confused with train travel

Click on the Railpasses tab at the top of the page you're reading now. All of your questions are answered there. If something isn't clear, call Budget Europe Travel Service (BETS), 800-441-9413 or 800-441-2387, for expert, free, and friendly advice.

I can't emphasize enough the wisdom of what Kent says.

Make sure you understand all the ramifications of a railpass before investing in it. Many "premium" trains, such as Thalys, TGV, Italian EuroStar, and almost any train in Spain, require significant "supplements" (sometimes referred to as reservations). Passholder fares are limited on many trains, so sometimes you can't get on the train you want even though it is not full. Night trains are popular and often sell out, so try to make your reservations very early.

Christine,

To add to the excellent advise posted by the others, you need to read Rick's "Rail Skills" information, preferably before you buy a Rail pass!

Whether you'll need to pay additional fees will depend on which trains you choose. Some trains require compulsory reservations (usually the high speed trains such as the TGV & IC routes). These are indicated by a small red "R" on the bahn.de site. Reservation fees are NOT covered by a Rail pass, but ARE included if you buy P-P tickets. I normally buy Reservations for my outgoing journey at the station when I arrive in a particular city. Again, with a Couchette or Sleeper the fees are not included with a Rail pass (I generally try to structure my trips so that I don't have to use night trains, especially those with several changes!).

Rail passes include a small booklet that explains a lot of the details. Use railsaver.com to suggest the most appropriate pass for your trips.

Happy travels!

Thanks for your great advise. I am trying to compare the price of a railpass to point to point prices and I have been trying to find out exact prices online for train tickets from city to city but I am unable to find prices. Any suggestions?

For fares you need to go to the national rail sites of the countries in which you will be traveling. If you book far enough in advance you can often get discount fares. Here are some examples:

France - www.voyages-sncf.com

Germany - www.bahn.de

Italy - www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Christine, you can easily find many fares on the train websites. For Italy, www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html. Put in your originating and destination cities and choose a date that is no more than 60 days out. When the train schedule comes up, click on the shopping cart on the right of any of the train runs. On the fare/ticket page, select Standard Fare. You'll see the fare.

Same thing with the Swiss site. www.sbb.ch/en. Do the same thing there and select Fare/Ticket. Again, you will see the fare.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, those websites helped so much I now realize it would be much better for me to not get the railpass and just pay as I go. I will save over $300.00 Thanks again.