Buying Rail Passes

Hi Shelley. If you are going to buy a rail pass, this is a good place. But first, do some research to see if it is a good idea for your itinerary. For many itineraries, rail passes are more expensive and/or more of a hassle than individual tickets. Enjoy your trip!

Don't be a lemming like many of your compatriots and those from that country to the south. It will be a rare occasion these days when any rail pass will be value. Beware this purchase without doing a maths comparison, see the bold type here - http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#Should

ha ha, second time tonight on this forum I have seen the word "lemmings" ( coffee thread) ,, see what you started Ken, that and your dislike of Timmys is causing a ripple affect of bad karma... Shelly, as you have been rightly told, a rail pass is not always ( often) the best choice.. they used to be great 20 years ago,, but now, not so much. I suggest you decide what travel you want to do and post it and I am sure posters can help you sort out your choices. Rail passes sometimes ( often on longer routes or overnight routes) will require you to pay extra fees and make reservations..
Some train tickets can be purchased very cheaply if purchased well in advance. I did a daytrip from Paris to Rouen( 1.5 hours) for 25 euros a few years back, I actually had just missed getting it for 20 euros, and when I was in the train station exchanging my online reservation for a ticket the lady in front of me got a ticket for that same route at that time, cost her 45 euros. So if you can get tickets for 50% or more less then "regular " prices you can see where you can save money if willing to do a bit of homework and planning in advance.

Very helpful information has been provided here to help the OP decide which pass, if any, to purchase. My two cents is this. After doing the homework and crunching the numbers, if the rail pass will cost more than advance purchase point-to-point tickets or other ways of buying the tickets, you must decide if the extra cost is worth TO YOU the amount of convenience and flexibility the rail pass will provide. That's an individual decision that shouldn't be second-guessed by others. I've been researching a rail trip in Britain and if I pull it off, I'm 90% sure already I'll do it with some version of the BritRail pass. Sure, I might score cheaper tickets by locking myself into specific departure times far in advance, or waiting till the day's half over to travel on off peak tickets, etc. But it's going to be a holiday, not a routine or repeated experience. I don't want to lock myself into, say, the 8:45 AM train out of York on X date. I might oversleep, or discover there's something else I want to see that morning before heading on to the next destination. Heck, I might want to change the next destination entirely once I'm there - for any reason, whimsical or practical. So I'll look at my choices and will probably choose a BritRail pass of some kind that is at a cost I can live with, knowing I'm not being as thrifty as possible but willing to pay something for flexibility and convenience. To reiterate: I'm saying, do the homework and work out the costs, and then make a decision that works for YOU, and have a great trip!

Thank you Bob, Neil and Pat. I have decided that a Lemming..I will NOT be! :) I have been doing my homework Pat. That's why I've already started on our trip for late Sept/Oct. I think I'll check it out too, because there is not that much train travel on some of our trips. Thanks all!

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