Hi, my family of 5 (3 teenage kids) are planning our first trip to Europe this summer. We will travel from London to Paris...Paris to Interlaken, Switzerland then on to Munich....spending time in each city. I'm wondering what's the best train tickets to purchase? Do I need a rail pass for each country or city to city tickets? We will be solely relying on public transportation for our entire trip. Thank you for any advice!!
Sincerely,
Marcy
Marcy, I suggest you do some background research on how the train system works and ticketing. There is no one good answer to your questions. Spend some time on this website man in seat 61 for some good guidance. But also helps a lot to read the tips on this Rick Steves website, under the Travel Tips link on the menu on the left. And good guidebooks like RS will have discussions on public transportation that will explain a lot.
Just note that rail passes are not always a good value, and it's not like airline travel, where you must book months in advance to get a seat. It may be advantageous to book in advance for discount tickets, but tickets can generally be purchased the day of travel as well. Except for the London-Paris tickets which must be booked in advance since it is using special trains under the Channel.
If that is all your travel, I doubt any kind of railpass will be worth it. Stick to single tickets. Buy the long distance tickets in advance, especially the Eurostar tickets. Eurostar tickets can usually be bought close to departure, but it will be very expensive, as in well over €200 per person.
rail passes are obsolete, require expensive reservations and are rarely worth getting.
Ticket especially on the Eurostar and high speed trains like TGVs or the THalys are MUCH more expensive as the dates of travel approach. You need to get tickets as soon as you know your schedule. Teens are adults for transport. City transport is not covered by rail passes; local passes may or may not be worth getting depending on the city and how long you will be there. I don't know every city of course, but in Paris, teens could get day passes on weekends that are a bargain but otherwise are adults for local tickets.
