Eurail Global Pass in France

Posted by kerwin.gray on 05/27/14 12:02 PM

I have used a Eurail Pass for each of the past four years. Traveling from Amsterdam to Berlin to Prague to Budapest to Zurich (and back again repeatedly). But I have never ventured into France, because of the reservations hassles (I sometimes decide where to go next by looking at the schedule board). I have decided that on my next trip I have to go to France.

So, I have been toying with making reservations. So far, I have been unable to find a reservation that can be made within a week of a hypothetical trip. Unless I look out further than a week, all I am offered is full fair tickets--no reservations available for pass holders. If you don't want to plan your trip on a day to day basis ahead of time, is there any point to a Eurail Pass in France? Or should I just buy point to point tickets?

Posted by Paul

Eastern Iowa, USA

05/27/14 01:34 PM

8051 posts

It has been a while since travel in France, but in planning, yes, I ran into the same issue...limited seats and high reservation fees. This was though mostly on the faster trains, in other countries you can still use a pass to get around on regional and slower trains....not sure if the same strategy works well in France. The issue still comes down to a pass costing you ~$60 a day, will you really be doing that much travel?

Posted by Harold

New York, NY, USA

05/28/14 04:45 AM

11294 posts

Unfortunately, fast trains in France have fully embraced the airline pricing model. They are cheap if booked in advance as non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and go up (and up and up) closer to travel. And the railpass does not get around this, because as you discovered, they severely limit the reservations available for pass holders.

For the non-fast trains, the price doesn't change, so these can be bought at the last minute. A quick way to check is to price tickets for tomorrow and for several months out, and see how much of a difference there is.

If you want a really spontaneous trip in France, you may have to drive. Or else, commit to spending big bucks for those last minute tickets. If you can commit to tickets far in advance, the trains can be surprisingly cheap (and you can often get first class for only a few euros more than second class).

Posted by kerwin.gray OP

05/28/14 11:49 AM

3 posts

Thanks for taking the time to reply and confirm my impression. I will probably just bite the bullet and buy point to point tickets. The Eurail pass just makes me feel like a college kid. Oh, well.

Posted by Tim

Knoxville, TN, USA

05/28/14 12:23 PM

7209 posts

Eurail Passes are going the way of Travelers Cheques. Buying point-to-point and individual country passes (like Swiss Pass) is the best way of traveling. Eurail Passes seem to have too many "extra" fees when using.