I am not sure that all Eurail Aide sites sell Eurailpasses - i think all i've seen outside of Paris do but in Paris i think it could be still at the only International Ticket window in Paris the SNCF has operated for years.

But things change since i last looked in those stations a few years back.

I will look next time

for now one could try any station and be told perhaps to go to Saint-Lazare - in any case OP has ample time to order here and avoid the 15-20% or whatever markup that has been in effect for years (again no knowledge of current policies)

Well, I am certainly not the expert others are on this board but I will offer a few comments. I see you have a 2 year old and apparently a fairly ambitious itinerary. I wonder if you have booked all your places to stay at night (and so have a firm schedule).

I have used a select country rail pass, point to point tickets and driven and there are advantages to each. But with your schedule, if it is firm, I would highly recommend that you look at the pass. You do spend a lot of time in lines without one and I would not want to do that with a 2 year old. And I think you would likely save money too. (I do not know your ages though or how many are traveling.) One thing that surprised me was the (what I considered) high reservation fee you had to pay for many trains in addition to the pass. Some you do, others not.

I see you are considering renting a car for the day in Austria. You could look into Rail Fly combinations or just renting a car separately for several days, and not using the train those days.

I have not used them but have heard that BudgetEuropeTravel.com (mentioned above) is a great resource. It is not too late to get your railpass before you leave, or order tickets online. Hope you have a great time.

for Raileurope? Because no respectable European would buy those passes>

you are saying that every railpass - hundreds of them no European would ever buy?

Well i have never heard such an idiotic statement on Fodors before - you are saying that every version of every railpass is a rip off?

Well a lot of less than respectable Europeans would love to buy some of these passes - like the OP above could well buy a 3-country Eurail Select Pass good in just about any 3 countries they select - say Benelux - Belgium, Netherlands and Luzembourg as one country for pass purposes - and say Germany and France.

He/she buys a Eurail Selct Youth Pass for 3 countries - minimum 5 days of unlimited travel to be used anytime over a 2-month period - a 'flexipass'

He/she pays the equivalent of 40 euros a day - unlimited rides midnight to midnight - that's for a 5-day pass

For a 6-day/2 mo pass he.she pays 225 euros - yup only 25 euro for the extra or sixth day or about 37 euros a day

For an 8-day youthpass he/she pays 260 euros - yup only 35 euros more for TWO whole unlimited days more above 6 - 33 euros a day

So no respecting European would buy for 40 euros/day; 37 euros/day or 33 euros/day for unlimited unrestricted fully flexible travel to hop practically any train anytime in those countries?

Well if they thought that they would be daft - totally daft

wobbers - take the 8day in 2mo youth flexipass select 3 countries - over two months you move anywhere in France, Germany and Benelux for 33 euros a day - if doing 8 train trips - not unusual for young folk traveling around - even Europeans on Inter-Rail Passes, which zillions of European youths buy at approximate prices Americans and others buy Eurail Youthpasses - or often even more - are these European kids not 'respectable'

ladies and gentlemen i present the ultimate foolish statement = 'that no respectable European would ever buy any of those passes' -zillions of European youths do buy the very same version - InterRail every year

Beware when anyone says 'railpasses are always a bad idea' for they absolutely have not examined the very passes and are literally speaking out of......

and again this is not to say everyone will benefit from a pass - many will not and will use the online discounts better but even those discounted tickets don't always better a pass.

You have to do your homework - look at the online discounts and decide whether you want flexibility or not and whether you can commit to non-changeable trains months in advance, etc. If yes and not going all over the place then that may be the best way to go - if no then a railpass - for fully flexible travel may be priceless.

Beware anyone like wobbers saying railpasses are always a bad idea for they know not of which they speak.

wobbers - RailEurope does not create Eurailpasses - guess who does - the European Railways themselves thru the Eurail Committee, sitting in Utrecht, Netherlands - at least get something right if you are going to criticize RailEurope, which is often justly criticized and by me as well when warranted. But throwing the baby out with the bathwater is just so so naive.

The bottom line to all of this is you must do your homework. One size does not fit all. You must fit your railpass and or point to point tickets as well as local area tickets into your itinerary. Take a look at all prices home and abroad. If you can nail down trips way ahead of time the specials are the way to go. When the dollar is very low you are better off buying your pass in Europe. I saved $80.00 on a German Rail Pass that I purchased upon arrival in Frankfurt. The internet is a wonderful shopping tool. Use it.

When the dollar is very low you are better off buying your pass in Europe.>

but this applies to relatively few of the zillions of railpasses, many of which are not sold in Europe and must be purchased before arrival. Like all types of Eurailpasses - though as discussed above you can buy Eurailpasses at a few Eurail Aide offices in Europe they are IME pegged 15-20% higher than the $ price you would have paid back home.

Now the German and Swiss passes you can buy in those countries - sometimes cheaper and sometimes more expensive due to currency fluctuations. When i checked recently on Swiss Passes they were considerably cheaper if bought in the U.s. than the same exact pass in Switzerland. But at other times it could be the reverse.

haxter1 IMO gives some great advice about doing your homework and having it pay off!

Eurailpasses are not sold in Europe. AND they are only rarely the best way to get from point A to point B.
RailEurope is never the most economical or even the best way to buy tickets.
The internet is such a tool for not only being informed but also saving money. It is worth doing homework, in this case.

"RailEurope is never the most economical or even the best way to buy tickets."

While that may well be true for the majority of point to point tickets, it is also a sweeping generalization.

Many passes are ONLY available through RailEurope as has been accurately pointed out in this thread.

We also often buy passes when we travel in Europe and which pass is dependent on the country or countries we are visiting. We find the flexibility to be a great asset and do enough significant day trips - often spontaneous - that the cost differential is negligible. We also travel first class as that is our choice.

This will always be a hotly debated topic but the only fact is that one must do their homework and then make a decision based on their personal travel style and priorities. For us, a pass is our preference for the majority of our trips. We have a 3 country Flexipass purchased for our upcoming trip in November and it will certainly be a cost effective option for our particular itinerary as well as afford us the complete flexibility we prefer.

Definitely go to BudgetEuropeTravel.com. Call their 800 number. bob there was extremely helpful when we took a couple of trips by train. They know all the discount passes, and will recommend the most economical way to go. They do not charge more than in Europe, and will mail paper tickets to you if you want. They have an office in the Munich train station, as I recall.

For Munich to Salzburg, for example, the Bayern Pass is cheap for day-trips. Going into and out of Prague, there was a 'Czech us out' pass that they recommended, too. But as you change country borders, you need a different ticket. budgetEurope knows how to navigate all this. They are an invaluable resource.

"For Munich to Salzburg, for example, the Bayern Pass is cheap for day-trips. "

Just beware that the there is a cost for these budge tickets in terms of time and convenience. In the example above, it takes about an hour longer on the cheaper regional trains that the Bayern Pass covers and that is about 30% longer than it takes on the RailJet.

Just beware that the there is a cost for these budge tickets in terms of time and convenience.>

and for the first-time tourist hopping on the right, or wrong, train can be flummoxing as the Lander Passes are like kfusto says only valid on regional trains and not the much faster ICE and IC trains - jump on one of those by mistake with a Lander Card and you are considered to be traveling without a valid ticket.

Things like Bayern Passes are great deals but just understand on what they can and cannot be used and expect to take much longer if that is important.

"PalenQ - no respectable European would buy those passes.
Over and out.
Wobbers"

wobbly what do you call the thousands and thousands of Europeans who do annually purchse Inter-Rail Passes (only available to European residents), passes that with some minor nuances, are just the same as Eurailpasses - the name is about the only difference - oh one more difference is that Inter-Rail Passes seem always to be a bit higher in price than the equivalent Eurailpass.

wobbly - are all those thousands of Europeans not respectable? Well in your terms they are not but in their terms they thought it good enough deals to buy them, despite, like you, having all the various online fares at their disposals.

The Bayern Pass, if used properly, is a great price, non?

I think our family of four went Munich-Salzburg RT, in one day a few years ago, and it was only about 36EU for all four of us. We also went Munich-Fussen using the pass.

As tourists, we weren't concerned so much about the time in transit, because we wanted to see the countryside. Just so we could get to Munich at night.

Coming back from Fussen, for instance, we missed the last direct train, so we took two slow regional trains back to Munich, connecting in some little town whose name I forget. It was actually fun, because we had dinner in a tiny town we never would have seen otherwise.

Yes the Bayern Pass is a tremendous deal, especially for the more numbers traveling toghether and as long as you understand the restrictions and, like me and PeaceOut, enjoy riding local trains that actually stop at sleepy stations, etc. And it can be used on virtually all transports in places like Munich - S-Bahns, U-Bahns, buses, etc the rest of the day when you return or just to get to the train station from your hotel.

and on these local or regional trains you can use the Bayern Pass on you get a whole different glimpse of Germans than on the bullet trains - like the rural folk who board at sleepy rural stations faster trains speed thru - but one thing that could unnerve some is the penchant to use these local trains as school buses - it is not uncommon on school days in Germany IME on local trains for swarms of school kids to board filling up the whole 2nd class train car - so it is like riding a school bus full of teens - somewhat interesting but somewhat uncomfortable to me at least.

I have experienced the school bus scene that PalenQ speaks of. At times some of the older students drink beer on their way home. This has never bothered me because other than being a little loud their behavior was not unacceptable.

haxter - i agree with you - never bothered me and as a former high school teacher i rather like seeing what German students are like - the only problem is when there are not enough seats and it is a cattle car scene - but they are usually only on the train for a few stops. so it is kind of fun - like being back in high school!