Choo-Choo! My Eurail Pass Journeys
Out of all the long-distance travel options in Europe, the train is definitely my favourite! It's comfy, got lots of space, no need to worry about check-in baggage, and the views along the way are simply stunning. Plus, train stations are usually smack-dab in the city centre, unlike airports or bus terminals.
Since I'm always hopping on trains, I often use a Eurail Pass. On my recent trip, I used it in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. As you might know, these are countries where using a pass is not only flexible but also potentially cheaper than buying individual tickets.
How to Optimise Your Eurail Pass in Europe
For this group of countries, you generally don't need to overthink it; just count the number of travel days you need and buy the pass accordingly. I had 10 travel days, so I got a 10-day pass for €400, working out to €40 per day. I knew the train journeys I wanted to take each day would definitely cost more than €40, so I didn't even bother checking individual ticket prices. However, if you have fewer travel days, like 4 days – where the pass cost is over €60 per day – then it's worth doing a bit more research.
Whether or not you need to check individual ticket prices, you should still write down all the legs of your journey. My tip is, don't try to keep track in your head – it's easy to get mixed up! 😛
If your itinerary includes many countries where using a pass isn't always the most convenient or cost-effective option, you can create a table to calculate the best option.
My Step-by-Step Guide
After writing down all the train legs for each travel day and checking prices, I'd categorize them into 3 groups:
- Group 1: Definitely use a pass day (because the individual ticket prices are very expensive).
- Group 2: Definitely don't use a pass day (because the individual tickets are very cheap).
- Group 3: Might use a pass if it's convenient or if I have extra travel days left.
Keep in mind that how you categorize each travel day depends on many personal factors. For example, whether you can book tickets in advance or have to wait until closer to the date because you're waiting for a visa, whether you want the cheapest option or are willing to pay a bit more for flexibility, etc.
Reservations for Train Travel
These train routes still offer flexibility when using a pass, especially if the train doesn't usually sell out (like in Sweden).
The trains that are most likely to sell out are Eurostar, Thalys, and the TGV trains in France. For these trains, it's usually cheaper to buy individual tickets in advance.
In the example above, if on Day 1 you're only travelling from Paris to Basel, then it might be better to buy an individual ticket. However, since you're also going to Interlaken on the same day, using a pass is definitely the better option, even though you still have to make a reservation for the first leg. Using a pass also has another advantage: when you arrive in Basel, if you miss your connecting train, you can just wait for the next one. Trains from Basel to other places in Switzerland are quite frequent.
Do I Need to Book Train Seats?
For trains in Germany and Austria, since the reservation fees are quite low and it's very easy to book on their website (not through Eurail), I always book seats on high-speed trains like IC, ICE, and EC. The reason is that for just a few extra euros, you have a seat reserved just for you for the entire journey, so you don't have to worry about someone tapping you on the shoulder and saying, "This is my seat!" 🙂 ICE trains in Germany can often get quite crowded. When you check train times on the German railway website, you can see which trains are likely to be busy.
During my recent trip, I travelled from Austria to Switzerland. At first, I planned to take the 13:47 train, but then I changed my mind and took the 15:47 train. If I hadn't used a pass and bought a ticket closer to the date, it would have been quite expensive. But because I was using a pass, I only paid an extra €3 to rebook a seat on the later train. (This train didn't require reservations, but I still made one for the reasons mentioned above.)
Planning Your Trip
Even if you don't need to make reservations and can hop on any train on your planned route, you still need to search in advance to see how long the route takes, how many times you need to change trains, how often trains run, and what the last train of the day is... unless you're willing to stay an extra night in the old city! 🙂
If you only need to search for train times (not prices), you can use the website/app of the German railway or the Rail Planner app from Eurail.
To search for prices when planning, you can use ticketing websites like The Trainline, Rail Europe, or Omio. Keep in mind that these websites can't search for routes that they don't sell tickets for.
There are some (but very few) private train companies that aren't affiliated with Eurail, so you can't use your pass on them, like Italo in Italy or Ouigo in France.
Some trains from the city centre to the airport are covered by the pass (usually because they're regional or suburban trains). Some airports where I know you can use the pass are in Oslo, Stockholm, Munich, Zurich, London Stansted, and London Gatwick. Note that in Oslo, you can take the regular train but can't use the pass for the airport express train.
To find out which trains you can use your pass on, go to the Rail Planner app, open the Filters section, and select "Eurail/InterRail Pass network only," then go back and search. You'll only see the trains that you can use your pass on.
To find out which trains require reservations, search for the train on the Rail Planner app. Trains that require reservations will have "Reservation required" indicated.
When searching for train times and ticket prices in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, I always use their website or app. In other countries, I use DB Navigator or Rail Planner to search for train times and The Trainline to search for prices. These are just personal habits.
German Railway DB: bahn .com/en, DB Navigator app
Austrian Railway OBB: oebb .at/en/, OBB app
Swiss Railway SBB: sbb .ch/en/home.html, SBB Mobile app
Italian Railway TrenItalia: trenitalia .com/en.html, no app for all of Italy, but the Trenord app for Lombardy (TrenItalia owns half of Trenord)
Perks of the Pass
Previously, I mentioned that this is a train pass and can't be used for other modes of transport, especially not for public transport within a city (even though the city's transportation system also includes trains). The reason is that urban transit systems in a city are usually managed by a separate organization that isn't related to railways for travel between cities.
However, the Eurail/InterRail Pass does come with some nice perks. These perks can change at any time (added or removed), so remember to check before using them! Here's a summary of the most attractive perks.
Switzerland:
- 50% off boat rides on the big lakes.
- Boat rides on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are completely free because the boats on these two lakes are operated by BLS, which is also a railway company. This is the same company that operates part of the Golden Pass Line.
- 50% off tickets to Rigi and Pilatus.
- 25% off tickets to some other mountains, mainly in the Lucerne and Interlaken area.
Germany:
KD Rhine River cruises: 20% off.
Austria:
10% off Salzburg City Card.
Norway:
30% off the famous Flam Railway.
S-Bahn (suburban train) in Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
Some of the airport trains that I mentioned above are free because they're suburban trains (usually trains that go from the city centre to the suburbs/outskirts). To be sure which trains you can take, just check on the Rail Planner app.
You also get discounts on some sea ferries around Europe.
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