train travel adjacent countries

Have you considered the option of flying low cost and buying individual train tickets instead of the Global pass? I'm not sure the Global pass is worth it for your itinerary. From NAP to PMO flying can be cheap and so is the train (although very long, about 10 hours). Ferry is also an option. Going back to Rome from Sicily there are lots of low cost airline options which are fast and cheap. Budapest to Vienna and Prague is not such a long distance (350 miles), individual train tickets might not be that expensive. From Prague you can fly to AMS with EasyJet or KLM Cityhopper (a regional airline) for very reasonable prices. You should definitely not use a eurail pass in Italy. Even if you decide to take a train from Naples to Sicily, instead of flying or ferry, high speed trains don't go south of Naples and individual tickets on the Intercity trains are really cheap (like 19 Euro to 77 euro max from NAP to PMO). If you opt for the train pass you should buy a pass (5 country Se1ectPass, e.g.: A,CZ,D,NL,F) without including Italy and maybe not even Hungary in it. Just use the pass from Vienna through Prague to Germany and Holland then to Paris. But I would compare with individual tickets+airfare first.

Not what you asked but, and to second the above, - do the math. - point to point tickets on whatever transport compared against whatever pass and additional fees. With a planned itinerary and purchasing well ahead it will be very rare occaision any rail pass will not be a rip off.

Agree on the use of a rail pass. I haven't used a pass in more than ten years. A pass only pays on a REALLY long point to point leg - and then you should probably book a cheap flight instead of spending so much time on a train. That comparison is true without advance booking. If you can take advantage of advance booking discounts on point to point train legs, it isn't even close.

To answer your original question, the Global Pass is valid in all 23 participating European countries. Contiguity is not an issue. It is only for the Select Pass, which is good in only 3-5 countries, that contiguity is important. But I agree with the others, before committing to a pass, check out the many point-point deals.

Also, you may want to note that the Eurail SelectPass does not include France starting in 2013. I agree with the others that point-to-point tickets are likely a better deal. Check out seat61.com to learn all about the Europe train system and how to purchase super economy tickets.