Hi Ziza,
At the moment we can only sell tickets within Europe as have limited access to international rail operators. Our service is restricted for this reason but we are happy to give advice about travelling by train elsewhere if we can. That's what the Engine Room is for! So welcome to community, I hope we can answer your questions and help you find the trains you're looking for.
Perhaps check out the conversations in the Further Afield forum for some inspiration.
Why is it not possible to make online booking outside Europe?
What is a transaction shadow?
Before Loco2 can place a booking with our ticket partner we must get "authorisation" from your bank. This is how we make sure you have sufficient funds in your account and your details match the card details held by your bank. When the transaction is authorised, your bank/card issuer will allocate the funds by placing a 'shadow' on your account.
When a booking is finalised the 'shadow' is converted into a payment. However, if the transaction fails or is made void after the authorisation stage sometimes we are not able to remove the 'shadow'. This money has not been taken from your account but may affect your available balance.
The average ‘shadow’ will only remain for 72 hours. But sometimes they can remain on the card for anything up to approximately 6 days. If you are not able to wait for the shadow to naturally expire you should contact us and we issue you with a release code, provided by our merchant provider, which you can give to your bank in order to remove the shadow.
Due to a security alert at Paris Gare du Nord this morning, Eurostar services have been affected and have been / are subject to some delays.
As a result of the disruption in Paris, sales have been closed today (16th May 2012) for the following trains, departing from Paris Gare du Nord. No further tickets will be sold for these services.
-Train 9031 departing at 13.13 -Train 9039 departing at 15.13 -Train 9043 departing at 16.13 -Train 9047 departing at 17.13 -Train 9049 departing at 17.43 -Train 9051 departing at 18.13 -Train 9055 departing at 19.13 -Train 9059 departing at 20.13 -Train 9063 departing at 21.13
Please also note that exchanges will not be possible on these services until further notice.
Brussels - London services remain unaffected.
I have just booked tickets from Verona to Venice in July for 9 euros each way per person. Trenitalia was showing the fare at 21.50, but I seem to have got the 'mini ' fare on the website www.lefrecce.it which is the type of train which runs on the service. The tickets are print at home from a pdf. Shortest journey time is 1 hour 11 mins.
Due to planned works on the rail network in the Domodossola area during August, all Thello services for departures between 11th August and 2nd September inclusive are on ‘stop sale’. No tickets will be issued for the specified services.
EN220/EN221 Venice-Paris-Venice – Last bookable departure 10th August 2012 (both directions)
• EN220/EN221 Venice-Paris-Venice – Next bookable departure 3rd September 2012 (both directions)
Source: International rail/Trenitalia
Due to maintenance works the Elipsos service running between Barcelona and Milan will be cancelled in both directions between the 27th May and 22nd June 2012, as follows:
EN372 Milan-Barcelona will not be running from Monday 28th May untill Friday 22nd June inclusive
EN371 Barcelona-Milan will not be running from Sunday 27th May untill Thursday 21st June inclusive
Customers with tickets during this period should contact their agent for assistance.
Source: Trenitalia/International Rail
It is possible to travel from Stuttgart to Luxembourg. It takes approximately 4 hours with an interchange in Strasbourg, or 6 hours via Cologne. There are several departures every day. Use Deutsche Bahn for the most reliable timetable information. Only some of these journeys are currently available on Loco2.
Can I travel from Stuttgart to Luxembourg by train and how long will it take.
Hi Rachel,
The first thing you need to decide is which route you fancy. A lot of people presume that the Trans-Siberian is just one route dedicated to tourist trains, but in fact it's a vast network of railways connecting Moscow to the Russian Far East and Pacific coast with arms branching off through Mongolia to China. There are lots of maps showing the route, but I like this one for its simplicity:
Which route you choose will effect where you choose to stop off. But I've got some generic suggestions and can come up with some more once you know where you're going.
Before you start
The most important thing when planning a trip to Russia is sorting our your Visa. If you're planning to get to Russia by train (definitely recommended) then you'll need a Belarussian transit visa in addition to the Russian visa. Read this post for information about visas for Russia and Belarussia. You need to apply for your visa quite far in advance so if you're planning a trip in August we'd recommend starting the process sooner rather than later.
Getting to Russia by train
Lots of the fun of catching the Trans-Siberian can be had in getting to Moscow. Lots of people rush across Europe by plane and miss the opportunity to see the places in between so we highly recommend getting to Russia by train before you start. This post explains the options for reaching Moscow by train, including the sleeper train from Cologne direct to Moscow which crosses Belarus.
There are lots of ways to do this part of the journey, and you might want to consider going to Saint Petersburg first then heading down to Moscow to begin the Trans-Siberian part of your trip.
Booking the Trans-Siberian
There are quite a few companies which offer all-inclusive toures for the Trans-Siberian. Don't be fooled, it's straightforward to organise your trip yourself without paying massive booking fees. Google will point you in the direction of a number of companies but you want to look out for companies that print and dispatch the tickets themselves so you're not paying additional fees.
We recommend Russian Trains or Real Russia, both of whom appear to sell tickets directly without adding big fees (as far as we know).
Tips and tricks
Hot Water: Every train has a beloved Samovar at the end of each carriage. This will be the provider of hot water for noodles, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and all manner of other just-add-water treats which you will no doubt indulge to pass the time as you whizz though Siberia. So don't forget your cup, spoon or whatever else you think you'll need.
Food: Lots of people think they're going to starve on the train, but there is plenty of food on board if you want to eat in the restaurant car, and the train stops semi-regularly so you can hop off and buy bread, crisps and biscuits (the Trans-Siberian does nothing for your waistline). We also took boiled eggs which last for days and are great for sandwiches when you can buy fresh bread along the way.
Power: You are unlikely to have power sockets in your carriage but most trains have a power socket in the corridor and the loo at the end of the carriage. You'll need an adaptor and to keep an eye on your belongings to don't imagine leaving things plugged in over night to recharge. If you're going long haul though you've plenty of time to lean by a plug and gaze out of the window at the passing scenery.
Hope these help. Let me know your planned route and I'll definitely have some suggestions for some places to stop off.
Dear Josephine,
As discussed, we are only able to offer e-tickets for specific routes and sadly this is out of our hands. Unfortunately I think you have misunderstood. In this example, as you have seen, we are not able to offer an e-ticket for the route you have selected.
When an e-ticket is available you will see the option in the delivery option in the drop down menu. See the attached picture for an example.
I have done some research on your behalf and was not able to find an e-ticket from another rail provider either. We are trying to increase the number of routes for which we can offer e-tickets but this will take time. For now users can choose to deliver tickets to UK addresses and courier them overseas if they wish, but this is not a service which is available from Loco2. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Due to a strike in Belgium today (14th May 2012), which is affecting domestic trains in Belgium (SNCB), Thalys have given flexible access on all of today's (14th May 2012) Thalys services (in Belgium only) to all customers travelling with a Thalys ticket.
At the moment, 5 Thalys services have been / are also affected, train numbers 9325, 9427, 9327, 9428 and 9328.
For more details, please click here (French only).
Dear Kate:
As discussed over the phone, You'll research and contact Rail service provider to see if I could get e-ticket instead of conventional way of delivery.
I've done the booking and paid by credit card. The only issue I've encountered is that you can only deliver the tickets to an UK address. I'm based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'll think it will be valued-added to have e-ticket facility so that I can print on line instead of going through the long process of getting an address in UK through my friends' parants and then courier cost to send down to me in South Africa.
Your kind advise and prompt response will be highly appreciated.
KR Josephine McKenzie
I am planning to go on the travel on the trans-Siberian railway with a friend in August. We have the whole month. I just wanted to get some general information about the best way to get tickets, places to stop, tips and tricks.
Thanks.
Rachel
Hello,
First port of call to find out if trains exist is www.bahn.com which has the most comprehensive timetable information online, though currently extremely limited online booking.
Sofia to Budapest night train
There is one direct train which departs from Sofia to Budapest-Ferencvaros every day at 11.55 and takes around 19 hours, travelling through Serbia overnight. There has been some confusion as the direct service was withdrawn last year, but the current timetable seems to have it back again.
A far as I'm aware it's not possible to book this journey online, but other Loco2 users have enjoyed success by telephoning Deutsche Bahn. They can book tickets and place a reservation on you behalf. They can be reached on 08718 80 80 66 or 0208 339 4701.
Sofia to Budapest train
Alternatively if you want to stop off en route, or prefer travelling during day light hours, you can take the same train that departs Sofia at 11.55 and get off the train at Belgrade. It arrives there around mid-way (current timetabled stop is 19.47) so you can get off, spend a day in Belgrade if you choose, before continuing your journey.
From Belgrade there are a couple of trains a day to Budapest which take a little less than 8 hours.
Again, we don't know where it may be possible to book these online (we're always on the look out believe me), but Deutsche Bahn's call centre is your best bet again.
Do let us know know how you get on!
just wanted to know is there are trains going from sofia to budapest? or where could i find more info? or even skopje to budapest?
Awesome, thanks Kate!
Thanks so much for your help! This is really useful information. I would definitely come back to this site to plan out future rail trips... hopefully by then you'll be able to provide more print at home options!
37 is not too bad, but was just wondering what happened! Thanks!
KJ
Hi KJ,
I've run my own search for the train you've purchased tickets for but can now only find tickets for £37 per passenger. This means that the £28 tickets have sold out.
Because there are a finite number of tickets in each "yield", or fare group, sometimes tickets sell out during the booking process. This means that occasionally a customer may see a cheaper ticket, but when they come to place the order we find that they have all sold out. You will have seen a message when we were not able to confirm the ticket price you were originally quoted.
Unfortunately we are not able to control when this happens, as it occurs when customers on other booking websites purchase tickets on the same trains. We try to be as transparent as possible about why this occurs so I hope you're not too disappointed.
I hope you enjoy your trip!
