What kind of rail pass do I need?!

[eurobound44]

hey I'm new here!

My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Europe for September and October 2008. We're still in the midst of planning, I've got a travel agent working with us as well but I'd like some other opinions too!

We're planning on traveling between England, France, Spain, Portugal(possibly), Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands. Hitting as many cities in those countries as possible, with our itinerary very flexible at the moment. We want to be able to enjoy somewhere for as long as we like, or peace it right away if we hate it.

So my question is...what kind of rail pass would work best? I've looked at the options and i'm utterly confused with the different kinds. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

[me]

it'd be best to work out your plans before buying a rail pass. for many places, flights are really, really cheap! (as low as 1 cent, you just pay the tax!) they're especially good for longer distances. but, if you want to use flights, flexibility is limited. mostly, you must buy tix well in advance to get cheap fares.

to decide which rail pass, i go to www.railsaver.com and plug in the places where i'll go by train. that website will compute the best pass/passes for you. <hint, be sure to tell it that there are two of you going together. there are also passes for two.>

- d

[Eagle]

eurobound44, First of all, welcome! A few comments regarding your travel plans.

To begin with, even with two months for travel your plans look a bit too "ambitous" (especially given the fact that time in each city is variable). To fit that many countries into that time frame, the transportation would have to be worked out very precisely, IMHO. To provide an example, on my last trip to Europe I spent two months in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. I wouldn't have been able to manage the number of countries that you're proposing! Has your travel agent offered any comments in this regard?

As David mentioned, it's very difficult to decide which Rail Pass is most suitable, unless you have a somewhat definite Itinerary and order-of-cities. Some of the longer routes are best travelled via budget airlines, however these usually have to be booked well in advance to get the best prices on tickets. Using a "Global Pass" is going to be expensive, so it's highly advisable to do some precise planning! Don't worry about the Rail Pass until your plans are a bit more "firm".

I'm assuming this is the first trip to Europe for both of you? Before you get too far in your planning, I'd highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Europe Through The Back Door (should be available at your local Library or Book stores). It provides excellent information not only for Itinerary planning, but also lots of other useful details for travelling in Europe.

It would help to have a list of the cities you want to visit in each country, as that's essential information for planning travel options. Once you have a more definite list, I'm sure the group here will be able to offer some great suggestions.

Cheers!