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Railpass vs. Point to Point

Posted by (Columbus, Ohio, USA) on

Hi all,

I know that Rick posts the options for Rail passes and the difference between point to point and passes on the site. However, I'm going to France and London for about 12 days with a few days in London and Paris each and I was wondering if there was a point to purchasing a rail pass? Both Rick and Rail Europe (I know, everyone hates them) quote a 3 day Youth pass at roughly $286 with $28 dollars per extra day. I guess, and perhaps this is my naivete, that I can't imagine spending over $300 on train tickets if I purchased point to point.

P.S. I'm flying into Lyon and working my way north. Paris and London are the only set cities.

Posted by
421 posts

where else are you going to besides London and paris.
You have to figure out if the railpass is worth it or not.

Posted by
8058 posts

Well, first lay out your rail itinerary so you know how many days you will be traveling, and what tickets to compare. Use SNCF to get prices if possible, spend some time considering any deals for groups or advance purchase. For your route, keep in mind that a pass does not get you much on the Paris-London Eurostar, so figure that will be in addition to any pass. Keep in mind that France will require Reservation Fees and possibly Upcharges in addition to your pass on the fastest trains. From there, do the comparision. Myself, I am doing the same thing, except for Germany and Amsterdam. The advantage there is that there are few additional fees and Rail travel is somewhat expensive. Right now I am leaning toward a Benelux/Germany pass for 6 days, which considering that the total of Amsterdam/Kaiserslautern;Kaiserslautern/Munich; then return is more than the pass, even with early purchase plus I get the flexibility of the pass and 3 more days to use.

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