To buy the EuRail Pass or to not....

If you are young enough for the youth pass it might make sense - even with the reservations.

The pass does not cover local subways with the exception of certain Sbahn lines in Germany & Austria.

The only way to really know is to price out your point to point tickets - keep in mind the cheaper advance tickets will restrict you to a certain train and will be non changeable if you miss the train you booked.

The pass does all greater flexibility.

Unless you have already purchased your air consider open jaw (flying into one city and out of another)instead of backtracking to Paris

jenelle,

Before deciding on a Rail Pass, you may want to have a look at the excellent Main in Seat 61 website, and especially the part about Should you buy a Eurail pass or regular point-to-point tickets?.....

http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#railpass-or-point-to-point-tickets

No, the Rail passes do not usually provide local transportation within cities, with a few exceptions. A few other important points to note.....

1. For travel on the fast trains in France, you must have a seat reservation in addition to the pass, and Passholder reservations are limited. What that means is that if all the Passholder reservations are sold out for a particular departure, you won't be able to travel on that train even if there are seats available. You'd either have to choose a different train that does have reservations available, or just buy P-P tickets.
2. For travel on the fast trains in Italy, you must have seat reservations and these are not included with Rail passes. You'll have to buy these out-of-pocket. Note that the reservations are specific to train, date and departure time and can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the reservation (ie: ES-9718). If you board the wrong train by mistake, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

Rail passes are rarely cost effective for Italy as ticket prices are relatively cheap, especially with discounted advance purchase tickets for the fast trains. With advance purchase tickets, seat reservations are included if these are applicable.

Also note that when travelling by Metro, Bus or Vaporetto in Italian cities, tickets must be validated prior to use on the day of travel, or again you'll be subject to hefty fines collected on the spot! This also applies to locally purchased tickets on the Regionale trains.

thank you two for the replies. All the information I can get is helpful. This is only my second trip to Europe and last time I did not do such an insane trip.

Ken, thanks for that information and website- after looking at the website, I am thinking we might try booking point to point tickets but I will do the math to see which is the best option. We do not leave until September so we still have some months before we can book tickets.

jenelle,

If you decide to buy advance tickets, I'd suggest www.trainline.eu as it's a good "one stop shopping" site. They sell train tickets for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and other countries. You'll have to register on the site, but after that purchases are very easy.

Note that Super Economy tickets in Italy are non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased, so choose carefully before hitting the "Buy" button. Economy tickets also have some restrictions. Those who purchase well in advance get the best prices, as the discounted tickets are limited. Once the Super Economy tickets for a particular train are sold out, the prices move up to the Economy level. After those are sold out, the prices go up to Base fare, which is the highest pricing tier, and the same price you'd pay if you bought tickets on the day of travel.

It does come down to the math, so you need to take out your calculater and do your homework. But if the difference is not too great, i would opt for the Eurail pass. It has been many decades since i used one, but i loved the care-free flexibility and convenience of the Eurail Youth pass. If i got bored of a city, i could leave on an earlier train. Or if i was having a lot of fun, i could stay longer and take a later train. I could also make un-planned day trips to nearby towns. It was a lot of fun to look at the train schedule board and just decide where to go next. But in the old days, i did not book a hotel until i arrived in the city. Nowadays, everybody, including me, pre-books everything online so a lot of that spontaneity is lost. And your itinerary does look very tight, and includes some long hauls which probably require surcharges. If you can commit and buy those in advance, you will probably save quite a bit over the pass. Have fun.

Jenelle, this sounds like a great trip. You have received some good advice, but funpig probably summed it up best. Do the math and then decide as a group how to compare spontaneity/convenience to cost. On this forum you will usually be encouraged to NOT get a pass, but it is not a one-size-fits-all decision. We have made several trips using a German rail pass as well as Eurail pass and saved hundreds of dollars because we were going to be making train trips every day. Some were shorter day trips, some were cross-country(ies).
We wanted fluidity based on weather, mood and local music/art/festival opportunities our research had not revealed ahead of time.
Remember that all passes will have special promotions which are announced each quarter.
You can check out current German and Eurail passes here. You will notice that the German rail pass includes local transport as well travel to some of your other locations like Venice (also Prague, Brussels and Salzburg) It also includes discounts on boats and other excursions. Those costs should be factored into your ultimate decision. Also check carefully on the configurations of the Eurail pass for multi-country trips. http://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/passes/german-rail-pass.shtml
To me a backpacking trip with four people sounds like the spontaneity and flexibility of a pass may well save you stress (and perhaps friendships if one of you is consistently late and your pre-paid point-to-point ticket is invalid).

You have listed 6 long train rides through 5 countries, so the best fitting pass is the Eurail Global Pass for 6 days of travel within one month. For Youth under age 28 (on the date of pass activation), the 2nd class pass for $335 per person is a good price. Or if older, then you can travel together in 1st class for $437 per person.

Remember that the special pass offers are nonrefundable and nonchangeable. This price quote only covers travel on these 6 days but it gives you 25% discounts around Muerren in between those counted travel days. Using the pass for other trains within a country would require purchasing more travel days from the start (e.g., 9 days for $409 Youth price). This does not include the RER (regional subway, basically) from Paris to Versailles.

You'll need seat reservations for the major legs on 5 out of 6 of your travel days. I'd suggest booking Paris-Basel and Munich-Paris at the same time that you buy the passes, since those are most subject to selling out. Paris-Strasbourg reservations are cheaper than Paris-Basel (or other Swiss cities) if you're willing to make one extra connection that day. Basel-Interlaken or Strasbourg-Interlaken don't need reservations. Then from Interlaken to Muerren, you buy tickets in the station with a 25% pass holder discount.

Be aware that Muerren-Rome by train takes about 8 hours and 6 connections, but all those Swiss connections go very smoothly. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

Spontaneity depends on the type of train and country of travel. There's no deadline to reserve any train, even for those fast trains that require a seat reservation. You can easily buy Italian seat reservations in the station, including from a machine. Vienna-Munich by RailJet does not require reservations, nor do most other trains within Austria, Germany, or Switzerland. Slower trains within France or Italy also don't need reservations and would serve some logical day-trip destinations. But with 3 days in each big city, you don't have time for many side trips. And for your long trips listed, there are only a few attractive departures/connections per day to cover the whole distance.

I'm glad to hear that you have plenty of time left to plan before September. Have you booked any of this? Flights or hotels or other obligations? If you have not booked the roundtrip flights to Paris, then we recommend searching for a "multi-city" flight plan, into Paris and out from any other point on your trip. With no other route changes, you could fly home from Munich. Or go Paris-Muerren-Munich-Vienna-Venice-Rome and fly home from Rome. If you want to consider any intra-European flights, like Paris-Rome, Paris-Venice, or Rome-Vienna, check www.skyscanner.com.

Spontaneity is also easier if the four of you are on the same page for priorities. The more you can discuss or decide now, the less chance that it becomes an disagreement in Europe.

thanks Laura! We booked our airfare through skyscanner and airbnb's for each city already. It probably would have been easier not to back track but oh well. I really appreciate yours and everyone's feedback. It has helped me better understand what I am purchasing. As far as Mürren to Rome, I was thinking of going from Mürren to Interlaken, Interlaken to Milan then Milan to Rome. Also thank you for helping understanding when to reserve seats and when not to, this is my first long haul trip. Thank you, thank you!

Yes, that is the fastest route from Muerren to Rome. It's nothing to worry about, but is one more reason to pack light.

Hi,

If you are going to Berlin, the Pass is valid for S-Bahn travel, ie local transport, say you arrive in Berlin in the morning but within a few hours, you decide to go to Potsdam or someplace within an one hour radius, such as Lutherstadt Wittenberg, that Pass is good for both destinations, S-Bahn or regional train for Potsdam or ICE for Lutherstadt Wittenberg.