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Rail Pass - Cost and Timing

Posted by (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on

OK, I am being kind of indecisive right now, as I am not sure what to do.

We are arriving in Paris on September 22nd 2008 and want to take advantage of the Eurail Early Bird promotion that is going on right now that gives us an extra day of travel. However, the date makes it VERY close to the 6 month time period that you have to activate your pass with, and although I will activate before the day of expiration, I am concerned about getting hassled about it.

Am I just being paranoid and I shouldn't worry?

As well, has anyone calculated if the pass is really worth it? I went on the German, French and Italian train sites and planned out our itinerary and the point to point costs for next month (not September) is quite close, or even possibly cheaper than the pass. However, this was with 2nd class.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

-Jon

Posted by
8700 posts

If you book far enough in advance on the German and French rail sites (up to 90 days allowed in most cases), you can get discount fares. Even if you wait until you get to Italy to buy point-to-point tickets, they are likely to cost less than a pass.

Posted by
19274 posts

I can't speak for Italy, but in Germany, 2nd class is good enough.

As for calculating the tradeoff between a pass and point to point, make sure you take into account special fares, like the Dauer-Spezial and the all-day regional passes in Germany. These can bring down the P-P cost significantly. Also, make sure you take into account the "reservation" fee for Italian EuroStar. The reservation fees are actually a supplement to allow you to ride a premium train, and they are often almost as much as the walk-up fare w/o a pass. On some lines, like Florence to Rome, ES* are almost the only trains available.

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