Yes, that’s correct. Unless you’re prepared to use slower services in France, the reservation fees are unavoidable. In Spain, it makes it nigh on impossible to get very far very quickly.
That's correct for domestic TGVs and some of the Intercité services. International TGVs can be more expensive. Some Intercité services have optional €1.60 reservations. In Spain, the cost varies, usually between €4 and €10 in 2nd class, depending on the train type.
I'd suggest to make a plan first and then check where you need reservations, what they would cost and if you don't like the result, to see whether you can reduce the number of reservations.
Yes reservations in France/Spain are expensive.
It really depends on the case. For long(er) distances not booked a long time in advance, an Interrail pass can still be very good value.
It depends on the train and where you book. There is no general answer.
That's not really a reservation fee, it is a quota controlled fare.
Thank you. More head-scratching!
It depends how you use the pass. If you're using it in situations where you could have bought a cheap ticket and/ or you are paying high reservation fees, then the pass is poor value.
It all depends. Especially daily distances, whether you want inflexible booked long ahead or to be able to replan as you go, e.g. around weather. And how far you are from London.
In that case, hunt around Ouigo routes booked far in advance for long distance legs, and get to grips with which regions have cheap multi-day passes on TER. E.g. you can do Paris (rather Marne-La-Vallée) to Marseille for Eur 16 booked now for mid-January. Or Paris-Montpellier for Eur 25 then enjoy the LiO Eur 10/day TER multi-daypass valid throughout Occitanie.
AFAIK it's a known issue in the latest release. Stations don't appear anymore on the map and apparently that also makes the app unable to find nearby stations. If it bothers you (I rarely use that function), then do contact customer service:
One issue after another with that wretched app. It really isn’t good enough to still have so many issues with an app that can cost the user a sizeable sum if they get the wrong guard.
I regard this as quite a small issue.
There is still a history of repeated issues with it.
The first 2 years felt more like beta testing (2020-2022) but IMO the app is now past that stage. It doesn't mean there are no bugs anymore but I haven't seen any serious ones for quite a while now.
Not a chance. Too many issues reported with it - I will stick to paper until it is fundamentally reliable for a lengthy time.
That's totally fine but then you shouldn't make assumptions about the app.
Just going by feedback from others who have been burned (not literally!) by it.
