Transportation

It is have been asked a million times. Have you read any of the prior postings on this subject at this site? It is a near daily question. The value of a rail pass is a toss up. You have to do your own homework by determining the potential point to point fares and compare against the price of the pass. You are the only who can do that. Yes, you can bus to nearly everywhere. The locals need to get around as well as the tourists.

"can you bus to most smaller towns?" For the most part as a casual traveler, you will find a train/bus combo that can get you to almost anywhere. Realize that most bus transportation isn't for long distance travel, but it supplements the rail system. The answer to the question of "what pass should I buy" is usually "none". Rail passes are rarely a money saver these days. Far better option is to buy your tickets in advanced, although this isn't always an option. One pass you should probably consider, though, is a Dutch transit pass, which you can buy from the tourist office outside of Amsterdam Centraal train station.

Thank you Tom, I appreciate your help.

OK, nobody added anything more, so perhaps I'll elaborate. "attempting to figure out the rail system is overwhelming." Realize, for starters, that there isn't one "rail system" but each country operates it's own rail network and consequently, has it's own little pecularities. I'll comment specifically on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, because I don't know too much about trains in France or Austria. Consider this your Rail tutorial 101. Each country has its own national passenger rail company. For the Netherlands, its Nederlands Spoorweg (NS), Belgium's is NMBS (SNCB in French), and Germany runs Deutche Bahn (DB). In addition, the multinational conglomerate Thalys runs a premium high speed service from Amsterdam to Paris and Brussels to Cologne, with several stops in between. All of these companies have websites where you can check for prices and schedules. Unlike RailEurope and EUrail, which are ticket resellers aimed at foreign travelers, these websites will give you the most complete information on schedules and pricing. Except for Thayls, which only operates high-speed services, the other national players run both limited stop, high speed trains (IC or ICE) and slower regional commuter trains (IR or RegionalBahn or S Bahn in Germany). On NMBS and NS, tickets cost the same for both IC or IR trains. On DB, you have to pay more to ride an ICE. On NS and NMBS, tickets are generally inexpensive. Although you can buy tickets in advanced, there is no cost advantage. Except for 1st class seats, reservations are neither required nor available. Your ticket is valid on any train between your start point and destination. Trains usually leave at least hourly and as often as every 15 minutes at certain peak times of the day. (cont).

(cont). On DB, likewise, your ticket is good for any train between your two destinations. The exception is that if you ride an ICE, your ticket needs to indicate this (usually not an issue because ICE trains are the only ones that travel long distances between cities). There are no advanced purchase discounts for regional trains, but the savings from buying ICE tickets early can be significant. Reservations are not possible for regional trains, but they are for ICE for a small additional fee. With the exception of a few long distance sprinter ICEs, reservations are not mandatory. Thalys works more like an airline. You can save money by buying in advanced, and your ticket assigns you to a specific seat on a specific train at a specific time. Although it is the fastest method to travel between the cities it services, there are cheaper and slower options available. You can buy a pass in the Netherlands that covers all public transportation +/- the rail system, if you choose. NMBS sells a 10-voyage pass valid on all domestic (non-Thalys) trains. The big advantage is that more than one person can use it at a time. For example, 3 people taking a round trip between Brussels and Brugge would count for 6 of the 10 trips. If your party takes more than a few trips within Belgium, it can save you a lot of money. DB offers various regional passes, although I don't know the details.

(cont) So, in summary, here are my recommendations. Use the national rail websites for information on schedules, traveling times and costs. Ask someone else how the system works in France and Austria. Assemble your itinerary. Plug the numbers, taking advantage of the discounts I mentioned previously, when applicable. Compare your total costs to the cost of a rail pass (and realize there's a ton of hidden fees on top of the sticker price for a rail pass). I think you will find that a rail pass will be significantly more expensive, but you'll never know until you crunch the numbers yourself.

Go to www.seat61.com and most of your concerns and questions will be answered there. We've used that site extensively, starting as abject novices, and it is quite easy to plan a rail trip across Europe using his advice and how-to tips.

Great thank you everyone!