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Trouble deciding which rail pass to purchase.

I recently turned 19 and will be traveling with my 52 year old mother through Europe from September 6 through October 11. We bought a round trip ticket on Iberia Airlines into Barcelona but we are having trouble deciding on what type of rail pass to purchase.

We are hoping to travel through 8 different countries starting from Barcelona to Paris, from Paris to Dublin, maybe back to Paris, from Paris to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Berlin, from Berlin to Krakow, from Krakow to Athens, from Athens to somewhere in Italy ( we haven't decided on the cities we would like to go to in Italy but Rome is a definite) and from Italy back to Barcelona.

It seems like a lot but some of the countries were staying a minimal amount of time. Take for instance Krakow. Were only staying long enough for a day trip to Auschwitz and Birkenau.

I was debating on a saver flexi 10 day pass and a 15 day since we want to be somewhat spontaneous about where and when we travel. The downside is the fact that if I want to travel with my mom I have to buy a first class pass since she is not eligible for second class due to her age.

All of this just kills my brain and i really want to try to save as much as I can.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
78 posts

Are you guys flexible? Do you feel the need to pre-book your hotels or are you okay to just wing it? If you're okay to just fly by the seat of your pants then a flexible pass is great - just hop on and off as you please - stay in a city if it 'grabs' you and leave if it doesn't.... it's a great way to travel but is totally personality dependent!

I've done the 15 day pass and loved it - we went all over Europe (then again, I was 22 and my husband was 24) - is your mom adventurous and spontaneous?? Just depends on what kind of trip you're looking for...

Posted by
12 posts

We are perfectly fine with being completely flexible. And we are planning on staying in hostels to save on money and weren't planning on booking ahead except for maybe the first night in Barcelona. And my mom is super excited so pretty much anything I suggest she's up for. Its her first time really traveling so shes up for anything, she has more energy than I do at times