Martine200

I'm having an absolute headache with regards to transport during my headache. Was set on getting the 15day Global Eurail pass for 433 euros,but then read (on the very entertaining forum that Tony started that some supllements will have to be paid (I'm planning on taking two overnight trains).

Please bare with me as I give a rundown of the various journeys we are planning to take (both 27years). Our bases are Gent, Haarlem, Augsburg and Paris (just to clear out any possible confusion.

Brussels-Gent; Gent-Brugge-Gent; Gent-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Haarlem; Haarlem-Amsterdam-Haarlem; Haarlem-Utrecht-Amsterdam; Amsterdam-Munich (overnight); Munich-Augsburg; Augsburg-Munich-Augsburg (x3); Munich-Dachau-Munich, Munich-Innsbruck-Munich; Munich-Paris (overnight); Paris-Versailles-Paris.

The overnight trains, specifically are quite expensive and that was the main reason why I considered the Eurail Pass (also the Munich-Innsbruck daytrip). But if surcharges are going to be added I wonder if point-to-point will be better.(I know there have been many discussions on this - but I'm still in the dark)

Thanks for any suggestions, etc.

Martine

yk

Is it 433 euro per person for the pass?

I cannot imagine you can spend that much by buying point-to-point tickets. Within Belgium, you can get the Rail Pass (10 rides for 74 euro), which can be shared by more than 1 person.
http://www.b-rail.be/nat/E/tarifs/passes/rail/index.php

For Germany, including Innsbruck, you can get the Bayern Ticket (28 euro for up to 5 people traveling together)
http://www.bayern-takt.de/public_mai...ocument_id=334

For Munich-Paris, you can get tickets as low as 43 euro for the "day couch" seats. http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/pri...t-travel.shtml

Paris-Versailles is dirt cheap.

hetismij

Amsterdam - Haarlem; €3.80 single
Haarlem - Utrecht €9.50,
Utrecht - Amsterdam €6.80
You go via Amsterdam but two singles, if you are ending the day in Amsterdam are cheaper.

Brussels - Gent about €8.
Gent- Brugge return about €12

Consider getting the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam. If you book it online you can get it for a very good price, but again booking them online will give you a better price.

I can't help with the other trips though I'm afraid.

hetismij

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/overseas/en/index.shtml has information on the City Nightline trains. You need to click through a bit but you can then choose a date and see the fares.

I picked a random date in April and came up with €86 as a savings fare.

kybourbon

Here's a list of surcharges.
http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/pdfs/reservations.pdf

Railpasses aren't always the best choice. Europe has lots of budget airlines which can be much cheaper than the train between some cities.
http://www.whichbudget.com/

alihutch

Check out this website

http://seat61.com/

for info on train travel in Europe (which is much more fun, and less hassle than flying)

Martine200

Thanks so much to all! Now I can start planning again

Martine200

yk - a question regarding the Bayern ticket - I went to the website, but am slightly confused - exactly how does the ticket work - how many days is it valid etc, etc? I also see they say only from 9am on a weekday - is this true?

yk

The ticket is only valid for one day, and valid after 9am on weekdays until 3am the following day; no morning restrictions on weekends. It doesn't matter if there's 2 of you or 5 of you traveling together, the price is still 28 euro for all of you, and you can travel as many trips as you'd like on that day. If you take more trips on the following day, you'd need to buy another Bayern Ticket.

Martine200

yk - you said the Bayern ticket includes Innsbruck - I can't seem to find any info on that?

yk

No personal experience, but read this comment by LarryinColorado in which he indicated that Innsbruck is included: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-2580656

You can always double-check at the train station before buying your ticket.

Also, I forgot to mention that the Bayern Ticket is only good on regional trains. You cannot ride the ICE trains with the Bayern Ticket.

Palenque

Brussels-Gent; Gent-Brugge-Gent; Gent-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Haarlem; Haarlem-Amsterdam-Haarlem; Haarlem-Utrecht-Amsterdam; Amsterdam-Munich (overnight); Munich-Augsburg; Augsburg-Munich-Augsburg (x3); Munich-Dachau-Munich, Munich-Innsbruck-Munich; Munich-Paris (overnight); Paris-Versailles-Paris.

The overnight trains, specifically are quite expensive and that was the main reason why I considered the Eurail Pass (also the Munich-Innsbruck daytrip). But if surcharges are going to be added I wonder if point-to-point will be better.(I know there have been many discussions on this - but I'm still in the dark)>

Except for the overnight trains where you must pay for the sleeping berths - which could be a few euro reclining seat i believe you have NO other surcharges - zilch - you can just hop on all those other trains anytime without formality or extra charge. So you really have no supplements except the sleeping options -which will save you the cost of hotels. As much as you are traveling yes i would think the 15-day Global Eurail Pass to be a no-brainer. Some great info-laden sites for understanding European trains - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com;www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Best thing about the pass in Belgium, Holland and Germany is that you can just hop on any train anytime -in Germany such fully flexible fares are very costly-check www.bahn.de - The Germany rail web site and see. And you never have to stand in line to buy tickets, except for the overnight trains. Perhaps you could save a few euros by digging up all the online discounts, Bavarian pass, etc. but then you have restrictions and have to lock yourself into a certain train far in advance. I have had literally hundreds of railpasses in those countries and i just like taking my time getting up and down to the station and hopping the next train - often two an hour going everywhere. I judge a railpass not only in price but also in its flexibility in those countries to hop any train anytime and that to me is priceless.

yk

Just to clarify, the Belgian rail pass I posted above does not require one to "lock into a certain train far in advance". It's good for any trains at any time. And Belgian rail is so inexpensive that it's fine to just buy a regular ticket before hopping on the train.

And hetismij listed the train prices for the rides within Holland. None of those require pre-booking in advance. All those rides are under 10 euro. It'll take many, many rides before the OP add up to 433 euros.

As for the Bayern ticket, there is no need to book anything in advance either. It's good for any regional trains.

So, I don't really see how the OP is giving up flexibility by buying point-to-point tickets; <u>except for the 2 overnight trips</u>, which the OP has to book ahead to get the cheapest price.

I honestly do not think it's a no-brainer to tell the OP to get the railpass without him/her punching the #s. The OP can easily find out the cost of each individual train trips through the rail websites (of the individual country) we've posted. I don't think it's wise for anyone to just plop down 433 euro for a railpass without sitting down and do some actual calculations, unless the OP is a multi-millionaire and don't need to worry about money.

Martine200

Haha - I am indeed not a multi-millionaire And I've started doing my calculations and there is absolutely no way that all the train rides will add up to 433 euros. Thanks so much for all the help. I will probably get stuck on a new issue by next week, so I will keep you posted

Palenque

yk - you are comparing apples to oranges - the pass is first class and you quote 2nd cl fares - and if you have taken many trains in those countries you will readily realize the huge benefits of first class vs 2nd class for tourists

i recently rode zillions of Belgian, German and Dutch trains and more often than not 2nd class was jammed full - esp in Holland whilst my first-class car was mainly emoty

first class guarantees a seat being empty if not several - i always have a seat near me to put my bags on etc - in 2nd class you fight for space in overhead racks, etc

now you are right if they wanted to pre-bookthe overnight trains far in advance and IF those cheap tickets are available that day - munich to paris night train is, full fare 136 euros or about $200 itself - ditto for Amsterdam to Munich - younger folk often want flexibility - say they meet some folks in Amsterdam and want to go off with them in a different direction - well their pre-booked ticket would then be lost and they'd have topay full fare for another night train - such as going to Berlin rather than Munich - when i was their age this itinerary revision happened a lot - but you are right - if they lock in far in advance the 2 most expensive night trains then the pass would be too pricey - i was amiss not to clarify no-brainer if want total flexibility as full fare tickets provide. And even with the Bavaria Pass you are restricted to slower regional trains and cannot just hop on any train - this takes a little research so you do not hop on a train the pass is not valid on, etc.

And the Benelux-Germany railpass could be a lot cheaper than the Global Eurail - paying the 43 advance online deal, if available the night they want- could be a whole lot cheaperthan the Global Pass.

Martine200

43 advance online deal? what does this entail?

Palenque

Well on the bahn.de site you can get, for a dummy date i put in, a 49 euro Munich to Paris berth of some type on the overnight train - 49 euros total, including reservation. I did not note the sleeping option - it could be a reclining seat or a place in a 6-person couchette but not more. So if you had a Germany-Benelux pass to use throughout Germany, Belgium, Netherlands (and Luxembourg) then you would find that much cheaper perhaps than a GlobalEurail Pass and add the 49 euro online discounted special onto that - but the 49 euro deal may or may not be available for the night you want - usually are if several weeks out but less and less so as the date gets closer. That brings back my point - if you do not want to lock yourself into so far in advance to get the 49 euro deal then you'd have to pay about $200 at full farefor similar berth but with a pass you could pay just for the reclining seat option of a few euros with the railpass covering the $200 or so normal train fare. Passes provide flexibility so you can decide en route - advance online discounts are train specific usually and cannot be changed, etc.

Martine200

Thanks Palenque. We actually have set dates for bed and breakfasts etc that are already booked, so won't really be able to be flexible with regards to travelling

Palenque

Martine - then by all means book your long-distance German tickets and overnight trains at www.bahn.de and avail yourself of the great info yk and others provided about cheap local options - unless you wanted flexibility a railpass in your case would be a waste of money

Martine200

Can anyone tell me what the add-on fare is for the Night Train between Amsterdam and Munich as well as the train between Munich and Paris, if I have a Eurrail pass?