EURail Pass worth it for this itinerary? PLEASE HELP

Do yourself a favor and read this link first:

http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#railpass-or-point-to-point-tickets

I'd suggest exploring that entire site, actually.

Katherine, How are you pricing up the individual tickets? I am suspicious because you are quoting a total in '$' (and don't say what sort), but the "real" price is in Euros. Always go to the websites of the company operating the trains.

• For the German trips, and Frankfurt to Brussels, get advance purchase prices from the German railways website ( https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml ).
• For Brussels to Paris, https://www.thalys.com/be/en/
• For France http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers or https://www.trainline.eu/
• For Italy http://www.trenitalia.com/

Reservation fees for Pass holders do not go up, but, there are a limited number of seats for pass holders, especially in France, and those can run out.
How are you getting to Heilbronn? AFAIK it does not have an airport, so there must be another journey, XXX airport to Heilbronn.

I count 10 locations. Obey the Golden rule, No one-night stands, minimum 2, better 3 nights per location. I hope this is spread over 25-30 days.

Thank you to both of you!

Chris, I've been taking the prices and converting it to AUD and then adding it up, because I haven't really gotten a great grasp of the amount of Euro to AUD.
In Germany I'm staying with a family friend who will be picking me up from the airport and driving back to Heilbronn, and that is the same from getting between Dannstadt and Frankfurt.
This is spread over a month, from the 27th of December to the 22 of January. There are no places where I'm staying only one night :)

I'm thinking I might try a combination of tickets- dates that I know are fixed should be booked now, reducing the amount I would need on the EURail Pass. I would like flexibility when in France (1st of January to the 7th of Jan) because I don't have a set itinerary for this time. I don't know if it's worth it in Italy because of the Reservation Fees.

Katherine, Italy is particularly cheap for rail fares. For example, Venice to Florence, the "base" fare (the most expensive option, if you buy at the station on the day) is €49. The cheapest advance purchase fare is €12.90.
Florence to Naples, a longer run, it is €74 / €39.90.
It is difficult to make a rail pass pay in Italy.

Thanks Chris, that's what I'm starting to realise. I think that perhaps a combination is best- maybe just a 3 Country Rail Pass for Benelux, France and Germany would be best, and then I'll just buy the Italy ones a few days in advance.

I assume that you're looking at the youth price (for under age 26) with the current 20% off Eurail sale to get the lowest pass price.

For the Thalys train running Brussels-Paris, you don't need Benelux on the pass; the seat reservation costs the same with either Benelux, or France, or both countries covered. Since the trains to and from Paris are most prone to selling out or restricting the number of pass holders, they're not the best part to be flexible about, although I haven't heard of the problems this year that travelers had in previous years. Getting a Paris hotel or hostel within your budget may also warrant booking ahead.

Your German trips listed above don't require reservations, assuming you take an IC or ICE to Brussels (not Thalys). If you were leaving Benelux off the pass, any German train station could sell you the rest of the ticket from the German border to Brussels. Italian seat reservations are required but not limited beyond the regular limits of the train.

Don't fall for the Eurail sales pitch. Do yourself a favor and buy point to point tickets which already INCLUDE a reservation if one is required, and reservations are not limited as they are for Eurail Pass holders.

Do you really mean "Dannstadt". Yes, there really is a town by that name (near Mannheim), but the DB website only shows access by bus (or the like). There is also a town called "Darmstadt", near Frankfurt, and it has a rail station. Just make sure you are using the right name when planning.

Yeah Lee because I didn't plan that part of the trip I was a bit confused, but we will be training to Mannheim and them going from there to Dannstadt by bus.