Trainline
Rail Europe vs Omio vs Trainline: Which Consistently Gets the Best Deals on Train Tickets
We ran dozens of pan-European searches on the three top train booking platforms, Rail Europe, Omio, and Trainline, and compared the results. The goal was to find out: Which site results in better and cheaper train trips? All three of these websites are far easier to use than most national European train booking sites, which can …
Our Test Results: The Best Train Booking Platform for Europe
Me: A stingy-ass connoisseur of train booking websites. I’m on an Iryo train in Spain—an alternative, cheap, high speed train option you’d never see if you only checked the official Renfe site. We performed hundreds of searches for train tickets on the websites of national European train companies as well as private portals. The goal: determine …
We Tested the Legitimate Train Booking Platforms for France—Here’s What Works Best for Cheap Tickets
I’ve been booking train tickets online for French trains for two decades, both with the SNCF’s official websites and the various good competing private booking platforms. There is now a healthy variety of alternatives for booking French train tickets that can get you e-tickets with the same dynamic pricing as you’d get purchasing directly from …
Omio Is a Decent Travel Booking Site, but With Some Problems—We’ve Used Better Alternatives
Me on a TGV INOUI train in France—one of the many trains bookable via Omio—though that’s not how I bought my ticket A lot of reviews would have you believe that Omio is a great way to book travel. And Omio is certainly an honest booking site (it’s not a scam, your e-tickets from Omio …
We Tested the Best Legitimate Train Booking Sites for Spain to Get the Best Deals and Smartest Routes
There are lots of sites that offer to sell train tickets for Spain. So my team and I ran dozens of searches on them to see what’s best—and we’ve been monitoring them this way (as we travel) for years. The starting for many looking to take a train is the official site for the national …
What Is Iryo? And Are These High-Speed Trains Worthwhile in Spain?
Iryo is one of Spain’s very affordable train services and offers a comfortable, quick connections between key cities. This site’s editor updating this review while on an Iryo train from Barcelona to Zaragoza. Iryo currently runs trains between Madrid and Barcelona more than a dozen times per day in each direction and also runs South …
What Is Ouigo? And Is This Budget Train Worthwhile for Crossing Spain, Catalonia, and France?
Ouigo, put simply, is a railway answer to the budget airline. Here I am riding a Ouigo train in Spain with the distinctive (gaudy?) color scheme of the seats behind me; I’ve taken these budget trains in France for years as well The tickets are cheap, and there are no frills, but you get to …
Solved! The Problems with SNCF Connect and Ouigo Websites — and How We Buy French Train Tickets in Spite of Them
The server for the error-ridden SNCF Connect website is presumably as functional and modern as this train hardware. Credit: David Hellmann. If you are blocked by error messages on the SNCF Connect or on Ouigo.com, you’re not alone. The websites and apps have lots of redirects and undergo constant updates that can render them in some …
Reviewed: The Cheapest, Easiest Ways to Book Italian Train Tickets
You can get the same lowest prices as the official Italian train operators offer but avoid the hassle of dealing directly with them. We’ve spent weeks testing websites to find out how to efficiently book the cheapest tickets for Italian train travel. We tested all kinds of routes and options, and looked at overall end …
The Key Tips for Deutsche Bahn—And Getting Cheaper, Smoother Rides on German Trains
Trains from the German national operator Deutsche Bahn are definitely the most comfortable way to travel the country—and often also cheap, especially with some good strategies. Photo of this ICE train by Michael Hanisch. I have long used trains as the most cost-effective and convenient way to get around Germany. I go by car and …