safe traveler, and thankfully, very little has gone wrong. But one thing that you've made me braver with is taking the train in a foreign country. I guess I would originally have equated them to taking SOME subways in America that can pose a problem. But after so long of watching Wolter's World, I've said, "heck, YES!!" to solo transport via trains in London, Ireland, Scotland, Sydney, New Zealand and Rome. Keep up the great work of being an "angel on the shoulders" of myself and so many travelers. I am surely not as brave as you and your family... but it's enjoyable work in progress. 🧳😁

I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about downloading the train apps for your phone. I went to Switzerland in April 2019 and used their SBB app and it was fantastic. It provided real-time schedule information for my trip, and the conductor simply scanned my QR code to document my travel. I bought the 15 day Swiss Rail Pass for my 12 days in Switzerland (the next pass down was an 8-day pass which wouldn't cover my entire trip). It allowed travel on trains, buses, trams, and offered discounted fares for the aerial trams/cable lifts and some of the boats on the lakes. It also included free admission to over 400 museums and attractions. I used it enough on the trains, aerial trams/cable lifts, and museums to break even compared to individual fares/costs.

Good tips! What I LIKE about European trains is, in my experience, that they leave on time! The only running I did was when in first times I had to learn they leave when they say they are leaving!

9:35 I thought that train station looked familiar. It's the Leppävaara station just outside the Sello Shopping Mall north of Helsinki, Finland. I stayed at the GLO Hotel there several times and taken trains from there into the city. 🇫🇮

Eurail passes can be the best option for adults. You just have to estimate how many trips you’ll make and get a rough sense of the cost for those trips. The best part of Eurail passes is the flexibility, in my experience.

Eurail etc is not necessary cheaper, but it can safe a bunch of time and worry, it adds a bunch of flexibility. Then again, at least in Spain it makes it much worse, getting a inter/eurail reservation is an absolute pain. It was a breeze in all other countries through.

I remember someone telling me they had experienced those three kinds of trains in Italy, finding that the fast train was too pricey, the regional train was too slow, but the fast regional train was just right. I think her name was Goldilocks 😜

Great video! Another don't always buy tickets in cities... Places like London (and some cities in Europe) have contactless travel, so you can use your phone/debit card as your ticket. In London it makes sure you pay the least for travelling for the day and is capped at a daily rate!

Excellent tips Walter! We took a lot of trains in Europe fairly recently and these issues are legit! And I especially like the tip to check where your train stops before your final destination - in our experience, once they announce your stop, you don’t have very much time to get your stuff together and get to the exit before the train continues on! That would have saved us a lot of anxiety! But having said that, pack light, book your seats in advance and enjoy your trip! Trains are the easiest way to travel in Europe!

Thanks Mark, I was hoping you would cover train travel in Europe and your views of the Eurorail pass. Good information as always 👍🏾

Perfect timing! We have very little experience in W-NY with public transportation. I've been stressing for our upcoming trip to Paris, Germany and Brussels! Excellent info! Thank you for sharing!

Info packed video ❤

Also, DO watch out for trains that are split. For example, the ICE Trains that run from Frnakfurt to Amsterdam / Brussels are one train from Frankfurt to Cologne, then, the front half runs to Amsterdam and the rear half goes to Belgium. These trains have different numbers and nearly all trains have electric signs next to the doors that display the destination, train number, etc. But people somehow always manage to get on the wrong part of the train. So pay attention for that and also pay attention to conductor announcements. If you hear an announcement on the train, take your headphones off for a second and listen to it. All announcements are also held in English but you actually have to listen to them

You have the best utube video I’ve found. Thanks.

Thanks! I blitzed Europe in 1978 with a three-month Eurail pass. With seat reservations and all, rail travel has gotten far more complicated since.

Great stuff to know. Mark 👍 Jim and Harriet

🚉🥇 Well done, very thorough, thanks a bunch Mark!! 🙌

Hey Mark, taking the Enterprise train from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland is a great train.

Great tips - thanks

This video helps me a lot!! Last time, my friends told me a way to get bigger discounts for rail trips.

I love how clean and efficient the trains are in Europe - especially Germany and Austria! Gorgeous countries. And that was one of the first things I learned in German "ist das der zug nach Salzburg?"

awesome vid, so true

We actually used to take night trains to go on vacation sometimes when I was a kid/teenager. I usually woke up at some point in the middle of the night and I looked out the window from my bed and watched the lights trying to guess where we were. I would even try to get the middle bed just so I could do that.

Hey Mark, great video

The best travel channel on UKposts does it again!

Lovely video! At some point I noticed that like half of all the B-roll clips are from Finland! ❤

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THIS . YOU ARE A VERYPOLITE KIND OF GUY . WISH I COULD BE OVER THERE YET I PROBABLY WOULD BE DRIVING AN AUTO IF I COULD GO THERE .

Great tips

Hhank you soòoo much!!!❤

Sometimes a train consists of two parts which will later separate and each of which will go to a different destination. In such a case, take care not only to board the right train, but also the right part of the train.

Great video

Take a look at the map before deciding what side to sit on. It will give you an idea of where the views will be.

Great video!

Great video. We rode a train from Venice to Rome once, and there was a large group of college students on a school tour, and every one of them had a massive suitcase, too large to fit in the overhead bins. So of course they put the suitcase on the seat in front or beside them, which created a lack of seats on the train. Pack light people!

The bathroom on the train coming from New Delhi you just peed in a hole and it hit the tracks running!

Don't forget that cities might have different names in other languages. Look up what your destination is called in the local language from where you're departing. For example: when you're taking the train from Amsterdam to Cologne the sign above the train track will say "Keulen" because that's what Cologne is called in Dutch. In the Netherlands you just buy a ticket and you can hop on any train at anytime at that route. But if you get an ov-chipkaart you can go on any public transportation in any direction whenever you want (don't forget to check in and out though). That's why I love travelling by train here. No pre-booking or seat reservations and the prices are always the same.

Don't forget to check the prices for the first class, sometimes they are cheaper then second class. If you can’t find a cheap ticked try to add an extra stop. BTW Berlin to Munich can be done for under €20,- by ICE, all depending on time and date.

I love this, one of the first videos I saw of yours was that one in Zurich HB from years and years ago. Also don’t know if you mentioned it yet by splitting trains can be an issue in SW England, Denmark & night trains in other parts of Europe…so always double check little Sheet thing plastered to the front of the door or electronically at the side

An addition to the point about bringing too much luggage. Certainly in the UK there is limits to the amount of luggage you can take with you with the rule basically being that you can only take what you can easily carry onto the train in one go. I used to manage a station in London and had this issue with tourists on a few occasions where they had so much luggage it was blocking doors. In most situations we tried to accommodate them where we could if there was spare space in the bicycle areas but there was always a risk that they'd have to be denied travel if there wasn't sufficient space.

I took the train from London to Paris. It was great

On our trip final leg from Naples to Salerno, the conductor told me that the tickets were not validated (didn't know where to do it at Rome Termi). He gave me a break and told me when we got off at Salerno to go to the office there and validate all my tickets there (I still had to go back north to Rome, Livorno, and from Florence to Vienna Austria). I got it done and went on our way. I think I was able to get it done at JFK since I bought the tickets in advance from Eurail. Live and learn!

Btw about train and airplane traveling. Many times some people think that flying is the fastest or easiest way when its not.... 5h in train from city centre to city centre EASY. Just sit, go to restaurant car etc. One hour flight is NOT one hour flight (yes literally only that "flight") because from city to Airport sometimes you need 1h, you have to be there 1 or 2h before then you fly that 1h, then you maybe wait your luggages etc 1h in airport and then one more hour when traveling to centre again. So it takes 5 or 6 hours in reality...

Mark…love your thumbnail on this one! 😂

Greate👏👏👏👏

Eurail is almost always more expensive than buying tickets when travelling in Eastern Europe, including populair destinations such as Cracow, Prague, Budapest

Thanks so much. We’re planning a trip in May 2024. US to Edinburgh then fly to Paris and we’re looking to take a train to Frankfurter Germany then to Bern Switzerland. Doing all this in 2 weeks. We may need to fly to maximize our time.

Such great advice! Especially getting a seat reservation if it's possible. We were in the UK during their heat wave and trains were cancelled left and right: long story short, we had to get to London but our train with our reserved seats was cancelled and we ended up sitting in between cars (with all the other folks with cancelled trains) and 0/10 I do not recommend. "Don't bring stinky food or everyone will hate you" is always sound advice!

In Germany we now have the "Deutschland-Ticket" that lets you use every slow train as well as all buses, metros and trams in Germany for 49€ a month. It's a subscription ticket, but it's worth subscribing and unsubscribing the next month if you travel around in Germany a lot and don't mind your trip taking more time in exchange for saving money.

As a general rule, if you buy your ticket online you do not have to register it before getting on the train.

Regarding seat reservations I'd say it depends. Are you travelling alone and at a not-so-busy time? So far I always found a seat in these cases, so I'll definitely not pay 4,50 Euro (in Germany). So far I don't think I ever had to stand (only in regional trains - but in these you can't reserve a seat anyway). If you are travelling with family or friends and want to sit together, or are travelling on a very busy train and really don't want to risk having to stand for a while? Then it's probably better to reserve.

The French railroad SNCF finally gets rid of the "composteur de billet" - ticket (in) validators. And I love that you encourage exploring Europe by train. It's so beautiful to see the landscape passing by without traffic jams like in a bus or car. I took the train from Lissabon to Warsaw once. Was really cool.

Another tip is to be aware of 'Peak' and 'Off Peak' travel. Many Europeans use trains for their daily work commute. The daily work commute includes travel between cities, not just he suburbs. Travel in the 'peak' early morning times (roughly 7 to 10am) and after work (roughly 4 - 7pm) will be very, very busy. Often you'll get an entire crowd of people running for the train, and standing room only. Travelling 'off peak' outside the usual commuting hours is much easier, also cheaper than peak hour travel.

Another one is also check out the options for train companies using the lines, I know Mark said book from the page, but using pages like Trainline can at least be good to check options if you do not know who is operating on it. In France and Spain with companies like Ouigo that is in both, in Spain there is also the cheaper Renfe with AVLORenfe, and also Iryo as well on some routes, and in Italy with Italo as well, and in Germany FlixBus, the bus company also opperates some trains as well. Note with some of them, specially the FlixTrain there are some mixed reviews, but Iryo in Spain vs. Renfe, you will not notice that big difference. With Spain, another pro tip is when you book high speed train in Spain, before and after your transport, you get free Cercanias etc. included to get to the train stations from where you are staying included as well, and that can also save you some bucks as well.

Exept the don'ts, there are do's. One of them is: learn some languages. In many countries doors will open that otherwise would remain shut if you speak the language. Not fluently, but just enough for traveling / restaurants etc. Often that is hugely appreciated.

Yje luggage situation is spot on. We have been to Europe twice in recent years & caught various trains. We only ever bring large suitcases and need to leave these at the end of the carriage, which is a concern, however we have had no issues as yet. But also, if you have large suitcases, get on the train early as the luggage area fills quickly.

i see a lot of people who don't understand why you might not be allowed to use the toilet while the train is at the station. so here's the deal with that. the old type of on board toilets directly dump your "deposit" onto the train tracks, so if you go while the train is at the station you dump it in front of the people waiting for trains. and nobody wants to stand next to a turd baking in the sun. so if your train has those type of toilets wait for the train to get out of the station and then flush, this way it falls somewhere where it bothers no-one.

Don't stand in front of the door when people are getting out of the train. Step aside, let them through and only board when they are all out. If you have reserved your seat, find out where your coach will stop before the train arrives, there are indicators for that. Don't get off your train before your destination unless you know it's an extended stop, and even then don't be in the way of people getting in and out. That's a big problem with smokers wanting to satisfy their addiction along the way.

I've got two money saving tips for you: 1. AUSTRIA: You can buy the "Einfach-Raus-Ticket" (Up and away Ticket) for 2 - 5 Persons starting at 36€ for 2 Persons (+ 4€ for each extra person). With that ticket you can use all regional trains, suburban trains, regional express trains and cityjet express trains operated by ÖBB for 1 day. It's valid in whole Austria except the federal state of Vorarlberg 2. SLOVENIA: On weekends you can buy the Izletka Pass at 15€ per person which allows you to travel on all trains through slovenia on weekends and public holidays.

I pre booked a return train from Madrid to Malaga, last month, for next September 😅. I’m glad I did though because it’s booking out quickly for the times and dates that I wanted. $164.00 CAD for 1st class return, including a reserved seat both ways(€7 each way) which I think is a great deal. I love the trains in Europe, it’s the only way to fly 😂

1 tip, as some trains do and others don't require a seat reservation, READ your ticket. It usually states the train number, the car number and the seat number, if there are any such things available to you. Let me give you another tip. In some countries like Romania, you might need to buy the ticket IN the train. Some stops just do not have any ticket machine and/or desk where you can buy a ticket. Don't worry it is common practice to get aboard wait a bit and than buy the ticket from the person who checks them.

Great! I'll add another one from my experience. One time I was boarding a train from Frankfurt, bound for Paris. I was standing at the start of my platform, and the electric board on the train read Stuttagrt. So I was like, this must not be my train. But turns out, when I actually went to where my coach was supposed to be, the board on there did say Paris instead of Stuttgart. So, there can be two or more different destinations and train nos. on the same train.

Adding to the confusion: when traveling domestically within Switzerland and an ICE happens to pass by, you are free to take it without fearing any penalties. Rules in Switzerland are that all high-speed trains entering the country are treated as regular intercity trains. That means you can take any train that would happen to stop at your destination without having to pay a premium. Don't ever do the abovementioned things in Italy or France, where intercity trains or higher need seat reservations in addition to a ticket.

Deutsche Bahn has deals (Sparpreis and Supersparpreis) that will always be better than Eurrail Passes, but you have to advance purchase and it's usually specific trains. Some come with the CityTicket, which gets you to and/or from the station on local rail and bus. The CityTicket may or may not be a deal depending on your local travel plans. Also, knowing the stops before keeps youfrom making the similar named wrong stop mistake in tre middle of nowhere with no train for an hour and you don't knkw how far the proper stop is away. The exception to.the food and drink is local trains frown on drinking on the train, particularly alcohol, but only because of "pre-gamers" and drunks trying to get drunker after barhopping. I had ONE problem with a guy in my seat in dozens of ICE rides and it was in 1. Klasse of all things. He had the nerve to try to make it a personal issue because I wasn't "polite." Was not a German. Germans wouldn't usually turn to gaslighting like this guy. Might play it a bit coy, but not full blown gaslighting. I was tired and not particularly ready for any pushback.

10:34 this happened to me. I took a 6 hour train and I only packed an apple and a water bottle, thinking I could have lunch on the train. Well, that day the catering service was on strike, so there was no food, snaks or drinks. Also, some tickets are really hard to read (I'm looking at you, DB), so don't hesitate to ask someone in the ticket office if there's something you don't understand.

As a newbie, I missed a connection and kinda freaked out. I went to the help desk and they just told me to get on the next train…duh…😂

I live in europe in uk and regularly use the train. I also travelled by train in 4 other European countries. Its not always cheap, its not always comfortable but most of the time its fine. I just returned from Lithuania and loved their trains After watching this id love Mark ti make a video maybe walking through the process in some places, also im curious how USA trains work.

An manche Sachen habe ich gar nicht mehr gedacht, weil sie einem einfach inne sind. 😉

Don’t forget that if your train is cancelled, when you catch the next train your seat reservation won’t be valid. The person who actually had a reservation on that next train has that seat reservation. It happened to me when my train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh was cancelled at the last minute - signal issue or something. I had to scramble to find a seat on the next train.

Dont expect to have anything but a seat if you take a Flixtrain in Germany. Once I took a 5 hour inter city train ride on a Flixtrain and there was only one toilet that wasn't broken on the whole long train. Oh and if they are overbooked they can cancel your ticket quite spontaneously. Once we wanted to travel in the afternoon and our tickets got cancelled the night before. Which was quite a hassle since we were headed to a final exam one of us had to take (one future hairdresser and the three models she needed for her exam).

On our recent trip to Germany, we had a ticket for the ICE from Stuttgart to Berlin. We arrived at the station with plenty of time, checked the board and got to our track, and confirmed on the platform that our train still on schedule. Then the announcement came and people started leaving the platform. Then the English announcement said our train was cancelled due to a problem with the train. There was heavy snow in Munich that a.m., and I assume that our train must have been stuck. We had to go to the DB office and they stamped our ticked and suggested we take the ICE to Dusseldorf and then make a connection to Berlin. I guess the advice here is to go straight to the office, and they can give you the info you need to get to your destination. The other thing is on the Dusseldorf to Berlin ICE, the seats were reserved and we had to move - but we found we could move to the food car and there was still room to sit there.

I love the Greek national team's jersey your son has on

My train suggestion is to check your arrival time. If you arrive at 0400, as I did once on a trip from Paris to Toulouse,book a hotel which starts on the night you traveled. Otherwise you might have to wait from 0400 until 1100 in a cold + uncomfortable railway station. But also, call ahead to hotel to let them to know your arrival time & to ask if there will be a taxi service. It's Europe, so probably no one up at 0300-0400 & no taxis. Book ahead can really help. (Most places have Über/Lyft, but not all.)

I always try to arrive with a fully charged powerbank & phone If there Isnt a charging option on the train. If signal Is bad In the area i bring a physical copy of the ticket...

Don’t assume that every car is going to the end. Train from Munich to Salzburg split up at border. Fortunately the conductor told us but we had to schlepp our 1970 suitcases thru several cars to get to the right section

The facilities onboard long distance Finnish are really good compared to British ones, although having to climb a mini step ladder to get onboard with luggage is a bit challenging, especially at regional stations that don't even have proper platforms.

The guard might be nice. One time in Italy my friend and I didn't validate our ticket (because it isn't obvious) and we got on the train. The train guard pointed at a 50 euro fine but let us off because she realised we were tourists and it was an innocent mistake.

When you're using the Dutch domestic train network (or: NS/Dutch Railways), don't do the following: 1) Place your luggage in the path between the seats. This is not only inconvenient for you, but for others as well. If you have a HUGE rolling luggage, I'd advise you to take a seat closer to the doors. 2) Order a ticket too far in advance. The chance of the train not running is a thing, sadly, but is rarely. 3) Be gung-ho on one set of train. If you miss the train (or, it does not run at all), be sure to check for the next departure or for alternate trains that go the same direction. 4) Don't board the train without a valid ticket (and be sure to use the aforementioned portals that check in and out). Don't like tickets? You can use your credit/debit card (be sure to check with your bank operator if they allow contactless travel). 5) On platforms, don't obstruct any free space as people do need to pass by. Some station platforms look spacious, but can be narrow too. 6) Don't obstruct the doors before boarding. Just move to the sides of where the doors open to let others get odf the train first. Think like the Japanese and form a path. 7) Don't look up weird if you see bikes in the train. This is common practice in the NS. They do charge extra, though. 8) Do not be afraid to ask. In most cases, the locals are willing to help you out with questions such as "is this the train to Amsterdam" or "could you tell me this train is passing by this spot". On-board staff can also help you out, if available. 9) Don't forget to check the on-platform and on-board displays to see if the train you're looking for, is indeed going your route. 10) Going through the country? You can make use of the NS app and buy tickets that way. It also saves an €1 on paper fees. This'll generate an QR code/digital ticket to let you through the gates to get to the train. 11) Going cross border? Make use of the NS International app, or use their site, or go to a station ticket office (if available). Don't buy it from other parties as they can scam you. 12) Also, don't worry about missing trains as they can run as frequent as every 10 minutes. I can go on for a little while, but I think this will help a little. Happy traveling!

And just because your ticket says the train will have a cafe car doesn't mean it will be open when you are on the train. Sometimes for staffing or inventory issues, the cafe will be open for sitting but not for serving any food or drink,

There may be not only regional passes, but also sub-regional passes. When I was in Tuebingen, I used 3 different passes

Hi! This is so helpful. We are doing Europe this summer again, but first time on our own, no tour company. Quick question: What is the train line that will take us from Paris to Luzern? I have read that there is no direct, but I can do a stop in Basel and connect to Luzern. Also, do you know how many days in advance the tickets will be available? I checked Rail Europe, but no June availability. Thank you :)

How do pre-paid tickets and seat reservations work if you miss a connection and have to take the next train?

Regarding luggage - if you want to leave it at the station while you're scouting out the city, DO, absolutely DO use a locker. Yes, they are expensive. But you know what's more expensive? When the entire station gets evacuated while the bomb squad checks out whether the suitcase fastened with a bike lock to a bench is actually dangerous or not. Similarly, when you get off the train, make sure you have ALL your luggage. It's not funny when 300 people miss their connection due to a baggage piece not being attributable to a traveler and the train being evacuated.

Thanks for the tips! I will be sure to rent a car instead. You have just confirmed for me that taking trains would be way too complicated.

is the importance of signs in trainstations really a specific european thing? like even if you're from the US and more used to flying, you still gotta look out for signs and information boards in airports (not complaining, I really like your videos, just asking)