I am planning on doing a eurotrip in december.I would like to go to Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, and Czech Republic. Unfortunately, I cannot pick 6 countries for Select Country pass: I can only pick 5. So I guess I could leave Italy out, but I'd rather not. When I looked up Global Pass just so I can go to Italy, it was about 70,80 euro more and I don't know if that's worth it. So I am wondering what people would suggest me to do. Perhaps, if I mix it up with a country pass (like Germany pass), it may be cheaper?? It is my first eurotrip and not familiar with all these passes, so any suggestions will help. Thank you, Hide
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33851 posts
If you are in Belgium, Hide, can you even get those passes? I understood that they were not for European residents? Seems like a lot of ground to cover - lightly - if you are taking long distance trains everywhere. Plan ahead and get cheap deals and you will probably be way ahead. In Belgium that should be simple. How long will your trip be? What villages, towns, and cities will you be visiting? With a bit more information we can help you more.
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Eurorail passes are not the great value they once were. It takes careful study and planning to determine the best option for you. Keep a few things in mind: 1. A pass can work for long trips or extensive train travel. 2. A pass can be helpful if your itinerary is not set and you desire flexibility. 3. Short trips are usually more economical with point-to-point tickets. 4. Purchasing p2p tickets in advance can save you significant money. 5. Many trains require seat reservations which are an additional cost to a pass. 6. Sometimes a combo of pass for long trips with p2p tickets for shorter trips makes sense. 7. Long trips, over 6 hours, can often be cheaper by plane on discount airlines. 8. Eastern and southern European countries often have cheaper rail travel.
9. Each country added to a pass adds money. You need to evaluate if the additional cost for each country is more than the cost to just buy a p2p ticket for the country. The RS website has an extensive pass page with costs for each pass option. You need to compare those with the German rail site or websites for each country's rail service, especially to compare advance purchase fares.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
According to the Eurail website, "Residents of any country outside of Europe can use a Eurail pass. "You are considered to be a resident of a country if you have been living in that country for longer than 6 months." Travel documents, such as a Passport, can be used to determine residency. Unless you have an extended Schengen Visa, you can't be in a European country long enough to be considered a resident. Douglas presents an excellent overview of rail pass efficacy (note particularly #6). If your travel is within a particular German state, you'll probably spend less for a Länder ticket than for a rail pass day. Länder tickets are passes for unlimited travel on regional trains within one German state. Generally €21-24 for a single person for a day. Sparpreis tickets are for committed travel between anywhere in Germany and anywhere else in Germany for as low as €29. Tickets are non-refundable from the first day of travel; €15 fee before that. There are similar tickets for Austria (www.oebb.at). Point-point tickets in countries like Italy and the Czech Republic are often less than a rail pass day. Start by eliminating days where you can use point-point tickets and passes for less. You might get to zero.