Just tying up loose ends prior to my trip.
Just out of curiosity..has anyone had issues with their Eurail passes? needing to pay additional fees upon boarding for a trip? or have you felt that your passes pretty much took care of everything?
Thanks
Posted by
Whittington
984 posts
If you believe this is an 'issue' and 'passes pretty much took care of everything', you have not read the terms and conditions of use.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23573 posts
All rail passes have lots of problems these days. Where are you going and what type of pass? In some countries all passes require a reservation fee for each leg of the trip - no getting on and off. Sometimes the reservation fee is more than the cost of a regular ticket. Sometimes the number of seats for rail passes are limited and forced to buy a regular ticket if you want to go at that time. It is rare these days for a pass to pay for itself unless you are taking a lot of long trips.
It looks like you have been around this site for awhile. Have you not read the frequent discussions about rail passes?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7939 posts
As others have said, maybe share your itinerary, or at least what countries you will be travelling in. Your biggest issue will be countries and trains that require reservations, where you will need to pay an additional fee or may find limited availability, or may not be of much use, like the "chunnel" train.
If you are feeling concerned based on the previous comments, keep in mind that usually, by taking slower regional or intercity trains in some cases, you can still get where you are going with no additional cost.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32330 posts
lauriesue,
Which countries will you be travelling to with your Railpasses? If you'll be using the premium trains such as the TGV in France or Freccia trains in Italy, the passes DO NOT take care of everything as you'll have to pay separately out-of-pocket for reservations / supplements.
France has a quota for Passholder supplements, so once they're sold out you'll either have to buy a regular ticket and NOT use your Pass, or take another train that still has Passholder supplements available. If travelling on the premium trains in Italy, you MUST have a reservation which is specific to that train, date and departure time (cost for these about €10 PP). Even with a Railpass, if you're caught without a valid reservation for the train you're riding on, you'll face hefty fines of about €50 PP which will be collected on the spot!