In the end, a train pass isn t right for all trips but for most people spending a long time in Europ

Every two years, I use a train pass to ride the rails of Europe in an effort to answer the most important question travelers have on the subject: do these passes actually save you money or are they a giant waste of time?
Back in 2011 , I found that rail passes were worth the cost if you took lots of Rail Europe again gave me a pass to determine whether that was still true. I set off on a journey from Lisbon to Berlin, taking a variety of trains in order to explore the differences in value.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve heard from fellow travelers that passes have gotten harder to use due to limited seat availability and increased fees. It used to be that you could buy a rail pass, hop on a train, and go wherever you wanted. And if you needed a reservation for the seat, it didn’t matter whether you had a pass or not if there was a seat on the train, you got it. Now there are often only a set number of seats available airline travel tickets for passholders on any given train and many countries have instituted high-priced reservation fees (I’m looking at you, France!).
Additionally, as railways have had to deal with the rise of budget airlines, they have changed airline travel tickets their pricing model to more closely imitate airlines. Now they now tend offer cheap early bird prices and expensive last-minute fares.
The pass I was given was a first class 15-day, two month Global pass that costs $1,189 USD. (Why first class? Because it s the only pass you can get when you are over 26. I think this is a stupid rule by the way.) This means that I can use the pass for 15 non-consecutive days of travel in a two month period. The value of each journey works out to be $79. Since I was only in Europe for two weeks, I didn’t use the entire pass, but I used a variety of different trains for my tests. My five train rides then have a base value $395.
So with all the fees plus the base ticket price, did I save money? My total costs were $800 USD (the base cost plus fees). The added fees were for seat reservations. On night trains, they are required. In some countries, like Italy and France, reservations are also required for day trains. So that means on top of the base fare, you are also paying a small fee for the seat (anywhere between 2-9 Euros ($3-12 airline travel tickets USD)). Without the pass, my first class tickets would have cost me $975, a savings airline travel tickets of $175.
I never had any problems finding airline travel tickets a seat, except on the Paris to Amsterdam journey. The Thalys train has a limited number of passholder airline travel tickets seats and since I didn’t pre-book a ticket, instead of traveling direct, I had to make a number of stops. It made the journey cheaper but also a lot longer than it needed to be. Other than that, I had no problem using the pass or finding seat availability.
But rail passes airline travel tickets are all about money. If it doesn’t save you a dollar, it’s not worth getting. That means you have to do a lot of math to figure out if a pass is right or not. It can be a time-consuming process, but is certainly worth it in the end.
Just like the airlines, prices airline travel tickets are now variable and no longer fixed. Depending on when you book, your ticket cost will fluctuate. If you are willing to pre-book months airline travel tickets in advance, you ll easily find some unbeatable bargain deals such as Paris to Amsterdam from $46, Rome to Venice from $38, or Amsterdam to Berlin from $78. Denmark offers orange tickets that are 50% off the normal price. Since rail passes cost roughly $79 per trip, you can’t beat booking individual tickets far in advance.
If you are planning on a two-week trip months from now and you already know your dates, it’s not going to be a good idea to get a rail pass. Even though those early bird tickets airline travel tickets are non-refundable, they are still pretty cheap and you probably won t be changing too many of your dates.
But if you are traveling around Europe with no fixed plans, rail passes can work out to be a better value than buying same-day point-to-point tickets. To me, the pass is about flexibility and being able to hop on and hop off trains when you want. If you are traveling long term, you aren’t going to pre-plan months of travel. You are going to want the ability to go with the flow, which using a pass will give you.
I think one of the best ways to use the passes is to mix and match, using the rail pass for the expensive trains while paying for cheap tickets individually so you can maximize value. For example, airline travel tickets for 11 days of train travel in Europe, it s cheaper to buy a 10-day Eurail airline travel tickets Global airline travel tickets pass plus one point-to-point ticket for the cheapest train. Additionally, I place a value on flexibility. If the math is roughly the same, I ll buy a pass because saving $3 isn t worth trading the flexibility a pass gives.
That being said, reflecting on the high costs of the sleeper trains, I don’t think I would take an overnight train again. If you don’t mind a seat, it’s a great deal but I can’t sleep in seats and am not a huge train enthusiast to begin with, so I would opt for flights instead. At $79 USD, day trains work out to be cheaper than last-minute flights (baggage and service fees add up) but the added fees for night trains might make airfare better value.
Special note: Train passes also come with some other perks that you can see here . For example, passholders you get 50% off ferries in Greece, Italy, and Germany, 40% off ferries in Finland, and some other bus discounts. If take advantage of these perks as well, that savings should be factored into your decision as to whether a rail pass makes financial sense for your trip.
Rail passes airline travel tickets are all about math. The only way to know for sure whether a rail pass or point-to-point ticket would be cheaper is to work out the point-to-point prices for most of the trips you re planning airline travel tickets using the various European train operator websites.
After you have a general idea as to where you want to go, visit the national railway websites and work out two sets of prices: one for tomorrow airline travel tickets (i.e. a last-minute fare) and one for two months from now (i.e. an early bird fare). Add up the prices in each category.
See which is cheaper and take that option, bearing in mind that your journey may change or you may take more high-speed rails. If I know I’ll be in a lot of countries that don’t charge reservation fees and the prices are for booking early versus airline travel tickets using a pass are close, I’ll probably go with the pass as there is value in flexibility (I change my mind a lot).
In the end, a train pass isn t right for all trips but for most people spending a long time in Europe and traveling vast distances, having a pass will save you money. While the reservation fees stink, the basic principles of the pass still hold: if you are traveling vast distances, using a lot of high speed trains, and are traveling last minute, a rail pass is still going to save you money.
airline travel tickets If you want to book a pass, you can use the widget airline travel tickets below search passes, prices, and train tickets. Rail Europe is the largest broker of European rail passes outside of Europe. Whenever I need a pass, I buy from them as they are usually much cheaper than any other option. They have great customer service, frequent sales, and offices in Europe in case something goes wrong. Use this widget to compare prices:
Editor s note: Using the links on this page will (at no extra cost to you) generate a small commission on any sales. I recommend this company because I use them myself. Don t get a rail pass if your trip doesn t fit the above criteria but if you get one, using the links here will allow me to continue to give you advice that helps you travel better. If you don t wish you to use the links here, you can visit their website directly at raileurope.com. If you have any questions about passes, e-mail me at [email protected] and I ll help you figure it out!
Disclosure : As mentioned in the beginning of the post, Rail Europe gave me my pass for free and paid reservation fees. Rail Europe has been a site partner since 2009. All math is based on exchange rates and prices at the time.
Thank you Matt! This is really helpful! I ve always been curious about the Eurail passes and wether they are a good deal or not. Last time I traveled Europe, I opted for buses and cheap flights. I m planning on traveling Europe once my year of teaching in Spain is done and will be considering the Eurail pass this time.
I have been traveling in Europe since 2009 and I find that planning airline travel tickets it yourself and booking the planes, trains and buses that makes most sense financially and is the most convenient for your trip is so much cheaper than buying a eurail pass.
I do agree somehow that Eurail can be an option if you want a flexible trip. But even then, you still have to plan your route and you still need to book your seats and stuff. Does this make it really convenient and cheaper?
I would love to see a comparison of train tickets airline travel tickets booked in advance versus eurail. I m sure the results will be interesting. I might actually airline travel tickets use eurail this summer and do this kind of comparison myself.
I would like to see a second class Eurail Global Pass like InterRail offers. airline travel tickets Better yet, just bring back the good old Eurail airline travel tickets Pass of days past that did not require the additional monetary payment for seat reservations.
We re in Germany right now with a German Rail pass. Average airline travel tickets value for first class is €45/day. Average on-the-day cost of 2nd-class tickets we want is closer to €80. And I d rather be in 1st class having left money in my pocket. That said, the law has recently changed in Germany and allows the coach networks to compete with DB Should be some interesting price wars in the next few years.
Yea these new coach companies in Germany are great! airline travel tickets The savings are great as long as you re willing to spend a bit more time on a bus. A second class train ticket to Berlin airline travel tickets from where I live in Mannheim costs around 80 euros one way. By coach bus, it s only 20 euros!
Great post lots of good advice. When my wife and I travel in Europe (we re 65+ and love train travel), we usually are there for about two weeks at a time and always buy