European Inter-Rail pass...?

[SK]

Hi

I'm planning on travelling around Europe in July/August for a month, with no set plan or where/when to go. I have found that several websites mention the Inter-Rail train pass... but I don't quite understand whether it can be used for unlimited free train rides around Europe, or whether it's just used to get discounts on European trains. Does anybody here have any experience of using this card, and if so, could they please clear this up explain it in a bit more detail?

Also, I've heard that to use it, you have to fill in a form or something for each train that you go on. Is this true? And if so, how much of a bother is this to do? And can the card also be used for over-night trains? The group I am travelling in (four people, including myself) would prefer to sleep on trains overnight, if travel is going to be a long distance.

Thanks in advance for any help

[Eagle]

SK, It sounds like what you are referring to is the Euro Rail Pass. There are many variations of this, depending on your age (younger travellers can get "youth" rates), number of countries you'll be visiting, and number of days you require train transport and type of pass desired. There are "consecutive day" passes and "flex passes" which allow travel for a set number of days in a two month period, and Rail / Drive passes. There are LOTS of options!

It's difficult to answer all of your question without a more specific idea of your Itinerary. There are lots of very knowledgeable people on this board that would be able to advise further. Travel on night trains might be a good option for you (again, depending on circumstances) but if your group wants to rent a Couchette or something, reservations (and extra cost) are required. Reservations are also often required on some high speed trains (TGV) even WITH a rail pass.

Rail Passes have to be validated BEFORE you use the train for the first time. Your reference to "filling in a form" might refer to the fact that with a "flex" pass you have to fill in the travel days for each day you use the trains. In some cases, if you start the trip after 19:00 it only uses up one day on your pass (I think this is correct - someone correct me if my info is wrong?).

You can obtain lots of information on this subject at www.raileurope.com -- you also might find it useful to check www.ricksteves.com as they are one of the largest rail pass vendors in the U.S. and have 28+ years of travel experience in European rail travel. If you're from North America, I believe you have to buy the Pass here -- they are not available once you get to Europe.

Not sure where you're located, but any travel agent should be able to provide detailed information also. Hope this information is of some help. Send another note if you need further details.

Cheers!!!

[SK]

The pass I was referring to was the 1 Month Inter-Rail pass... I think they do them in 16/22 days and 1/2/all zones too. I'm from Britain, and I thought the Euro Rail was just available to people from outside of Europe? We were hoping to travel by train probably every day, and not really stopping anywhere for too long... hence the overnight train thing.

Here's the Inter-Rail pass I mentioned:

www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail/index.htm

It doesn't seem to say anywhere on the Internet whether it's for unlimited 'free' travel, or just for discounts...

[Eagle]

SK, now that I know you're from Britain things are somewhat clarified. I'm not totally familiar with the product you mentioned but had a look at your web site link. It appears to be a similar product to the rail passes that are offered to North American travellers. Based on my impressions from their web site, I have a few comments.

Since you don't have a set itinerary, it would seem that the one month, unlimited zones pass would be the best pass for you (of course this would depend a lot on your financial resources and the amount you want to spend?). 295.00 UK$ (can't find the Pounds symbol on this goofy computer--can't wait to get back to my MAC!) seems a bit expensive, but also seems comparable to the costs of the North American Eurail passes).

If you purchased the 2 zone / 22 day pass you would be somewhat limited in the areas you could travel, and also the time (you stated that you would be travelling for one month). The one month pass would allow you the freedom to travel to whichever zones you wanted. However, it looks like fares for the Eurostar, etc. would be extra cost (and I suspect charges for Couchettes, etc. would also be extra).

If you are concerned about the costs, you might be better to establish a set itinerary that would allow you to use the less expensive 2-zone / 22-day pass, and then just buy point-to-point tickets for the remaining days of your trip? You would have to work this out.

Since I'm not totally familiar with the UK passes, these are just my impressions based on the web site link. I hope these few comments will be of some help to you.

Good luck with this, and have a great time on your trip!!!