Danielle
Senior Travel Member
~*Dance is the only art, wherein, we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made*~
Posts: 72
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Post by Danielle on Jul 1, 2003 21:12:33 GMT -5
Hi all!
I've been trying to do some research on rail fares to find out if it would be cheaper to buy point to point tickets or to go for a rail pass. I'm a 19 year old student (will be 20 when I finally head for Europe), and I was wondering if they sold youth point to point tickets? I've searched everywhere and can't find any youth point to point fare quotes (or information for that matter)!
If they do exist, is there anyplace I can find out how much they would cost? How much less, on average, are youth point to point fares than a regular adult second class ticket?
Based on the adult fares I've found, the youth railpasses are much cheaper, but since I'm traveling in a limited area (UK, BeNeLux) I'm not sure if the passes I would get are really cheaper...
I will be traveling in the early summer next year, any info you can give would be great! ;D
Thanks, Danielle
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Post by me on Jul 1, 2003 21:28:32 GMT -5
not sure if this would help you: as an uni student in Freiburg, i got a student or youth pass of some kind to get 50% off when used to buy train tix in Germany.
can't remember the details; i've slept since then.
- d
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Danielle
Senior Travel Member
~*Dance is the only art, wherein, we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made*~
Posts: 72
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Post by Danielle on Jul 1, 2003 21:51:14 GMT -5
Thanks. Yeah, I've also heard that the isic card will bring train discounts. I think I might end up going w/ a pass anyway though, just for the convenience!  Any other comments? Danielle |
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Post by LHR02 on Jul 1, 2003 21:55:23 GMT -5
saw your post earlier....typed a huge reply and system went blue screen of death! I'll get it retyped tomorrow....as for pass vs ptp. in UK I would suggest going for the pass, especially if you can get student prices. Trains are expensive there and if you can get a reasonable pass price.... that is one less cost to worry about once your trip begins. g |
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Danielle
Senior Travel Member
~*Dance is the only art, wherein, we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made*~
Posts: 72
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Post by Danielle on Jul 1, 2003 22:06:00 GMT -5
Thanks! urg, I HATE the blue screen of death! One of my main reasons for wanting an imac. Oh well, I'd rather deal w/ stupid PCs though, if it means I can get to Europe! ;D
Danielle
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Post by jennifer on Jul 2, 2003 16:43:05 GMT -5
Hi there!
I am not travelling the same countries as you are, but I must say, for me it comes out exactly the same price to buy a youth rail pass or point to point. The reason is that some countries I am seing can not be added to my pass as they are not of western europe, I must then add this on to the price of my pass. then my pass is limited to 10 trips, I am doing 12, etc...you get the picture!
A pass that is good for the whole lenght of your stay like a 2 month pass or something is well worth it, in my case it's too expensive but you should check it out. I know in uk everything is quite expensive so a pass may be worth it.
i find p-t-p tickets to be good because it gives you more liberty!
but i also find a pass better for the budget!
I think you need to plan out where you'll be going, quite precise and then calculate the difference in price.
raileurope.com may help for most parts of your journey, they have the passes and p-t-p tickets between known cities!
good luck!
xoxo
Jen
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Post by LHR02 on Jul 2, 2003 17:17:18 GMT -5
>>>> i find p-t-p tickets to be good because it gives you more liberty! but i also find a pass better for the budget!<<<< This is true, sometimes, and sometimes not. It depends on many variables...how long are you going, how often are you traveling, your budget, the country you are in. As Jennifer says, you really have to seriously look at your plans and do some research first. That said, however, nothing gives you more liberty than a prepaid pass of one, two or three months that allows you to hop on virtually any train, any time, going anywhere when it suits you. Now that is freedom of travel! Any number of times I arrived at the station, jumped on the next train leaving and then asked the conductor....where are we going. That said, in rerviewing my trip after the fact, I could well have done better with a flexi pass as I kept lingering in towns and not being on the go as much as I anticipated. But....overall I surely did get my money's worth when I priced out my trips at point to point vs. what I paid for the pass. Not always the case.......hence, do your plans and research. ;D |
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Post by me on Jul 4, 2003 14:48:07 GMT -5
i have never used it, but there's a website called www.railsaver.com. my understanding is that it provides help in choosing pass vs p2p. Try it, and let us know if it's any good. You also might want to look into bus (coach) tix. have read that they are a good deal, especially in UK. - d |
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Post by me on Jul 11, 2003 20:49:35 GMT -5
it wasn't a card to buy in north america (i *almost* typed usa. with our many canadian users, that might not have been too kosher) it was a special student reduction pass that i bought directly from Deutsche Budesbahn - i'm old - the charge was about DM 100. Even at that price, the pass almost paid for itself in just one trip. - d Thanks. Yeah, I've also heard that the isic card will bring train discounts. I think I might end up going w/ a pass anyway though, just for the convenience! Any other comments? Danielle |
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Post by nitsansh on Jul 30, 2003 19:03:25 GMT -5
i find p-t-p tickets to be good because it gives you more liberty! but i also find a pass better for the budget! No. It's exactly the opposite. P2P tickets are often cheaper if you buy them in advance, in particular in UK. |
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