radnub

Hi all!

I am heading to Frankfurt on Wednesday (May 20th) and I'm wondering if it's possible to buy a Eurail global pass in the Frankfurt airport when I land. I've read online that it's possible to buy it 'in Europe' but I haven't found much more information beyond that.* I've also learned that it's going to be about 20% more than what it can be online. Is this fairly accurate?

*I did find one thread on here that's from 2006 which indicates there's an office in FRA but seeing as that info is a bit dated I thought I would ask again!

Thanks for any help!

You want to go where?

Don't think this will work but happy to be corrected. My understanding is that non-European residents must by a Eurailpass outside of Europe. You can buy an Interrail pass in Europe, but you must be a European resident.

railways

Yes, you can buy it at a Eurail Aid Office - at Frankfurt Airport station this role is fulfilled by the Reisezentrum (Travel Centre).

I'm in Europe already, is it possible to buy a Eurail Pass in Europe?

List of Eurail Aid offices

Online prices are about 20% lower than buying at a station; so conversely station prices are about 25% higher than online.

radnub

From reading through the eurail.com website and facebook pages they do mention you can buy some passes in Europe but they just say not every country sells them and that it's going to be more expensive than buying online. They are naturally vague and want you to buy through them of course! Beyond that there's nothing else I have found.

I'm currently in Seoul and I started looking too late to have anything delivered to me. Should I try finding a travel agent here that sells them or is it a mail-only system?

radnub

Oh thank you!! This is a relief!

jt82

how much travel are you actually thinking of doing? unless you're doing a large amount and particularly value the convenience that the pass will offer, it could easily work out cheaper to not bother with one

MSPeconomist

I'm not even sure how much convenience a Eurail pass adds. You need to pay attention to which trains accept it and which require seat reservations or additional fees. IMO it's as easy to purchase a train ticket as to purchase a seat reservation. You also need to pay attention to the countries (Eastern Europe still?) that are not covered.

radnub

It has been a mildly frustrating couple of days researching for this pass. I like the flexibility of the pass but I hate the surchanges and the fact that some trains have limited seats for passholders (France!). I am open to options!

I have 6 weeks in total. I was thinking of getting the 21 day consecutive pass and using it mainly in Germany, Italy, Switzerland with a couple of side trips to Vienna/Bratislava or maybe Croatia. Early in week four it's up to Normandy and I'll rent a car. Since France seems to have high surcharges and low seat availability for pass holders I was just planning to pay my own way to Paris and Caen. Then after a few days there it's off to the UK for two weeks.

I'm travelling with my boyfriend and sometimes we'll come to like a place and stay a few more days and sometimes we just want to move on. I was considering the 'select pass' that hits 4 different neighbouring countries offering 10 days of travel but that price was coming close to the other pass so I decided it's better to have more flexibility.

I did a dummy booking for Frankfurt-Munich and it's currently costing 202 Euros. This was sort the thing that led me to think I should get a pass. Now Italy is much cheaper Venice-Bologna is about $45 CAD. (Of note, the surcharge with the pass would be about $24 CAD). So that makes me think I should maybe treat Italy the same as France and just buy the tickets when I need them.

So maybe just a German pass or a 3 country select pass? One blog I read suggested getting an 8 or 10 day pass for the bigger trips and then buy the other tickets as you need. Oh the choices!

I'll do a bit more mathematical work this afternoon and see where that lands me.

*edit: Oh goody - I just noticed there's a train strike due to begin on Wednesday.

biggestbopper

I have used the Eurail pass many times over the years and found it IN THE PAST to be good value and convenient.

But recent changes that require reservations on the TGV type trains have ruined the whole thing since pass holders have very great difficulty getting reservations being the lowest priority for the rail lines.

Now, I just buy my tickets at the best price I can find online which can be very cheap with a little advance planning.

Or, for two, a rental car or lease may work out both cheaper and more convenient.

Revilo199

Maybe for a same day departure, advance booking should be MUCH cheaper.


Also, taking regional trains may add time to your journey but can save a lot of money, especially when traveling in larger groups (search for "Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket" or the respective Ländertickets). Those cost the same whether you buy in advance or on the day of travel and can be a really cheap and flexible option if time is not too much of a concern.

radnub

I can confirm that the rail pass would have been a waste for me and my boyfriend by a long ways! We've gone from Germany, through Austria and Italy and have only spent a fraction of what the pass would have been (about $250ish CAD each). Maybe the passes work some people but if you still have to make the reservation and pay for that I can't see many people making out ahead.

Thanks for all the input!

yytleisure

I bought one pass out of many trips because I looked ahead of time and priced it all out. It's next to useless in France because of limited seats and you'll be stuck making regional train trips with multiple stops and long days to get very far. If you plan ahead long enough to reserve in France for the pass then you can just book he cheaper point to point tickets which will invariably costs less. Seat61 and other websites can give you the low down and exactly how to figure out what will work best for your trips. It's all quite confusing but depends on which countries you visit, how quickly you travel, how many long distance vs short, etc etc. research is key or your $700 pass may cover $400 worth of trains.

ToGo

@radnub
if you want i can help you with cheaper ticket for Austria, CZ and DE!

radnub

Thanks but the trip is done! I bought online and I found that the prices were pretty reasonable a few days out from travel. Thanks though!

ToGo

oke for the next time here in Austria are some special Ticket who are only available offline.