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A Complete Guide to Eurail Passes by Rail Europe

Eurail Passes by Rail Europe. Scenic europe train routes. The picture depicts a scene of a high-speed train traveling through a lush green countryside, with a river flowing alongside the tracks. The train is a sleek, modern bullet train, painted in a silver and white livery. It is traveling at high speed, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. In the background, the iconic Eiffel Tower stands tall, dominating the skyline. Surrounding the track and tower are rows of buildings, mostly Parisian apartment buildings, with their characteristic white facades and red roofs. The buildings are interspersed with lush green spaces, including parks and gardens. The sky is a bright blue, with fluffy white clouds scattered across it. The sun is shining brightly, casting a warm golden glow over the scene. The overall mood of the image is one of peace and tranquility, with a hint of excitement. The high-speed train evokes a sense of movement and progress, while the serene landscape and the iconic Eiffel Tower provide a sense of history and tradition. The image suggests a feeling of connection between the modern and the traditional, highlighting the beauty and dynamism of the city of Paris.

Eurail Passes by Rail Europe

Updated on 21-09-2024
This article was originally published on 6-Jan-2018

Whew! We have completed our 100+ days extended tour of the Europe, which we named #NiVaEuro. There are so many stories and experiences we would like to share. One of them is travelling by European rail network which was an integral part of our plan. Eurail Pass certainly helped in making our international and Intra-national train journeys fast, fun, scenic, convenient and simple.

The high speed Pendolino EWD350 train by PKP Intercity Premium, Polish Railways

Having had a firsthand knowledge of using a Eurail Pass in a variety of situations, we would like to share all our experiences, tips and tricks. It includes a guide to using Eurail Passes, types of Eurail Passes and many more things. In short, a Complete Guide to Eurail Pass. It is, many times, incorrectly referred to as Eurorail Pass by Rail Europe.

Background

We were still at the final planning stage of our #NiVaEuro trip of the Europe and the time had come to find answers for one of the more important questions.

How were we going to travel within Europe?

Cities within Europe are well connected by Air, Road & Rail and at many places waterways too. Our plan was a loose one, meaning there were unchangeable dates for a few cities because of peak time accommodation rush and the dates in between were sketchy.  It meant that we could not make transportation plans well in advance except for the first few days. So air travel was taken out of equation except for unavoidable conditions.

Hiring a car is a great idea for a few days but ours was a longish program involving multiple countries. We had already spent on the mandatory ​Schengen visa insurance and add to that the additional expense & hassles of buying vehicle insurance, high way tax stickers, finding parking place and so on. So we decided to keep this option on need basis.

We were left with Buses and Trains. Buses are less expensive but trains are more comfortable, especially during a night journey. Trains are also faster. After deliberating the pros and cons we decided to use trains most of the time, buses and flights when needed.

One major benefit of travelling by trains, which swung our decision in its favor, is that the main stations are often in the center of the city.

Places visited by us during our #NiVaEuro epic journey 2017, mostly on European Rail Network using Eurail Pass
Ni & Va (NiVa) enjoying the scenery in Croatia
Picture perfect! European landscape from train

What is a Eurail Pass?  

First and the foremost is that Eurail does not own any train stock or run any railways. Eurail is an agent or a facilitator that has agreements with as many as 32 European Railways to sell Eurail passes to prospective travelers. A Eurail pass is a single ticket (pass) that allows unlimited train journeys on the date of travel. What it really means is, that you can hop-in and hop out of trains as many times as you want at no extra cost, except for the reservation charges, if applicable.

During our own travels, on almost every one of our travel day we had taken multiple trains to reach our destination and many times even included a day trip. More about it in Tips and Tricks below. 🙂

Eurail however, does not sell point to point train ticket. For that you have to contact the local train station.

Eurail Pass is issued only to Non-Europeans. InterRail Passes are for Europeans.

Eurail Pass kit that includes a large Eurail Map

How many types of Eurail Passes are there?

Eurail passes are designed to suit all pockets, any age group and many types of travel plans.

The Select Eurail Pass is if the travel is between 2 to 4 countries sharing a border. There are multiple options available as to the number of travel days with a validity period of 2 months.  Further options are available whether you want to travel first or second class or if you are a youth (12 to 27 years), Adults (28 and over) or family with kids.

The Global Eurail Pass is for those wishing to travel 5 or more countries. Various options are available as to the number of traveling days and validity period. There are also options for continuous travel. For instance, you buy the 3 months continuous Eurail Pass means that you have the option to travel on each one of the day on unlimited trains.

For Global Eurail Pass, if one of the travelling group is an adult then the only option is to buy a First Class Eurail Pass. However if youths aged between 12 and 27 travel alone or in a group, have the option to buy second class pass too. Good news for families is that two kids below 12 may travel free with each adult.

For our #NiVaEuro trip we got the 15 travelling days with 2 months validity. So we had to choose our starting date wisely to make sure we could cover as much ground as possible. We tried to schedule our longer travels during this period, because beyond two months we had to either buy 1 month Eurail pass or travel point to point. We decided on point to point as that was working out cheaper since we were covering just a few cities and staying more days in each of them after the expiry of the Eurail Pass.

Country Specific train passes

In addition to Select and Global Eurail passes one could obtain country specific multiple day passes too. The prices and conditions vary and the details are provided at One Country Pass.

The travel options starts from 3 days in a month.

Single Country Eurail Passes with suggested minimum price

Some discounts are available if you decide to travel as a group under 1 ticket.

Please note that all Eurail Passes are paper tickets. Mobile tickets are not available as of now.

Should I buy Eurail Pass at all?  Is it worth it?

It is not mandatory to buy Eurail Pass to travel on European Train Network. If the travel is just point to point then single tickets may work out better. Many times we have taken a bus because either the train timings were not suitable or the train was just too expensive.

Eurail Passes may not be the cheapest option but certainly is a convenient option and cheaper if you consider point to point individual first class tickets.

We personally found that during our trip, which involved long distances over 11 countries, Global Eurail Pass was certainly helpful, added to that some of the night journeys we took helped us save on the hotels too.

Other points you may consider before deciding for or against, is at the Tips & Tricks and Benefits section below.

Everyone’s travel styles, likes and dislikes are different. That means each individual must do her/her calculations to see if it is worth it. Feel free to discuss should you have any query. Some people like to travel only by train.
While I waited at Sofia ticketing counter to book my night train ticket to Varna, I met a couple of Australians who wanted to go to Plovdiv. I told them to take the bus as we had just been to Plovdiv the previous day by bus which was frequent, fast, cheap and most comfortable. They wanted to go by train only.

Of late some of the train companies have started variable pricing policy based on supply and demand, just like airlines. That is another input to the hair-pulling arithmetic equation! 🙂 🙂

Should I buy Eurail Pass in advance?

It is better to buy it in advance to save time. However certain Eurail passes may be bought at the station but may be more expensive. Global Eurail Pass must be bought in advance and preferably get it delivered at your home address. Eurail pass may be bought up to 11 months in advance, before your first travel day. It is also important to get it activated before travelling at the starting train station.  We got our Global Eurail Pass more than one month before the travel commencement.

Is Eurail Pass Valid in all European countries and all their networks?

Eurail passes are valid across 28 countries on over 30 rail companies. We found out early in our travels that reservation charges and sleeper are applicable in high speed and night trains for sleeper.

Moonshine during ferry crossing across the Baltic sea. Yes, using Eurail Pass!

In addition, it is also valid on Buses run by Deutsche Bahn (DB). Yes, DB the German train company also runs buses on select routes. We actually took a night bus from Copenhagen to Berlin. It included a bonus of 40 minutes luxury ferry ride. 🙂 Where the bus and train too (I am not joking!) are carried by the ferry to the other side of Baltic Sea.

There are numerous ferry services where Eurail Pass is valid.

We installed an app called RailPlanner to help us with train schedules and information which actually helped us in identifying the trains in which these passes were valid. When in doubt we double checked with the conductor at the train or when we had time at the ticketing counter.

Can I use Eurail Pass for travelling to many countries by multiple trains in a day? 

The Select and Global Eurail Pass allows you to travel across multiple countries (as specified in the pass) and take multiple halts on a single travel day. You may also go out to another country and return to the originating country.  For example Bratislava is just one hour by train from Vienna. Once could do a day trip easily.

It looks like Eurail does not cover one of the countries I want to visit. What shall I do?

It is no big deal. If you so badly want to visit that country, all you need is to buy a direct ticket by train, bus or plane, to that country or city. Of course make sure you have the passport and visa for that country.  Please note that the United Kingdom is not part of Eurail but Ireland is, even though it does not share a land border with rest of the Eurail countries.If you have a Eurail Pass, you get discounts on ferry trips with Irish FerriesNorfolkline, and Stena Line between France and the UK. So, it’s a great way to explore these beautiful destinations while saving some money! 🚢🌍✨

Is Schengen Visa Valid in all of the Eurail Pass network countries?

Eurail pass covers a few Non-Schengen countries too. It is up to the traveler to ensure she/he has valid documents to enter Non-Schengen countries. Having said that, we found during our planning stage that some of them allowed entry if one had a valid multiple-entry Schengen visa. This was actually a blessing in disguise as it enabled us to travel over 100 days by travelling to Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria and save our Schengen days. Other Non-Schengen countries covered by Eurail Pass are Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ireland, Montenegro, Romania and Turkey.

The passport control happens on the train. If it is a Schengen to Schengen border crossing there may or may not be a cursory check. However for Schengen to non-Schengen there is a mandatory passport control and the officers actually board the train and checks the passport. It may take a few extended minutes to a few hours. We will write about our border crossing experiences separately. 🙂

Tips and tricks for using a Eurail Pass

In addition we also used app by regional railways like DB, OBB, CD and PKP etc. to get a feel of the reservation charges upfront.

When we travelled from Prague to Brno, we realized later that we should not have used the pass and instead booked a second class journey which would have cost under 10Euros a ticket.

By the time we reached Austria our Global Eurail Pass had expired. We found that there were train companies which were not on RailPlanner app that provided cheaper services; for example from Salzburg to Vienna. The information available on the station was sketchy except for a couple of advertisements. The tickets had to be bought only on-board the train.

1-2 arrangement in First Class. Hallmark of comfort and luxury in train travel

Normally a travel day starts from midnight and ends at next midnight. However, if the travel commences after 7:00 PM on a day and the train is scheduled to reach final destination after 4:00 AM then you are allowed to mark the travel date as the next day and use up the whole of next day travelling too.

For example.  We took a train from Krakow on 5th at 10:00 PM which was to reach Wroclaw on 6th at 6:00 AM. We marked the travel date as 6th on the travel diary. On reaching Wroclaw we dumped our luggage at the locker and proceeded towards Jelena Gora and a couple of other places and explored till evening. If this rule had not been there then we would have had to mark both 5th and 6th on the travel diary and thereby losing a travel day.

In most of the cities we visited, there were either coin operated luggage lockers or manned luggage store at the train station. We often used this facility after checking out of the hotel and before the night train. It gave us extra hours to explore the city. Once we even left our suitcases at the Sofia station for a couple of days while we went off to visit Varna ! The charges were nominal.

Other Benefits of Eurail Pass

The one-stop shop for train travel
A token gesture by Eurail on sending the completed Travel Diary

What happens when you lose your Eurail Pass?

If the Eurail Pass is stolen or misplaced then it is a dead loss and it cannot be replaced. We will have to buy a new pass. On buying a pass protection insurance, some amount may be redeemed depending on the balance number of days left.

Is Rail Pass different from Eurail Pass?

Rail pass is equivalent of Eurail pass for European citizens and permanent residents in Europe. Some of the rules of service are different so also the pricing.

How to order a Eurail Pass?

Eurail passes may be ordered on by visiting by clicking here or www.raileurope.co.in

Watch out for seasonal discounts from time to time.

Please note that once the order is confirmed it is almost impossible to change it. It is important to be sure of what type of Pass you want, the names and other particulars before ordering.  You can pay by credit card, debit card and PayPal. You may of course cancel it at a fee of 15% if the Eurail Pass is not validated.

Create Your Own Story!  

This is the tagline for Eurail Conclusion

The essence of the matter is, if your plan includes an element of uncertainty, many days, long distances, multiple countries & cities, high speed & night journeys then Eurail Pass is for you. If you love train travel then other factors do not matter much anyway! #CreateYourOwnStory. We created ours!

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Disclaimer: Eurail had supported our travels with 15 days in 2 months Global Eurail Passes but the opinions, as always, are our own.

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