Eurail Plus Pass

In general rail pass are more for convenience than cost savings. You need to price each leg to determine of the pass would be worthwhile price wise. Please post your schedule if you want a good comparison.

It your style of travel is to nail everything down months in advance you should not get a Eurail Pass. Especially if you are going to countries where long distance trains require advance reservations and surcharges. Not that the pass is useless, but you have to know how to wrangle the system in order to get value out of it.

Where are you looking at prices? The 4 day pass is 426$.
The plus pass for 5 days is 594$. That pass comes with free reservation, and three credits for high use trains. You will need a credit for the Eurostar, one for the Paris - Switzerland train, and one for the Switzerland - Italy train, so you are covered. I don't think you will be saving enough on reservation fees to warrant the price difference. Unless you have use for that fifth day. What are your plans in Zurich (and why Zurich, its not the most interesting place to break your trip at...)

I second the idea for you to tell us the exact itinerary. Some countries you may pass, like Germany, have their own passes and they provide really good value for regional trains.

A travel pass is a luxury, not a cost saving measure.

London to Zurich per Man in Seat 61:

• London to Paris by Eurostar starts at £51 one-way or £78 return in Standard, £98 one-way or £140 return in Plus (1st class).

Paris to Basel or Zurich by TGV-Lyria starts at €29 each way in 2nd
class or €51 in 1st class.

Zurich to Venice - 69 Euro

Venice to Rome - 30 Euro

If you are booking everything in advance, then just book everything in advance, save some money and forget the pass. Plus, I think it is well documented that a Eurail pass makes no sense in Italy or Switzerland given the various in-country passes offered by the actual train companies and/or the fact that train travel is already cost effective.

I travel on in Interrail Pass (the Eurail pass equivalent for European) quite regularly. That is because I often need the flexibility (like when travelling to meet a Sailboat, where I don't know in advance where it will be) or have to arrange travel last minute.

What I have learned is that Rail Europe is the best place to book passholder fares in France, Italy and Spain, but for Germany and Austria you use DB and ÖBB respectively. The advantage of the passholder fares booked on Rail Europe however is that you can cancel them if your plans change. And if you buy your pass from Rail Europe they wave the service fee they normally charge for reservations.

So if you want flexibility the pass is still useful, and saves money. A last minute 1st class ticket return tickets Interlaken - Amsterdam is a whopping 999,9- Euro. A 1st class 4-days-in-a-month Interrail pass is a lot cheaper, and also fully flexible.

Also if you are travelling onto Sicily (by day or night train?) then it may be $525 to Rome- if that figure is correct. However Rome to Palermo in 2 months time is 111 Euro. So that makes the pass work again.
The night train will be more expensive again.

It is all well and good quoting The Man in Seat 61- firstly those fares are 'from' fares (not fixed fares) usually on very early or very late trains, secondly the figures are out of date anyway, especially for Eurostar. The Eurostar fares can rise a lot higher.

Also Eurostar Plus is more like Premium Economy. True first class is called Eurostar Premier- even in mid November that is £330 each way. Eurail first class only gets you Plus, not Premier.