Kimerely, another poster previously posted this website information but I think her title may have limited access to the excellent information she had to share since it reference Italy. I think this website is invaluable for those planning to buy a railpass and are having difficultly deciding between point-to-point tickets, Eurail or Euro passes. You key in your itineray and it will recommend a pass and/or tickets and the cost. The url is: <BR>www.railsaver.com

What a great site! Thanks!

Thanks for that url! I keyed in our April 2000 trip via Europass for comparison and found that we could have saved some money by buying a shorter length Europass and supplementing it with point to point tickets in certain places. I've bookmarked it and will refer to it before our next rail trip. BTW we had a great time on that trip. It was our first time to use Europasses and we are looking forward to doing it again.

Glad that you all love RailSaver. The site is still in Beta test, and we are still adding more features before the "official release". If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement, please email them to [email protected] <BR> <BR>http://www.RailSaver.com

WIth so many postings in the last couple of days about this site, my cynicism starts to rise. <BR> <BR>Has anyone checked the accuracy of the output from this site. For example, are the fares correct.? Are they the ones that one would pay buying the tickets in Europe, including appropriate surcharges, etc? Are country-passes included? Are regional passes included? <BR> <BR>There's so little info (for example, an "About" page detailing bona fides) that I'd be a bit concerned about entrusting my purchase decision to it right now. Who runs it? Why? What's their intent? What's their bias? <BR> <BR>Overall the capability looks interesting ... promising at the least. There's less there than meets the eye right now, and certainly less than suggested by some posters ... whomever they may be. <BR> <BR>Ed

At least on what concerns Italy, Ed, people that use this site for budgeting will have a nice surprise ... they'll pay less than estimated.<BR><BR>A Milan Venice Florence Pisa Siena Assisi Orvieto Naples Rome Bologna Verona Milan itinerary, taking the most expensive train option + seat reservations where applicable in 2nd class actually adds up to Lit 326,500. The total given by this site is US$ 224!<BR><BR>It's interesting to note that the prices for the individual pieces as given by this site is HIGHER tan that given by RailEurope (which we know is always higher than the actual FS cost).<BR><BR>Paulo<BR>

Did some brief and simple tests for Swiss and German itineraries. Swiss pricing appears high from 0% to 70%, averaging about 15-20%. German pricing looks closer for the sampled routes. On the other hand I found (small) destinations that railsaver did not recognize (yes ... they have (good) service from DB.) <BR> <BR>Note that prices for each leg in Europe are based on the mileage (kilometerage) between origin and destination based on the routing of that particular trip. Hence, even if the fares were "accurate" it's possible/likely that in many cases railsaver would mis-price the itinerary as it cannot handle specific routings. <BR> <BR>Unfair to judge what may be the complete product based on a beta-release, of course. <BR> <BR>However, while it is at this stage of developement users should be very cautious. I'd venture that it's more suitable for the experienced traveler who is more likely to understand the shortcomings, and less useful to the neophyte who might be easily misled. <BR> <BR>If it has a value at this stage it may be to disabuse some of the notion that a Eurail pass is "always" the way to go. Presuming the program handles (some?) railpasses correctly, it's likely, for more travelers than not, to come up suggesting a pass is not the way to go. <BR> <BR>Anyone who does use the package should use another source to verify the results. <BR> <BR>Ed

Whatsamatta Ed, someone else horning in on "your" Fodor's site with "their" web site advertising too? Betcha thought you could pitch your site here exclusively and indefinitely and no one else would ever think to do the same. Why don't you whine to Fodor's about it? Tell them that YOU were here advertising and promoting your site FIRST!

<BR>My goodnes "Just", your whining dislike of Ed is more prevalent than any unjust criticism I can see that he is making of this site. I, for one, appreciate any additional insight he or others can give about their thinking of this site. <BR> <BR>I checked out the site and I certainly would not purchase any tickets with just the information they give. I would also want to check out other sites for better alternatives or just to see if their price is best. I do this with all my purchases. <BR> <BR>All I can see that Ed is doing here is sharing his feelings about the site as I, and others are doing. Your intentions are a little too obvious since you single him out only.

Ed <BR>I am the one who posted the original message. However, as I stated in the message, not the one who originally passed on the information. Skepticism seems to abound on this site for reasons I care little about. I am planning a trip that will cost us a lot of money and which requires a great deal of planning and detail. I visit this site because I think there is a wealth of useful information on this site and people are willing to share it. I have had a lot of difficulty getting accurate train information from every single rail site I know about. I would not rely solely on any one of them including Railsaver. Railsaver is just another tool to use for comparison purposes. RailEurope, fs-on-line, Die Bahn, Eurostar all have many flaws but are useful. None are consistent.

We wanted to set the record straight on a few things: <BR> <BR>1. We (RailSaver personnel) became involved on this chat board only after we noticed a large amount of traffic coming to our site from this board. <BR> <BR>2. This is our second posting to this board. Our only other posting was on 12/31/00. We absolutely use the "RailSaver" name for all of our postings. All the other postings were made by real travelers. <BR> <BR>3. RailSaver.com is still in "beta" mode. You are welcome to use it, but you should be aware that RailSaver is not a finished product. <BR> <BR>4. We at RailSaver encourage you to email us your comments & questions to [email protected]. <BR> <BR>5. The point-to-point ticket prices reflect what a traveler can expect to pay at a rail station in Europe. The prices include supplements for EC/IC/ICE trains (depending on your itinerary), but not luxury trains such as "Spanish Hotel Trains". <BR> <BR>6. The prices may seem high at the moment due to the recent collapse of the Euro vs the dollar. Again, RailSaver is in beta mode. We are concentrating on finishing the programming, not constantly updating the exchange rates we use. <BR> <BR>7. We do not advertise the existence of RailSaver.com. Rather, we are allowing people like you to use the site in its "beta stage" so that we can receive excellent feedback (as we have from many of you). <BR> <BR>8. RailSaver.com has no vested interest in whether you purchase a pass or not. That is why the site often recommends that you simply buy point-to-point tickets as you travel. However, RailSaver does fairly consider all Eurail-passes, Europasses, regional passes, and country passes. RailSaver.com will soon also consider the Eurail Select passes. <BR> <BR>9. RailSaver.com is run by a team of travelers who strive to give other travelers the best possible information. You will be seeing more of RailSaver in the coming months when we celebrate our "official release". <BR> <BR>Enjoy our site, <BR>RailSaver <BR> <BR>http://www.railsaver.com