Can I avoid trains with reservations?

It's good to remember that most European trains don't need a reservation at all. You can keep the costs of your trip down by traveling with regional trains, which will take you to every corner of Europe. Regional trains are a good alternative for fullly booked high-speed and night trains.

Search for trains without reservations

Go to the Eurail timetable.
Enter your departure and arrival stations, as well as your departure date and time.
Click on "Show more options" and select "Local Trains".
Click on "Find route" to check the list of routes. The journey times of the listed routes may be longer than trains that do require seat reservations.

When you follow the steps above, you'll be given the best alternative travel options. Usually, this means that the trains shown don’t require any reservations. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to avoid trains that require a reservation, but even in that case you'll still be shown the best option that will keep the additional reservation fees as low as possible.