# Is the Eurail pass a good deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587 "2006-09-29T06:23:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/21 "2006-09-30T01:16:58Z")
At the train stations there are lovely little machines that will provide your options in English. You can make and pay for reservations there (be sure not to buy a ticket, since your Eurail pass is the “ticket” part of “ticket and reservation”). Or you can go to the ticket counter, which is also pretty easy. Before you use the pass for the first time, you need to have it validated at the ticket counter, or you will incur a fine. If you’re traveling with a Flexipass (say, 4 days travel within 2 weeks), you must date the day of travel in the space provided on your pass before you get on any trains that day, or, again, incur a fine. The trains can be a little complicated, but they’re efficient, generally clean, and have great views. Nice to Pisa via Ventimiglia was fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/22 "2006-09-30T06:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] When I last needed to know anything about European trains British Rail were still the national railway, but I was aware of the change. Is there any term used to refer to the individual companies, as a group, other than Britrail? If there is, that would be the term that I meant. [/QUOTE] I suppose you could always just call it ‘British railways’. There’s no single corporate identity and no specific name. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/23 "2006-09-30T17:30:08Z")
“Britrail” is used to mean the pass that’s like the Eurail pass. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/24 "2006-10-02T16:59:29Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Has that changed? When I was over there (mumble-mumble years ago) the Inter-Rail pass was sold only to legal residents in one of the participating countries, while the Eurail Pass could only be purchased by travelers visiting Europe. Also, the Inter-Rail was second class. [/QUOTE] Good memories, eh? 🙂 I don’t really know if the requirements have changed, but [this site](http://www.europeanrailguide.com/) should be able to clarify the difference as it is nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/25 "2006-10-02T17:33:02Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Good memories, eh? 🙂 I don’t really know if the requirements have changed, but [this site](http://www.europeanrailguide.com/) should be able to clarify the difference as it is nowadays. [/QUOTE] You were supposed to be able to buy the pass only in your country of residence, which for me was Germany. We all heard that you could go to Luxemburg and, the rules notwithstanding, they’d let you buy the pass there. That sounded ideal because the pass was only good for a 50% discount in the country of issue, and Luxemburg is tiny. It didn’t work, and I had to ride back over to Trier to buy my rail pass; but at least I got a chuckle out of some of the town names, like Igel - “Hedgehog” and Wasserbillig - Watercheap. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/26 "2006-10-02T21:20:40Z")
I backpacked through Europe in law school. I remember the Eurail being cheaper if you bought it in the US rather than in Europe (and getting a cheaper discount if you were a student). Perhaps, you could convince a travel agent that you’re a student, or under a certain age? 🙂 Anyway, like others have stated, it depends on how you use it. I used it a lot and it was very convenient. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/27 "2018-01-20T03:40:01Z")
May I revive this zombie to see if people have up to date opinions on Eurail passes for North American students? Our niece wants to go to Europe this summer. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/28 "2018-01-20T05:11:51Z")
Keep in mind that Eurail passes are not valid in Great Britain, if she wants to go there. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/29 "2018-01-20T07:44:39Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > May I revive this zombie to see if people have up to date opinions on Eurail passes for North American students? Our niece wants to go to Europe this summer. Thanks. The general advice hasn’t changed: the pass can be a good deal or a bad deal, depending on where and how much you want to travel. It’s a supremely wise idea to compare the costs in advance by planning your trip (even if it’s just a sample itinerary) and visiting the websites of the relevant national rail operators to check ticket prices. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/30 "2018-01-20T10:34:44Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > May I revive this zombie to see if people have up to date opinions on Eurail passes for North American students? Our niece wants to go to Europe this summer. Thanks. This is the go-to site for European train travel. [The Man in Seat 61 - What's this site all about?](https://www.seat61.com/takethetour.htm) > [@](#): > > Seat61 explains the best way to travel by train (and where necessary ferry) between major European cities and tourist destinations, explaining the options and how to buy the cheapest tickets, usually direct from the train operators without extra booking fees or marked-up prices. If you live in the US, Canada, Australia or Asia you can save a lot by reading this advice, compared to using a railpass or buying tickets through expensive overseas agencies. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/31 "2018-01-20T10:47:02Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > May I revive this zombie to see if people have up to date opinions on Eurail passes for North American students? Our niece wants to go to Europe this summer. Thanks. This is the go-to site for European train travel. [The Man in Seat 61 - What's this site all about?](https://www.seat61.com/takethetour.htm) > [@](#): > > Seat61 explains the best way to travel by train (and where necessary ferry) between major European cities and tourist destinations, explaining the options and how to buy the cheapest tickets, usually direct from the train operators without extra booking fees or marked-up prices. If you live in the US, Canada, Australia or Asia you can save a lot by reading this advice, compared to using a railpass or buying tickets through expensive overseas agencies. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/32 "2018-01-20T10:51:42Z")
I wanted to add that if she wants to come to the UK, she should do it at the start or end (or both) of her trip. London to Paris is easy on Eurostar and can be quite cheap at the less popular times. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/33 "2018-01-20T12:24:35Z")
> [@Mr.Rosewater](#): > > When I last needed to know anything about European trains British Rail were still the national railway, but I was aware of the change. Is there any term used to refer to the individual companies, as a group, other than Britrail? If there is, that would be the term that I meant. > [@GorillaMan](#): > > I suppose you could always just call it ‘British railways’. There’s no single corporate identity and no specific name. I know this is a zombie but according to Wikipedia it’s “National Rail”: (spoilered for length): [spoiler]National Rail (NR) in the United Kingdom is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of the island of Great Britain as well as the Isle of Wight that run the passenger services previously provided by the British Railways Board, from 1965 using the brand name British Rail. Northern Ireland, which is linked to the Republic of Ireland, has a different system. National Rail generally does not include services that do not have a BR history; this distinction is important because National Rail services share a ticketing structure and inter-availability that do not necessarily extend to other services. The name and the accompanying double arrow symbol are trademarks of the Secretary of State for Transport.[1] The National Rail (NR) logo was introduced by ATOC in 1999, and was used on the Great Britain public timetable for the first time in the edition valid from 26 September in that year. Rules for its use are set out in the Corporate Identity Style Guidelines published by the Rail Delivery Group, available on its website.[2] “In 1964 the Design Research Unit—Britain’s first multi-disciplinary design agency founded in 1943 by Misha Black, Milner Gray and Herbert Read—was commissioned to breathe new life into the nation’s neglected railway industry”.[3] The NR title is sometimes described as a “brand”.[4] As it was used by British Rail, the single operator before franchising, its use also maintains continuity and public familiarity; and it avoids the need to replace signage.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/34 "2018-01-20T18:05:54Z")
I thought about getting one for my most recent trip to Europe, but no-frills plane flights in Europe are so cheap and fast that it didn’t make sense in my case. By contrast, when I visited Japan, the Japan rail pass was definitely worth every penny. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/35 "2018-01-20T18:33:15Z")
Since this is seeking opinions, let’s move it to IHMO. Please note this thread was started in 2006. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/36 "2018-01-20T18:33:28Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I thought about getting one for my most recent trip to Europe, but no-frills plane flights in Europe are so cheap and fast that it didn’t make sense in my case. It depends on where you’re flying. Many major cities (Frankfurt, for example) are not well served by low-cost airlines. And taking the train is often more convenient than flying, since train stations are usually located in city centres, and there’s no need to arrive hours early to check in. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/37 "2018-01-20T20:47:16Z")
I used on in 1986, which was a long time ago, but did find it useful. It was even more useful for a guy I met who was using the trains for a hotel. He spent every night on the train, spending one day in northern Europe, the next day in southern Europe, then North, then South etc. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/38 "2018-01-20T23:16:42Z")
The advent of newer high speed rail , variable ticket pricing, and low cost air travel has pretty much eliminated the classic backpacker with a Eurail pass type of trip. It’s usually far more economical to put together point to point rail tickets and low cost carrier flights, especially with the elimination of so many night trains. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/39 "2018-01-21T05:41:39Z")
I don’t know if these are relatively new, but they work for us: you can get a pass for X travel days within 2 months (we went for 6 travel days). This is cheaper than, say, a 14-day full pass and you don’t have to travel so much to make it worthwhile. (My first trip to Europe is this coming April). However, in order to prevent fraud, they are very fussy about how the travel days are recorded. You have to write each travel date down on the pass itself plus keep a “train diary” with all the information for each train you are using. Each trip has to be filled out correctly before you get on the train, or you risk losing your pass and being charged full fare plus a penalty (for supposed attempted fraud). But, to the original question, assuming we are able to follow the instructions correctly, we will save about 25% for our train travel. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587/40 "2018-01-21T13:23:56Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I wanted to add that if she wants to come to the UK, she should do it at the start or end (or both) of her trip. London to Paris is easy on Eurostar and can be quite cheap at the less popular times. A random tip for this is to buy the Eurostar ticket via the Dutch rail [website](https://www.nsinternational.nl/en), for some reason it’s substantially cheaper than the British Eurostar site. At unpopular times flying one of the budget airlines is generally cheaper anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-eurail-pass-a-good-deal/374587.md?page=3)