My daughter (age 27) and I are heading out next month on an ambitious 14-day trip to Europe. I spent many hours researching and trying to decide whether or not to buy a Eurail pass or just go with point-to-point tickets. Just when I decided a Global flexipass would be the way to go, she had a friend who recently returned from Europe and said they had no problem with Omio and liked many things about the app...now I am reconsidering after playing with the Omio site myself.
Our plans are to fly into Munich (stay 2 nights), travel to Salzburg (2 nights), on to Hallstatt (1 night), Vienna is next (3 nights), then Prague (2 nights), Berlin is the final destination (3 nights). I figured we would use the Global Pass for 5 days of travel (Munich to Salzburg, Hallstatt to Vienna, Vienna to Prague, Prague to Berlin, and Berlin to the airport for our flight home - although we could probably just get a 4-day pass and buy a ticket to the airport). We plan on taking an S-Bahn from the Munich airport and just purchasing a ticket when we arrive as it is rather cheap. From Salzburg to Hallstatt we will take a bus, which is not included in the Global Pass. I kind-of like the idea of having the flexibility of treating ourselves to a 1st class ticket on a few of the longer train rides, but the Global Pass only allows purchase of a 2nd class or 1st class ticket.
When looking at the price of a Global Pass, plus what we need to spend on transportation that it does not cover, and estimating the cost of going with Omio, there is not much difference between the two.
Apologies for the short question and the long details, but I figured it would be helpful to anyone who has experience with the Eurail Global Flexipass as well as Omio.
Posted by
WA USA
1070 posts
Take a look at Seat61 which is a great resource regarding trains.
https://www.seat61.com/european-train-travel.htm
He also mentions Omio where he states,
"Incidentally, you might also come across Omio.com. Omio has similar connectivity, but at the time I write this it doesn't have any journey planning logic. So although it can sell you a Nice-Ventimiglia ticket using its connection to SNCF if you ask it for Nice to Ventimiglia, and it can sell a Ventimiglia-Milan ticket using its connection to Trenitalia if you ask it for Ventimiglia to Milan, if you ask it for Nice to Milan it will say there are no trains (and will suggest a flight) because it lacks the capability to plan the journey itself and combine multiple tickets. It also says there are no trains for journeys where it lacks the necessary connectivity. For example, Omio says there are no trains from Budapest to Zagreb and suggests a bus, but you can easily buy a train ticket from €19 from Hungarian Railways at www.mavcsoport.hu. So it's important to understand a site's limitations. Omio does have some extra connectivity, for example it connects to Swedish Railways sj.se so can be useful to book Swedish trains if sj.se rejects your credit card, and to Portuguese Railways cp.pt which no other site does."
Posted by
NorthCarolina
930 posts
I recommend seat61.com also.
Always best to book direct with the train = bahn.com
It's also always cheaper to book earlier.
I always recommend people also read the Rick Steves book, EUROPE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR - you can buy it here, but it's often cheaper on Amazon.
Also, it takes LOTS of time to change towns and you will be changing towns more than enJOYing them. 2 nights is only giving you one full day in Munich, Salzburg, Prague - that is NOTHING. I personally think you are trying to fit in too much and will be sitting on a train more than exploring Europe.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4675 posts
So- 13 nights on the ground in Europe, right?
Would you consider skipping Munich ( not my favorite city ) and going straight on to Salzburg ( one of my all-time favorites!) I agree you have a very hectic schedule with a lot of train time. Perhaps take a day from Berlin and add it to Prague? Just a thought...in any case , safe travels and have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Washington DC
27062 posts
Germany has great deals on day tickets within regions. They can save money for one person and are even better when two or more people are traveling together. I'm nearly certain Salzburg counts as part of the Bavarian region, so using a rail pass day for the Munich-Salzburg trip would be a big waste of money.
Posted by
Wengen
1625 posts
One reason not to get an Eurail Pass is that on many of your routes there are now also private operators active.
For example: Between Munich and Salzburg you have the Westbahn, which also runs between Salzburg and Vienna, and between Vienna and Prague you have Regiojet.
A good site to use here is trainline -> www.trainline.com as they show you the prices of all the different operators.
Posted by
OP
Texas
9 posts
Gail, thank you, I am very familiar with Seat61. Probably second best travel information site, next to Rick Steves, in my opinion :o)
ChinaLake 67 - I do have an old copy of Europe Through the Back Door - great information and tips to this day!
I realize we will be on the go, a lot!, but we are treating this like a "Travel Buffet"...sampling a lot with the hopes of going back for more of what we like next year. And, I am going against what I always said I would never do when traveling in Europe - stay on the go - but I think it's going to be a blast and we will learn a lot of things along the way. I have done the stay in one place 4-7 days before moving on, and made day trips from wherever my base may be, but I am looking forward to being on the go this time around. We are limiting ourselves to do what we really want to do in each city and not exhaust ourselves with trying to do everything. We will see some things, experience the culture (yes, albeit for a short time), and follow Rick Steves' recommendations on what he finds underwhelming so we can scratch those off our list, or if there are 2 similar attractions he advises which one to see, so that's helpful (his travel advice for the last 20+ years for me and my travels have been invaluable). His what to see and do in Berlin if you only have one day is very funny. My daughter and I already know we will probably wish we'd done "this or that" or spent more time "here or there", but we are just thankful we are able to travel abroad since our last trip was in 2019 just before...you know.
Pat, yes, we considered traveling straight to Salzburg once we land in Munich, but with jet lag we decided to stay overnight. If we feel alright and can see what we want to on our arrival day, plus the next morning, we will cut our second night in Munich and head to Salzburg. And thank you for your kind words - we are hoping for safe travels and having a wonderful trip!
acraven and WengenK thank you for your advice! Based on it I will not purchase a Eurail pass. I have never planned as ambitious a trip as this in Europe, so I was unsure. In the past I have purchased point-to-point tickets on regional trains, plus Eurostar and Thalys, so there was no need to buy a Eurail pass since I was not traveling many days or on trains covered by the pass. We will just be flexible with trains/buses on our travel days and purchase tickets for the more popular and busy routes in advance to keep the price low.
Thank you to everyone for your replies, they are very much appreciated!
Posted by
Los Angeles
645 posts
If you are indeed treating the trip as a "buffet" then I would suggest subtracting a night from Vienna and adding it to Prague. IMO Vienna is very "nice," but less local flavor than Prague - or Berlin for that matter.