Using the eurail

For starters, we can clear something up- Eurail is a third-party ticket reseller and consolidator, not a rail operator. They only offer marked-up tickets and rail passes on limited number of trains throughout the continent. Each individual nation state of Europe has its own national rail company, ie British Rail for the UK, Deutsche Bahn for Germany, Nederlands Spoorweg for the Netherlands, etc. If you're thinking about a rail pass, know this: Rail passes rarely save money these days... waiting for Lee to add more information...

What do you suggest using to get from country to country then. Should I look up individual country's rail systems?

I think you are talking about rail passes. If you have a pass for France, for example, you can go anywhere in France....On this website, at the top of the page, there is a tab labelled "railpasses." You will find a lot of useful info there.

Eurail and RailEurope are not the same thing. RailEurope sells the limited route tickets for marked up prices. Buying a Eurail pass directly from Eurail, the consortium of European rail companies can be advantageous, although it is always possible to travel more cheaply by booking your tickets directly with the indivual railways, far in advance. Good points about a Eurail pass (speaking of the Global pass) - if a train doesn't require a reservation or a supplement, and is not full of passengers, you can simply hop on the train that's at the platform and do nothing else, and pay nothing else. If you are over 26 years of age, you will have to sit in 1st class (which I think is a good point for me personally). You can have the majority of the rail travel costs paid for up front, and then enjoy the flexibility of deciding when to travel as the trip progresses. You don't have to spend time on the trip buying tickets. Bad points - it can be more expensive in the long run; the railways only allocate a certain number of seat reservations to "railpass" holders, so the train you want might not be available, you still have to get reservations for many trains (but not all of them). You have to keep up with your Railpass for the entire trip, or be out the cost of it (note that if you pre-book regular tickets, you still have to keep up with those too if you don't buy a pass). My wife and I purchased a one-month Global Saver pass and when I did the math, I came out about even. I liked it because I used the pass in the Cinque Terra (a benefit), eliminating the need to buy additional tickets, validate, etc. We also used the passes for a few day-trips where we just hopped on at the station, no reservations required and no add'l expense. But, Lee and other are right. If you are only taking a few trains, a railpass probably isn't your best option.

Also, your questions are a little vague. We might be able to give you more information if you clarified what you mean by "use to go from country to country."

OK, let me try this one. Each country has it's own rail system, but they connect at the borders. If you have a rail pass for two adjacent countries, you can use it to go anywhere within the two countries as well as across the border between countries any time you desire. Can you go anywhere? With a rail pass, there might be some limitations as to trains you can take. Premium trains (like Thalys, TGV, and Italian Eurostar require payment of a surcharge (sometimes called a reservation because you get a reservation with the ticket) for each train you ride, on top of a day of the railpass. In addition there are some private trains which are not part of the Eurail network. These you would have to pay for separately. It might also be economic to purchase a rail pass to cover only your longest days and separate P-P tickets for shorter days . . . . . ¶ Eurail Global passes cover all of the Eurail countries together, so you can certainly use the trains between countries. Eurail S_elect passes are for 3,4, or 5 adjacent countries, so you can use the trains to travel freely between those countries. A common error is to have a pass including Switzerland and Germany and try to go from one to the other around the east end of Bodensee. Austria comes to the shore of Bodensee and, therefore, the route from Switzerland to Germany goes through a short stretch of Austria. In that case you can simply purchase a point-point ticket for the section of you trip through Austria

Also, you can ride the train from one country to another with a ticket. You may find that will save you money, especially of you buy early.

Melissa, the rail systems in Europe are very easy to use, and not really that confusing. In addition to the excellent comments you've received so far, you might find it helpful to download the FREE PDF Railpass guide from this website. Click the "Railpasses" tab at the top and then look towards the bottom of the page for the download link. If you have a copy of "Europe Through The Back Door" at hand, read the "Rail Skills" chapter thoroughly, and that should help to clear up the confusion. ¶ As someone else mentioned, it would really help to have more specific information on which rail journeys you're planning to take. That would make it much easier to offer more specific suggestions. Cheers!

Follow the advice to review the railpass info, but here is a general overview....you can get either the traditional global pass (lots of countries for a set amount of time) or the flexipass (fixed number of countries for a number of travel days in a time period)......generally a pass means that any train where a reservation or fee is not required, you can go where you want at no additional cost.....Basically, what it comes down to is each day of a pass costs you something, say it is $50 a day. If your ticket cost is greater than that, then a pass may be a good bargain, if not, then definitely not.....generally, if your travel is long distances on limited days, maybe more in northernly countries than south, and you can avoid premium trains that cost extra....then a pass will make sense

Someone made the point that you "have" to sit in 1st class if you are over 26 with a rail pass. That is not the case. You CAN sit in 1st class, but there is no problem in sitting in 2nd class if you so desire, and some local trains have no 1st class seats, but you can use your pass on them.

Thanks so much for all your helpful advise. I have a much better understanding of the rail system now. Thanks to everyone!

Thanks, Iain, for correcting my error. You are correct. A first class railpass holder can sit in second class. In fact, my wife and I did just that a few weeks ago when all the first class seats were sold out on the train we wanted to travel on in Italy. Other than the regional trains that we rode (Cinque Terra, Bernese Oberland), this was the only time we rode 2nd class, and contrary to what many will say, I found that I MUCH prefer the first class carriages, if for no other reason that they are not as crowded, and they are typically much quieter.

Hear! Hear! Marshall - the 1st class is roomier. We used our passs on 2nd when my sister joined us on PtoP and did not want to spring for the extra 1st class fare.