About our Independent Rail Tours

Our independent rail tours are self-guided, so you will not have an Authentic Europe representative travelling with you or meeting you in person. However, our team is always available by phone and email during office hours, and our 24/7 emergency phone is available outside office hours should you need assistance during your trip.

Airport transfers are normally not included unless stated otherwise in the tour description or services included section. In most cases, you can add an airport transfer as an additional service to your booking or arrange one locally after arrival.

Some of our Independent Rail Tours in Italy include transfers in selected locations. When included, this will always be clearly stated in the What's included section.

Transfers from your hotel to the railway station or port are not normally included. These can usually be arranged directly with your hotel after arrival. Your travel documents will also include information on how to travel between your hotel, railway station and port using local public transport.

As we generally use centrally located hotels, getting to and from airports, railway stations and ports by public transport is usually easy and convenient.

An overview of the services included is specified for each tour (at the bottom of the tour page).

Your travel documents provide all the practical information you need to follow your itinerary independently. They include directions to your hotels, information about getting to and from railway stations and airports, and details about your included activities and excursions.

For train journeys, your travel documents clearly show the departure station, train, departure time and other important travel information. You can also use your smartphone or a navigation app such as Google Maps to help you find your way around.

Our tour categories Gold and Platinum will, whenever possible, always include hotels that are located within short walking distance from the train station/ferry terminal/bus station/pier. Category Silver hotels will also be centrally located, but will in some locations require the need for public transport to get from the train station/ferry terminal/bus station/pier.

This might also be the case for Gold and Platinum due to availability or the distance between e.g. the ferry terminal and the central train station. In these cases we include information in the travel documents on how you can find your way by public transport.

Luggage transport and assistance are not normally included, so you are responsible for carrying your own luggage throughout the tour. There is space for one suitcase and one carry-on bag per person on the different forms of transport. Please make sure you can comfortably lift and carry your luggage on and off trains and other transport.

Some of our Independent Rail Tours in Switzerland include luggage transport between hotels. When included, this will be clearly stated in the tour description and What's included section.

Yes, extra nights can be added when submitting the tour reservation through our website. Extra nights before the start of the tour or after the end of the tour can also be added until the final payment due date by sending an e-mail to info@authentic-europe.com

Please note that a €30 amendment fee applies when adding extra nights or overnight experiences in the middle of your tour after the booking has been confirmed. The fee also applies when adding an extra night after you have received your travel documents.

Yes, should you wish to exclude any hotel overnights included in the tour we ask you kindly to specify this in the remarks field when submitting the reservation through our website. It is not possible to take out the majority of the overnights included in the tour price.

For tours including only 2 or 3 nights, no nights can be removed. To get the amended tour price please contact us through the request form during the online booking process or by sending an email to info@authentic-europe.com

We strongly recommend that you wait until you have received your tour confirmation before booking your flights. Our tours are subject to availability, so we cannot guarantee that your tour can be booked until we have confirmed it with you.

We do our best to send your tour confirmation within 24–48 hours, Monday to Friday.

Your travel documents will be sent by email approximately one month before your trip, once we have received your final payment.

For last-minute bookings, we will send your travel documents as soon as possible after receiving full payment.

Your travel documents include a detailed travel itinerary, address list, travel vouchers and/or e-tickets. You will receive a voucher or e-ticket for each service included in your tour. These documents serve as proof of your booking and payment and should be presented when required during your trip.

We carefully plan your journey times to allow enough time for connecting transport. However, delays can sometimes occur.

If you are delayed and may miss your connection, please inform the driver, conductor or transport staff as soon as possible. They can advise you on the next steps and, where possible, contact the connecting transport provider.

Please make sure you arrive on time for all scheduled transport and activities. Tickets and vouchers normally cannot be used for a later departure or activity, and we cannot offer a refund if you miss a service because you arrive late.

If your delay is caused by connecting transport booked through Authentic Europe, please call us immediately. We will advise you on the best way to proceed.

There is normally a 50% child reduction on our public transport tours when 1-2 children are sharing a room with two fully paying persons. The age the child reduction applies to might differ between the tours (sometimes valid until 15 and sometimes until 12). To find the exact price for all travellers for a specific tour please enter a travel date, travellers, room type and hotel category.

We do not offer senior discounts on the tour prices published on our website. Our contracted rates with suppliers cannot be combined with additional discounts.