Raileurope question
 

Can my DH buy a 1st class Saverpass, and I buy a Youth Saverpass (I'll be 25 at the time of the trip), which is 2nd class, and still have us both sit together (in 2nd)?

That option looks to be the cheapest by far, even over getting me a Youth pass and having him buy point-to-point tickets, but I don't know if that's allowed.

Unless you are BOTH traveling on the <b>same class</b> pass you cannot sit together <b>unless</b> your husband is willing to sit in Second with you.

First class passholders can sit anywhere; Second Class passholders can only sit in Second Class.

Yes, you can try to both sit together in First but be prepared to get kicked out if and when the Pass is checked.

Aren't &quot;saverpasses&quot; for two people traveling together at all times? If so, you may both have to buy one to get that deal rather than one person on a saver and the other on a youth.

I'd call RE to clarify that issue before making and final plans.

I'd also try buying your train tickets elsewhere than RE--less expensive.

I suggest inputting your proposed itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see if passes will be more economical than point-to-point tickets.

generally speaking, the more you use passes the more economical they become.

Hi tara,

Why would DH buy a 1cl pass if he will be sitting in 2cl?

Have you looked at FlexiPass? Good for 2 or more people traveling together.

((I))

&lt;I'd also try buying your train tickets elsewhere than RE--less expensive&gt;

Dead wrong advice in this case. Though RailEurope has a rep on this board, and justly so of jacking up prices on point to point tickets they actually sell Swiss Passes at prices significantly LOWER than at the station in Switzerland for the exact same pass. (Compare RE prices with those on www.sbb.ch - Swiss Rail web site)
And Swiss Pass prices always have to be sold at the same price in the US - there is no variance allowed under the contract with each agents. I always recommend folks contact BETS for their Swiss rail expertise -(www.budgeteuropetravel.com) for Swiss Pass info and sales as they work thru RailEurope but don't charge some of RE's fees (like paying it seems $25 to talk to someone at RE when ordering).
Dukey has given you the good answers regarding saverpass - but why is DH buying a first class saver pass - why don't you both buy 2nd class saverpasses? The best bet for most is a 3-day flexipass at $150 each in second class. There is not a youth pass in the Swiss Flexipass form - in any case even on consecutive day passes if you average the single traveler price with the youth price and compare with the saverpass it comes out almost exactly the same p.p. - in your case there is no reason to do the youth pass it seems.
For help with understanding Swiss trains i'd advise you to look at www.ricksteves.com and www.euraide.com and also get the free European Planning &amp; Rail guide from Budget Europe at the home page i referenced above.
And about railsaver.com - the fares they use to compare with a pass are Raileurope fares i believe and thus highly inflated over what you'd buy in Switzerland - check www.sbb.ch for real prices in Swiss Francs - you'll find they are often half as cheap as RailEurope prices that railsaver.com uses for their comparison, thus making the comparison worthless - like comparing apples to oranges. Of course inflated prices helps railsaver sell railpasses, their main business.

Glad to know but did the OP say they were travelling in Switzerland? Maybe I don't understand--the Swiss pass is good throughout Europe?

Oops don't know how i got Switzerland in there - but the fact that averaging a single first class pass price with a single youth second class price with the first class Saver pass price nearly always comes out about the same so it's a no-brainer to go the saver route -
For example take the 15 day Eurail Saverpass vs 15 day Eurail Youth and 15 day Eurail single 1st class:
1st class one adult = $605
2nd class youth pass = $394
total for 2= $999
1st class saver (per person) =$513
total for two = $1026 - just $27 more than individual passes - savings are similar on practically any Raileurope pass so i think going the 1st class saver route is a no-brainer - for $27 you both travel together and in first class to boot!

To add - i think the OP made the mistake of taking the 1st class saverpass price for her DH when in fact he'd have to buy a single first class pass at a much higher rate as, as Dukey says, saverpass is only for two or more people buying the exact same pass - an adult and a youth pass cannot be included on a saverpass but require individual passes.

BUT does a EurailPass save them money overall.

I think the OP was comparing the price of point-to-point tickets on the RailEurope site; which is why Gretchen questioned the use of that site. As we know, it's best to price tickets out at railsaver to see if passes are worthwhile in the first place.

I agree with the earlier observation that often two 2nd class saver passes are less expensive than any single pass and a youth pass.

As for RailSaver, don't waste your time. Their prices are not accurate. Once I priced a route on RailSaver and it said point-point tickets would be less, and gave a price. When followed the link to puchase the p-p tickets, they were much more expensive than they had originally qouted.

Bottom line, there is no better method to compare ticket prices than the old-fashioned way - WORK. Find the national rail sites and find the actually fares there.

I have heard that the German rail site is the best to use.

You can't purchase a 2nd class Eurail pass if you're older than 25, which would explain why she was buying 1st class for DH. We would have gladly traveled 2nd class but didn't want to be separated from our teens so had to buy 1st class for them too.

Hi mntravelers4
&gt;You can't purchase a 2nd class Eurail pass if you're older than 25, ...

A very good point.

&gt;We would have gladly traveled 2nd class but didn't want to be separated from our teens so had to buy 1st class for them too.&lt;

Couldn't you just buy 1cl for the older travelers, 2cl for the teens and all sit in 2cl?

((I))

When your pass will be checked and you have a second class seat be prepared to hear &quot;You stay if you pay&quot;.

Hi G,

Are you saying I can't sit in 2cl if I have a 1cl railpass?

((I))

If you have a second class you can only sit in 2nd. If you have a first class you can sit in either.

Good.

That's what I suggested.

((I))

Tara3056, you got lots of responses about the passes. I just want to point out that some trains (usually the better, faster ones) require seat reservations in addition to tickets or passes. The reservations cost a few euros.

Ira, very good point (buying 2nd for the teens and sitting with them). But when we factored in the cost difference and the fact that we're traveling in August heat, especially with 1/3 of the trip in Italy, the 1st class air conditioning factor won out (correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that 2nd class has air??). Cost was $513 for 15-day 1st Class Saver Pass for the two of us; cost for 2nd class Youth Pass (again please correct me if I'm wrong, but no Saver pass available for Youth?) $394 each, so savings would have been only $238.

Also, just a note, depending on the train, reservations can be more than just a few Euro. Reservation cost was $140 for Thalys from Cologne Germany to Paris, though part of that may be extra cost specifically for Thalys train, I would guess. No breakout from www.bahn.de on how much was reservation cost vs. Thalys. But, in any case, well worth the $ to know that the last leg of our trip is reserved so we can make it back to Paris to fly home!

We are first-time Europe travelers, and the Eurail passes were one of our first decisions/purchases in the planning phase. Now, after dong more research on this awesome site and other places, I think we probably overpaid vs. buying point-to-point; however, knowing this part of the trip should be stress-free is hopefully worth it.

I'm hoping one day there will be a &quot;next time&quot;, as we will probably do this part differently...

OP, I hope you're getting some good info here!

Correction on reservations for Thalys from Cologne to Paris: $104, not $140. Sorry!

(correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that 2nd class has air??)

You ARE wrong - either all the train has a/C or not. There is not much differece, as everybody tries to tell here...

Tara3056, I am wishing now that I had read all of your other posts before my replies. Let me get this right...you're under 25, taking a 29-day trip to Europe with your husband, having just spent a week in Paris earlier this year? And you love champagne and wonder if Dom is cheaper there, and wondering what people think of the private guide you hired, and whether to wear your lovely (I read &quot;expensive&quot;) wedding ring? I am wondering, why on earth would you care about the cost between 1st class and 2nd class Eurail pass?

Oh, if I sound jealous, absolutely yes! I am 46 and have dreamed of doing this all of my life, and am finally able to, but only by using years of frequent flier miles, staying in budget hotels, and picnicking when we get there! I hope you count your blessings!

Altamiro, thank you for the correction. Knowing that may have made a difference in our decision, but now I just live with all of the decisions (another poor one? Paris Pass for $400+!!!), for better or worse, and would love to someday go back with the benefit of learning from my mistakes. :-)

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I think I've got it all squared away now, thanks to the advice given here. In particular, that railsaver website Dukey gave was a big help and showed that a combo of passes and point-to-point tix will most likely be best.

And it's good to know, just for the sake of knowing, that someone with a 1st class pass can choose to sit in 2nd if they want.

But I had to address mntravelers4 - Yes, I am very fortunate. I'm 25, and my husband is 30, and we don't have kids. We're able to do many things right now, and we're enjoying it while we can, and believe me, I do appreciate it! The reason I care about saving money here and there, where I can, is because it makes no sense to me to pay more for something just because I can, OR to pay more for something that doesn't matter to me. We don't have unlimited resources, no matter how your post made it sound. So if I can save a couple hundred dollars on our rail travel, and I don't care about whether I'm in 1st or 2nd class, then I can take the money I save and use it to stay in a nicer hotel room than we could otherwise afford, or eat at nicer places, or whatever. We've set aside $10,000 for this month-long trip, which must pay for everything (food, sights, transportation, airfare, hotels). While that *is* a lot of money and we won't exactly be &quot;roughing it&quot; while we're there, it would be possible to spend a lot more than that, too, on a month in Europe. Again, saving money on unimportant things lets me apply it to to the things we do care about.

Point well taken. :-)

Hi mn,

Enjoy your visit.

Don't think about what you might have done to save a few dollars.

From what you learn on this trip, you will be able to decide what is and isn't worth saving money on.

On one visit, we saved $20 by taking the IC instead of the ES*, because the schedules were almost identical.

Unfortunately, we arrived 3:30 hr late and lost an entire afternoon. Not likely to repeat that.

((I))

Ira, thanks. No, no regrets; every decision was made with the best info we had at the time. Only regret is that I did not find this site sooner. By the way, your posts in particular, as well as several others' (robespierre one of them) have been most helpful and interesting. I'm sure others agree. I just sometimes wonder when, or IF, you guys ever sleep!