Study Abroad in Spain
 

Is a Eurail pass the way to see Europe while studying in Grenada for a semester this Spring?

Europe is really huge. Which countries would you like to visit? If you are staying in Spain, the cost of train tickets between some places are not so expensive and it may be better not to buy a railpass.

I think I've seen/heard that the inter-rail pass is actually cheaper if you buy it here in Europe when you arrive, as opposed to in advance, I'm assuming from the US. Check rates on STA Travel.

There are also different rates for young persons (under 26?)

It depends how much time you have between studying, whether in one block or broken up weekends.

The zones for the inter-rail pass are also split, France-Spain-Portugal, Germany-Poland-Austria, etc. etc. or the "global", which covers all EU zones, but the maximum trip is 1 month I think.

I recommend you get a 2 week france-spain-portugal rail pass and then get cheap flights to other destinations you want to see in europe.

I doubt you would get your money's worth out of a pass since you will be in school most of the time. There are usually some local companies that run excursions for exchange students at very good prices. Also, there are many budget airlines in Europe where you can book flights for as cheap as a few euro. Look at www.whichbudget.com and www.skyscanner.net for cheap flights.

When my daughter was in Madrid, they sometimes used a company called Funiversal. I'm not sure if they operate out of Granada.

i just checked and the eurrail that you refer to is on the US version of the STA travel site. check the uk site for info on inter-rail, which is considerably cheaper.
however i was worng, they are not doing combined country passes any more, just single countries or the full global, with varying prices for each.

You can not get to Europe by train if studying in Grenada. Different part of the world separated by the North Atlantic Ocean.

You can get anywhere in Europe by train if you have enough time, if there is a train station where you start and where you want to go. So you can get to France, etc. by train from Granada, even though it would require lots of connections.

Maybe it would make sense if you want to do a lot of train travel after you are finished studying. You can't do it while you are studying, of course -- Granada is too far away to make that easy for a day or two or even weekend. You probably could get to France maybe but it would take a lot of time out of a weekend. I read there will be a high-speed route between Madrid and Barcelona starting maybe next Spring, which will help.

In any case, InterRail passes are for Europeans, not Americans. Americans can't buy them.

viajero are you joking? i think we are all pretty aware that you cannot get to europe from US by train...

(the "global" i refer to is the name given to the open-pass for all european countries for interrail).

????

travel_buzzing-- you need some serious quality time with a world map....Grenada is not in the US.

My point to bbrier (which now includes travel_buzzing for obvious reasons) is that knowing to spell the name of a destination correctly is a cornerstone of travel logistics. Try entering Grenada in a European rail website and you are on to a rude awakening....

viajero i think you misunderstood my post.
When did I say that either Grenada, or indeed Granada where in the US?

I was assuming that the OP is from the US.

I recommendeded that bbrier look at the UK version the the STA travel WEBSITE, as opposed to the US VERSION, in regards to looking at EUROPEAN rail-fares:

In Statravel.com, on the US VERSION, they have the EURAIL pass, which is more expensive, whereas on the UK VERSION (of the website) they have the INTERRAIL pass which is cheaper and has more options.

I think it's fairly obvious that bbrier was referring to granada in spain and not grenada in the caribbean.