Eurail pass confusion

[Dazedandconfused]

Alright, I am totally, 100% confused about getting around Europe by rail. Isn't that just great? Anway, I'm going to 14 countries. Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Humgary, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. I want to buy a Eurail pass but a few questions.

1. Is buying a Eurail pass worth it. I'll be going to 24 cities in those countries.
2. How does a eurail pass work. I looked on the website and it didn't tell me much. When I looked at prices between places it said Adult, gave a price for 1st and 2nd class, did the same for kids, then went on to say reservations, seats, sleepers and couchette. How does all that work?
3. I know the only time I'll realy need a Couchette is on a 9 hour train from Warsaw to Prague. Can I just buy a eurail pass, hop on the train, and go from there everywhere else.
4. I know it won't work with eurostar but I can get discounts. Are there any other things I can get discounts for?

Thanks for any help you can give me. Sorry I'm so clueless.

[Eagle]

I have a few comments on your questions. Hopefully, someone else with greater knowledge and experience will post a few replies as well. I have replied in the same order as your questions:

(1.) Is buying a Eurail Pass worth it? First of all, I'm assuming your place of residence is in North America? I suspect you will save money with a Rail Pass, but without a more precise idea on your Itinerary, it's difficult to provide a precise answer. There are many variations of the passes, and which particular option would be best for you depends on your travel plans.

(2.) How does a Eurail pass work? This would depend somewhat on which pass you had? If you had an unlimited pass, you could travel as often as you wanted within the term of the pass. If you're using a flex pass (ie: 10 days in 2 months), you have to write in the day you're travelling in the small box -- when the boxes are filled, the pass is finished. If you're under about 26 years old, you can get a lower rate than us "older folks". I believe travel after 19:00 is considered travel on the following day. With any pass, you MUST validate this before you use this for the first time. You can do this at the first station you travel from.

(3.) Couchettes: As far as I know, a Couchette is not included in the cost of any rail passes. You must reserve this ahead of time and pay an additional fee. Also, you'll be sharing the Couchette with others so privacy won't be assured. Finally, the attendant may take your Passport for the night, to allow authorities to check this over (you'll get it back in the morning).

(4.) EuroStar: I believe you're correct on this point, the rail pass won't "work" with the Eurostar. However WITH a rail pass you can get a preferred rate on the Eurostar. You will also have to make a reservation for this. You may also get some price breaks with the rail pass on some Ferries, etc. -- these should be listed on the pass when you buy it. One other important point, even with a rail pass, reservations are mandatory on some high speed trains (TGV, etc.).

A few other points:
> You didn't say whether you would be in Ireland (UK) or the Republic. Some Eurail passes might also be effective in the Republic but won't be valid in northern Ireland (BritRail needed for this, as far as I know).
> You will have to specify in some cases, the number of countries you will be using the pass in. If you're passing through a country which is not valid on your pass, you will have to buy a separate ticket for that (ie: travelling from Germany to Italy, THROUGH Austria -- if Austria is not one of the countries on your pass, you will have to buy a separate point-to-point ticket for that "leg" of the trip).
> As far as I know, you will have to buy a separate BritRail pass for the U.K. portion of your trip. These seem to be a bit on the "pricey" side -- for short trips within the U.K., you might consider National Express / Coach transport. It's a lot cheaper, but also slightly slower (Coaches also go to more places than are covered by rail lines).
> Whether you buy decide to travel first or second class is your preference. Both sections are going to exactly the same destinations at exactly the same speed, so this would depend on your budget and the level of comfort that you want to pay for.

Hopefully, you'll get a few more replies to your Post. You might also check www.ricksteves.com as they are EXPERTS on rail passes! I believe they are one of the largest vendors of these in North America. You could talk to any travel agent also, as they should be able to explain these.

Hope this is of some help. Cheers!!!

[lynn]

Eagle said:

If you're passing through a country which is not valid on your pass, you will have to buy a separate ticket for that (ie: travelling from Germany to Italy, THROUGH Austria -- if Austria is not one of the countries on your pass, you will have to buy a separate point-to-point ticket for that "leg" of the trip).

Question...how will I know if my travel takes me through a country not on my pass. For instance, I will be purchasing a 10 day 2 mth flexi pass which allows me to travel 10 days within a 2 mth period. When I receive the flexi pass, will it list all the countries included on this particular rail pass? Also, will the train schedule tell me what countries I will be passing through on my route. Thanks

[LHR02]

The countries covered are clearly listed when you go to purchase it...the more countries, the higher the cost of course. You can get single country, 2/3/4 country passes, up to a 17 country, all of western europe pass....there should be no confusion here. You have to decide which ones you want in order to purchase your pass.



And yes, Eagle is correct, no Eurrail pass covers the UK...that requires a seperate Britrail pass. But bear in mind, trains are quite expensive in UK so more than anywhere else a pass is sometimes your better option. ie I had a one month consec Britrail pass and a 3 month consec eurail pass. And had to pay PTP in Poland as it was not covered and the pass for that country would have been more than my PTP costs. You really need to get a somewhat firm itenerary and then research what pass, if any, is what you need.

[lynn]

Thanks dustoff! ;D

[Eagle]

Lynn, hopefully the previous post covered your question. I wasn't sure if you had checked the Rail Europe web site, but if you want a printable version to refer to, I believe Rick Steves has a PDF file on his web site covering the 2004 Eurail passes.
Good luck with this!!!