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.
Hey,
Great article! Awesome information. It’s still a little bit confusing for me though. This is my train itinerary
May 9th – London to Paris
May 12th – Paris to Amsterdam
May 14th – Amsterdam to Cologne
May 16th – Cologne to Luxemborg
May 17th – Luxemborg to Brussels
May 18th – Brussels to Ashford
When I did the calculation for the point to point tickets using Rail Europe and compare them against buying a EuroRail Select 3 6 Day pass and then buying reservation seats, it seems like the point to point was cheaper. $507 for the pass plan and $433 for the ticket plan.
However I can use the Eurorail pass for trains within a city, say like Amsterdam or Cologne right? If I want to go see Dusseldorf from Cologne for example? That would be with no reservation charges right?
Also is there any benefit in getting the 1st class pass?
Any recommendations for this itinerary?
Thank you, really appreciate it.
Manoj,
RailEurope is owned by the France and Switzerland rail companies and they certainly make booking train tickets from abroad easier, but they also charge a premium price for most tickets. If you check the official rail websites at the bottom of this article on how to buy cheap online train tickets, you’ll probably get lower fares on most or all of those.
And actually, a Eurail Pass does NOT cover local public transportation, except for suburban rail networks. So if you wanted to go, say, from Amsterdam to Haarlem or Delft, the rail pass would cover those trains on the same day. But if you want to use the Amsterdam subway or trams, you’d have to pay separately. The good news is that all European cities have unlimited day passes for public transport that are usually between €5 and €8, so they don’t add up to much.
So you COULD use a Eurail Pass to get from Cologne to Dusseldorf. I recommend downloading the RailEurope smart phone app, which has all the schedules in it and does not require an internet connection to use it. It will tell you which trains require a seat reservation and which don’t. Generally speaking, in Germany if you travel after 9:30am, you don’t need a seat reservation. That’s because the morning trains are usually jammed with business travelers and sometimes they sell out.
The 1st Class pass obviously allows you to travel in 1st Class carriages, which almost always have 3 seats across instead of 4, so the seats are wider, more comfortable, and have more legroom. They are also more likely to be fairly empty in the middle of the day, so they are more pleasant all around. If you can afford it, it’s nice to have a 1st Class pass.
I think your itinerary looks pretty good. I’d probably stay another day in Amsterdam and save Cologne for another trip. Amsterdam is about a hundred times more interesting than Cologne. In fact, the main thing to see in Cologne is the gothic cathedral and it’s literally just outside the main train station. So if you change trains there or hop off for an hour you can see the cathedral with very little effort.
Also, you might consider going to Bruges instead of Brussels, although for one day Brussels will be interesting. The thing is, Brussels is mainly geared to government employees and business travelers, and the interesting tourist district around the main square is fairly small. On the other hand, Bruges is an hour farther by train and it will also remind you a lot of Amsterdam since it was mostly built around the same time. Either one should be interesting, and I’m glad you are going to Luxembourg because most people don’t and it’s an interesting and photogenic little place for a day like you are doing. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hey,
Great site and great advice.So need some help with train schedule.please advise
Barcelona 2 nights >
Switzerland 3 nights > (was thinking to stay Interlakken 2 nights ,Lucerne 1 night.)
Luxemburg 1 night >
Bruges, Brussels 1day >
Amsterdam 1 night >
London 3 nights >
Paris 3 nights
Can you help with if trains will work for this trip or should we look at flights as well?
Much thanks,
Damian
Damian,
I appreciate the kind words. If this is your itinerary then you’d be best off flying from Barcelona to Zurich. I’d suggest going to Paris between Switzerland and Luxembourg, but either way you are best off on trains. Trains to Bruges and Brussels and then Amsterdam are ideal. From Amsterdam to London you can take the train by going to Brussels and then changing for the Eurostar to London. But flying might be cheaper and it’s not particularly scenic so the flight could work better. If you do Paris after Amsterdam the train only take a bit over 3 hours and then the Eurostar train to London only takes 2 hours.
However, in general I wouldn’t recommend trying to fit in so many cities with only one night in each. It takes most of your day to check out of a hotel and take a train and check into a hotel in the next city, so if you stay only one night you’ll literally only have a few hours at most for sightseeing. I really don’t recommend doing that on back to back days because you’ll literally be spending more time on trains and in train stations than you will in the cities you’ve flown so far to see. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll be happy to help. -Roger
Hello Roger,
My wife and I (early 50’s not in good health) are traveling to Europe from the 2nd of May to the 23rd. We are confused concerning the Eurail pas, select or flexi pass or singular country passes. We will be traveling together always. Our tentative itinerary is as follows:
Arrive Neuchatel, Switzerland 3rd of May till the 8th sightseeing around Switzerland want the panoramic trains included.
The 8th to Zurich 1 night stay, 9th on to Vienna by train, 4 day stay.
13th to 16th in Salzburg then back to Neuchatel. We haven’t decided if we where to go to Munich or another country from Salzburg during the last week. Any suggestions, It’s my first time in Europe. I have thought about a couple of days in London. Return to Ecuador on the 23rd. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. John
John,
Neuchatel is kind of an unusual base for trips around Switzerland, so I assume you have a place to stay there or something? Either way, I don’t think a Eurail Pass would be good value for you, although it depends on how many of those scenic journeys you want to take in Switzerland. If you want to do at least 3 of them when perhaps a Swiss Travel Pass would be a better option, especially if you also wanted to do at least a couple of the included cable cars and cogwheel train rides. The Swiss Travel Pass isn’t cheap, but neither are those scenic train rides that go across the country, nor are the cable car rides.
My normal advice for a visit to Switzerland is to take trains to the places in the country that you want to visit, and you’ll automatically be taking very scenic rides. With the exception of the area just around Zurich, every train ride in Switzerland is very scenic and I believe those special trains with names are primarily a marketing device to help people plan trips. So you could take trains to Montreaux and Geneva and Interlaken and Lucerne, and you’ll be amazed by the scenery the whole time.
As for those train rides to Austria, if you buy them online at least a month or two out, they will be fairly reasonable in price, partly because the distances aren’t great. The same would be true if you wanted to add Munich. Check the ticket prices on sbb.ch, which is the Swiss Rail company.
If you wanted to visit London your choices are flying from any airport or taking the Eurostar train from Paris. The Eurostar isn’t part of any rail pass, and the earlier you buy the cheaper as well. I’m not sure you’ll have enough time to make it to London unless you scale back other parts of your trip. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hello Roger,
your site and help is much appreciated!
I am over 28 and will be traveling in multiple countries for 3 months(no set number. Ill figure it out s I go). My trip is Mar 12-Jun 8.. I have no set plans because I want to keep my schedule open and “go-as-I-please”, so I cant save money buying train tickets in advance. I will be stopping in smaller towns on my way to the bigger cities, rather than doing the typical tourist itinerary of mostly major cities. Ferries between Italy & Greece and Greek isles, regional & scenic trains, and buses seem to be where I will spend most of my time other than maybe a few occasions.
It will be a longer trip, but I do not foresee being on overnight/high speed trains much at all.
Im not sure if I would be better off skipping the pass and doing last minute train tix & bus passes since many will be short trips to places Im not sure trains will go(hilltop towns in Italy for example). I am looking for the flexibility, but also will be going shorter distances. my dilemma is between a 3 month continuous, or mixing 10 -15 day pass and paying for shorter point to point regional tix, etc. What do you think?
(I see they have just raised the price of the Global Pass to $1862 + $20 for insurance. If I used the train every day it would be 21$/day, but I will spend multiple days in some places so it would increase that cost)
Do I just hop on the train and walk through turnstiles if I have a pass and show it to someone working on the train, or do I have to go to the tix counter and get something from them? How easy/hard is it to find the transportation I need since I dont speak the languages in so many places? I dont want to wander around train stations and cities wondering where to go.
Loose example of “loop” itinerary as follows: Land in Munich, Venice/down the east coast IT, ferry to Greece (islands & various cities within Greece), ferry back to Italy/Southern Italy/Sicily, western coast of Italy, Milan, lake Como, Italian & French riviera/ VERY LOOSE PLAN FROM HERE ON… possibly Barcelona across to Bilbao, up through France(countryside & Paris), to Amsterdam, Germany, Poland, Prague, Austria, Switzerland, back to Munich for flight home.(Depending on time, some of these may have to wait until my next trip.)
Please help! Thank you,
Todd
Todd,
Your trip sounds awesome. I’ve done a few like that and just reading about one like this gets me excited again. This is an interesting question, and I could go either way on it. On one hand, if you can afford the 3-Month Continuous, it would make for a glorious trip. There is nothing like having the freedom to just hop on trains on a whim, and if you had the big pass you’d almost certainly do more trips than if you were paying as you go. On the other hand, you aren’t going to Europe to sit on trains, and traveling more just to use a pass isn’t always wise (even if it IS fun).
Looking more closely at your proposed loop, I do think a 10-days or 15-days pass should be enough, although you have to use them in 2 months, as you know. Those individual train tickets in Italy, Poland, and Czech Republic are pretty cheap. For example, the train from Milan to Lake Como is just this commuter train that leaves every hour and it costs something like €10 to get to the tourist towns. Also, in Poland and even Czech Republic, the bus service is still better and more frequent than the train service. The buses go just as fast (or just as slow), are quite comfortable, usually have free wifi, and leave more often. And you can get those bus tickets at good prices on short notice.
With that in mind you might change your routing a bit. Even in Italy you can usually get a cheap train fare between big cities if you are willing to go at off hours. It might be €50 from Venice to Florence at 8am, but only €28 if you leave at noon. And that is buying just a day or two out. If you buy a few weeks early it would be like €20 for any train.
With a Eurail Pass you get a small document that you carry with you. On high-speed trains in France, Italy, and Spain you usually have to make a seat reservation, which costs anywhere from €5 to as much as €30 on some popular trains in France, but most are between €5 and €10. However, on most of the rest of your route you can just hop aboard any train and find a seat. In Germany and maybe another country or two you have to wait until after 9:30am or so in order to ride with no seat reservation, although you can buy a seat reservation on an earlier train for around €5.
If you don’t need or have a seat reservation you can just climb on board the train and find any seat in your class. A conductor will come around eventually and ask to see your ticket. You just show them your valid Eurail Pass and your passport, and they will validate it if it’s the first time you are using it on a day with a Flexi Pass, or just check it and move on if it’s a valid continuous pass.
Finding your train is very easy as all stations use the same format for their departure boards and it’s all more or less in English. There are turnstiles in some stations where seat reservations are needed, but most of them are just open. You can buy your seat reservations where needed online or in any train station in the same country. It’s usually easy to get seat reservations even on the same day, although some trains do sell out if they are filled with commuters. For example, trains leaving big cities on Monday morning or Friday afternoon can be sold out. But trains leaving closer to noon rarely sell out.
I hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions if you have them. -Roger
Dear Roger, love the feedback that you give and thanks for the great info. My family and I (6 of us) are traveling to Italy & Austria in June. We are looking at this schedule: Milan (1 day) – Cinque Terre (1 day) – Florence (3 days) – Rome (3 days) – Venice (1 day) – Innsbruck (1 day) – Salzburg (2 days) – Vienna (2 days). What do you suggest for travel and what do you think of this schedule? Much appreciate your comments. 🙂
Rohan,
First off, you’ll definitely want to take trains, and a Eurail Pass might not be your best option depending on how many stops you’ll take. With a tight schedule like this you are probably better off buying tickets online in advance from the official rail websites. If you buy more than a month early you should get pretty good fares.
As for the city choices, Milan isn’t much of a tourist city except for the main square around the Cathedral. You might consider saving it for another trip and saving that day. And the Cinque Terre is so crowded in summer that it’s honestly hard to enjoy at all. Basically, they are 5 tiny villages along the coast, and really only one of them (Vernazza) is extremely photogenic. They are also kind of a pain to get from one to another as you have to walk on a mountain trail that is often crowded, or hop a train that comes every 30 minutes. Especially in summer, it’s a lot of work and feels like being in Disneyland on a Saturday. I’d save that for anther trip as well.
Innsbruck is mostly a ski destination and there aren’t many sights at all. If you want to go skiing then go there, but if you want to see the Alps and the sights, spend another day in Salzburg, which is much more interesting. Vienna is also a fairly large and wonderful city, so 3 days there would be ideal.
The train ride from Austria to Italy will be your only long one, but it’s also amazingly scenic. If you trim a couple of those off your schedule and add a day to Salzburg and Vienna, I think you’d enjoy it more and be scrambling around less. Your train tickets would also be cheaper. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Dear Roger, thanks so much for your expert advise and tips.
Our flight is through Milan, hence our trip will start and end at Milan. I have the itinerary as below:
3rd June – Milan
4th June – Milan to Florence
4th – 7th June – Florence & Pisa
7th June – Florence to Rome
7th – 9th June – Rome
9th June – Rome to Venice
9th – 10th June – Venice
10th June – Venice to Salzburg
10th June – 13th June – Salzburg
13th June – Salzburg to Vienna
13th – 16th June – Vienna
16th June – Vienna to Milan
16th June – Milan to Lake Orta / Como
17th June – Lake Orta / Como to Milan Airport
What do you suggest for this schedule and the places? Should we take trains for all of these trips or could we explore buses or drive for certain routes? We want to explore some scenic routes and travel just like a local wherever possible.
Which of the two – Lake Como or lake Orta be better to explore if time allows?
Thanks very much for your help. Much appreciated.
– Rohan
Hi there,
I am in the early stages of planning my first Europe trip for this fall. Hoping to go for about 5-6 weeks and spend roughly a week in each country (England, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany). I like the idea of having the freedom to change travel plans when I get there so I am considering the global pass or 4 country pass. Do you have a recommendation of what type of pass to get and for how many train days? I was considering either the 7 or 10 day pass, but I am unsure how useful the pass is for more local transfers.
Leslie,
On one hand, the trip you are planning is pretty much ideal for a Eurail Pass. But there are a couple of complications. For one thing, Eurail Passes aren’t valid in the UK or on the Eurostar. The UK does have its own Britrail Pass, but it’s not good value unless you are going to criss-cross the country in a short time.
The other is that France requires you to buy a seat reservation for most of the popular high-speed trains between larger cities, and those can run €25 and up. If you are taking the local and regional trains the Pass can be a very good deal. But if you want to, say, go from Paris to Marseilles to Nice, those reservation fees can add up. In Spain, Italy, and Germany the reservation fees are around €5, and in Germany you can do without them often if you start your trip after 9:30am or so.
In Italy the individual train tickets between the popular cities (Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan) are all fairly cheap, especially if you buy in advance. So with the trip you are considering, a Global Pass or even a 4-country pass might not be a great deal. If you can give me more of a breakdown of the general route you are thinking about, I can give you a better idea of what might be best. It might be that individual tickets are cheaper, although if you are planning on going longer distances in those countries the pass might still be the best option. -Roger
Hello. My partner and I are planning on travelling Europe for 3 months. We are under 25 and will be going around a big loop of Europe. Starting in Paris and ending in Brussels then heading over to the uk. Basically in the month of may we have worked it out to be travelling on trains for 17 days of the month. We are cobfused about weather we should get a global pass for the three months or to buy the tickets singularly?? Thank you
Amy,
If you are definitely going to be traveling on at least 12 or so days in a month, then the one-month continuous Eurail Pass will probably pay off. If you were going to be taking a lot of short hops, especially in a country like Italy, the pass might not pay off, but if you are doing rides that take 3 hours or more on most days, then the pass will save you money.
The best thing about the pass is having the freedom to hop on almost any train with little or no notice. The other options are to buy your tickets at least a month or so in advance to get good fares, or pay a small fortune for each ride if you buy as you go.
On the other hand, if you really ARE planning on spending 17 out of 30 days on trains, I’m not sure it’s the most enjoyable holiday. If most of them are in the 3-hour range then it won’t be too bad, although you will get tired of checking into and out of hotels or hostels on most days. But if you are planning on many of these rides to be 5 or more hours, that whole month will feel like you spent most of it on trains and in train stations. I hope this helps. -Roger
Hello Roger,
Thanks for hosting a great site with superb info (updated info) and prompt responses.
We, (husband, wife, two kids both under 9 and grand parents 65+) are traveling to Europe for 15 days in May 2017. Our countries of interest are Italy (arrival and departure from Milan), Switzerland, Germany, and France. We are debating whether a car rental makes more sense compared to Eurorail passes. We need to consider our groups age diversity as well.
What do you think is the best way to plan and coordinate this trip?
Thanks
Nadia
Nadia,
I appreciate the kind words. This is a tricky one. In many places the car rental would be the perfect solution because you’ve got 6 people of varying ages. However, in Europe it’s a bit more complicated. For one thing, rental cars tend to be small in Europe, and something like a minivan would not be cheap. Still, it would almost certainly be cheaper than 6 rail passes or individual train tickets.
The other challenging part is that rental cars tend to be a poor choice for visiting European cities. So if you want to visit Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Paris, and Berlin or Munich, you’d have to find a hotel on the edge of the city or pay a small fortune to park the vehicle near the center. And you really wouldn’t want to drive for sightseeing either, as the traffic and parking headaches are far worse than walking and taking public transport.
However, to visit Interlaken, Switzerland, or some of the smaller towns in Germany or the wine regions of France, having a car is ideal. So really it depends on the sorts of places you want to visit. If they are mostly cities then I’d probably just buy individual train tickets in advance. But if you are mixing in enough small towns then a rental vehicle could work well.
A rail pass tends to be best for people on longer trips who want to be able to make plans as they go. In your case if you really want to stick to 15 days then I’d recommend 5 or perhaps 6 total destinations. And for those train rides buying advance tickets online will almost certainly be cheaper. It does matter which destinations you have in mind and in which order. If you have an itinerary sorted out I can give you more specific advice. -Roger
Happy New Year! My partner and I will be traveling to Europe from US May 11 – May 24th, 14 days not counting travel days from/to US. We are trying to figure out whether it would be worth purchasing the Select Rail Pass for 4 countries, 5 days, or purchasing tickets separately. We arrive in Lisbon, Portugal first thing May 11th and the following is what we have in mind for our trip:
Lisbon (2 days, night train to Madrid the second night)
Madrid (2 days)
Barcelona (3 days)
Paris (3 days, possible day trip to Versailles)
Brussels (1 day)
Bruges (1 day)
Amsterdam (2 days)
The last post on here is from December of 2016 so I hope you are still responding as your article and comments have been helpful reads.
Thanks!
Isela
Isela,
Eurail Passes are usually best for longer trips where you want to make plans as you go and keep flexibility. If you buy tickets at least two months or so in advance, they will be surprisingly cheap. Since you seem to have a fixed and fairly tight schedule, I think you’ll be best off buying individual tickets in advance, which should also be cheaper than a rail pass. Brussels to Bruges and to Amsterdam are fairly cheap tickets even if you buy at the last minute.
Most of those tickets go on sale about 3 or 4 months in advance, and prices stay low until 4 to 6 weeks in advance. Check the ticket prices for a similar trip in early March, and you’ll be paying prices about the same. If they are cheaper than the Select Pass, then buy individual tickets instead. Have a great trip. -Roger
Roger,
Thank you so much for your reply. A follow up question…
The global pass is obviously not worth the cost for our itinerary, however, it seems possible that the 4 country select pass (8 travel days over 2 months) might work for this itinerary.
Thoughts?
Thanks again!