Eurorail pass vs individual train tickets

Michele, you can save lots of money by learning to use and buying in advance on the different country train websites. Yes, it's a lot of work. I have a nephew in Brussels right now and he will be going to France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic and finally Amsterdam. He was ready to spend $1,500 for a Eurail pass. I showed him how to use the train websites and we saved $800. Part of the savings was a budget flight from Prague to Amsterdam that would not have been included in the pass. If you will identify the countries and your dates of travel, we can show you how to get great fares on the fast trains.

Hi Larry, Your help would be great. Here's our plan: Aug 31 - Paris to Amsterdam Sept 2 - Amsterdam to Brussels Sept 3 - Brussels to Brugge and back to Brussels Sept 4 - Brussels to Luxembourg Sept 5 - Luxembourg to Basel to Lucern Sept 6 - Lucern to Bern Sept 7 - Bern to Geneva Sept 8 - Geneva to Monte Carlo to Nice Sept 9 - Nice to Cannes to Paris Sept 10- Paris to Normandy to Mount St. Michel Sept 11- Mount St. Michel to Paris Sept 12- Paris to Vernon (Monet's Garden) to Paris The rest of the time we're in France, it's in Paris and probably just a few day trips. Of course, now that I'm looking at this, it seems insane. This is our first trip to Europe and I thank you so much for your help! Regards,
Michele

"Of course, now that I'm looking at this, it seems insane." Yes it does, but I'll let others comment on that more. Specifically answering part of your question, for the Paris-Amsterdam-Brussels legs of your trip, you can benefit from advanced purchase discounts on the premium high speed rail service between these cities, Thalys. Your ticket works similar to an airline ticket- it buys you a specific seat, on a specific train at a specific time: For Brussels-Brugge-Luxembourg, there are no advanced purchase discounts, no reservations sold, and trains run very frequently. Simply buy your tickets at the station before you depart.

Michele, I realize that this is your first trip to Europe. I'm sure that you would like to see the most possible. But, as an experienced traveler, I can tell you that you won't see much on the one-day sleep overs. You spend hours on the train, arrive, check-in, take a few pictures, have dinner and its bedtime. You wake up and you're packing and heading for the train. You really would do yourself a favor if you eliminated a few places like Luxembourg and Bern in favor of more time in Lucern. Nearby Mt. Rigi and the lake are wonderful places to visit. Your 3-day trip to Monte Carlo, Cannes and Nice with one night in each location is really a stretch. Your train ride from Nice to Paris will be a long one. For your first two segments, you will most likely be on the high-speed Thalys train. www.thalys.com. Two important facts about the Thalys train with regards to the Eurail pass. First, Thalys charges an extra supplemental fee to ride their trains. It's one of the highest supplemental fees in Europe. This extra fee for your trip would be 39Euro. Second, Thalys limits their seats to Eurail pass holders. So add 39Euro to the cost of your pass for Paris/Amsterdam and about 30Euro for Amsterdam/Brussels. For Aug 31 Paris/Amsterdam, I see a fare of 49Euro. Regular fare is over 100 Euro. For Amsterdam/Brussels on Sept 2, I see a fare of 79Euro. For Sept 3, your roundtrip from Brussels to Brugge will take about one hour each way. Fare is about 15Euro each way. This is an IC regional train. You simply buy your tickets and get on. For your journey from Brussels-Midi to Luxembourg-Gare, this is a 3hr train ride. I see a fare of 37.60Euro for Sept 4. This trip will be on an intercity (IC) train. You can buy the tickets when you arrive in Brussels-Midi. More later.

Hi Larry, I know it is crazy and I appreciate your feedback. I just don't know what to cut out. Seems like you may have traveled to Europe several times. What would you recommend since I do still have some time to adjust things. Thanks, again!

Michelle, I may assume incorrectly, but I am assuming that you are a young couple that wants to see as much as possible thinking that you may not be back for many years. That's certainly possible. My suggestion is to stay at least 2 nights in a couple of nice places and have a few memorable visits. My suggestion was to eliminate Luxembourg and Bern in favor of an extra night in Lucrene. So much to see and do there. But, it's your choice. The main subject of your post was Eurail pass vs point-to-point tickets. I was describing to you that you really don't need the pass and could save some money by buying certain tickets in advance online or buying tickets for the regional and IC trains as you go. I'll continue. For Luxembourg to Lucern, Lucern to Bern, Bern to Geneva and Geneva to Monaco, you can buy all of these tickets online from the Swiss at www.sbb.ch. Note that you must be within 30 days of travel to buy online from the Swiss. I can't see the fare for Luxembourg to Lucern but I estimate the fare to be 71 Swiss Francs. Lucern to Bern is 34CHF (Swiss Francs). Bern to Geneva is 49CHF. For Geneva to Monaco, I can't see the fare as its international but the train journey will take about 9hrs with 2-3 train changes. You will most likely take a regionale train from Geneva to Lyon where you will change to a TGV that will take you to one of several places to change again to go to Monaco. If you have a Eurail pass, the French also have a small supplemental fee to ride their TGVs and, they also limit the TGV seats to Eurail passholders. You'll be on regional trains in the Cote d'Azur. They won't be expensive. Just buy your tickets a day in advance and you will be fine. More coming.

For your run from Cannes to Paris, I see a great fare of 49Euro for an IDTGV run departing at 8:07 on Sept 9. Trip takes 5.0hrs. At this point, I'll let you work on Paris to Normandy and Vernon. Thus far, I see fares of just under $600 if you buy some discounted fares in advance. Monet's gardens are quite scenic. However, if you want to see his murals, there is a whole room at the Musee d'Orangerie where you will find them. They are amazing in size. Plus, you can take pictures of them if you don't use a flash. Been there done that.

Here are some trip-planning things to think about. First, the goal is not to make as many stops as possible, but to have the best trip possible given time and other logistical constraints. Your plan devotes a very large part of its first 13 days to moving from place to place, leaving very little time to sightsee. The key to planning a good trip is brutal honesty about priorities and an unflinching grasp of logistical constraints and opportunities. That means that you and yours should read some guidebooks (not necessarily the same ones) and reach some agreements about what is must-see and what can be saved for another trip. This involves some guesswork because obviously you've never been before and you don't know what you will like. So be open to trying a range of things, especially things that are important to your traveling companion. In 13 days consider 3 or maybe 4 destinations. 5 if you are willing to skimp and if they are logistically sweet (e.g. Amsterdam > Brugges > Bussels > Paris, all in reasonably close proximity). Fly open jaw or waste a whole day getting back to your original airport. It's never wrong to chose a whole week in Paris (or more), with day trips, but you might consider stealing some of that last week for your other destinations. Consider possibly Amsterdam > Brugges > Paris > Provence > Nice, fly home from Nice. Or Amsterdam > NT to Berner Oberland > Beaune or Colmar > Provence > Paris, fly home from Paris. Your priorities should come first of all, but these are relatively efficient itineraries that cover a lot of ground and visit some really big sights from your list. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door is an excellent itinerary-planning and skills and ideas book, perfect for first-times with great ambitions. Have fun!