I heard that rates at Raileurope are suppose to go up after the new year. I am planning a trip for June should I buy my tickets now just to be safe?
What is the difference between a Youth 1 and a Youth 2 ticket?

Raileurope has officially announced that the price of passes, etc. will NOT increase in 2004. You must use any product you buy from them WITHIN 6 MONTHS of issue.

People here will undoubtedly tell you that Raileurope charges an additional 35% for point-to-point tickets beyond the bought-in-Europe price. I have never seen that particular figure adequately substantiated but you WILL pay for shipping and handling and the "convenience" of buying tickets here vs. after arrival. Most folks will tell you to wait until you get to Europe and then buy all your tickets and make seat reservations (the latter are much cheaper to buy over there than through Raileurope) once you arrive in your first city.

You can check out the differences in tickets, I would assume, by going to the website at www.Raileurope.com

Keep in mind that if you are planning to buy a rail pass, the rules state that you must have it validated in Europe within 6 months of isssue date. So, the earliest you could purchase the pass would be 5 mo, 29 days prior to arrival in Europe.

Not sure the difference between Y1/Y2--does it have to do with class of travel?

Good luck.

Passes are a special topic and some of them are difficult to buy in Europe. It depends on which one.

For Switzerland, email me if you want some detail.

One of the above contributors said he had not seen RE prices documented. Well let me quote a couple.
From Paris to Lausanne, RE wants $82.00 full price; $69 leisure, and $59 senior.
(US dollars) The French site, www.sncf.com lists a price of 43? for a senior and normal adult 65? for the same train.

The 43? multiplies to $52.90 based on today's rate of exchange.
That is about $6.00 cheaper or 10%.
But, RE always charges to ship the ticket whereas in the past I have picked up my tickets at a station in Paris and paid no shipping fee. If you count the shipping fee on this ticket alone, you get a substantial increase percentage wise.

The fare, second class, Paris to Berlin via Cologne was actually listed as being less if purchased from Rail Europe.
About $150 US to 160 ?

Before deciding, check out as best you can comparison prices. The problem is that international prices are hard to come by. The Sncf site lists the price if the trip originates in France.
Other national rail web sites don't usually give cross border prices. They can be approximated by getting two point to point fares from city of origin to a town near the border and fron another town near the border to the destination, all pairs within the same nation of course. For example for Zurich - Munich, you can get prices for two pieces.

Zurich to St. Margrethen from the Swiss site, and Bregenz to Munich from the German site. (The time between St. Margrethen to Bregenz is 13 minutes, but no fare listed!! Go figure.)
It takes some fiddling but you can come close.
I have seen some changes price wise in Rail Europe's structure in recent months, so it pays to shop around if non trivial dollars are being expended.
Good luck.

For prices within Germany, the German national site will list them.
The same is true within Austria, and Switzerland, if you consult the national rail sites.
Here is a good site to know:
http://mercurio.iet.unipi./misc/timetabl.html

The above site will give you an icon for all European national rail web sites.
Some of them are not in English, but France, Switzerland, and Germany are.
Austria is somewhat. So are Finland, Belgium and others.
Good searching.
Good luck.

One other thing to keep in mind with RailEurope is that if you lose your ticket you're screwed. They will not replace it. Period. For this added convenience, you are allowed to pay extra.

I think maybe we are on two different wave lengths here. Who's talking about passes from Raileurope and who's talking about point to point tickets?

I don't know that you can buy a ticket now, as someone else said. Fares are probably going up because they are in Europe. I think you are talking about a Eurostar ticket so you might check their web site. I'm not sure, but I think the youth 1 vs 2 refers to different travel periods, some fares are higher during more peak time periods.

Hello Michelle,

Are you buying a railpass or point-to-point tickets?

If a railpass, go to www.railsaver.com and enter your itinerary, **before** you buy. You might not need one.

Tickets purchased in Europe or online from the national rail sites *are* much cheaper that from Raileurope.

What is your planned itinerary?