I’m taking my 15 year old son to France in a few weeks and we’re also going to do the Benelux thing via the train. First class will only add about twenty percent to the cost of the pass so money isn’t an issue, rather I just don’t want to be suckered. I don’t expect champagne and caviar but what is the difference?
I’ve used a Eurail pass on a couple of occasions, both times first class. I think there’s some difference in seat quality between first and second class, although it didn’t look like a vast difference to me. What I did experience was that it was far less crowded in first class and I had no trouble at all in booking seats several days in advance, whereas friends with second class Eurail passes told me that they had often found this a problem. I also didn’t think that the additional premium on the cost was all that significant, so I thought - why not enjoy myself?
I have no idea what first class is like, but if you’re only going to France and Benelux, you might want to compare the prices for point-to-point tickets to the cost of a pass, since it’s really pretty hard to make a Eurail pass pay if you’re traveling within a relatively small geographic area. Just a thought.
My friend and I failed to get Eurail passes, and ended up buying regular tickets. We travelled 2nd Class. In Italy, in the Summer, 2nd Class was very crowded. People were sleeping in the corridor. (We traveled by night so as to save the cost of a room.) Not so bad in England, Germany, or the other countries we visited. We didn’t go to France. But 2nd Class was definitely more crowded in all cases (IME) than 1st. So next time I’ll go 1st Class.
Last time I got something like that I was over 26 so I HAD to buy the 1st class version, but boy, when you are on a packed train in rush hour or on a busy route it makes such a difference. I’ve often been on trains where there were no 2d class seats left and had to stand in a corridor for many miles, but there’s always something in 1st class.
There is a Benelux-specific pass, you know.
I haven’t crunched the numbers but would be really surprised if a pass is worth it for what you’re planning to do. In my experience (most recently, traveling in France and Italy during June), paying as you go and sitting in second class is just fine.
1st class seats in Spain mean enough room for my legs. Depending on the train you get fancy-named food in china plates, but the kinfe is still a piece of $4!+ that doesn’t cut enough.
Considering that I’m 5’4" but short-legged (seated I’m as tall as the 5’8" people), I surely pity anybody with long legs who can’t afford first class.
The earplugs are still the shitty little ones that go inside your ear. My ears are too small for those, I bring my own.
I used a First-class Eurail pass during my trip to Europe last summer and felt a little screwed. You have to pay extra for the sleeping cars anyway, and the surplus charge for 1st class is much more than for 2nd class. Since most of our train travel was at night, we ended up sleeping in 2nd class accomodations because we couldn’t afford the first class ones.
But anytime we took the train in the daytime we sat in first class and definitely enjoyed it. There was much more room and the seats were comfortable. I guess it depends how long you’ll actually be in the train.
I too would compare prices for a regular fare vs Eurorail pass…you might get off far cheaper just reserving the the regular tickets in advance.
However, if you do for the pass, 2nd class is fun is you are young and want to drink and party with the locals on the train. Otherwise, first class is the way to go. Ample room, often not even full in the compartments so you have room to stretch out. And first class sleeper compartments are certainly worth the bucks! The difference from 2nd class to 1st class sleepers is the difference between a youth hostel and the Ritz Carlton, for a fraction of the expense!
Have fun, but check on those regular train fares. Generally, Eurorail passes are only good if you travel a lot in a short period of time. Otherwise you are paying for time on a train that you are not using.
I haven’t taken Eurail in 5 years, but I remember there were dozens of different passes available. From what I recall, taking first class made it easier to get a seat, and easier to reserve a seat in advance. Might be worthwhile just for the TGV from Paris to Brussels or Amsterdam alone.
Thanks for the input. I’ll definitely check the point to point cost vis the cost of the pass. I just assumed the pass would be cheaper. First class seems worthwhile however. Thanks again.
A pass is rarely cheaper than point to point tickets. Generally, the only exception is when you travel very often on long distances during your stay.
Check the ticket prices on the european railways sites directly (SNCF.com for France, for instance). Eurail sells tickets at a significant premium.
Finally; I generally don’t think 1st class is worth the price difference. The only reason why I travel 1st class is when there aren’t any seats left in 2nd class. And of course, if you buy tickets instead of a pass, and reserve the seats at the same time, this won’t be a problem.