rail pass
Jan 27th, 2015, 03:58 PM
#1
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rail pass
Have a question on the eurorail select pass. It is good for 10 days 4 countries. I will be in Europe
for 12 days. Should I put my first day of arrival or the first day I plan on using my pass?
thanks
for 12 days. Should I put my first day of arrival or the first day I plan on using my pass?
thanks
Jan 27th, 2015, 04:07 PM
#2
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Have you already bought your pass? Conventional wisdom here says, if you're willing to commit to an itinerary ahead of time, buying discount tickets early saves money over a pass.
Also in some countries, notably France, for the faster trains you need to buy a seat reservation in addition to the pass. And there's a limited number of seats available for pass holders.
Re: your question, use the first day of travel.
Also in some countries, notably France, for the faster trains you need to buy a seat reservation in addition to the pass. And there's a limited number of seats available for pass holders.
Re: your question, use the first day of travel.
Jan 27th, 2015, 04:33 PM
#4
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I think that pass is good on any 10 days out of 2 months?
Make sure you understand the two step process.
Step 1: Validation/activation. This starts the 2 months clock. You do this only once by stopping by at a train station ticket office. The 2 months period merely has to include the 10 days you chose to use the pass. You can do this step as soon as you arrive. This frees you from having to hit the ticket counter later if you are riding no reservation required trains.
Step 2: You enter the date using the EUROPEAN (not US) date notation for the day you are using the pass. The requirement is that you must have the date box filled out for that day before the you hop on the train. I usually do this before leaving my hotel, but sometimes, I have done this as soon as I sat down and before the train started moving. You don't have a valid pass from the point of view of the ticket inspector if a box is not filled out with that date.
If you are using covered trains everyday, think carefully which 10 days out of 12 days you want to use the pass. Besides trying to use the pass on high price segment, consider also segment requiring pass supplement and reservation fee. Sometimes, buying point-to-point advance ticket can be same as paying the pass supplements.
Pass is not usually useful for most people traveling in Italy: high supplement and low point-to-point prices, busy TGV corridors in France where you bump against passholder seat allocation quotas, etc. Read a discussion on compulsory reservation http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tip...s/reservations
Which 4 countries?
Make sure you understand the two step process.
Step 1: Validation/activation. This starts the 2 months clock. You do this only once by stopping by at a train station ticket office. The 2 months period merely has to include the 10 days you chose to use the pass. You can do this step as soon as you arrive. This frees you from having to hit the ticket counter later if you are riding no reservation required trains.
Step 2: You enter the date using the EUROPEAN (not US) date notation for the day you are using the pass. The requirement is that you must have the date box filled out for that day before the you hop on the train. I usually do this before leaving my hotel, but sometimes, I have done this as soon as I sat down and before the train started moving. You don't have a valid pass from the point of view of the ticket inspector if a box is not filled out with that date.
If you are using covered trains everyday, think carefully which 10 days out of 12 days you want to use the pass. Besides trying to use the pass on high price segment, consider also segment requiring pass supplement and reservation fee. Sometimes, buying point-to-point advance ticket can be same as paying the pass supplements.
Pass is not usually useful for most people traveling in Italy: high supplement and low point-to-point prices, busy TGV corridors in France where you bump against passholder seat allocation quotas, etc. Read a discussion on compulsory reservation http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tip...s/reservations
Which 4 countries?
Jan 27th, 2015, 07:10 PM
#6
Italy fast trains require mandatory seat reservations also which aren't included in the price of a pass. You should post your itinerary to see if a pass even saves you anything. I can't imagine it will with only 4 days of using trains. With only 12 days, you don't have time for 4 countries. That's barely enough for one country. It's usually cheapest to buy tickets through each country's train websites in advance.
Jan 28th, 2015, 12:57 AM
#7
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If you will be in Europe for only 12 days, why are you getting a 10-day pass? Will you really be taking long train journeys nearly every day? A rail pass is only worthwhile for long trip; it usually costs €50 or more per travel day, and local trips rarely cost that much.
If your plans include local train travel, at most you should consider a 5-day select pass and pay for the local trips out of pocket. If you really intend to take 10 long train trips in 12 days, you won't see much other than train stations.
In Italy, it's usually cheaper even to buy full-price tickets than to use a rail pass.
For example, a typical trip (even though I wouldn't advise backtracking) is often Rome to Florence to Venice and back to Rome. This is three travel days, and the full-price 2nd class tickets for the trip, on the fastest and most expensive trains, would be €166, including seat reservations.
The cheapest rail pass for travel in Italy is the 3-day 2nd-class Italy pass, available even to adults. It costs $198 (about €175).You would also need to buy three separate seat reservations, at €10 apiece, so your total cost with the rail pass would be about €205.
You would save about €40 if you just bought your tickets on the spur of the moment in Italy. If you bought them well in advance (maximum 120 days) with the Super-economy discount, you could get the tickets for €87, including seat reservations, saving €100 over the cost of the rail pass.
If your plans include local train travel, at most you should consider a 5-day select pass and pay for the local trips out of pocket. If you really intend to take 10 long train trips in 12 days, you won't see much other than train stations.
In Italy, it's usually cheaper even to buy full-price tickets than to use a rail pass.
For example, a typical trip (even though I wouldn't advise backtracking) is often Rome to Florence to Venice and back to Rome. This is three travel days, and the full-price 2nd class tickets for the trip, on the fastest and most expensive trains, would be €166, including seat reservations.
The cheapest rail pass for travel in Italy is the 3-day 2nd-class Italy pass, available even to adults. It costs $198 (about €175).You would also need to buy three separate seat reservations, at €10 apiece, so your total cost with the rail pass would be about €205.
You would save about €40 if you just bought your tickets on the spur of the moment in Italy. If you bought them well in advance (maximum 120 days) with the Super-economy discount, you could get the tickets for €87, including seat reservations, saving €100 over the cost of the rail pass.
Jan 28th, 2015, 01:58 PM
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There is a Spain-France 5 day pass, presuming these are the two countries you were thinking of. However, these are countries where the usefulness of passes are marginal and you have to dig further into whether you end up paying more without any gaining flexibilities.
Spain: Highspeed trains still need reservation with fees. Internet Advance discount tickets make passes not worthwhile. Many segments are better connected by buses or discount airline for long distances.
France: TGV trains also require reservation with fees. They also offer deeply discounted advance tickets that include reservations. They cap the number of seats available to passholders. Regional trains, where you can use passes, are not expensive, further negating the value of passes.
Spain: Highspeed trains still need reservation with fees. Internet Advance discount tickets make passes not worthwhile. Many segments are better connected by buses or discount airline for long distances.
France: TGV trains also require reservation with fees. They also offer deeply discounted advance tickets that include reservations. They cap the number of seats available to passholders. Regional trains, where you can use passes, are not expensive, further negating the value of passes.
Jan 29th, 2015, 06:28 AM
#11
>>>Thank you for your help. I was confused on days of travel. I would only need 2 counties and 5 days of travel.<<<
Still doesn't mean a pass would be cost effective (especially if those trains require you pay a supplement in addition to the cost of the pass). If you would post your exact itinerary, you would get more help. Three countries in 12 days is still too much with such long distances to cover. You should look at budget flights between countries.
www.whichbudget.com
or
www.skyscanner.com
Still doesn't mean a pass would be cost effective (especially if those trains require you pay a supplement in addition to the cost of the pass). If you would post your exact itinerary, you would get more help. Three countries in 12 days is still too much with such long distances to cover. You should look at budget flights between countries.
www.whichbudget.com
or
www.skyscanner.com
Jan 29th, 2015, 07:39 AM
#12
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For detailed info about trains in Europe, go to seat61.com. It will tell you where to buy tickets for each country. If you're traveling from one country to another, buy your tickets in the country of departure -- or rather the website for trains in the country of departure.
