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.

It is all about convenience. You have to ask yourself the question how much is convenience worth to you. If a couple hundred dollars is not that much of a big deal, then I would get the Eurail Pass. I have used Eurail passes several times even though I know I would have saved a couple hundred dollars buying point to point. It is all about your own preference and style of travel and how you want to travel. Some people will not pay extra for air-conditioning to save money. Pick your own style, price level and comfort and enjoy your trip your way.

As is always the case when Eurail passes are discussed, respondents often superimpose their own priorities onto others. We've used passes several times, in several different flavors. Wouldn't do things any differently.

If one's only or overriding priority is securing the lowest possible price, a Eurail pass may not be the best option (though sometimes it might be). But for us, it was a security blanket that allowed us to take many day trips on a spur of the moment basis without scurrying to secure daily tickets.

Rick Steves and his followers tend to be budget minded. In addition, many participants on here are from days past when a Eurail pass was the way to go. Times and travel have changed. I think it is important that folks understand that buying a Eurail pass is not the only way to travel. They can then decide if paying for a pass makes sense to them, or not.

It has been over a week and no response from the OP. Were we too discouraging about the rail pass? It is hard to be helpful when there is no response. But I am sure the limited discussion was helpful to other posters who might have similar questions. We are from the era where you laced up your hiking boots, grabbed the backpack, get the paper eurail ticket, stuff the travelers checks in your pocket, and catch the next plane. No internet, no cell phone -- you were just gone till you found a money exchange with a telephone bank for the call home to let them know you were still alive. Times have changed.

In addition, many participants on here are from days past when a Eurail pass was the way to go. Times and travel have changed.

I happen to be fully well aware of that. I am also the tightest of tight people with my money. But for a grand journey like this I wouldn't hesitate to use an Inter-rail pass as it is called for UK residents, nor am I going to skimp on going 1st class, as it has enough benefits (some indefinable in writing) to make the extra over worth every penny.

The great benefit to me of a pass is that I can be flexible- if I suddenly like the look of a different route (or want to stop off somewhere unexpectedly) I can do that. While I'm in Zurich, Venice or Rome (on this itinerary) if I suddenly decide I want to do a little side trip somewhere I can do that.
Or if the trains are up the creek one day I can re-route without a care in the world- say between Zurich and Venice or Venice and Rome.

I actually did a trip in the UK last week where I had bound myself to the cheapest possible train tickets. It wasn't a mistake as such but if I'd spent a few £ more (literally) and done some slightly better planning, I could have made the trip way more meaningful.

Value and worth is sometimes worth more than $ and cents.

David,
Have the comments and responses from forum members been of any help to you? Do you have any questions? Feedback is always appreciated.

I use a pass regularly, and I have two tips:

• 1st class is worth it, as the price difference between a 1st and 2nd class pass is less than that between 1st and 2nd class tickets.
• a couple of times a year there is a sale, where passes are 20 or 25% off. Since with a pass there is no hurry (you can get the pass even the day before, as it is now electronic) I often just wait to see if a sale materialise, and if not there is no huge loss...