European Rail Travel - 3 months..what pass to get

Hi,

Me and my boyfriend are travelling through Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Spain, France and England. I know England is it's own rail system but I'm not sure what pass to get for everywhere else. I have no idea how long it takes to travel from city to city or country to country, how often I'm going to use local rail etc. I don't know if we should get the full 3 months, Flexi which only is available up to 2 months, or combo different passes. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Hi,

Me and my boyfriend are travelling through Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Spain, France and England. I know England is it's own rail system but I'm not sure what pass to get for everywhere else. I have no idea how long it takes to travel from city to city or country to country, how often I'm going to use local rail etc. I don't know if we should get the full 3 months, Flexi which only is available up to 2 months, or combo different passes. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Hi kamrshu,

I know you might not want to plan every step of your trip, but I think you'll at least be best off figuring out what areas and countries you plan to spend a lot of time in.

If you are going to be in a certian region for a long time, like a specific region of Italy like Tuscany or in Croatia, a rail pass really isn't nescicary for that period. Local train tickets will be much cheaper, even if you don't buy them in advance.

For going between countries a rail pass can be well worth while, though it might cost more that pre-booked discount tickets in the end you get flexibility and don't need to plan or bargin hunt very much.

In the UK and France advance purchase discount tickets can be very cheap, while same-day fares are extremely high. In Italy and Switzerland there is still some advantage to booking ahead but walk-up fares are more affordable than in the UK or France. Spain is somewhere inbetween. This is only for sections where you aren't using a rail pass, of course.

I know this doesn't really give you an answer yet, but I hope it helps you figure out which parts of your trip you need a rail pass for. Then you can get to figuring out which one(s).

And if you really don't want to bother with all this, just figure out how long you'll be in the UK, get a pass for there, then get a global flexipass for the rest.

Hi,

Me and my boyfriend are travelling through Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Spain, France and England. I know England is it's own rail system but I'm not sure what pass to get for everywhere else. I have no idea how long it takes to travel from city to city or country to country, how often I'm going to use local rail etc. I don't know if we should get the full 3 months, Flexi which only is available up to 2 months, or combo different passes. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

How old are you? Under 26 you can get a "youth pass". Italy, Switz., Spain and France are contiguous, and so a 4 country pass could cover them. The distance from Italy to Croatia is not great, so a point to point ticket could get you there. I am guessing that rail fares in Croatia are considerably less than, say, Switz.
Any highspeed trains (like TGV's in France), require reservations and have limited pass holder seats available.
The big "plus" of riding on normal trains with a pass is spontaneity--you can arrive in a railstation and see a train leaving for an interesting spot, you get on it and GO.^
Go to www,raileurope.com and look at all the options (and there are lots:)).

Go to www,raileurope.com and look at all the options (and there are lots:)).

Do use Raileurope for buying rail passes.

Don't use Raileurope for buying point-to-point tickets - you'll get much better deals on national rail sites. (And if you can't find the site of any particular national rail operator just ask here, someone is bound to know)

To look up schedules anywhere in Europe go to www.bahn.de

Do use Raileurope for buying rail passes.

Don't use Raileurope for buying point-to-point tickets - you'll get much better deals on national rail sites. (And if you can't find the site of any particular national rail operator just ask here, someone is bound to know)

To look up schedules anywhere in Europe go to www.bahn.de
Buying anything from RE is generally a rip-off. But since railpasses sell at a fixed price, the only savings from not buying from RE is shipping charges.
BUt RE's site is a convenient place to look for the various railpass options--looking is still free.:D
PS: On occasion RE does have specials, so buying from them when these occur is they only time one should do business with them.

Buying anything from RE is generally a rip-off. But since railpasses sell at a fixed price, the only savings from not buying from RE is shipping charges.
BUt RE's site is a convenient place to look for the various railpass options--looking is still free.:D
PS: On occasion RE does have specials, so buying from them when these occur is they only time one should do business with them.

Any time I've been looking to buy and have checked my local RE site there's been a special on passes that has matched my needs. Either they have a lot of specials or I'm just very, very lucky.

I've also used them for seat reservations - I've paid extra (sometimes a lot extra) for this, but I've only done it when I've had to catch a particular train and might risk missing out if I waited until I was in the country to do it.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I at least feel competent with the Italian Rail system. I've got some ideas how to do the rest of the trip by train.

I'm researching rail pass options as well for a Belgium/Germany upcoming trip. Rick Steves website http://www.ricksteves.com also has railpass options, no shipping charges at the moment there. Also you get 20% off at their store. I've used them before for passes 2 or 3 times in the past without problems. There's also a sale going on for Eurail Select passes and Global passes, betw $50 and $100 off depending on which pass you get.

Forgot to mention on other site, with a TON of info on European train travel. http://www.seat61.com

I have no affiliation with them or with the ricksteves site, they're both resources that I use though and thought they would help you