Europe - Euro Rail pass or point to point tickets

Hello All,

I am very confused if I need to take Rail pass or point to point tickets. We are 2 people travelling together.

Point to point tickets cost me 340 USD.
Zurich - Venice
Venice - Pisa , Pisa - Rome
Rome - Paris
Paris - Amsterdam

If I go for Rail pass I will have to take 4 countries 5 days pass which is 446 USD and then the reservation cost ~ 100 USD whcih makes it 546 USD.

My Itenary is :
Switzerland - 4 days
Venice - 3 days
Rome - 3 days
Paris - 4 days
Amsterdam - 1 day

Should I take individual passes for each countries like swiss pass, paris metro pass for internal travels in these countries and take point to point tickets ??

Should I take 15 days 5 Countries pass ??

Thanks,
Winston

I'm a little rusty on my Railpass stuff and they seem to make the odd change every so often but here are some thoughts...

Firstly, are you comparing apples to apples? When you're pricing out your point to point tickets, are you selecting 1st or 2nd class? Unless you're doing youth saver passes (<26yrs?) your Railpasses are going to be for 1st class seats.

Generally I found that we got good value out of the Railpasses if we make a few long trips (eg. your Rome to Paris trip). I'm surprised your point to point total is coming up so much cheaper than your Railpass price.

Hello All,

I am very confused if I need to take Rail pass or point to point tickets. We are 2 people travelling together.

Point to point tickets cost me 340 USD.
Zurich - Venice
Venice - Pisa , Pisa - Rome
Rome - Paris
Paris - Amsterdam

If I go for Rail pass I will have to take 4 countries 5 days pass which is 446 USD and then the reservation cost ~ 100 USD whcih makes it 546 USD.

My Itenary is :
Switzerland - 4 days
Venice - 3 days
Rome - 3 days
Paris - 4 days
Amsterdam - 1 day

Should I take individual passes for each countries like swiss pass, paris metro pass for internal travels in these countries and take point to point tickets ??

Should I take 15 days 5 Countries pass ??

Thanks,
Winston

Assuming you are quoting 1st class travel on both the ptp and railpass options......

First, the 15 day pass is a bad idea. Period.

Second, its that 4th country thats really killing you on price. You will be better off buying point to point tickets.

The only exception is if:

1. You can utilize a lot of the bonuses provided
2. You will be using trains once you are at your destination

If you can find a way to use your bonuses plus minimize your reservation fees (it can be done), then the price will get closer to the ptp tickets. If you can get the price close, then the flexibility the pass provides would probably be worth the extra cost.

Its a tough numbers game.........I've been there. Just remember that buying a bit of flexibility with the pass can be worth it.

Finally I decided with the p2p tickets and not the Pass. I got the tickets for Zurich to Venice for 50 USD, Rome to Paris by Ryan Air for 80 USD and Paris to Amterdam for 43 USD.

This is much chaper than the pass although I have to take care that I dont miss the trains as these are non refundable ;)

Finally I decided with the p2p tickets ...Rome to Paris by Ryan Air for 80 USD ...

Keep in mind that Ryanair uses BVA airport, which is a solid 80kms from Paris. There are buses, but no trains. It's not necessarily a bad choice, but be sure you budget for the additional time and ground transportation costs.

Flying from Rome to Paris you are going to miss a lot of nice scenery...