If you're traveling with Interrail, it's good to check in advance if any trains require any seat reservations.

Suppose a train has a mandatory seat reservation. In that case, you need to purchase a seating ticket in advance to even be able to board the train. High-speed trains and overnight trains do, in general, always have mandatory seating. Countries where most trains have mandatory seat reservations are France, Spain, and Italy.

Some trains have an optional seat reservation, which means that you can choose if you want to book a seat or not. We always recommend making a reservation if possible, especially during high season or if you travel in a bigger group. If you don't make a reservation when optional, you will most likely be able to board the train anyway. However, the odds of you having to stand up or sit in the aisle in such cases increase. Further, the conductor has the right to deny travelers boarding the train if it's full.

It happens that the railway companies change from optional seat reservations to mandatory seat reservations on some trains, especially during peak season or if there's a higher demand than usual. So, double-check the trains you plan to travel with a week before to inspect if the rules have changed.

The day trains can usually be booked three months before departure, and the night trains are generally 6 months in advance. There can be certain cases where the tickets are released earlier and later.

We recommend you purchase your seat reservations as much in advance as possible, especially if you are traveling between April and September when there's peak season.

Seat reservations are easily made on our website Trainplanet.com To be able to make a reservation, you will need your Pass Cover number that you will find in your order confirmation. The pass cover number starts with a letter followed by eight digits.

If you want help with booking your tickets, it's also possible to contact our customer support.