communicating back home

"Help you"? You can use a Eurail pass for most "fast trains", but in most countries (not in Germany) some fast trains require a surcharge (called a reservation). As for phones, I've found that, with the time difference, my schedule never coincides with those back home, so email works best for me. If I need to contact a hotel over there, I use a pay phone and a phone card I got at the post office.

But wouldn't you have to pay that surcharge even with a pt to pt?

No. The point-point ticket price covers it all. For the most part, the railroads consider the fast trains to be premium trains, too good for pass holders, and charge extra to use them with a pass. The ticket prices are also higher than the "slow" trains, but you see that price if you look up prices online.

The problem with using phone cards is that pay phones are getting harder to find. As for trains, it really depends on how much travel you plan to do and where. You seem to be aware that you will need to compare the price of point-to-point tickets vs the railpass plus any supplements or reservation fees. What the railpass gives you is flexibility. I used them on backpacking trips where I really didn't have much of an itinerary. Generally, you're going to pay more for that convenience, unless you plan to move around a lot and stick to slow trains.

Chere, it is hard to answer what is better when discussing calling back home. It depends upon a number of factors. Is lowest cost the most important thing? Is convenience? Is being easily reachable by others? Is it the solution with the least amount of hassle? Each yields a different answer. LOW COST. Go with a phone card and look for a pay phone. Or take some Internet device (laptop, netbook, iPad, smartphone) and connect over wifi with Skype). ($) Runner up, get a SIM from a local cell company once you are there. ($ to $$) CONVENIENCE. Get a SIM from a travel phone company (Mobal, Telestial, etc.) Or use a phone from a U.S. carrier (AT&T and T-Mobile will work with phones with the right radio frequencies; Verizon will work with a few of its phones or with one of the international loaner phones it will give subscribers. ($$ to $$$) EASILY REACHABLE. Use a phone from a U.S. carrier so that folks back home can call a local U.S. number to reach you. Or use one of the travel phone accounts that provide both a foreign number and a U.S. number that forwards calls to the foreign number. ($$ to $$$) LEAST HASSLE. Stick with a U.S. carrier. Runner up: a SIM from travel phone company. ($$ to $$$)

Chere, I buy a phone card (costs 7-10 euros) and use it from the phone in the hotel room. Works fine but you have to dial a bunch of numbers.

How often do you need to phone home,, I like Donna, just buy a phone card,, but I don't bother to phone home everyday like some people do,, i am on vacation!

If you want to make calls within the country, definitely buy SIM cards as you go. 20 Euros lasted five weeks for me to call hotels ahead of time and such. You can buy them anywhere. The best deal for calling back home is buying a Skype credit, if you plan on bringing an Ebook or laptop. I used the voice talk option, rather than video. It's 1.4 cents a minute. Can't beat that!

Chere, Paul provided a good analysis of the options. Whether to use a Cellphone or a Phone Card will depend to some extent on your specific circumstances. For example, will you need to be contacted by people at home during your trip? Using a Phone Card isn't really a viable option if that's the case. Will you need to contact others during your trip on a regular basis? A Cellphone would be better for that, as you wouldn't be limited to Pay Phone locations. One other point to note is that even with a Phone Card, using the phone in your Hotel room may result in extra charges. I wouldn't suggest "buying SIMs as you go", as it makes it very difficult for people to contact you. Each time you change SIM's, the phone number changes. Unless you notify each of your contacts each time you change SIM's, they'll just to try and guess what number you're at. It's a better idea to just use one SIM for the entire trip. You might also consider using a phone from one of the "travel phone" firms. They offer plans which provide consistent rates throughout western Europe, with post-paid billing (no need to "top up"). One advantage of that approach is that you'd have a working phone as soon as you step off the plane. Happy travels!

I'm not clear on "buying sims as you go" - last year in Italy I bought a TIM phone and asked about buying a new sim card, the saleswoman explained that that would change the phone number. The phone I bought was relatively cheap, no camera or apps, but it worked fine and I was able to just add minutes to the original card.

In at least one case I know of, the SIM is only good in one country, so if you are traveling in multiple countries, you would have to buy SIMs "as you go". With that SIM, however, you can add time by buying prepaid cards at local stores.

I was pretty happy using an Ipod with Skype for calls back home (need wifi connection and a microphone on your earbuds). There are still pay phones but are getting rare because everyone has their own cell phone. For calls within Europe, a locally purchased phone and SIM card works well if you stay in one country. For traveling through multiple countries, you have to weigh the different options based on how long you will be in a place and how many minutes you will use.

"...I was pretty happy using an Ipod with Skype for calls back home (need wifi connection and a microphone on your earbuds)..." The Ipod Touch has a microphone built into it which works with the Skype app. So an external microphone isn't mandatory.

The first (and maybe second) edition of the iPod Touch did not have microphones. Consequently, some work-around was necessary.