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Rail Pass - UK / France / Italy

Posted by (Atlanta) on

Hello everyone,

My family (2 regular and 2 seniors) will be traveling for three weeks in Europe. We will be going to Paris and Lourdes, London and Rome. I already booked their flights for Manila to Paris and the London to Rome legs.

We are planning on taking the train for the following legs:

  • Paris to Lourdes (round trip)
  • Paris to London (one way)
  • Rome to Venice (one way since they will be flying out from Venice airport)

I'm doing my research just now because they just got approved for Schengen visa so I know I already lost out on a the early booking discount. I'm looking at the round trip tickets for Paris to Lourdes and I'm already seeing around 160 euros for one person. The Paris to London appears to be around 110 euros and around 35 euros for the Rome to Venice.

I read about how the global rail pass works but I'm still slightly confused on how reservation fees and the flexi pass works (was looking at the 5 .

Any advice based on personal experiences or professional input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

  • Jhae
Posted by
7291 posts

The 5 day Senior Global Eurail Pass is already a bit more than USD 300 with shipping, so if you add the reservation fees (as high as 30 euros for Eurostar, around 10 and maybe more for TGV), it works out more expensive AND more complicated than just buying point to point tickets at the prices you list.

Posted by
16895 posts

Orders for $399 or more don't pay for shipping within USA through our Rail Europe link. Current pass prices for 5 days within a month in 2nd class are $319 per adult and $287 per senior. Seat reservations prices as already stated, about $35 and $12, but the domestic TGV rates can be up to $27 if the train's getting full. See more info and links at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/france-rail-passes.

Pretty close to a "wash" in price, without the hop-on convenience that pass could give you on other types of trains or regions. All of those ticket prices still reflect some advance-purchase discount. Rates will be higher on the day of travel, e.g., Rome to Venice 92 euros on the fast train.

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