Please sign in to post.

Help with Railpasses

Hi there,
I am busy planning my 3 mointh euro trip- im just in the middle of trying to figure out what rail pass to buy
its either between the 10 days in 2 months (4 countries) or 15 days in 2 months (5 countires)
4 countries-BENELUX-FRANCE-SPAIN-ITALY

theres only a few hundred dollars between the 2 , so not that much of a diff, but between me and my partner
it could be a saving of just over $600 AUD. im buying them from rick steves, they are heaps cheaper than getting them in oz.

alot of my journeys are short 1-2 hours here and there, so i figured will prob be cheaper to purchase those when im there
i have listed my route below and numbered each train journey,

Fly into London from NY-8 days-no railpass here
Flying to Amsterdam-3 days-
1. Amsterdam-Bruge
2.Bruge-Paris
3.Paris-Bayeux
from bayeux we are hiring a car around normandy and the loire valley
4.somewhere in loire-madrid(day trip to toledo but wont use railpass for this)
5.madrid-seville
6.seville-going to cordoba/prob granada and ronda
2 weeks in morocco-dont need railpass here-flying to barcelona
7.barcelona-provence(we will hire car to explore here)
8.provence /french riviera
9.nice -venice
10.venice-florence
11. florence/rome
12.rome-amalfi

so as you can see approx 12 journeys by train (When i leave italy my 2 month ticket will have expired)

im then going croatia/slovenia/czech and germany
the only other pass im going to buy is the 5 day germany/austria pass, im not going to worry about croatia/slovenia and czech
as i believe a rail pass would not be of value here.

so i guess the question im asking is based on the above train trips ill be taking should i go for the 10 or 15 day pass
would i use my pass to go from paris to bayeux? also for example from seville to cordoba and granada ronda i would have thought
a bus or a train ticket over thee would not make the 15 day ticket of value,

any help would be fanatastic
thanks to you all :)

Posted by
683 posts

OOn the "Transpoortation " site thew is a Large banner above the questions that says: "Questions aboout rail in Europe?"- contact THEM

Posted by
8700 posts

First, the five-country, 15-day pass would not be a good value.

Second, train travel in Italy is relatively inexpensive so point-to-point tickets are usually cheaper than a pass. A three-country (Benelux-France-Spain) pass might be a better deal.

Third, point-to-point tickets for ALL OF YOUR ROUTES (with the exception, perhaps, of Germany-Austria), may be cheaper than any pass, particularly if you can commit to specific travel dates and book well in advance online to take advantage of discount fares.

For example, the standard 2nd class fare for Paris-Bayeux is €32, but PREM'S fares can be as low as €15. For Avignon-Nice it's €44.80 standard and €28 for a Loisirs fare.

The walk-up fare for Amsterdam-Brugge on ICE trains is €40.80. The walk-up fare on regional trains from Brugge to Lille Flandres is €14.40. The standard 2nd class fare for a Lille-Paris TGV is €38.50, but a PREM'S fare is €20.

Posted by
35 posts

thanks for the resposes
what is PREMS? where is the best place to
check point to point fare prices online? also if i dont book before i leave australia and just purchase them in europe is there somewhere online i can check the costs?'
thanks again, :) much appreciated

Posted by
8700 posts

A PREM'S fare is an online discount fare offered by SNCF, French national rail.

The best site for detailed timetables for all of Europe is www.bahn.de. After you get summary timetables, click on "Details for all" to see the connecting points. That site will also give you fares for routes within Germany and for routes either starting or ending in Germany.

To get fares for either domestic or international routes in other countries, go to each country's national rail site.

France: www.voyages-sncf.com

The Netherlands: www.ns.nl

Belgium: www.b-rail.be

Spain: www.renfre.es

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

Austria: www.oebb.at/en