I'm going to be in Rome for four weeks and then traveling outside of Italy for two weeks after that. What type of Eurail pass should I purchase and do I have to purchase it in the US first? Or is it cheaper to buy individual rail tickets to the countries I want to travel to (probably three countries within two weeks).

Bridget. <BR> <BR>Whether you you use a Eurail or Europass depends largelt on where and how often you plan to use the trains. Obviously the more you use them the more viable a Pass becomes. You do have to buy Eurail passes outside of Europe. <BR> <BR> One big advantage of passes is that you avoid the need to queue for tickets each time you travel - some queues can <BR>be quite daunting. <BR> <BR>The best way to assess what passes are avilable to suit your plans is to visit the Rick Steves site, which has the clearest explanation of passes that I have seen on a web site. www/ricksteves.com

Bridget. <BR> <BR>That should read www.ricksteves.com <BR> <BR>Poor proof reading.

Your choice among railpasses, then between a pass and individual tickets, depends on how much you'll travel, how far, when, etc. <BR> <BR>Example: If you are staying in Rome, and doing short day trips, then individual tickets are cheapest of all. If, on the other hand, you're traveling all over Italy for a month, planning on taking trains every couple of days, then a railpass saves time and money. <BR> <BR>Which three countries? There's a Europass, but it costs extra for Austria, for example. <BR> <BR>Most of the passes you see advertised must be bought BERFORE you leave the U.S. - they are designed for tourists, and are not available to locals. <BR> <BR>www.raileurope.com is a great source for getting an idea of what point-to-point tickets cost, as well as the different kinds of passes available. <BR> <BR>

An addendum to Elvira's message: Even if you are only passing through Austria from, say, Germany to Italy, you will be charged an additional fee for Austria. We found the Eurail pass to be a good value, however. We took a lot of night trains in order to save on hotels and maximize daylight.