Rail europe how does it work

You'll usually also see a more expensive fare called standard or Standardpreis or Flexpreis or Base price or similar, which is the top-of-the-range fare which you'd pay at the station on the day. So if you demand flexibility, this is the price with which to compare the cost per day of a pass. Yes, a Eurail may well save money over these expensive on-the-day full-price fares, depending on how far you travel.

Railpasses only make financial sense for Italy if you plan to travel a significant distance every day, or perhaps make two medium-distance trips every day, which few people do.

If you're prepared to forego flexibility and book cheap no-refunds no-changes advance purchase fares you can save quite a bit over the cost of pass. This is by far the cheapest way to make such a circuit, if you can book ahead and don't want flexibility. If you want to stay flexible and are under 28 years old , a pass can save money over full-flex on-the-day prices.

On the other hand, if you're over 28 you're still better sticking with regular tickets even if you pay full price at the station. Booked months ahead at www. I would think long and hard before choosing to make a London-Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam circuit using a pass rather than advance-purchase tickets.

You don't need to specify exactly what date you want your Eurail pass to start when you buy it. The pass validity will start on whatever day you validate it at a station in Europe, which can be done any time in the 11 months after you buy it. So even if you bought your pass in March to use in July, then had to postpone your trip until September for some personal reasons, this wouldn't be a problem - you'd simply keep the pass and validate it when you got to Europe in September instead.

Example pass : This is a global days in 2 months Flexi pass. The real thing will be printed on security-background ticket stock. As you can see, the overall validity period here is from 25 March to 24 May, and there are 10 spaces marked 1 to Simply write the date in one of those spaces each time you want to 'spend' a pass day.

Each box gives free travel from midnight to midnight beyond midnight if using a sleeper train , subject to paying any reservation fees or surcharges of course. A Continuous pass looks very similar, but without the 'flexi days' boxes.

Larger image. Courtesy of Eurail The Eurail pass travel diary The Eurail train travel diary: You simply need to fill this out each time you board a train. You send it back after your trip free postage and it's used for market research purposes. If you forget to fill it in, most conductors will simply wait while you get your pen out if they even bother asking to see it in the first place , but in theory there could be a 'fine' so remember to fill it in before or as soon as you board.

You can ask for more pages at any main station if you run out of space. Validating your pass When you get to Europe and want to start using your pass, you need to 'validate' it at any main station before you get on your first train.

You do this at the ticket office, the booking clerk will enter the start date on your pass and rubber stamp it. Your Eurail pass is then ready to use and the overall pass validity period starts. So if you had a days-inmonths pass, the overall 2 month period would start from that date. Alternatively, if you're absolutely sure of the date when you want your overall pass validity to start, you can specify that date when you buy your pass.

It then arrives pre-validated from that date and there's no need to validate it at a station. Using your pass Continuous type Eurail passes are then valid for unlimited train travel every day through the whole pass validity period.

Flexi type Eurail passes give you a certain number of unlimited travel days during the overall pass validity period, which is usually 2 months starting on the date you validate the pass. If the number of days is, say, 10, there will be 10 empty boxes printed on your Eurail pass.

On a day when you decide to use one of those 10 days of unlimited travel, you simply write the date in one of the boxes in ball-point pen. You now have unlimited train travel from midnight to midnight on that date.

You do not have to decide in advance which 10 days these will be, you can decide as you go, simply writing the date in a box each time you want to 'spend' a day of free travel, until all your boxes of free travel are used up.

Tip 1: It's a beginner's mistake, but even if you have a fixed itinerary, don't pre-date all your boxes for the dates you think you'll need them at the beginning of your tour. Unexpected things can happen, once you have written a date in a box, you can't change it. Play safe, write in the dates as you go along.

Tip 2: You aren't forced to use your pass for every train trip you want to make. On the other hand, if you bought a 5-day pass and only planned to make 4 longer distance trips, you may as well use the spare 5th day for this day trip.

Unlimited travel means unlimited travel! I'm not sure which part of 'un' people don't understand, the 'u' or the 'n'! You can take as many trains as you like between midnight and midnight that day, 1 train or 20 trains, 10 miles or miles, you can stay on trains all day if you want to.

Though there may be seat reservations or small supplements to pay on certain trains, more about that below. Filling in the travel diary Your pass comes in a cover, and attached to that cover is a blank travel diary.

Each time you take a train, you need to record the date, where it's from and where it's to, in black or blue ink - that's in addition to filling in the travel date on the pass itself if it's a Flexi-type pass.

The railways use this as market research, helping them to allocate Eurail revenue between operators. To make it clear, Brussels to Nuremberg with a change in Frankfurt requires two separate entries, Brussels-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-Nuremberg. However, if a conductor found you had made only one entry, Brussels to Nuremberg, they should point it out and maybe ask you to change it but that's all. In theory there's a fine if the conductor finds that you haven't filled it in at all, but in practice most conductors will simply ask you to do so if you haven't.

However, there's always the risk that you'll meet a jobsworth, so play safe and fill it in while you're waiting for the train or as soon as you get on. If you're using a mobile Eurail pass in the Eurail app on your smartphone rather than the classic printed pass, mobile passes are new in September there's no paper travel diary, you just use the Eurail pass app's journey planner to select and add a trip, or you can add one manually.

Which trains can you use with a pass? See map of rail network in the Eurail countries. Eurail passes also cover many but not all private operators in Switzerland and a few other countries, as shown in the country by country guide. Map of rail network in the Eurail countries. You may be given a small timetable booklet with your pass People often think that the trains in the booklet are the only trains you're allowed to take with your Eurail pass.

Nonsense, of course not! You're allowed to use any regular scheduled train run by the operators covered by your pass, whether it's in that booklet or not! Top tip, download the Railplanner App I recommend downloading the Railplanner App for your smartphone from www. This is a great Europe-wide timetable app which you can use to check train times whilst on the move - the timetable works offline, so no data cost issues.

Eurail passes don't give free travel on buses, trams or metros in big cities as these are usually run by urban transit authorities, not by the national train operator. Eurail passes don't cover some private train operators For example, passes don't cover the Euskotren narrow-gauge local trains in Spain, the Circumvesuviana railway Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento or the Jungfrau line in Switzerland.

Nor do Eurail passes usually cover the private operators who now compete with the state-owned national train operator on a handful or routes, such as Italo high-speed trains in Italy which compete with the national train operator Trenitalia - as a passholder, you have to use Trenitalia.

Again, the country-by-country guide gives details of what is and isn't covered in each country. The best resource for finding train times anywhere in Europe for use with a Eurail pass? That's the excellent German Railways online timetable at www.

It covers data for the national rail operators across almost all of Europe. It doesn't hold data for Italo, FEVE, Euskotren, Regiojet, Leo Express or the Circumvesuviana and so on, only for the main national operators, so as a general rule, any train shown in its database can be used with a Eurail pass, although supplements or special fares must be paid on some trains.

It also helpfully says 'please reserve' on trains which have compulsory reservations. More info. Couchettes, 4-berth : Much more room than 6-berth! Using a pass on overnight trains You need to pay a fee to use a couchette or sleeper with your pass, the fee is usually per bed, not per compartment. Berth fees for passholders are listed for specific routes in the Eurail pass reservation page. If you have a flexi-type pass, an overnight train only uses one day on your pass, the day of departure.

Here is the new rule, :which replaced the old 'After ' rule in January A Eurail flexi pass day normally runs from midnight to midnight. But if you board any overnight train before midnight, and do not change trains after midnight , you only need to use one day on a Flexi pass, the day of departure. It no longer matters what time your sleeper train leaves on day 1, or what time it arrives on day 2.

The date you write on your pass is that of day 1. As normal, you get unlimited travel from midnight to midnight on day 1, so you can use other trains on day 1 before boarding your sleeper, all on the same pass day. You can then continue your journey on that direct overnight train until you get off at your destination on Day 2.

The only proviso is that you cannot change trains after midnight, and that both the departure day and arrival day must fall within the overall validity period of the pass. For example, if you wanted to take the Dacia Express leaving Vienna at 42 on the 1st August and arriving Bucharest at on the 2nd August, you'd enter the date of departure, 1st August, in one of the unlimited travel boxes on your pass, and that then covers the whole of the sleeper train journey, even the part on 2nd August, in this example in the afternoon!

And as you'd have unlimited travel all day on 1st August, it would also cover you for any other journeys you wanted to make on that day, for example a preceding journey from Prague to Vienna to connect with the sleeper. On the other hand, if you wanted to take an onward train on 2nd August after alighting from the sleeper, that means using up another travel day on your pass, this time dated 2nd August.

But even if you don't use any other trains on 2nd August, that day of arrival still needs to fall within the overall validity period of your pass, in other words, if you had a days-inmonth flexi pass the 2nd August must be inside the 1 month period, it cannot be Day 32 just outside it. Got it? When do you need a reservation? Choose the right Eurail Pass.

Find my Pass. Check the train timetable. Search train times. Booking seat reservations Once your Pass is on the way, the only thing left to do is book any seat reservations. How do I reserve seats? How to book. How much do they cost? See more prices. Can I avoid reservations? A few little extras… We all love getting a good deal, right?

Check out the Eurail Deals. See youth discounts. Extra benefits. Search by country. Hotels and more. Book your extras. Did we miss anything? Our bad! See more testimonials. Usually, these tend to be a bit expensive when bought independently. Search each ride on RailEurope and note down their cost. Tally them and see how it compares to a Global Pass.

From my experience, it could go either way. The one in Spain, it was cheaper to go with independent tickets, while the one in Italy, the Italy pass ended being slightly cheaper. Norbert I just read your site and find very useful, though I still need your expert advise on my Itinerary, could you please suggest which pass suits the best?

I am off to Europe for 5 weeks with my wife and 10YO daughter. Hi Norbet, We arrive in France in 3 days. I am travelling with a 3 country 8 day pass with my wife and 10 year old.

What is the luggage allowance? Also — can I reserve a fare before my pass is activated? I have tried to reserve online for a Paris — Genoa trip but it will not allow me to reserve on the main leg even though it is required.

Can I assume I can do it once in Paris prior to the journey? It is much more relaxed than airlines. Not sure. But yes, you can reserve once in Paris. Great info about the validation of passes! I have a dilemma though. I want to use the pass to get on Eurostar from London to Brussels. The passes were pre-activated when I bought in on the website. My questions are, 1. Does that count as 1 travel day? I think you might be able, as the validation is a physical stamp, unless things have changed.

Thanks for letting me know. It seems that Eurail no longer uses printed timetables and now are using their app which works offline too to find routes and make e-ticket reservations, among other things. You can get the app through this link. They also have a web based timetable search on their website, should you not have an iPhone or android.

Should you still prefer a printed timetable, Eurail now recommends to buy them since they no longer provide them printed. You can check them here. Thanks Norbert! Five countries… 10 weeks… lots of planning! That sounds like an amazing trip!! Let me know if you need any additional info or have any question! I have a travel plan….

The train leave Hannover at around My travel date is Apr So which date should I consider on my Global pass? I am still curious as to when we are travelling that day with a Eurail pass that I will not need to purchase anything unless its a reservation train that travel day?

So I can basically find a train route and time hop on it and not have any problems? Thank you for your article! It really did help a lot. If no reservation is needed, you can just walk in, grab a seat, and just wait for the train conductor to check your pass.

Have in mind, though, that now some stations have gates before the platform that only open after scanning your ticket. Hi Norbert, First of all let me put it on record that yours is by far the best blog on Eurail passes.

My congratulations to you. You have done a great service to the entire world of travellers. We are a family of 3 adults travelling to Europe in April I have a few questions:- 1. The transfer time at Zurich main station is 14 minutes for catching another train to Lucerne and it involves moving from platform numbers 6 to 9 with three large suitcases. Will it be possible or not? Reservation on Eurail.

Regarding your questions: 1. As long as it is not a reserved seat, yes, you can just walk in and sit wherever available within your class — 1st or 2nd. Have in mind, though, that lately some major train station have put some automated gates to access the platforms that open with a valid ticket. In these cases, you should head to an agent so they produce a valid ticket with your passes. Tough to say, but I think you should be ok.

Swiss trains tend to be on time, but delays could happen at any time. I would recommend being ready and standing by the door the moment the train arrives so you can just walk out and change to platform 9. Hmmm, you should be able to book them through trenitalia. Not sure if the site is glitchy at the moment? Here are some instructions on the Eurail site showing you how to make reservations via trenitalia and even via their app.

This is a great guide! The most comprehensive so far. Still, could use some advice. Traveling as 2 adults and 2 kids, both 9, for 2 weeks. I feel like the Europass is the way to go. And could I make reservations now for a trip in late September? Hi Kelly, thanks! So, Eurail now only has two passes, with are the country-specific passes and the global passes.

From the route you mentioned, you will need a global pass — probably a flexipass for either 5 or 7 travel days within a one-month window.

Hi, I have a question regarding the eurail global pass. When I buy online 3 days within 1 month it gives me an option to activate the pass. It needs a starting date though. Is the starting date just the start of the 1 month clock or its considered the first day of the use of the card and I will have 2 more days left?

Seems like back then it could be used for the streetcars, buses, subways and ferries basically anything but a taxi. I was just wondering if that is still the case or even if my memory of me doing that is correct? Not sure if buses are included, but maybe some do. These all depend on the country. Do I go to any kiosk and get them with my Eurail number? Do I have to go to a ticket window and get tickets?

Thank you in advance for the help. If you do not need a reservation for that specific train, you just validate the travel day on your pass at the stamp machine at the station, and go straight to the train sit wherever you like. If you need a reservation, then you must go to a ticket kiosk at the station or purchase it online if available. Then, just head to the appropriate reserved seat. How do you know if you need a reservation or not? You find that out when checking the routes online on the Eurail website or their app.

I am currently 27 and looking to purchase my Eurail Pass in the next couple days. But, I will be 28 by the time I get to Europe. Can I still get a youth pass or will they see my Date of Birth on my passport and wind up charging me full price on all of my train rides? For the 7 PM rule, if I ride a train in the afternoon on Monday and then later that same day take a 7 PM train to a new city that arrives at 12am on Tuesday, does that count as 2 days travel?

Does the answer change if the train arrives at 4 am Tuesday? I believe you should purchase the adult pass as they check your passport and pass when activating the pass. On the 7 pm rule, if your train after 7 pm arrives after midnight but before 4 am of the next day, it still counts as 1 day, with that day being the day you boarded the train Monday. The original trip was to Germany, but he has also mentioned interest in Scotland, Ireland, and Italy.

Could such a trip be done on Eurail Passes in two weeks time with very specific destinations and 3 — 4 days per country? After the trip my grandson will be going into the military. What tickets would I purchase, etc.?

Any help and information would be deeply appreciated! Thank you very much. Hi Rebecca — Apologies on the delayed reply. You can easily spend two weeks just in Germany and Italy which seems to be the easiest option. It also depends on how many cities you wish to visit. You can spend two to three days per major city in each country. Know that the Eurail pass does not work for Ireland. It does work for Scotland, Germany, and Italy, so for that, I recommend a Global Pass with 5 or 7 days of travel within one month.

My recommendation… if it were me planning this trip. Focus on Germany and Italy. That will keep you busy those two weeks and more! Hi Maureen — Thanks for letting me know. The 7 pm rule is no longer in effect. Now, the travel day that counts on overnight trains is the departure date. Great post. We want to go to Switzerland on the last leg of our journey.

My question is … if we used up all 7 days on pass. Can we still book the freebies train tour in Switzerland? Normally, if the transportation benefit is a discount, it does not count as a travel day, so you can use it at any time. If it is for free like a free ferry , then it does count as a travel day. If the benefit is for tours and other stuff not transportation-related, then it does not count as a travel day either. My 1st visit country is Switzerland, can I validate my Italy pass in Switzerland?

I think you may be able to validate both passes in Switzerland. Should you not be able, ask them what is the best option to validate the Italian pass before crossing the border, or, quite probably depending on the train you take , you will change trains right at the border when crossing from Switzerland to Italy, so you can head quickly to a clerk, validate, and hop on the next train. Morning Norbert, Thanks. Afraid that time not permitted for the ticket pass validate.

I did get advise from agent before make any arrangement and hope to they will help. Anyhow, good to known about ur Globotreks! But do you know what train stations in Paris might sell the Eurail pass? Have in mind, though, that it will cost more, so you might want to check the point by point ticket prices to compare them. Hi Very good and useful post. I am planning a trip for more than 3weeks -Italy, Switzerland, France.

But how can I puchase and get it as I live in Bangladesh? I have days only before starting the journey. So I was checking the shipping info on their site to see if things have changed, and they now ship worldwide! Ask the hotel for permission to use their address too, just in case. Hello Norbert. Good tutorial. When boarding non reservation trains do you just hop on and fill out the pass Tony. Thanks, Tony!

That is correct. For non-reservation trains you can just hop on and fill out the pass. Kudos to you for being available in the comment section for over 7 years and counting. Allow me to share my itinerary. I bought the Eurail Global Pass 7 Days in 1 Month and had to strictly follow the plan because of several accommodations and attractions booking.

I will be spending 1 day for most of the cities, and travelling the next morning. Is registering an account on Eurail website mandatory? However, all of the trips except for one says Reservation Optional.

What does that mean? Am i guaranteed to board the train even if there are no seats? Do i have to reserve seats if not i will not be allowed on the train no matter if standing spaces are available? I have a huge confusion in this because different website gives different information the agent that i got my ticket from — Klook says that ond of my trips for Second-Class tickets are sold out 6 Is it still safe to say that if seating reservation is necessary, i can do so a day before given that i need to board the train.

This is because i will only be in the destination on the day of arrival and leaving the next morning. So they are considered regional trains right?

What do i need to take note? I owe you this one, Norbet! Hi Wel! Thank you so much. I will be spending 1 day for most of the cities and traveling the next morning. But, all the cities mentioned are impressive. My favorites on that list are Prague and Berlin.

Make sure to visit some of the museums in Museum Island in Berlin. They are world-class. The old town in Prague is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. Just walk around and visit the main square, the castle, Charles Bridge, and the cathedral. I believe you got your pass through a third party? Eurail allows you to activate your pass online when you purchase it, but not sure if your agent did that for you.

Check with them. But, you can activate it at a train station before you hop on the first train. Just go to a ticket booth with your pass for activation. Am I guaranteed to board the train even if there are no seats? Yes, any train that is reservation optional allows you to board and just stand around if there are no seats. This mostly happens on regional trains. The reservation, of course, will guarantee a seat.

Do I have to reserve seats if not I will not be allowed on the train no matter if standing spaces are available? See if there are train changes along the way so that maybe one train has optional reservations while the other is required. I have a huge confusion in this because different websites gives different information the agent that I got my ticket from — Klook says that one of my trips for Second-Class tickets are sold out.

You can do this on the local website for each train company or right at the station. Regarding fully booked trains… chances are that there are still seats available, but Eurail is only allowed to book up to X amount of seats per train with their passes.

This happened to me in France once. I went to the station to reserve my seat, they told me it was full for Eurail passes, but that I could purchase my seat because there were seats available.

In that case, I purchased my seat at the very last minute. This is because I will only be in the destination on the day of arrival and leaving the next morning.

Overall, yes. What do I need to take note? No, regional trains stick to their region in their country. Now, border crossings with non-regional trains like the ones requiring reservations are usually a non-issue as the train will usually take you from start to finish for example, from Berlin to Prague without stopping at the border or changing trains.

The Eurail timetable will show you this too. Hi Norbet. Just another question. What happens when you fill out your diary only to decide to get of at a sleepy little town. Using the global pass two month. The next day, then just fill Florence to Milan on the next row. This is why I recommend only filling the info once on the train. You are incredible for putting this together, and continuing to keep it updated and respond to questions!

This has answered many questions for me. I am planning a day trip with my wife and child. We are flying in and out of Paris. Our preliminary itinerary is:. While in Florence, we may take short day trips in that region of northern Italy.

The two big train routes will be to and from Florence. I thought I could save some sight-seeing time by taking night trains and sleeping on the train. But this is where I start to get confused. Do you know where I can find sleeper reservation info?

If you're ready to commit to a travel date and time, you may book some tickets up to nine months in advance, but more commonly starting six months out. With a continuous-day pass it's a no-brainer to use your Global Pass to cover a Eurostar trip, but with a flexipass it's likely more cost efficient to nab an early-purchase discount, if available — and assuming you aren't using the pass for other travel on that same day.

Keep in mind that seat reservations for pass holdders may also be limited; book as early as you can commit to a date. They're also sold in most staffed European train stations just remember that the cheapest tickets sell out well in advance. I choose Standard class to save money. Standard Premier costs about 50 percent more no youth discount and gets you a little more leg and elbow room, a newspaper, and a small meal.

A wide range of fares is sold for each class of seating just like with the airlines. Be sure of your plans before you buy a ticket. Riding the Eurostar is somewhat like taking a plane albeit much more pleasant : Check-in is required 30 minutes before departure for security screening or 45 minutes ahead with a passholder seat reservation. Carry-on luggage is limited to two large bags and a small day bag per person, and bags must be tagged with your name and address. Smoking, animals except guide dogs, and dangerous materials are not allowed.

Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult, and kids under 4 are free when they share your seat. The only night trains connecting France and Italy are privately operated under the Thello brand pronounced "Tell-o" , and do not accept any rail passes. Travelers with a rail pass for either country are eligible for a 25 percent discount on tickets for these trains which doesn't require use of a counted flexipass travel day , but this discount doesn't beat most advance-purchase deals.

For the best price, buy your ticket months ahead either right here with Rick Steves or through Thello's site ; tickets available four months out — or consider flying. Since this particular stretch tends to sell out quickly, it's important to book your reservations as far ahead as you can. Note that direct trains from Paris arrive at Milan's Porta Garibaldi station, but many trains to other spots in Italy leave from Milan's Centrale station.

Connecting trains between Milano Centrale and Porta Garibaldi depart every 30 minutes to cover this one-mile distance, taking about 10 minutes, or you can connect the stations by metro line M2, departing every eight minutes. You can also connect to other Italian destinations at Turin's Porta Susa station instead of in Milan. You can avoid these higher reservation fees by taking slower connections that involve at least one change of train, but trains that change in Switzerland incur even higher reservation fees for passholders than the direct France—Italy trains on this northern route.

Thello also runs the only direct daytime trains on the Marseille—Nice—Genova—Milan route. Like the Thello night trains described above, these daytime trains aren't covered by rail passes, but passholders are eligible for a discounted ticket. Lost or stolen passes are not refundable. You should be able to buy a replacement Eurail-brand pass at major railway stations in Europe for the same price it's sold in the US. And Swiss and German rail passes are sold at most stations in their respective countries.

Otherwise, you'll need to buy point-to-point tickets to continue your trip. If you purchased Rail Europe's Rail Protection Plan when you got your rail pass, it's important to follow their instructions closely: File a police report within 24 hours of the loss, and keep all the receipts for every ticket or pass you buy to continue your trip.

If you purchased other travel insurance , you may be able to claim a loss under that policy. See our general tips for dealing with lost stuff in the middle of your trip. Most rail passes currently unavailable for sale Rail passes will be available for sale later in — watch this space. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Share. Get more tips on how rail passes work Get advice on deciding whether you need a rail pass in the first place See our tips for choosing among your rail pass options Get more tips on buying train tickets in Europe.

The Eurail Select Pass was discontinued for sale at the end of The exceptions: BritRail passes offer a 20 percent "saverpass" discount if you have at least three people traveling together.