Gut Check before Diving into Eurail Pass Research and Calculations

That's not a vacation, that's a forced march!

Have you read through the Man in Seat 61's site? And perhaps reached out to him for assistance or a referral to someone who can guide you?

;) oh phred!

I didn't put all the details because the question is specific to a general opinion on whether it would be worth my time to even research the pricing differences. This presentatin makes it look worse (forced march) than it is, I think, but I'm sure you're much more experienced in travel than I.

We have four total nights in Barcelona, three nights in Valencia, two nights in Girona, seven nights in Paris, three nights in Colmar, one night in Luxembourg and three nights in Bruges.

And yes, I read Man in Seat 61's guidance (I think I noted that with a link) and that is why I'm thinking I'll just skip the effort to determine if I should get the passes, but wanted some validation, but not necessarily grief ;)

If you are asking for a gut reaction, back of the envelope calculation my answer is a clear no- a pass is not worth it.

For the Spanish long distance journeys, Spain to Paris and Brussels to CDG you will also need pass holder reservations at extra cost. For a party of 4 those may be hard to get as they are "rationed"

Barcelona to Montserrat and to Girona, Paris to Versailles and Giverny and others are cheap enough you wouldn't want to use up a day of a pass on them.

I just think a pass is more effort than it is worth.

I'm pretty sure that Girona to Paris should be on one ticket. I'm kind of glad you aren't asking for a fully priced check.

And Bruges to CDG should be one through ticket as well.

PS- Your travel style is your own, that is your business.

isn31c - thanks for the gut check! I did not know about the rationing...yet another mark against the pass.

I did the math on a trip I took with my grandniece in 2021. We traveled the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and England over the course of a month using trains and buses. If you plan ahead and purchase tickets when the window opens (generally 3 - 6 months) you will save money over the Pass. In addition, even with the Pass, some trains require advance reservations with an additional reservation cost. For our trip, the cost was a third less than using the Pass.

There are periodic criticsms of replies here that answer a question that the OP did not ask. But when an OP from a likely first- timer suggests multiple mistaken assumptions, it seems a kindness to point them out. Even if it seems like Tough-Love.

Just one example, there is no fast train from Bruges to Brussels. What's important is that there are so many every hour, priced the same, unreserved, no real luggage racks, and that the OP likely wants to get off at Midi, not Centraal station. And that the actual fast trains to Paris are priced rather like air tickets, requiring a strategy. But we also wonder if the OP might be taking a risk of missing his non- changeable air departure. It is usually a rookie mistake to wake up in Bruges to fly home from CDG the same day. Is flying home from BRU an option? This isn't cruelty, it's travel advice.

melT, my overall give on this is that MOST people find that booking the individual trains is a cost-savings. It's rare that you will come out ahead on cost by getting a Eurail pass. There are exceptions of course, but I wouldn't count on the pass saving you money. It can save you in convenience, of course, although as others have pointed out, having to make reservations defeats some of that purpose.

I can tell you that if I were in your position, I would be booking everything separately. But that's me. I don't mind the time and effort it takes to do that, and I like that I'm saving money.

My gut says to secure reservations for the trains requiring them when you buy the passes. Then enjoy not having to buy tickets every time you take a train.

I would leave worrying about whether or the passes save you any money to the math majors.

Thank you all - I appreciate your time and sharing of your thoughts, ideas, suggestions and even tough love. ;)