Help deciding 3rd country for Eurail Select Pass

And we love hiking but nothing too "hard core".

If you're on any kind of a budget, keep in mind that in addition to the private trains, Switzerland is just pretty expensive in general. Austria would be my recommendation. (Well, France would be first, but you've been there!) It's not a huge country, which is fine since you have limited time there. You could easily spend 3 days/4 nights in Vienna, which doesn't have a reputation as a fun town for youngsters but it really is. In addition to all the great historical and art stuff, it's also really vibrant and cool. Salzburg is worth a full day, and would make sense if you're heading towards Munich. I know there also some awesome natural sites in Austria - I've only been to Obersalzburg because my in-laws wanted to see the Eagle's Nest but the surrounding area was gorgeous and I hope to go back to do some hiking and exploring.

You seem to be recognising there may not be value in a rail pass. It is an archaic idea that there will always be a cost benefit. No one but you can determine whether there is value in any rail pass (supplements may apply) unless you do a maths comparison against purchase of point to point tickets from rail operators, (whether planning and pre-purchasing discounted tickets in advance or not). There are several guides, advices or call them what you will - here is one -
http://tiny.cc/b45ix

Hi, As suggested above, I would add Austria and France to the 3 country Pass along with Germany. I depends on how much zipping around you'll be doing between France and Germany. Personally, I would skip Switzerland since it doesn't interest me and is low on the priority list. You may want to check whether the Pass is applicable there, regardless of the ownership status of the trains. If applicable, then add that and drop Austria. For Italy use the point to point tickets. How many days do you plan for your Pass? I use a 11 day (the current special offer), 3 country Select Pass in a month or two with Austria, Germany, and France. It also depends on the breadth of your itinerary.

"We'd like to use the 3 country Eurail Pass if that will save us money." You have it backwards. Don't start by proposing a 3-country pass and then figure your destinations. Start with your travel goals and determine which pass, or pass + p2p tickets, works best, or whether a pass is needed at all. If you are spending almost all your time in Germany and Italy, where you could easily spend 10-14 days each well, you can get between them with a direct City Night Line train for 43 Euros each with advance purchase at www.bahn.de And where will you travel in Germany and Italy? Maybe if you're traveling far and wide in each country, a Germany pass + an Italy pass would work well. But p2p tickets and daypasses are often best, especially in Germany, where it's possible to get around very cheaply. It all depends on where you're going. A 10-day 3-country pass, saver version, is over $600 each. A 5-day saverpass in Italy + 5-day twinpass in Germany is about $430 each. But these passes may be overkill too. If your time in Germany is going to be spent in Bavaria, just for example, you could travel by train for 5 days and split a Bayern Ticket daypass - which would cost each of you about $80, a lot less than the $209 you'd pay for a 5-day German railpass. You could bang around between Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Munich, Füssen, and Berchtesgaden on such a ticket. And the Bayern Ticket gets you to Salzburg Austria too, if that's on your list. Then again, you may be planning to see Hamburg and Berlin, and a different strategy is needed. So if you want good help with this, tell us just where you're going.

I haven't used a pass in years because point to point ends up much cheaper - maybe a student pass is still a good deal. For a logical third country between Germany and Italy, I'd go with Austria. As countless others have found out, Switzerland is horribly expensive.