My husband and I are planning a trip at xmas time to Paris, and Zurich. We are in need of advice of how to most effectivly travel Europass, Swiss Pass, no pass? We are relative beginners to exploring Europe but not to travelling. We have reservations for hotels in both cities but would like to perhaps take day trips to Germany or Austria. Is this doable? Where can we purchase passes in the US without being ripped off? any advice would be appreciated!

Laurie: <BR> <BR>Which pass you get, if any, depends entirely on the number of countries and number of trips on your itnerary. My wife and I used the 21-day Europass for a vacation spanning Venice, lots of Switzerland, the Schwarzwald, Strasbourg, Paris, and Brussels/Brigge. It was an outstanding trip, but the Europass made sense only because of the extensive rail travel involved. <BR> <BR>I strongly suggest that you check out http://railpass.com and, perhaps, read the book "Europe by Eurail". Then, if you really like planning and exploring, pick up the Thomas European Timetable. There are lots of ways to do Europe, and this (in my opinion) is one of the best. <BR> <BR>

... by the way, that was Brussels/Brugge and Thomas Cook. When typing, my enthusiasm often gets ahead of my fingers. Have fun! <BR>

Laurie, <BR>If you are in the USA you can call 1-800-EUROSTAR and they will answer your questions or use the automated info and they will fax you time schedules for city to city info and price. I use that all the time for my planning for rail travel.

If you go to www.ricksteves.com you can order for free a guide to rail passes that should answer all your questions. <BR>

Laurie, Depending on your itinerary, you might also consider the Europass with the car option. If your day trips are to cities, the straight Europass would be best, with the option of adding "zones", or countries but if you want to explore some of the countryside the car option would fit the bill. <BR> <BR>Richard, Plano, TX