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Europe Trains Guide Forum  |  General discussion  |  Train fares and tariffs  |  Frankfurt-Brussels-London-Paris-Frankfurt
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Author Topic: Frankfurt-Brussels-London-Paris-Frankfurt  (Read 9102 times)
Ememem
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« on: August 04, 2012, 10:40:14 am »

I am planning a trip for next year and have kind of concluded the course of action I need to take but would really appreciate some advice or confirmation as to whether I am being sensible or not.
All advice seems to be to book directly with the rail companies, eg DBahn, EuroStar as soon as their booking window for the dates I want become available. I have booked using DBahn before and was happy with the process. Questions I have are:
1. Do I book Paris-Frankfurt with DBahn or FrenchRail?
2. My forward from Frankfurt will be during Easter, any particular advice re that travel period?
3. I will be connecting after flying into Frankfurt and am a little concerned that if the plane is late my train booking will be lost, any customer support if I miss the train through late aircraft arrival?
4. Is there a more economical way of purchasing these point to point tickets, Eurail pass seems to be not economical for 1 pax.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2013, 02:32:24 pm by tUt » Logged
tUt
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« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2012, 01:39:53 am »

Do I book Paris-Frankfurt with DBahn or FrenchRail?
Lately more convenient (and usually cheaper) to book via DB website
My forward from Frankfurt will be during Easter, any particular advice re that travel period?
Discounted tickets get sold rather quickly for the holiday season dates, thus probably the only advice is to book as early as ticket sale opens (with DB it's 92 days in advance)
I will be connecting after flying into Frankfurt and am a little concerned that if the plane is late my train booking will be lost, any customer support if I miss the train through late aircraft arrival?
DB policy on exchange/reimbursement of the discounted international ticket (Europa-Spezial) can be found here - http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/prices/europe/europaspezial.shtml (under Terms and Conditions). As you can see, there are a few options: a) refund or exchange for 15 euro (probably won't work, since it should be done before the day of travel); b) you can simply transfer your discounted "Europa-Spezial" to a later train, though will need to cover all extra up to full fare; c) there are available special insurance for discounted tickets. Or you can simply book a bit later departure, thus even if your plane will be a bit late you still can make it. If not you'll simply have some extra time in Frankfurt before departure
Is there a more economical way of purchasing these point to point tickets, Eurail pass seems to be not economical for 1 pax.
Usually it makes sense to do the math and count sum of point-to-point discounted tickets vs. pass fare. Although in cases of travel by train to London pass is definitely useless due to huge supplement for pass holders. Regarding more economical way, it might make sense to break tickets in case of Frankfurt-Brussels route --> first purchase discounted Frankfurt-Cologne domestic German ticket and then international discounted Cologne-Brussels. It depends on date of travel and connection, but sometimes such combination is cheaper in total comparing to one through international ticket Frankfurt-Brussels. Also you can save quite a lot if your stops in Brussels and Paris aren't long (<2 days in each city), we can explain more if it is the case for you ;)
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Ememem
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« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2012, 05:47:19 am »

Thankyou so much for that information, much appreciated.
Yes, certainly found DBahn site better than the French one.
I can't really do anything about the plane arrival time, I will give myself about 4-5 hrs to connect and if there is a late arrival more than that I will just have to accept the loss, and rebook at the station, my travel insurance will probably cover any extra costs ultimately due to that reason anyway. Other than that arrange to stay in Frankfurt a day, which I prefer not to do.
My itinerary does in fact limit my time in Brussels to 1-2 days and Paris for the same, possibly a through journey on the same day back to Frankfurt, so your hint at further advice in that regard would be welcome.
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tUt
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« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2012, 01:15:05 am »

My itinerary does in fact limit my time in Brussels to 1-2 days and Paris for the same, possibly a through journey on the same day back to Frankfurt, so your hint at further advice in that regard would be welcome.
Well, then you have a chance to travel even cheaper in total. The thing is that DB allows up to 48 hour stopover with their discounted tickets, so instead of buying two separate tickets (first Frankfurt-Brussels and then Brussels-London) you simply buy one through ticket with a long stopover in Brussels. In order to buy such discounted ticket with a 'forced' stopover you just need to enter your stopover station and length of the stopover when entering connection on DB website. Should get something like

Preferred connection from the second intermediate (-->stopover station) can be regulated by the stopover time you enter. For instance, if you want earlier departure from Brussels, then enter not 48 hour stopover (as above), but slightly less etc.

p.s. just rechecked... unfortunately same trick won't work with London-Paris-Frankfurt due to the fact that all the DB discounted tickets London-Germany are sold only for travels via Brussels, so with Paris you'll still have to go with two separate tickets
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