RSSIntroduction
Exploring the old world of Europe
Coming from America, a melting pot so relatively young, I’ve always been drawn to Europe; it’s patchwork of preserved cultural identities and old-world mystique. So many ideas, so many peoples, within a day trip from each other.
I’ve flown around here before to study, to trace family lineage, and to vacation. But never have I traveled Europe in perhaps the way it was designed to be traveled: By train. Border-by-border, culture-by-culture, perception-by-perception.
For the past seven years, I’ve toiled in the modern media world of New York City. While on Fellowship, this is my year to explore the pulsating vibe of everything new in the old world of Europe.
As I go along, I’ll update this blog with travel insights and Eurail Train Tips to spur the thoughts of those of you on-board, and those of you dreaming of getting on-board.
This is my Journey. What’s yours?
Benjamin Thomas
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About the Eurail Blog
Benjamin Thomas from the USA has been using Eurail Passes to explore Europe. On this weblog he shares his (train) travel experiences. Intro
This blog is recommended by Eurail.Com.
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I love this sentiment. Makes me want to return again.
Hey! So, we’re pretty much doing the same kind of trip with the Global Eurail Pass…we have 21 consecutive days. I have a question for you. We’ll start using our passes on June 6, take 3 direct night trains that leave after 7 pm, and one night train that is not direct (Lisbon to Paris). That means we have 20 whole days of travel plus one day for that indirect overnight train, correct? Thank you!
Hi Jennifer,
Indeed, if you start your travels after 7pm on a direct nighttrain, you will only need to write down the day of arrival as a travel day. Do make sure to validate your Pass before boarding the train though! The 7pm rule can only be used within the overall validity of your Pass.
Kind Regards,
Gina Jones
Eurail.Com
Customer Service
Hi Jennifer-
Yes, Gina is correct. It should work fairly easily. Just pay close attention to the train attendant when s/he stamps your ticket on that indirect train, and be prepared to point to the after 7pm provision in your Ticket Rules if need be. I’ve had 1 attendant who initially didn’t seem to understand the after 7pm rule, but quickly did after I explained. Each attendant is different, as you’ll see, so just be mindful. Should work easily though.
Have fun! Ben.
Hi. I have 2 questions : (1) I want to buy a Global Pass but am confused – for consecutive pass (say 21 days) – do i need to travel everyday? and for flexi pass (say 15 days in 2 months), i can select the days i want to travel? (2) as i want to go to czech and poland but the global pass cannot be used there, i was thinking to get a poland country pass and a czech country pass. If I buy the country pass, how do I get from say germany to poland and vice versa (meaning to cross borders? can i use the global pass for crossing borders?
Hi Juliet –
It is good that you are getting organized. It is quite simple once you start traveling: 1) No, you don´t HAVE to travel everyday, it is your choice. But the consecutive day pass allows you that option. It is a good option if you are planning to travel to lots of places, say changing cities daily. And yes, you are correct, with the Flexi Pass you decide your days of travel within the timeframe. You can certainly buy individual country passes, and use the Global Pass in places like Germany. The Global Pass can be used up until a country´´s border. So if you were going from Germany to Poland, your Pass would cover you until the border of Germany and Poland, and a station attendant will be able to help you purchase the rest of your ticket into your destination in Poland. Or if you have the Poland country pass also, you can simply present that on-board once you are in Poland. Figure out first how mch time you would want to spend in Poland or Czech to see if a County Pass would be worth it for you. Benjamin.
Hi
Happy new yr to all! As my new yrs resolution is to travel more this yr, my husband and i decided to travel to Europe. We hope to purchase the 15 day global pass (consecutive 15 day pass) but discovered that we had a lot of questions regarding this.
1. What rail networks are covered by this particular pass?
2. Some countries appear to have their own type of train service (France – TGV, Germany – ICE, Italy – ES etc). Can we use these train networks with this pass and is the travel fully covered? A list would be very helpful
3. We plan to leave sometime in June 2009. We would really appreciate some advice on how to plan this trip properly and make the most out of our little adventure. For example, where we should land, which route we should take, what are the ‘do no miss’ cities etc, any help would be help!
Thank you!
Ishanthi
(Toronto)
Hi again,
After reading my previous post, I thought some parts may be confusing. I have already looked at the Eurail map available through this website – the railway systems I was asking about were the country-specific ones (as the ones named above).
I also had another question regarding the trip planning.
Is a trip from Rome – Naples – Brindiris; and then Brinditis – patras – Athens worth it on a 15 day pass?
And roughly how long is that trip?
(What we want is to see as many sights in as many countries within the 15 days)
Hi
My husband, an 18 yrs son and I plan to travel to Europe on March 13 onwards.
We hope you would suggest the type of rail pass we should get. I heard about Benilux but it looks so complicated. Below is our schedule.How may day pass shd we get. Some of the train ride may take more than 6 hours. Do you suggest we fly to Berlin and also to Amsterdam – to save time? Do we have to reserved all our seats for the rail ride. what if we change our itinerary? Which are the destination below we have to reserve seats? Appreciate your advice. Thanks
13/3 – Frankfurt to Berlin
14/3 – Berlin
15/3 – Berlin – Hamburg
16/3 – Hamburg
17/3 – Hamburg -Amsterdam
18/3 – Amsterdam
19/3 – Amsterdam – Bruges (Belgium)
20/3 – Bruges – Brussels
21/3 – Brussels – Frankfurt
Hello Sofi,
For your schedule a Eurail Benelux – Germany Pass would probably be the best. This allows you to travel on all trains in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands.
Your son of 18 can get the Youth Pass option (2nd class only) and for yourself and your husband you can get the 2nd class Saver Pass option. If you prefer to travel 1st class altogether, you can order the Saver Pass 1st class for the 3 of you. A ‘6 days within 2 months’ duration should be enough, but you could buy extra travel days to be more flexible. There’s no need to fly, the travel times are not so long.
For more detailed information, please contact the Eurail.com customer service.
Thank you so much for your quick reply. I got another question – do we need to travel together all the time if we purchase the saver pass. My husband and son will be travelling back from Brussels to Frankfurt but I will be flying out to London from Brussels. Can we purchase saver ticket? Thank you.
Hello Sofi,
When you order a Saver Pass you get only one ticket with the names of all travelers on it. It is not necessary to be all on the train together, but you cannot travel separately in different trains at the same time.
i,my husband,son and 2 daughters planning travel in europe by Eurail pass. we are going to netherland,finland,norway,sweden,switzerland. can we travel all this country by this Eurail pass.do i have to buy global pass travel in 21 countries or the flexible pass .our time is limited. we arrived on2dec-14dec.
Hi Liz,
If you want to travel in all these countries the Global Pass 15 days would be the best option for you. If you do everything by train, you will cross Germany and probably Denmark too.
hi,
. please do suggest a plan if available.
I am going to austria for a conference and I plan to spend 5 days more to travel around europe wherever possible. Can you please suggest me where can i visit and how?I plan to travel by eurorail in the night and see the places in the day . i know this is quite hectic but i dont have any other option
thanks a lot ,
saikat
Hello Saikat. Sure, you can certainly travel to different places from Austria, it’s a great idea. And yes, you can travel on some of these trains at night. Look around my blog archives for ideas…but Austria borders German, Slovenia, Italy, and Hungary, so you’ll have plenty of options to visit different cities that are along the border of Austria. Just be sure that your Eurail Pass covers the countries that you want to visit. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi there, i am leaving with a friend to travel around europe in 5 days, but i will be in italy before that and cant get a Global Rail pass sent to me, and just realized you cant purchase them at travel agents. Is it possible to buy the Global Eurail Pass once I get to Berlin? Like say at the train station? Berlin is the start of my journey. We are going to alot of countries/ cities in the time period of 7 weeks, each 2-3 days we will change city or country….
Thanks heaps..
Cheers Elle
Hello Elle. Think fast! Check out this on-line shipping calculator and maybe you can figure out where you will be and when, to have a Pass sent to you by Urgent Express Delivery: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-shipping-calculator Have fun! Benjamin.
Benjamin,
I have been doing similar travels as you since August. I am from Los Angeles and staying in europe till january. I have the eurail pass and can relate to many of your experiences, at the moment iam in Mannheim Germany, doing a eurail trip througout baden wurttemburg. Let me know if i could ever help contribute .
salvatore
Thanks Salvatore. Have fun watching the leaves change colors in Deutschland! Benjamin.
You want to be in line with the new regulations, though if you read the comments above there seems to be some flexibility for travellers along the border area. ,
Hi,
Me and my friends are going to travel around 4 or 5 countries in europe in the period nov 7 to 13. We are in denmark now and are planning to take the route copenhagen -> hamburg/berlin -> amsterdam -> brussels -> luxemberg -> paris -> copenhagen -> sweden. Shall we buy a 5 country pass ? Also, how will be the climate, like will it be possible to spend most of the day outside or will it get dark soon as it is winter nowadays ?
One more question. We are all born after november 15th 1983. Hence none of us will complete 26 years before the travel. All of us can buy the youth pass right ?
Thanks in Advance.
Hi,
I forgot to ask earlier. Please suggest whether to go to Hamburg or Berlin. We will be spending 1 day there and have heard both are good places to visit.
And finally
Is this Euro rail select pass useful inside any country ? I mean for any of the local travel in the countries we buy the select pass ?
Thanks a lot.
Hi Abdul — Sounds like you have organized a good loop to travel. There’s a City Night Line train that I took recently from Copenhagen to Hamburg that woud work well for you. Look at the times: http://www.deutschebahn.de As for your questions, correct, you have 5 countries selected, because Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg count as 1 country: Benelux. For the weather, yes, it will be colder this time of year. Layer up! But there’s still lots to see, and the crowds won’t be as large. The youth pass does NOT include people aged 26. The youth pass is only through age 25. As soon as you turn 26, get the adult pass. But I suggest you look at the saver pass on-line: how many of you are traveling? It may be a better deal for you all. And Hamburg vs. Berlin: They are both great cities. Berlin has its re-unification events the weekend of November 7, so maybe you’d like to be there for those events. And yes, once a date is stamped, you are free to travel within your Select Pass zone as much as you’d like that day. But first, check out the Saver Pass if you have more than 2 people traveling together. I think it will work well for you. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi Ben,
Wow! Are you blessed to be able to travel. If you have time can you help me out? I’m traveling to Spain to see my daughter who is studying abroad. We will travel to Paris by air and then want to get on the train and see Italy. I want to go to Milan, then Venice, Florence, maybe Pisa and finally Rome. Then back to Valencia, Spain. Would it be better for us to get a pass? Should I go to a travel agent? I’ve traveled extensively in the states but not abroad. We only have ten days, is it crazy to try to see all those cities? I’ve done Paris, London and Geneva in 10days back when I was 19, but we flew. If you can give some advice I’d appreciate it! God Bless, Sandi
Hello, I need help about 7 pm rule. Can I use this rule if I get a train that departures at 7:05 pm, arrives at 9:00 pm and on next morning I make the return journey to the first town where I took that train at 7:05 pm? Or in this case I must use 2 days of my eurail select pass? Thank you very much, André
Hi Sandi – Sounds wonderful… You could certainly do a 10 day tour of the Mediterranean. I’ve done it, taking the train along the Mediterranean and it is beautiful. But I am concerned that with only 10 days, you’d be rushing too much. If you can’t extend your time, I’d suggest flying into Milan, and then using an Italian pass to take the train around Italy for 10 days, since that sounds like where you’d like to focus. This way, you can spend about 2 days in each Italian city, and then fly back to Valencia. You can buy your Italian Rail Pass from the Eurail.com website, and they will send it to you before you travel to Europe. Have fun! Benjamin
Hi Andre — I’m curious where you are traveling to for 1 night! Technically, because your train is arriving on the same day of your departure, then yes, you are looking at using 2 days on your Pass. 1 to get there, 1 to return. If you can find a train depature time that arrives after 12 midnite, then you could write in the next day on your pass and therefore use only 1 day. Hope that helps, Benjamin.
Hi Benjamin. I explain to you: I will be in a german town called Halle(Saale), at night I go to Dresden to see a concert and will be back to Haale on same night (if possible) or following day =) Thanx for your help, André
Hi Ben,
We are planning to go to Pairs, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Stuttgart and Barcelona. We thought the Global will be the best, for 15 days? Also, if we plan to go from Paris to Barcelona on the night train. What are the extra costs for the night trains on top of the Global pass we would have paid. Can you advise where i can find this info? If you have a suggestion for the best routes for these cities, it will be most helpful! Many thanks, Jean.
Hello Jean – Sounds like a great tour. Yes, because of the number of countries that you wish to visit, a Global Pass sounds best for you. I would suggest mapping out your trip – and the best order in which to visit cities -by looking at the deutschebahn.de on-line timetable guide. I might suggest Amsterdam – Paris- Frankfurt – Prague – Vienna – Salzburg – Stuttgart – Geneva – Barcelona. Yes, you can take a night train from Paris to Barcelona. This would be the Elipsos Hotel Night Train. Read more about it here: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-hotel-elipsos This train has one of the more expensive supplemental fees, so you may wish to choose a different routing, and travel towards Barcelona in the daytime. The best way to get seat and bed reservations, as I have found, is to make them at a train station upon arriving in Europe. More on these reservations: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-train-reservations Have fun planning! Benjamin
how difficult is it to travel in europe, without a tour, both trains and planes for long distant travel? Since I speak only English, I am concerned about getting on the correct train, do the schedules vary from their published schedule?? please respond
hi Ben,
i just found ur site! seems very informative and will definately be reading this as my friends and i plan to visit europe in middle February.
our plan so far –> paris-zurich-rome-venice-munich-vienna-prague-berlin-ansterdam-brussel (^_^)
anyway, we plan to buy our tickets now but we are confuse on 1 thing. maybe you can help us?
if we buy a global pass(saver), do we still need to pay additional fees when:-
1 – we want to travel from each country?
2 – taking a night train
thanks ben!
Hi Craig — It’s quite easy to travel around. Most countries in Europe publish materials/notices in English as well. And you can always meet bilingual people to help you about. The trains are clearly marked; I can’t imagine that you would have any difficulty getting on the correct one. It’s an adventure, which makes it fun! Benjamin.
Hi Zuraini – It sounds like you have a great plan! The Global Pass is definitely your best choice to do all of those cities. You don’t have to pay extra fees traveling between each country. The only extra fees you will have are for seat reservations on some trains. And for any beds on any night trains that you may wish to take. I think, since you will be traveling to many cities, you have two choices: If your plan is “set in stone” and finalized, then after you arrive in Europe, go one day to the train station in Paris and buy as many of the seat or bed reservations for your plans as possible. Just present your Pass at the counter. Or, your second choice, would be to only buy one or two seat reservations at the train station in Paris, and then buy one or two more at the train station in Zurich, then one or two more in Rome, etc. This option allows you to make changes to your plans, depending on how much you are enjoying each city. I would recommend the second option, to allow you to be more flexible with your plans and enjoy as much as you can. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi Ben,
now that we know we hv this options, we are getting back to our orignal budget limit. haha. as we thought we need to pay all the extra fees and it certainly get us worried. Thanks again Ben!
Thats very helpful!! yeah, the second option sounds very flexible and we will go with that.
Have a great day & enjoy your travels!
Hello,
My wife and I plan to travel from Vienna-Salzburg-Zurich-Interlaken-Geneva-Koln-Munich from 25th Nov to 2nd Dec (10 days). The total number of days on trains will be 6 days as we will stay in some cities for one or two nights. Should we buy 6-day or 10-day Eurail Select Pass? Thanks for your advice. Cheers.
Hello Alex. I think it is up to you: If you feel very confident with yoru schedule and can do it in 6, great. But if you’d like to allow yourself some flexibility to wander outside any of those cities on sidetrips, then you may like the cushion of 10 days. HAve fun, Benjamin.
Hi benjamin, am really new at this, exploring europe on our own. my husband and i plus another couple wants to spend a week in Paris and south of france, then one week milan and some parts of italy. what cities do you recommend we visit along the way, and is the eurail available for us to take from paris all the way ot final destination milan? paris-nice-florence-venice-lake como-milan?
Hi Grace – Yes, you can use the Pass for that route. All of those cities are beautiful -check out my blog posts from those cities for ideas. And take a look at Eurail.com and look at Saver Passes, which cost less for multiple travelers on the same route. Have fun! Benjamin
Hi Benjamin, we will be travelling through France and Italy in January and February and I am not sure if we should purchase a Eurail France Italy pass or buy train tickets asas required. Any advice? Also we have planned we we will be travelling in Italy but not yet France.Other than Paris any suggestions for that time of year. We are not skiers.
My friends and I plan to travel in July 2010 (all under 26 yrs). We will be coming from London and want to go to Paris for sure and then visit brussels, prague, amsterdam, if not prague then maybe madrid and Barcelona. Any suggestions on what type of passes we should get and what the best way would be to go (boat, plane, bus, train)? We have about 2 weeks time period to go everywhere.
Thanks!
Cami
Hi Diane – I prefer the Pass, because I can hop on and off trains on different days as I prefer, if the weather is changing, my plans change, etc. And I find it easier having one pass in hand, rather than ordering and buying separate tickets. But check out the website and see if the Pass makes sense for you also: http://www.eurail.com In February, many European cities have Carnival celebrations. These are great! Check out my blogs from last February for ideas and let me know if you have questions. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi Cami – That sounds like a great trip. The only thing I’d recommend is maybe saving Prague for another trip, because it seems like most of the other cities you want to visit are in Western Europe in two weeks. Going east only to Prague seems a bit far. In my opinion, the train is the easiest way to get around. How many people will be in your group? There is a special discounted Pass for groups of 2 or more. Look here: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-saver-passes Have fun! Benjamin.
I will be traveling from Hamnurg to London this weekend and I have the 21 country Eurail Pass. Do I need to buy a ticket from Lillie to London or will the Eurail get me to London eventhough England is not one of the 21 countries?
Hi Brooklyn, you have to buy a separate ticket for the Eurostar channel train from Lille to London. You may be entitled to a special ‘Pass holder fare’ which can be purchased from the Eurostar terminal at Lille station. Please note that this is not always the cheapest option, depending on your age.
Overview of fares:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/be/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/fares/lille_ashford_london_standard.jsp
Hi, Me and my friends are going to travel around 4 or 5 countries in europe in the period Mar 27 to 10. We hope to purchase the 15 day global pass (consecutive 15 day pass),we tentative schedule as follow:
Paris->Brussels->Amsterdam->Praha->Veneziz->Rome->Paris
base on the above itineray, discovered that we had a lot of questions regarding this.
1) we have checked some routes, the travel time lest than 3 hours, like Paris->Brussels->Amsterdam, shall we need to make the reservation first from one country to another? or we just need to catch up the train schedule, present our pass when would get in the train?
2)we plan to take 3 times night train,
Hi, Me and my friends (total 4 pax)are going to travel 4 countries in europe in the period Mar 27 to 10. We hope to minimized our transportation cost,we tentative schedule as follow:
Paris->Brussels->Amsterdam->Praha->Veneziz->Rome->Paris
base on the above itineray, discovered that we had a lot of questions regarding this.
1) we have checked some routes, each travel time lest than 4 hours, like Paris->Brussels->Amsterdam, Venezia->Rome, these routes train schedule operates quite frequent, shall we still need to make the reservation first from one country to another? or we just need to catch up the train schedule, present our pass when would get in the train?
2)we plan to take 3 times night train, Amsterdan-> Praha (take CNL457), Rome->Paris(take EN226),Praha->Venezia (R207, EN237), We understand R,CNL & EN are the night train, and need to make the reservation in advanced, when we should made the reservation latest?
3)base on our itinerary, do you think purchase a 15 day global pass (consecutive 15 day pass),or a 3 countries select pass is more cost effective for us?
thanks
Ivy
Hello Ivy
It sounds like a great trip. Based on your plans, it sounds like the Global Pass will be best for you, allowing you to criss-cross through different countries. Many trains, especially the high speed trains, need a seat reservation. What you will do, is once you arrive in Paris (or your first European city), go to the train station and show them your Eurail Pass and your travel plans at the ticket window. Then ask which tickets will need seat reservations, and purchase as many in advance as you feel comfortbale with. Because plans can change, and you can make new discoveries along the way, I´d recommend buying seat reservations a few at a time, allowing flexibility. This is teh same thing that you do to make your bed reservations on night trains. Once you arrive in Europe, at the train station ticket window, ask to buy these bed reservatiosn also, after showing your Eurail Pass. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hello! I am planning my first European trip this Spring and I don’t know where to start as far as planning my way around! I would like to see Madrid, the French Riviera and somewhere in Italy. Any suggestions.? I am also traveling solo…. Thanks!!!!