Railpass or buy in Europe?
Apr 18th, 2003, 12:41 PM
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Railpass or buy in Europe?
I've looked into buying a 5 day/3 country Eurail Select pass for travel in France, Italy and Switzerland. The cost is $304 at raileurope.com. I've also tried using the Italian site http://www.trenitalia.com that was recommended on this forum. I find this one very difficult to use. Is it better to have a pass or buy point to point tickets when I get to Europe?
Apr 18th, 2003, 01:44 PM
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Hi Denise,
When will you be traveling and how many trips do you plan on taking during your stay? I is sometimes difficult to determine costs of pt-to-pt tickets in Europe, but if you use the RailEurope site and deduct 25% you have a close approximation.
Greg
When will you be traveling and how many trips do you plan on taking during your stay? I is sometimes difficult to determine costs of pt-to-pt tickets in Europe, but if you use the RailEurope site and deduct 25% you have a close approximation.
Greg
Apr 18th, 2003, 01:53 PM
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I think Greg's about right, also, in my experience and that should work for a rough approximation. If you are fairly close, you might want to check more specifics. I haven't used trenitalia but I thought there were some web sites that helped you figure out price differences vs. passes that might be easier -- maybe www.railsaver.com or ricksteves?
Apr 18th, 2003, 01:58 PM
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Hi Greg,
We would be traveling mid-July to mid-Aug (I know it is not the best time to travel in Europe). Our plans are to travel:
1. Paris - Avignon
2. Avignon - Santa Margherita, Italy
3. Santa M. - Venice
4. Venice - Murren, Switz.
5. Murren back to Paris
So the 5 day pass works for us. Are you saying that Raileurope adds about a 25% fee? This seems like a lot.
We would be traveling mid-July to mid-Aug (I know it is not the best time to travel in Europe). Our plans are to travel:
1. Paris - Avignon
2. Avignon - Santa Margherita, Italy
3. Santa M. - Venice
4. Venice - Murren, Switz.
5. Murren back to Paris
So the 5 day pass works for us. Are you saying that Raileurope adds about a 25% fee? This seems like a lot.
Apr 18th, 2003, 02:35 PM
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Use www.railsaver.com - - and yes, 25% is a conservative estimate of the surcharge you will pay on raileurope.com - - not even counting their "handling and postage" fees.
I think that 50% markup is closer to the truth for many fares.
Best wishes,
Rex
[email protected]
I think that 50% markup is closer to the truth for many fares.
Best wishes,
Rex
[email protected]
Apr 19th, 2003, 06:38 AM
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With the time of year you are going be careful using a railpass. Many of the trains will be booked solid and they won't allow you to just jump on/off with your railpass--most of the times you have to have a seat assignment (which is like $5-10 with a railpass) but it doesn't really matter if they are sold out. Just make sure you are flexible with when you travel to and from each city and that you are also fleixble with how long it will take.
Apr 19th, 2003, 07:08 AM
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A couple of alternatives to using RailEurope: Try your local AAA office--no fees added and you can buy your seat reservations at the same time. The Rick Steves site (www.ricksteves.com) often provides freebies with a pass purchase. I don't think there are added fees at that site either.
Apr 19th, 2003, 08:07 AM
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Denise, I didn't read the other replies you got-did anyone tell you to check out the raileurope.com site?
I always buy my eurorail passes there, before I leave the US. The passes do tend to get confusing sometimes, but if you check out the info available, you should find what is best suited for your trip. I've purchased both intra country(3 country) and one country passes there,,as well as the local stuff, like the paris metro cards and the london visitors travel card. Except for Sweden, I find it easier to get the passes before we get there. Sweden is an exception, because they seem to be exactly the same deals in stockholm as at the euro-pass site. Hope this helps
Enjoy your trip!
I always buy my eurorail passes there, before I leave the US. The passes do tend to get confusing sometimes, but if you check out the info available, you should find what is best suited for your trip. I've purchased both intra country(3 country) and one country passes there,,as well as the local stuff, like the paris metro cards and the london visitors travel card. Except for Sweden, I find it easier to get the passes before we get there. Sweden is an exception, because they seem to be exactly the same deals in stockholm as at the euro-pass site. Hope this helps
Enjoy your trip!
