Eurail Passes are famous as a way to save money while exploring Europe, but they are also confusing and often misunderstood. They are still an amazing money-saving tool for certain types of travelers, and not a wise idea for most others. Before Europe introduced dynamic rail pricing (like airfares, where the price varies depending on when you buy it), a Eurail Pass was an easy way to save money since all tickets had fixed prices that were generally fairly expensive. These days most travelers can save far more money just by buying their train tickets at least a few weeks in advance.
That said, Eurail Passes are still great for longer trips and especially for people who like to make plans as they go. Dynamic rail pricing made advanced tickets much cheaper, but it also made last-minute tickets MUCH more expensive. Below we will discuss Eurail Passes and whether they are a good idea for your trip or not.
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Note: This article was written in 2012 and has been continuously updated since then, so all information is current as of April, 2024.
Eurail 2024 changes: New countries and a mobile version
This actually changed in 2019 and 2020, but it’s still a big deal and not many people were shopping for Eurail passes in the last couple of years. Eurail Passes now include England, Scotland, Wales, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Macedonia.
Aside from that it’s just the normal fact that they have updated the timetables as of December 2023 and have a few promotions going on, but those usually don’t happen over the busy summer season.
Eurail passes are now available in a mobile version
Until very recently, Eurail Passes were only available in paper form and they were quite confusing at first. You’d get a pass with a series of empty boxes on it and you’d need to enter your trip before you’d use your pass each day and then have the first conductor verify it. If you lost your ticket (and this was not uncommon), it was a whole ordeal to attempt to get a replacement.
Again in 2024 Eurail offers a fully mobile version that is delivered instantly to your mobile device with no delivery fee. And if you somehow lose your phone, you can resume using your Pass on your replacement with no extra headache. This is MUCH more convenient in every way and as long as you can keep track of your phone you’ll always have your train pass handy.
If your trip will be 2 weeks or less, a Eurail Pass probably won't be worth it
About half of the questions I get in the lengthy comment thread of this article are from people planning a trip of 3 or 4 stops in two weeks or less. The good news for those travelers is that they can get fairly cheap train tickets in advance online if they have their dates planned, and a Eurail Pass won’t help at all.
Eurail Passes are ideal for travelers on longer trips, and especially those who don’t want to plan all of their destinations and dates far in advance. If you have your itinerary pretty much planned out and you don’t require much flexibility, you’ll be far better off just locking in your dates and buying your train tickets as early as you can. Again, they can be surprisingly cheap if you buy 2 to 4 months out.
If you are age 27 or younger, a Eurail Pass is probably worth it
Those 28 years old or over must buy the 1st Class version of any Eurail Pass, which is 50% more expensive, and the added comfort isn’t a big deal to most people. But travelers age 12 to 27 can buy the 2nd Class versions at the lowest prices, and the seats are comfortable enough for virtually everyone.
With this in mind, if you are lucky enough to still be 27 or younger, you should seriously think about getting a Eurail Global Pass Youth, partly because the sense of freedom instantly gets more expensive at age 28. The age cutoff was 25 until recently, so this change is a great deal for anyone who will be 26 or 27 at the start of their trip.
You aren’t guaranteed to save money by buying a Youth Eurail Pass, but chances are good that you WILL save money and you’ll definitely save a lot of hassle as well. Especially now that Eurail Passes come in a mobile form, it’s even that much more convenient to just hop aboard any train that is about to leave the station and not worry about buying or even having a ticket. Especially for young people, it can be really fun and exhilarating to literally just walk into a train station with your backpack and look at the departure board and then decide where to go at that moment.
If you are age 60 or over, a Eurail Pass could also be great value
Another fairly recent change is that anyone who is 60 years or older at the start of the use of a Eurail Pass now gets 10% off the normal adult fare. That new discount is going to make this a great value for many travelers who might have been on the fence about buying a full-price pass before.
>>>Check prices on Eurail Passes
If you are planning on traveling in 1st Class anyway, a Eurail Pass is probably worth it
Most 2nd Class trains provide similar comfort and legroom to Business Class airline seats, or at least close enough, so for most people it’s not worth the added expense for 1st Class. However, if you are rich or elderly or fear contact with strangers, a 1st Class Eurail Pass is probably worth it no matter what.
Not only do you get much more comfort and legroom in 1st Class, with only 3 seats across instead of 4, but there is another advantage to 1st Class on European trains. Since it’s mostly business travelers and wealthy people traveling in 1st Class, the carriages are almost always mostly empty except in the mornings and late afternoons between large cities. In 2nd Class the only available seats might be two seats in an 8-seat cabin with all the other seats taken up by a loud family or a group of rowdy friends. In 1st Class you are all but guaranteed a peaceful ride, and usually plenty of empty seats from which to choose.
A hidden Eurail Pass benefit: Making extra stops on travel days for free
A one-way ticket between Paris and Amsterdam in 2nd Class on the high-speed Thalys service takes 3 hours 19 minutes, and costs €47 if you buy way in advance up to €188 if you buy at the last minute. A Eurail Pass can be helpful on this route for almost anyone because you often have to book two months in advance to get a fare under €90 or so. Even better though is the fact that the train stops in Brussels and Antwerp along the way, and both of those are really interesting cities that are perfect for a stop of 2 to 4 hours.
Brussels in particular is one I recommend a short stop in because the small historic center around what they called the Grand Place is amazing and gorgeous, while the rest of the city is rather boring by European standards. With a Eurail Pass you can jump off the train in Brussels and explore the city center for a few hours (luggage storage is cheap and easy) and maybe have lunch, and then hop on a later train to complete your journey to Amsterdam. There are opportunities like this on many if not most trips between larger cities, and if you buy the point-to-point tickets you have to stay on the train you booked.
Another example is the high-speed train between Barcelona and Madrid, which takes about 2.5 to 3 hours in each direction. There are some interesting cities in between, but in this case you could take a morning train from Barcelona to Madrid and then check into your accommodation, and then hop on another train from Madrid to Toledo, which takes about 30 minutes and costs €14 each way. Toledo is a historic and fascinating town, but it’s also pretty small and you can explore the main sights in an afternoon. With a Flexi Eurail Pass where you buy a certain number of travel days, you can save more money by adding on these sorts of nearby stops on travel days.
If you'll be touring major cities within ONE country, a single-country pass might be perfect, and Second Class passes are available for all ages
Until 2019 you could buy a Eurail “Select” or “Regional” Pass, which would allow you to buy a cheaper pass that only covered between two and five specific countries. As of April 2024, those have been eliminated and also lowered the prices of the Global Passes by around 20%.
Single-country passes are still available and they MIGHT be good value for you, but it depends on which country and how much traveling you’ll be doing. If you plan on going all over a larger country such as Germany, France, or Spain, and especially if you like to make plans as you go, a Single-country pass for one of those might be your best deal. On the other hand, smaller countries (such as the Netherlands) or countries where train tickets are already fairly cheap (such as Italy) might be harder to get value out of. Long story short, for single-country passes you really need to check fares of the places you plan on going and see how they add up compared to the pass.
>>>Check prices for Single Country Passes
Eurostar (between London and Paris or Brussels or Amsterdam) tickets are now included for Eurail Pass holders for a €30 reservation fee
The European rail system is confusing at first, so it’s worth pointing out that the Eurostar trains between London and Paris or Brussels are a totally different system and the prices are more like air tickets. In other words, they start out cheap 6 months in advance and prices go up as the travel date approaches. Since you can now use your Eurail Pass within Great Britain, it’s now the best way to get around England and Scotland by train.
Our recent tests show that Eurostar fares one-way from London to Paris can be as low as €49 if you book about 3 months out, or as expensive as €214 for the same seat if you wait until the day of travel to buy. Round-trip/return tickets can be even cheaper if there is a promotion running.
>>>Check Eurostar prices
If you are on a really low budget, a Eurail Pass isn't a good idea
Here’s the thing. As we’ll discuss below, there are many potential benefits to Eurail Passes, and they will often save you money, but they do cost a lot and they only really save you money when traveling in the more expensive countries.
So let’s say you have a flight to Rome and then US$2,000 to last you a month after you arrive. Buying a Eurail Pass before you go would help you see a lot in that month, but you’d practically need to sleep in parks for your funds to last the whole time. You’d be better off moving slowly in the southern countries, or just in Italy itself, as a way to have the best holiday on your budget. You might also be tempted to use a Eurail Pass mostly on night trains so you can save the cost of a hotel or hostel, but those aren’t ideal for most of us.
The cheapest way to get around Europe by rail is to buy all train tickets online at least a couple months in advance. The fares are low, but they are non-refundable and non-changeable. See how far in advance you should buy train tickets to get those attractive fares.
If more than a little of your travel will be in eastern Europe, a Eurail Pass isn't a good idea
While eastern Europe (Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia etc), is where you’ll find almost all of the continent’s best travel bargains, its rail infrastructure continues to lag way behind. A few years ago many of the countries in that area were added to the Eurail Zone (except for Bulgaria for some reason), but even then the trains are still very slow. Worse still, in some areas the trains are much slower than buses, so you really have to research each leg individually.
The good news is that the trains operating in this region, and the buses that operate alongside and/or where trains aren’t running, are quite cheap. So if any significant part of your trip will be into this region, a rail pass doesn’t make sense.
Basic types of Eurail Passes
Long gone are the days of the simple options, replaced by specialized passes that are meant to appeal to different styles. It should be pretty easy to figure out which is best for you, and then keep going down the page to decide if it’s worth it at all.
Eurail Global Pass – 4,5, or 7 days within 1 month or 10 days within 2 months
Until recently the minimum number of travel days with 10 days within 2 months, but now you can buy as few as 4 days within 1 month for about €200 to €250 (for first class). This can actually be an interesting strategy if you are planning many shorter and cheaper trips (like within Italy or Eastern Europe), and also 4 or 5 longer trips such as Berlin to Amsterdam. This way you can buy only 4 or 5 travel days and only use them for your most expensive travel days, and just pay as you go or buy cheap advance tickets for your other journeys.
Eurail Global Pass – 15 to 90 consecutive days
This variation allows for unlimited travel on the system for between 15 and 90 total days. They are really only a good idea for people who are certain they are going to travel very often, with much of it being in the north of Europe. The problem with them is that if you really try to get your money’s worth, you will probably ruin your trip by spending too much time on trains in general. On the other hand, if you will be in Europe for 2 or 3 months and plan on traveling around a lot, you can get a LOT of use out of a longer pass. The 3-month pass is around €900 so it’s literally about €10 per day. Imagine going back and forth between Berlin and Munich or Barcelona and Madrid for €10 per day!
One Country Pass
Obviously these are for travel within one country only. Again, they can be great deals if you plan on extensively moving around one particular country.
Where to buy your Eurail Pass
Eurail Passes are cheapest and easiest to buy online, primarily from two main sources which offer all the same products at the exact same prices:
This is a reliable company based in the Netherlands but with fulfillment offices in the US and Ireland. Price of Travel is a partner with this company, and if you use the links of this site we earn a small commission to help keep this site online. Eurail.com is usually cheaper than RailEurope (discussed below) by the way.
They were founded in the 1930s and are based in New York, but owned primarily by the French and Swiss rail companies. They offer free shipping (2 to 3 business days) on all orders of US$399 or more, although now that a mobile version is available, this is meaningless. Price of Travel is a partner with this company, and if you use the links of this site we earn a small commission to help keep this site online.
Reservations on European trains for rail pass holders
For most of the fastest trains between major cities you’ll need to reserve a seat even with a rail pass. It can usually be done just before you leave and the cost is usually around €5. Here’s a full list of which European trains require reservations and which don’t.
Reservations are required on all intercity (longer distance) trains in or involving France, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. For most trains in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, and most of eastern Europe, you can usually find trains that don’t require seat reservations. Often, if you don’t leave until after 9:30am or so, you can ride on any train with no seat reservation, but you have to research each leg to be sure.
How to determine which trains require seat reservations, and also get schedules
You can click on the link just above this section for a list of countries and their seat-reservation policies, but in some cases it’s actually a bit more complicated than that. For example, you can generally ride without a seat reservation on fast ICE (Inter City Express) trains in Germany if you depart after 09:30 in the morning. They do this to free up seats for business travelers who pay full fare, and they don’t mind filling up seats with rail pass holders on trains leaving a bit later.
The best way to be sure about this is to download the RailEurope smartphone app (iPhone and Android). It’s a free app and you can download it and use it even if you buy from Eurail.com or don’t buy a rail pass at all. Amazingly enough, it has the entire European rail schedule built into it so you don’t even need to be online to use it. You just enter a departure city and destination city and it will show you all of the trains and connections going between the two. When you click on a specific train or combination of trains it will show you whether a seat reservation is needed for that particular departure. I’ve used this app literally hundreds or perhaps thousands of times to do my own research and help people find answers, and I’ve noticed that it’s accurate at least 99% of the time. Once in a blue moon you’ll enter two cities and it will show, say, a 20-hour journey when you are pretty sure it should be under 10 hours. Usually it’s actually correct, but I’ve seen a couple times where it missed something.
Night trains in Europe are making a comeback
I’ve been traveling around Europe since the 1980s and I’ve been updating this article since 2012 and one thing that was certain was the night trains (or sleeper trains) were going out of fashion. The main reasons were that high-speed trains grew in coverage so routes that used to take 10 or 12 hours could now be done in 4 or 5 hours, at least in countries like Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. As a result, almost everyone preferred to even depart at 6 PM if they could get to their destination city at 10 PM instead of the next morning.
Fast forward to 2024 and night trains are not only expanding service, but they are very trendy. Some of it is nostalgia for the older way of getting around, but most of it is for environmental purposes combined with European hatred for the “low cost airline” experience with RyanAir and Easy Jet etc.
Personally I’m still not a fan of night trains because I find it difficult to sleep on them since they often get decoupled at interim stations in the middle of the night and then coupled onto other trains coming from other places, and I can’t sleep through any of that. But still, they are worth looking into and they are fun to try at least once.
A bit of warning that they tend not to be cheap and even if you have a Eurail Pass you’ll almost certainly want to book a sleeping cabin with a bunk or couchette, and that will come at an extra fee. On the other hand, if you are the sort of person who can sleep sitting upright in a normal seat, then that won’t cost any extra on most overnight trains.
Factors to consider when thinking about any Eurail Pass
Assuming you know which Eurail Saver Pass option is the best one for your type of trip by now, we’ll go over the main factors that should help you decide whether it’s the best idea for you.
Eurail Passes are best for standard ‘medium length’ journeys
In almost all of Europe, the major cities tend to be between 4 and 8 hours apart by train, and these journeys are perfect for Eurail Passes. For example, from Vienna to Munich it takes about 5 hours on the train, and it’s scenic and relaxing. Flying between those cities would take about the same amount of time once you factor in airport transportation and security lines, and it’s far less pleasant.
However, if you are determined to travel between Rome and Paris, it’s about a 14-hour journey that will almost certainly be overnight. In this case, a cheap plane ticket is probably better, although taking shorter hops on the train is even better, so spend a day or two in Milan or Lyon on the way instead.
And of course, if you prefer to stop in various small towns between the big ones, then a Eurail Pass won’t pay off, except for the traditional kind for unlimited travel in a given period.
Eurail Passes are better value in northern Europe, France, and Spain, and poor value in Italy
Once you do a bit of research you’ll quickly learn that train tickets (and almost everything else) are much more expensive in Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland than they are in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. With this in mind, the regional passes can make sense if you are spending time in the south, but the Global Passes almost certainly won’t. Train tickets in Spain used to be fairly cheap, but in recent years they’ve added new high-speed trains between the major cities, and these are quite expensive.
Unlike most other countries, Italy really subsidizes its train tickets so they are quite reasonable even on travel day, and very cheap if you buy a month or more in advance. For example, you can go between Rome and Florence for around €49 if you buy on travel day, and as little as €19 if you buy well in advance. In most other countries, fares are double or triple that much for similar rides.
So consider your planned itinerary. If more than half of it is in the Mediterranean countries then look into a Regional Pass or just buy tickets as you go, because they tend to be pretty cheap. But if you are planning on spending at least half your time in Paris and places to the north of it, then a Eurail Pass is probably a money saver because those tickets are expensive.
Trains are almost always better than planes
Flying sucks, even in Europe
Until you’ve experienced the joy of traveling around Europe by train you might be tempted to “maximize” your time by flying low-cost airlines between each city. This would be a mistake. In order to get truly cheap airfares you have to purchase long in advance, buying non-refundable tickets. You might also have to commit to flights in the very early morning or in the late evening, because cheap tickets on convenient flights sell out quickly.
And again, most European airports are around an hour outside of the city. They are often on the main train lines, which helps, but still you have to deal with the madness of security and also try to get there at least two hours early. From one city center to any other city center it’s about 5 hours minimum, even if they are close, and those are pretty miserable hours.
Train travel is a positive experience
While it’s true that you do have to reserve a seat on many long-distance trains these days, you can usually do it just before it leaves, or the night before to be safe. And with many trains you can literally just hop on board as it’s pulling out of the station.
Not only are all the seats comfortable on trains, but you also have an interesting view most of the time. Better still, trains deposit you in the heart of every city, which is usually the neighborhood with the cheapest hotels and food. It’s a wonderful feeling to step off a relaxing train ride, buy a hot dog or sandwich at a local shop, and then be in your hotel room only about 10 minutes later.
Eurail Passes are better than train tickets alone
As someone who enjoys the process of crunching numbers and looking for value, I have to also mention that I’d buy a Eurail Pass even if it seemed like it would cost a bit more than the individual tickets. With a pass you get an extra element of freedom that is worth a lot more than you might expect until you’ve used one.
If you fly, you absolutely have to lock in your exact schedule weeks or months in advance, and if you buy train tickets individually you will be spending hours in queues and then waiting around. You can buy European train tickets in advance, though the convenience comes along with an extra fee. But with a Eurail Pass, on most routes you can just hop on any train you feel like.
Let’s say you are heading from Amsterdam to Hamburg tomorrow morning. The 09:00 train you planned for might seem a bit ambitious after a long night out, so you can instead opt for the 10:00 or 11:00 train. As long as you walk into Centraal Station 10 or so minutes before departure, you are on. If you are flying you can’t change your ticket, and if you are buying train tickets as you go you have to be in line at the international desk at the train station at least 30 minutes early, and even then you might miss it if they are busy.
Freedom and getting to feel like a big shot
Bill Gates doesn’t worry about the cost of plane tickets or train tickets. He just goes where he wants, when he wants. When you have a Eurail Pass, you get a taste of this yourself, and even if you don’t end up doing any new spontaneous legs within your trip, it’s a great feeling.
Let’s say you are staying at a hostel in Brussels, and two groups of new friends suggest that you go along with them to their next stops. One group is going to Bruges, which is a short and cheap journey, so you can join them by buying individual tickets (unless you have the unlimited pass, making it free). Then you restart your trip from Bruges, on to your next destination. The other group is headed to Berlin on a night train, which is long and expensive, but with a Eurail Pass you don’t even have to think about the cost. On you go, just like a rich person.
Buying a Eurail Pass is great for those who might run out of money
We all know people who keep meticulous track of every penny they spend, and who are always putting money away for a rainy day. And we all know people who can take a US$100 “entertainment fund” and burn through almost all of it in just a few hours. For the first type of person, a Eurail Pass can help you keep track of expenses, but it’s really the second type of person these are best for.
It’s sad to hear about people who have big plans to see their dream destinations, but they run out of money for transportation halfway into the trip, so they have to just stay put until they fly home. It happens. Locking in your major transportation costs before you leave home, and probably saving money in the process, is a wise move for anyone who isn’t as disciplined as they’d like with their money.
>>>Check prices on Eurail Passes
Bottom line: If you want to keep travel costs down, your choices will usually be a Eurail Pass or buying tickets at least a month or more early
In the last few years, almost every long-distance train ride in Europe has switched to a pricing system similar to low-cost airlines. In other words, tickets go on sale 2 to 6 months ahead of time at very low prices, and they keep getting more expensive as the train fills up and the date approaches. For most trips where a rail pass is possible, this is how things stack up:
Cheapest possible way: Buy advanced (non-refundable, non-changeable) train tickets at least 30 days in advance
Next cheapest way: Buy a Eurail Pass and make seat reservations as you go, usually only a day or less in advance.
Most expensive way: Buy train tickets as you go, or less than a week in advance.
Thinking about it this way should make the choice a bit easier. If you are the type who likes to plan each day and travel segment long before you even leave home, then buy tickets online for the best prices. This can be the best strategy for most shorter trips (10 days or less) because you simply don’t have enough time to change many things as you go anyway.
Buying a Eurail Pass won’t be quite as cheap, but you are buying a LOT of flexibility with the extra money. If you dream of making up your plans as you go, or even making up your plans just a few days in advance, this is almost always your best bet.
But if you wait too long, and just show up looking to buy train tickets as you go, they are going to cost a fortune. As recently as only a few years ago all seats would be the same price on many rail systems, so you could always just wing it. When each country computerized its rail systems so they can sell advanced tickets cheaper, they also had to keep track of seat reservations, so the whole pricing structure had changed to favor advanced ticket buyers and rail pass holders over those who’d prefer to just hop on any train as it is leaving the station.
Have a rail pass or itinerary question of your own?
It wasn’t planned but scores of people began asking me rail pass and itinerary questions at the bottom of this article and a few others. I’m happy to keep answering them and now I’m trying to organize them better as well so they are easier for other people to find.
If you have a question about specific types of European rail passes, please ask it in the comments below.
But if you have a question more about a European itinerary or other non-rail-pass questions, please click over to the European itineraries Q & A article and ask in the comments of that one.
Hi again Roger
So sorry to bother u again with my questions!
I tried to make my seat reservations and was asked to pay 8 EUR per booking! and they didnt allow me to print the tickets online and wanted me to pay an extra 12 EUR for delivery.
I’m not sure whether I’m trying to reserve the seats on the correct website. I used http://www.raileurope-world.com.
Could you please let me know of another website where i could make these reservations at a lower cost.
Thanks again
Dilu
Dilu,
I’m sorry to hear that and I didn’t realize raileurope charges so much for online reservations. I’ve always made seat reservations in person, and the online option is fairly new, I believe. The only other possibility would be to go to the official website of the national rail companies, or in the case of France, the website of the operators, like Thalys. You could try the site for the starting country or the arrival country and hopefully at least one of them allows it and doesn’t charge a big premium. By the way, Raileurope.com and Raileurope-world.com are great for rail passes and they have the best prices, but they also overcharge for individual tickets as well, so I usually don’t recommend them except for passes. Please let me know if you have any success with that. -Roger
Thank you so much for all the information Roger, finally we made our choice and bought a 10 day pass with some reservations… there was one good thing on Rail-Europe, they gave a promo code which gave a EUR 40 discount 🙂
Best regards
Dilu
Hi,
I posted a query earlier, looks like i have not entered it correctly 🙁
We need some help regarding our trip to Europe in December.
We are starting off in Prague on the 11th December. Our plan is as follows.
11th – 13th –> Munich
13th – 15th –> Salzburg
15th – 17th –> Basel
17th – 20th –> Paris
20th – 21st –> Brussels
21st – 23rd –> Amsterdam
23rd – 27th –> Berlin
27th – 29th –> Frankfurt
We are thinking of buying EU Rail global pass 21 days continuous.
We thought of buying this because we also need to travel within these cities. Some hotels are not exactly near the main train station. Therefore we need to take short train rides to get to the hotel at times. Like Amsterdam and Brussels.
Do u think its a good idea to get the Global pass, 21 days continuous? or should we get seperate tickets or any other pass?
Another thing is regarding seat reservations. We thought of reserving all seats incase we cant get seats if the trains are full. Do u think its possible for somthing like that to happen?
I went through the seat reservations, but its not possible to reserve seats in this particular train from Amsterdam to Berlin. (its a direct train IC145. I tried to book seats in DB Bahn, buts its not possible cos it says that u cant reserve seats only for international connections. I tried mailing them but didnt get an answer.
Hope you can help us out with these ….
Thanks in advance
Best regards
Dilu
Dilu,
Both of your messages came through. It’s just that if this is your first comment on the website it gets held for moderation. This one is more complete so I’ve deleted the other, and I apologize for the confusion.
I do think a 21-day continuous Global Eurail Pass could be good for this itinerary, but it looks like a 10-days in 2 months pass would be a bit cheaper and still cover your whole trip with 2 extra days. You mention that you are planning on also traveling within cities in some cases, which is evidently why you are thinking about the continuous version instead of the cheaper one. The challenge there is that Eurail Passes are only good on rail lines but not on normal public transportation. So you can use a Eurail Pass on a suburban train, which usually only have a couple stops within the tourist district. However, depending on precisely where you are staying, the normal public transportation system is going to get you there faster, and it’s already quite cheap.
For example, Amsterdam has one main (Centraal) train station, and it also has a few train stations only a few kilometers away, and those are mostly in office-park areas. But in order to use them you have to go all the way back to the main train station and then find the right platform and wait for the next suburban train. On the other hand, let’s say your last sightseeing stop is the Van Gogh Museum (which is 3 kilometers from Centraal Station), you might find that there’s a tram that stops right in front that also goes right near your hotel. In Brussels there are 3 main train stations and then they are out into the suburbs, so unless you are really staying maybe 10 kilometers from the city center, it will be faster to use the Metro. Again, it really depends on just how far out of town you’ll be staying, and I really don’t recommend staying that far out anyway because it makes sightseeing a hassle (unless you are somehow getting a free room).
An all-day transport pass will usually cost around €6 per day, which gives you unlimited rides between the attractions as well as a ride out to your hotel, as long as it’s not too far out. Also, if you bought a 10-days in 2 months Global Pass, you’d still have 2 “free” extra days to use the suburban rails or add a side trip. The prices aren’t too different and either one should work great for this because you are traveling often within a short time and going longer distances through the expensive part of Europe (for trains).
As for seat reservations, it’s really not something to worry about in general, and especially that time of the year. If you are over 25 years old you’ll be getting a First Class rail pass, and those carriages almost never sell out, which is part of their appeal. Even in Second Class, they rarely sell out in advance. Another good thing in your case is that places you are going are connected by trains that leave every hour (if not twice an hour) during the day. So if you wanted to take the 10am train and 10 minutes before it leaves you find out that it’s sold out, then you can just get a ticket on the 11am train. But really, that’s very unlikely in December.
What I do, and what I recommend, is to get your outgoing seat reservation either the day you arrive at that train station, or the day before you leave. That way, you’ll know down to the minute when you’ll be leaving so you can leave your hotel with just enough time to make the train, without having to get there 2 hours early “just in case.” Also, it’s worth noting that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are secondary holidays in the Netherlands, so the trains in and out shouldn’t be overly crowded with people going home for the celebration.
Hopefully you are also aware of the good news that all Eurail Passes are 20% off for travel before March 31, so that on top of the 15% Saver discount for traveling together, and it’s very cheap.
I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions or if you need help with the Amsterdam or Brussels train situation. -Roger
Hi Roger,
Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I think we have to decide between the 21 day continuous and the 10 day-2 month option. there is a difference of around 44 EUR between the two. Looking into that we might get a better chance if we buy day passes or something similar in the given cities.
I heard that there are free passes in Switzerland, but I’m not sure whether i have got the correct information. But even in other cities there are passes and other options like that. Anyway some cities might not allow us to use the pass in their rail system, in which case it would be much better to get day passes and keep with the 10 day 2 month option.
I already wrote to DB Bahn regarding reserving seats and I’m unable to get the seat reservation online. I’m looking out for other options in this case.
I got a bit confused loooking through some sites where ppl have written saying that the pass was a real problem in several trains. I went through the EU rail site and Rail Europe site and chose the trains which we have to take.
Therefore I thought it might be a better option to reserve seats in these trains online before we start on the journey.
Do u think its a good idea? cos there r some trains i dont wanna miss cos they are long distance ones.
Regarding the trains i have chosen, they are as follows
Prague – Munich –> Eurocites 352
Munich Salzburg –> Railjet 67
Salzburg – Zurich – Basel – Train 160 and ICE4 (1 connection in Zurich)
Basel – Paris – TGV Lyria 9218
Paris – Brussels – Thalys 9339
Brussels – Amsterdam – Thalys 9339
Amsterdam – Berlin – IC 145 (I cant book seats on this online)
Berlin – Frankfurt – ICE373
Are these trains covered by the EU rail pass? this is another thing i was worried about.
In Brussels we are staying close to the Brussels Central station, so we need a connection from MIDI to Central.
In Amsterdam we are staying at a hotel near the Sloterdijk station, so we need a connection from the central station to this as well.
This is another thing i was thinking of when we thought of getting the continuous pass. But as you have mentioned, maybe we can get day passes or something similar for this purpose.
Once again thank you so much for helping us out, cos I was quite confused after reading so many reviews!
Best regards
Dilu
Dilu,
If you can reserve seats online before you go and you are sure of the exact trains you want to take, you might as well do it. But really, it’s not something to worry about. These trains aren’t like planes in that many of them are sold out weeks in advance. They are more like buses in that many people buy a ticket just before they leave.
Yes, a Eurail Global Pass will cover all of those trains on your list, however the one thing to note is that the Thalys trains in France are basically luxury high-speed trains, so seat reservations (and tickets in general) are more expensive. For Paris to Brussels the seat reservations cost: 2nd class: €30 / 1st class: €42.
In Brussels, both of those train stations are also on the Metro (subway), so after you’ve arrived at your hotel the first time, it will be easier to just use the Metro to get around town than to get to the Central Station and take a train two stops to the Midi Station.
In Amsterdam, there is a tram (Tram 12) that goes from the Sloterdijk Station to Museum Square and other attractions, so that will be far easier than going back through Centraal Station for a suburban train. You can get an all-day pass in both cities for around €5, and the public transport will be more convenient than trains as well.
Let me know if I missed something. You are definitely a dedicated planner, and so am I so I appreciate your enthusiasm for it. -Roger
Thank you so much Roger!
All the information is so useful!
I was thinking of reserving 2nd class seats in TGV and Thalys cos they are very expensive! But I wonder whether its allowed cos they say we have to match the class given in the pass. Since we are over 26 years we have to use the adult pass which is for 1st class. I wonder whether its possible to reserve 2nd class seats and go in them! hope they would allow, otherwise we have to pay something more for 1st class!
I try to plan everything in detail so that we wont have to face many issues on the way. Another thing is that we are only fluent in English and we cant speak or understand other languages like french or German! so i really need to get everything organized before we leave.
Hope we can find cheap day passes in all the cities. Some offer passes with museum entrance as well. We will need to look into this and see whether we should go for them as well.
Anyway thanks again for all you advice!
Have a nice day
Best regards
Dilukshi
Dilu,
I’d never thought about trying to reserve in a lower class to save money, and it’s a shame that they don’t seem to allow it. But the nice part could be that if you do travel first class you’ll be very happy about it while the train is in motion. On most daytime trains a second class ticket on that Thalys from Paris to Brussels will cost around €138 while a first class will cost €258. So in second class your pass is worth €108 and in first class it’s worth €216. Also, I believe the Thalys trains only allow a certain number of Eurail Pass holders on each one, so you really do want to make that reservation as early as you can. During summer some people are unable to get a seat at all if they wait until the travel day, though in December that is less likely. -Roger
Hi Roger,
First of all, I must tell you that I am amazed that you are so diligent in replying to everyone is such detail. Great job and a big thank you!
I might do with some help too. I am planning to travel to Switzerland and Italy between 22 Nov and 1st Dec with my wife. I am landing in Zurich on 22 (early morning) and taking a flight back from Zurich on 1st dec (late evening). Here is my plan :
Zurich-Lucerne-Zermatt-Florence-Rome-Zurich. I will probably go to Lucerne straight from Zurich airport (is that a viable option?).
2 nights in Lucerne, 2 nights in Zermatt, 3 nights in Florence (so that I can do day trips to cities close-by), 2 nights in Rome and back to Zurich on 1st Dec.
May I ask your help on a couple of things
1. I am planning to take a Euro Rail 15 day continuous pass for 1st class. I made a ballpark calculation and it is just about few hunred HKD more expensive, but convenient. However, I read somewhere that I still need to pay for reservations on some trains. This is what I don’t understand! Is it easy to reserve at the train station or one should do it in advance? Will my Eurorail pass work on all trains? I have been referring to http://www.sbb.ch for trains schedule and calculations so far.
2. Best way to get to Florence from Zermatt?
3. Best way to get back to Zurich from Rome? I saw there are three connecting trains and one of it needs a researvation. Once I buy a Euro Rail pass, how do I make the reservation?
4. Is the itinerary too hectic?
Look forward to hearing from you and many thanks in advance for your help.
Cheers
Harish
Harish,
As I’ve said before, I really appreciate the kind words from those who find this information helpful. 🙂
Onto your questions:
You can get from the Zurich Airport directly to Lucerne by train and it takes 60 to 70 minutes, leaving twice an hour during the day.
1 – I have a whole detailed article about train reservations using Eurail passes.
The short version is you’ll need to make seat reservations on at least some of the journeys you’ll be taking, although I don’t think you’ll need to for the journeys within Switzerland. Reservations usually cost about €5 each and you can almost always make them just before the train is leaving, especially for first class. The only trains that might sell out in advance are usually the early morning trains connecting business cities. In other words, if you want to take a train leaving at 10am, you can just get to the station at 9:30am and hop in the general queue at the ticket office. If you get really unlucky and that train is sold out, you can just get a reservation on the 11am train, but that time of the year you should be fine.
And yes, a Eurail Pass will work on all trains in the included countries, except for a few privately-run scenic mountain trains in Switzerland (Zermatt is on the normal, included rail line, by the way).
2 – It looks like the train from Zermatt to Florence (Firenze in Italian) leaves hourly and takes a bit over 6 hours. You have to change trains once in Brig and again in Milan, and the train should definitely be the easiest way to go (and very scenic).
3 – The Rome to Zurich train takes a bit over 7 hours with a change in Milan. You’ll be able to make a seat reservation even for the second leg while at the first train station. Just get to the station a bit early and you should be fine. By the way, I personally prefer to make my seat reservations the day before, so I know exactly where the train will leave from and I can get there just before it leaves without being nervous. Sometimes (usually in summer) the queues for reservations can be long at some stations, but rarely more than 30 minutes, and usually more like 10 minutes.
One great thing about having a Eurail Pass is that you can just walk into the ticket office at the train station and tell them where you want to go. They’ll find the fastest train for the time you want to go, and you don’t have to worry about it being really expensive (because many of them are when bought as you go).
4 – I’d say that most of your itinerary is NOT too hectic, although the Italy part kind of is. Florence is small enough to enjoy in two days, so that gives you one extra day to go to Pisa (or wherever you plan to go). But Rome is huge and kind of hectic. In two days you’ll have just enough time to see the most famous sights and you’ll be gone again. I normally recommend at least 3 nights in Rome, but 2 should be okay as long as you plan your sightseeing well and realize you’ll be missing some interesting things.
Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hi Roger,
Thanks for such a detailed reply. It was really helpful.
Thanks again.
Regards, Harish
We are travelling overseas in April, with a week in London as the centerpiece of the trip(athletic event). We plan to cover more ground around that event and as first time tourers, a little bewildered by the options available to us. I have toured Ireland extensively and revisiting some favorite sites is certainly on the table but we would prefer to focus on joint “discovery”.
Can’t help but notice throughout your responses the encouragement to maximize discovery time and minimize travel time, while still getting satisfactory “bang for your buck”.
Accordingly, within the scope of our tour(20 to 30 days), what would you recommend in terms of the major travel points? We are flying out of British Columbia and pondering our point of arrival and departure. We are train and ferry fans, cost is not our major concern but we are not “5 star” people by any means in terms of desire or resources.
We are looking to book our flights very soon. Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Best Regards,
A & A
Ali and Al,
I’m not 100% clear what you are asking here, but it sounds like you are looking for itinerary suggestions for Europe that involve a stay in London but don’t cover Ireland?
If so, I’ll first point you to this article, where I make a case that Europe has 5 classic cities that should be visited first. They are London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, and Venice. In 20 to 30 days you can actually visit all 5 of them with time to spare. However, if you don’t want to cover quite that much ground, you might do London, Amsterdam, Bruges, Munich, and Paris, perhaps adding in a couple of short stops along the way.
Please let me know if this is any help at all, and either way feel free to ask more specific questions.
As for your flights, I understand the desire to lock things in to make them official, but studies generally show that international airfares tend to be cheapest about 11 weeks before departure (it’s 3 to 6 weeks for domestic flights). So you might actually pay more if you buy now compared to buying them in January. Still, if the airfare seems reasonable then it’s probably fine to buy soon. But if the fares seems strangely high for your dates, it’s probably safe to wait and keep checking them until they drop a bit more in the coming months. -Roger
Hi Roger
I’m currently in South East Asia (Korea) and am planning on spending 3-4months in Europe. I already have most of my accommodation sorted out (for free)and I’m be travelling all of Western Europe and a little of Eastern Europe. In this time I would like to see as much as possible with flexibility on changing my next destination. Which pass would you recommend? Would the (not sure what it is called) ‘unlimited’ pass be worth it (rather than buying each legg ticket going from West to East)? Thanks ^^
Marlon,
I’d have to know more about your actual expected itinerary to be able to answer with confidence, but based on what you’ve said so far I think you might benefit by buying a 10-day Global Pass (that’s the unlimited pass that covers most of continental Europe). A 3-month Unlimited Global Pass, which allows travel any day in that period, is very expensive and is only good value if you plan on taking the train every 3rd day or so.
If you buy a 10 Travel Days out of 60 Global Pass then you can use it for your 10 most expensive trips and pay for the shorter and cheaper ones as you go. Here’s the thing: If you buy European train tickets way in advance (a month or more) you can get most of them cheaply, but if you want to be flexible and just go as you please, those individual tickets can cost a fortune. When using that rail pass you’d need to make a seat reservation on most of those journeys, but those usually cost around €5 and you can almost always get one just before the train leaves.
I hope this makes sense. Basically you’d figure out which parts of your trip would have expensive train fares (longer distances in France and everything to its north), and put them in a 60-day period so you can use a pass on 10 of the most expensive ones. And, for example, if you are taking trains within Italy (Rome to Florence etc) you can buy them as you go because they are relatively cheap.
Feel free to give me more info on your proposed route and I might be able to give a more specific recommendation. -Roger
Greetings from Penang.
I was planning my Europe trip for the 1st time. Been browsing so many sites local and abroad for inspirations. BUT yours is very complete and transparent. Going through it made me feel like i’m already been to certain part of Europe. Keep up the good work and thank you for the bottom of my heart.
Hi Roger,
I am in Zurich now and have about 5-6 days to travel out to neighbouring countries/cities and need to be back by 21/oct to catch a mid morning flight on 22/oct.
I am thinking of eurial select pass (for 3 or 4 countries?) for few cities like vienna, praque and perhaps 1 more city in germany on the route back to zurich. I am traveling alone so am flexible with the most ‘compact’ plan including night trains (if necessary) to see the most places. Appreciate your advise asap.
Regards
Kelvin T
Hey Roger,
We are going to Europe from Colombia, to get nice holydays but we are not sure about what is the best option to going around.
Our Itinerary start in Madrid and we are planning to travel from there to Paris, Amdterdam, Prague, and too many cities in Italy, and after that we are going back to Barcelona for a couple of nights and then go to Madrid to get our plane to colombia.
We get 20 days to be in Europe, so what do you thing abuot our itinerary, and which is the best option to travel (Train, bus or plane)?
And France is include in the europe Global pass?
Thanks in advance.
Viviana and Natalia,
Starting with the itinerary, if you have 20 total days then I think 8 is the absolute maximum number of cities you’d want to visit. In other words, if you can keep it down to maybe 2 cities in Italy (Rome for 3 nights and Venice for 1 night) then I think the whole thing works nicely. But if your plan was to visit 4 or 5 or 6 cities in Italy then I think you are rushing too much. It’s helpful (and necessary) to think of travel days as non-sightseeing days. Even with a 3-hour train ride from one city to another, it’ll be around 6 hours from the time you check out of one hotel or hostel and into the next, and those are prime sightseeing hours in the middle of the day. When a flight is involved, even if it’s a 1-hour flight, it’s probably more like 7 or 8 hours from one hotel to the next when you add in airport transportation on both ends and arriving early enough and all that. At least on train rides you get scenery while you travel and it’s easier to get oriented in the next place when the train drops you in the city center.
With this itinerary I’d recommend flying from Madrid to Paris, a train from Paris to Amsterdam, a flight from Amsterdam to Prague, and probably a flight from Prague to Rome (or any other Italian city you plan on visiting that has cheap flights. Then take trains within Italy, and probably a flight to Barcelona then a train ride to Madrid for your flight home. In the cases where I recommend a flight, it’s because the train ride would take 8 to 12 hours and cost even more than a flight if you buy the plane tickets well in advance. The buses are cheaper than trains, but also slower with fewer departures each day, and on a fast-moving trip like this I wouldn’t recommend them.
So I really don’t recommend a rail pass for this itinerary even if you limit it to 8 total destinations. And for the record, France is indeed included in the Global Passes as well as some 2-country passes with Italy and Spain. The only thing they are not included on is the 3, 4, or 5-country Select Pass, which is a shame because otherwise it would be something to consider for your trip. -Roger
Hi roger,
We are two 26 year olds looking to travel around Europe for approx 80 days in June to August 2014. At this stage we are thinking to start in Amsterdam and go clockwise and finish in Paris ( mainly going to Germany , Switzerland , Italy, Greece, Spain , maybe Poland). We have looked at bus about but are thinking we would prefer more freedom and think a euro global pass is our best option. Our main concern with rail travel is the difficulty in booking our trains, is there a one stop website, our is best to book using the local country trains. Also is it better to book our main train legs in advance.? We are worried about the reservation fee. As I gather there will be a reservation charge on all our longer rides between countries? Do you think using global pass will be much more expensive than busabout or is there a possible better option for our travel plans.?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Kind Regards
Tom
Tom and Alice,
While the buses going around Europe are comfortable, they are usually quite a bit slower than the trains, and also they usually only have one or two per day between major cities. In the Baltics, the Balkans, Spain, and Portugal, buses are the best option in many cases but chances are you’ll be better off on trains for most of your legs.
For your itinerary I think you’d do best with a Global Pass with 10 (or 15) travel days within two months. With two traveling together you can get a First Class Saver version, which means it’s not much more expensive than Second Class. With 60 days to use a rail pass on an 80-day trip, it could get a bit tricky and require a bit of planning, but even if you have to buy a couple of train (or bus) tickets on your own, it should still save quite a bit of money. If you buy the 10-day version you’d obviously just use it on the longer and more expensive legs of your trip, and you’d pay cash for tickets for shorter and cheaper legs along the way. I can help you figure that part later if you’d like.
As of now there is no good universal site to book and buy European train tickets. The only ones that cover most of the continent also charge extra fees. In many cases you can save money by buying in advance online from the official train website of each country. You might have to book several weeks ahead of time in order to get a good discount, so a rail pass gives you even more flexibility since all you need is a seat reservation, which is usually available just before the train leaves, especially if you are traveling in First Class.
The seat reservations typically cost about €5 each, except for a few high-speed lines in France that cost more like €25. Again, even during summer, these trains very rarely sell out, especially in first class. The trains between major cities that leave early in the morning are most crowded, and sometimes you might have to leave at 10am instead of 9am to get a seat. But otherwise you can usually just go into the train station 30 minutes before the train is leaving and buy a seat reservation. Personally, I prefer to get a seat reservation a day or two beforehand so I can walk right onto the train without worrying how long the queue is at that moment. -Roger
Im traveling around Europe in this december, im actually trying to know Madrid (wich the airplane arrives) for 2 days, then Barcelona 2 Days. Then France 2 days Bologna, Venezia, Florence(3-4 days) and Rome 2 days, Would you recommend me to get a eurail pass, if you do what kind of pass and what do you recommend me to do, go from Barcelona to Rome, or Barcelona to Paris? then Florence and Rome for the last one, ill be in Europe for around 15 days
Enrique,
Unfortunately, your itinerary isn’t an ideal one for a rail pass because France can’t be included with only 2 other countries (though it can be included with either Spain OR Italy). A Global Pass (that covers all the countries) would cost more than just buying the train tickets as you go, since many of your trips are relatively short and cheap.
Whether you go from Barcelona to Rome to Paris or Barcelona to Paris to Rome, isn’t much difference. It would be best to end wherever the cheapest ticket home flies from. -Roger