I would like to know about eurail train pass.
 

I would like to know about eurail train pass.I am planing to travel Europe by train using eurail train pass but dont know much about it whether it is good to travel by train or flight .How can i use eurail train pass. and where can i get more information about this .

First, it's probably of little use in Cyprus.

Second, figure out where you're going and where you want to go after that, etc. so folks can determine if it makes sense to fly or ride the rails.

Depends where you're going. It may be cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets. Come back here with your itinerary and a list of places you want to visit by train and we can help you figure out if a pass is what you want or not.

For cheap flights within Europe, you can check out www.whichbudget.com and then weigh prices against train fares.

Hi R,

You can check costs for your itinerary at www.railsaver.com.

Click "Only if it saves money".

If they say you don't need a railpass you can believe them.

Otherwise, do as St Cirq suggests.

((I))

And be very careful with the budget airlines who APPEAR to have low low prices but then charge you for breathing.

where can i get more information about this>

some fantastic sights for the Clueless about railpasses and European rail travel: www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free (and superb IMO) European Planning & Rail Guide - a good primer for those clueless about railpasses or rail travel. Now many folks automatically think of a Eurail Pass because that's all they have ever heard of and whilst i am a HUGE booster of railpasses- having used literally hundreds of them for decades they are not nearly the best solution for many folks actual travel plans - so yes if you have any idea of where you may go let us know.

rabicamail - are you talking about using the train pass in Cyrpess? Do they have any trains at all?

Help with my itinerary please!
I did the railsaver and it sends me to places that would take out of track to save money..

We take train...
Lisboa to Algarve
Algarve to Lisboa
Lisboa to San Sebastian
San Sebastian to Barcelona
Barcelona to Genova - Ferry
Genova to Rapallo
Genova to Naples
Naples to Sorrento
Sorrento to Naples - Roma I guess

thanks
Mia

I don't think the train between Naples and Sorrento is covered by railpasses as it's a local commuter train. You also need to purchase seat reservationa which are mandatory for most trains in Italy in addition to the cost of the pass.

pooki -investigate the Spain-Italy railpass, valid, duh, in Italy and Spain and it also gives a discount on the Barcelona to Genoa ferry. with all your trains it would seem to be a great deal even though in Italy and Spain you do have supplements of about $10-15 on some of your trains. www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com should have the price of this relatively new 2-country pass that would fill the bill for only a few travel plans like yours.

A note about railpasses and boats - you get some kind of discount on this boat with a Eurailpass like the Spain-Italy Eurailpass and if it is a discount rather than 100% coverage then you would not use a day of travel on a flexipass to get the discount but only the overall time period of the pass has to still be in effect - like the two-month period that the Spain-Italy Eurial Flexipass gives you. The main thing is you would not use one of your days of unlimited travel - midnight to midnight on this boat and still get the discount.

Palenque,

Is this the one you mention?

http://www.eurail.com/eurail-italy-s...s?currency=eur

What boat is the one I need to take and how do I apply the discount if I buy the ticket online?

Yes that is the pass - a 2-country pass good only in Spain and Italy and for a discount on a boat between the two - and i was amiss to say the Barcelona-Genoa boat was the one but rather the one covered goes between Barcelona and Civitavecchia, near Rome and on the coastal rail line to Pisa and Cinque Terre.

Okay, I think I am buying it, the 2nd class saver is $600. Most of our trips as they are long ones will be about $200 a piece or more.

Do you know if on second class I also have to pay for reservations? or we can just hop in and seat in what is unasigned?

I forgot, how often do you see the train inspectors?
Do I have to keep our railpass on hand?

Seat reservation requirements are for both 1st and 2nd class in all cases to my knowledge

Ticket or pass inspectors come by sporadically - on some trains you may never see one - like in Switzerland where there is the honor system on many - enforced to be sure by spot checks and heavy fines for miscreants.

Usually tickets or passes are checked when the train enters another country - that country's conductors will come on and re-check all. Inside the country the conductor will usually remember that you have already been controlled - if would keep my railpass handy in any case so you don't have to fumble for several minutes trying to find it. and you must keep your pass stapled in the original cover it comes in. If you have questions like this call Byron at BETS 800-441-2387 - i have bought passes from him for years and he patiently answers any question and always knows the answer. He explains everything you should do to use the pass, etc. You can easily buy your mandated seat reservations as you go along IME in Italy and Spain and you can do all at once for one country at any train station in that country - just show your pass and ask for a reservation.

Cheers

>>Ticket or pass inspectors come by sporadically - on some trains you may never see one<<

In Italy, they will come around and check tickets on most trains. A few commuter trains might not check.

Palenque,

I may call Byron to make sure I'm buying the right thing. I've gone to 3 different sites, including railsaver that doesn't allow me to purchase the passes, and most have difference in prices up to $200.

I started a new thread about just if I should buy the railspass as I'm running out of time to get it home before we leave June 8th.

Mia

If you are leaving June 8th you have plenty of time to buy a pass, which is a paper pass that has to be mailed but should arrive in a few days. No need to rush to judgment IMO.

And, with the Euro threatening to plunge then pass prices inevitably decline in $s prices as well - i have been tracking such prices for years - it used to be railpass prices were set in stone for a calendar years and re-adjusted each Jan 1

but the past several years now railpass prices - Eurailpass prices dictated i think by the Eurail Commission sitting in Utrecht Holland but not sure - go up and down as the dollar does.

So if you bought a pass today for say $200 and the pass prices decreases you do not get a similar reduction but what you paid for it stays - of course if the dollar declines it could go the other way but right now folks are talking about a possible Euro collapse - i'd wait a while in any case till you are stone sure of what you want.

And another reason for not buying weeks in advance is that there may well be a Eurail Select or Eurailpass special - these have popped up in spring the past few years - but usually by now and offer usually a free day on some type of passes if you buy by a certain date, etc. And again if you have bought previously then you cannot trade your pass in to get the new (and temporary) special. The home page of www.budgeteuropetravel.com IME always has a list of any railpass specials on it - and again they come and go and i have no idea that there will be one this year as it is getting late - but when things like the volcano threaten business the Eurail folks often seem to offer these type of specials. Keep posted anyway - i do not say to wait until the day before your trip to buy but say a month before or so - to give time in case there is an error on your pass, etc so you can return it and get the corrected one - rarely happens but leave time but not several weeks IMO

Thanks for the tips, I will keep my eyes open.
My friend who've been in Europe almost yearly, warn me yesterday that she saw often in Portugal and Spain signs "No Eurail pass allowed" at some train stations, so was advising me not to buy it.

If the prices are the same, I wonder what the convenience of the pass is if you have to be reserving in advance a seat to climb on the train. It maybe just easier to buy tickets there when there is more competition having several trains going the same route....

Mia

pookymimi - A Eurailpass valid in Portugal and Spain is good on practically every train in those two countries and on all - yes all mainline trains run by the vast state-owned railways.

The pass is not valid on a few minor so-called 'private' railways - i know on none of these in Portugal and only a very few in Spain - mainly the narrow-gauged trains running along the northen coast from the French border via San Sebastian, Bilboa to Santander - trains that few tourists would ever take.

Your friend is simply wrong or mis-construing something - of that i am sure.

I would like to know what exact stations in Spain she saw the "No Eurail Pass Allowed" on?

It sure was not a RENFE station - the Spanish Railways that is for sure.

There are 'private railways' in a few countries besides Spain where that may be true (like Switzerland) but not in Spain nor Portugal.

If the prices are the same, I wonder what the convenience of the pass is if you have to be reserving in advance a seat to climb on the train. It maybe just easier to buy tickets there when there is more competition having several trains going the same route....>

the advantage could be saving a whole lot of money over just showing up at the station and buying a ticket

and not sure about the competition having several trains things - all trains between two points will have the same fare structure - there is no competition in these countries with state-run railways. So price is the factor.

Thanks for taking time to reply .