Rail travel to 

   Europe: 

   general 

   information 

A beginner's guide to choosing, buying & using a

Eurail, InterRail or other European rail pass. . .

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Whether you use a rail pass or point-to-point tickets, trains are easily the best way to travel around Europe, no contest.  Here's why:

Speed & convenience		Space and comfort on board the trains...				Scenery & the experience...
European trains run almost everywhere, at up to 186mph, often faster than flying because it's city centre to city centre, no remote airports, no check-ins and no security strip-searches!		...trains are low-hassle and low-stress.  You get space to move around, lots of legroom (remember that?) and often a café, bar or even restaurant on board.  Overnight sleeper trains cover huge distances such as Paris-Rome or Barcelona-Milan, city centre to city centre, in effect faster than flying, and it saves hotel bill, too...				...and often there's superb scenery.  Train travel is an integral part of the European experience, and the journeys become part of your holiday, something to enjoy in their own right.

Trains, planes & automobiles...

Plane:  Planes leave from remote airports at least half an hour out of town by taxi or bus or local train.  A 2-hour check-in is now recommended even for a 1-hour flight, with lengthy security hassles.  So even a short flight will take up 4 or 5 hours from city centre to city centre.  It's high-stress travel and you miss out on the relaxing scenic overland journeys across Europe which should be an integral part of every European holiday.  You must generally arrange all your flights in advance on a no-refunds, limited-changes basis to get affordable fares, and this is restrictive and inflexible.  And the environmental damage caused by unnecessary short-haul flights must also be considered.

Car hire:  Hiring a car is great for exploring a rural area, such as Tuscany or the Dordogne, in fact it's often the best option and I'd recommend it.  But if you're keen to see the great cities, such as Paris, Rome, Barcelona, or Florence, then definitely don't hire a car.  In Europe, cars and city centres simply don't mix!  Driving long distances in foreign countries can be very tiring.  Car hire companies are often reluctant to let cars cross international frontiers even within the EU, so bear this in mind.

Long-distance bus:  Long distance buses like Eurolines or tourist buses like Busabout tend to use ugly motorways which destroy the scenery they pass through.  At a mere 60mph, a journey that's 3 hours by train could take a nightmare 8 hours on a motorway by bus.  You are stuck in a cramped bus seat for hours on end, there's no restaurant car or bar to go to, and on overnight buses you have to sleep slumped in your seat, a horrible experience.  Buses generally only serve the very largest cities, and on many long routes there's just one bus a day or less, which is restrictive and inflexible.  You're not allowed to bring your own food and drink on board, and there's certainly no alcohol permitted..!

Train:  Trains run all over Europe, linking almost every town and city on a regular basis, even running every hour on major routes.  Trains run at  up to 186mph, and are even faster than flying for many inter-city journeys such as Paris to to London or Paris to Amsterdam.  Overnight sleeper trains have beds to sleep in, an experience in itself, and they cover huge distance while you sleep, such as Paris-Barcelona, Paris-Rome or Amsterdam-Zurich, city centre to city centre and saving both a hotel bill and the 4-5 hours of daytime travel that flying would use up.  Trains run city centre to city centre, low-hassle, zero stress.  There's loads of legroom, you can get up and wander to the bar or restaurant car if you like.  Feel free to bring your own picnic and even your own bottle of wine or beer if you want, no problem, it's allowed..!

In other words, whether you use a rail pass or buy normal tickets, the train is definitely the way to see Europe, there's simply no contest.  As well as speed, convenience and comfort, train travel is part of the European way of life, the way we Europeans travel, and an experience in itself.  If you're from overseas, you might even get to meet some of us Europeans...

A rail pass gives you unlimited train travel, so you can travel around freely and explore as much as you like, without having to buy separate tickets or worry about travel costs.  You have two simple decisions to make:

• Should you buy a rail pass or would normal point-to-point tickets be cheaper?  Answer below...

• If you go for a rail pass, which type of pass should you buy?  Answer below...

This page will help you answer these questions, help you choose the right rail pass and explain how to use it.  You may also want general information about train travel in Europe:

• To plan your route and train times, use the all-Europe online timetable at http://bahn.hafas.de.  It covers almost all of Europe, and it comes highly recommended.  If you only remember one European rail resource, make it this one!

• For information about couchettes and sleepers on overnight trains, with an explanation of what the difference is, see the sleeper & couchette page.

• For general information about European train travel, such a luggage arrangements, food on trains, and so on, see the Europe general information page.

Don't assume you need a rail pass...

In fact, I'll be quite categoric:  You should always, always, always assume that point-to-point tickets will be cheaper than a railpass, unless you can show otherwise.  Many overseas visitors, especially (if you'll forgive me for saying so) Americans, appear genetically programmed to ask for a $500 Eurail pass even for one simple $50 train ride.  Boy-oh-boy must rail pass marketing be good in the States!  For a simple train trip from A to B, or even A to B to C and back to A, normal point-to-point tickets will almost always be cheaper than any rail pass, especially if you are prepared to book in advance on a no-refunds, no-changes-to-travel-plans basis, with a budget-airline-style cheap fare now offered on many routes in western Europe.  In fact, even a tour involving several train trips can often be made more cheaply with tickets like these if you pre-book.  So let me spell it out for you again:  Always assume point-to-point tickets will be cheaper than a rail pass unless you can demonstrate otherwise.

...but for some types of trip a rail pass can be just the ticket.

On the other hand, if you are going to do a lot of travelling to see a lot of Europe, if you want complete flexibility (so cheap advance-purchase tickets that allow no refunds and no changes to travel plans won't do), if you are making lots of longer journeys or one really big trip (for example, Paris to Istanbul) a rail pass can be the best option.

So which would be best for me, point-to-point tickets or a pass?

People seem to think there's a simple answer, such as 'a rail pass is always cheaper than normal tickets if you're going to Switzerland, but normal tickets are always cheaper than a pass if you're going to Italy or Spain or eastern Europe'.  It's true that some rail passes (like the excellent Swiss pass) are better value than others (like the Trenitalia pass), in that you have to clock up more mileage in Italy to justify buying a pass, whereas it doesn't take much in Switzerland to make a Swiss Pass worthwhile.  But it always depends on how much travelling you plan to do.  So there's no simple answer without working it out for yourself. 

OK, so how do I work it out?

Here is a step-by-step guide to checking whether a pass will actually save you money over normal tickets.  If you find this too difficult, or time is more critical than money and you can't afford to spend half an hour working things out, no problem, skip it and go straight to the How to choose the right railpass section.  But if you're on a tight budget and are keen to do a little legwork to check that normal tickets wouldn't be cheaper, here's how:

• First, decide which countries and which cities you want to visit.  This is the fun bit!  Decide what interests you, and use a good European guide book like the Lonely Planet Guides or Rough Guides.  If possible, sketch out a rough itinerary.  It doesn't have to be detailed, though you can use the invaluable online timetable at http://bahn.hafas.de to plan train times if you like.

• Look for the rail pass that most closely fits your trip, see what rail pass should I buy?

• Divide the rail pass price by the number of days train travelling you expect to do, to get a 'pass price per day'.  This will be your yardstick.

• Remember that for most long-distance trains in western Europe, you have to pay for a reservation and/or small supplement.  Overnight couchettes and sleepers also require a supplement (though they also save a hotel bill!).  To get an idea of what the supplement is for key routes in Europe, see do I need to make reservations or pay supplements?.  Add an appropriate additional budget for supplements to the cost of the pass.

• Now find out what the point-to-point fares would be:  See how can I find out what the point-to-point fare would be?.  The point-to-point fares produced by the journey planners on railway websites will include any supplement or reservation charge, so no supplement worries here.  You will need to decide if you want flexibility and the ability to vary your itinerary and be spontaneous (in which case, you should compare the rail pass price with the more expensive fully-flexible full fares) or if you are prepared to commit to specific trains on specific dates, to take advantage of cheapest advance-purchase fares.

• Compare the pass price per day with the typical point-to-point fare for the sort of journeys you expect to make.  If you've planned an itinerary, compare the cost of the pass with the cost of normal tickets for those journeys.

• Don't forget that a rail pass is more flexible, usually allows you to hop on and off trains spontaneously, saves you time queuing at ticket offices, and may cover additional trips that you didn't expect to make (for example, if you plan to spend a few days in Paris, it will cover a daytrip to Versailles).  Even if a rail pass is a bit more expensive, it can still be better to buy one.

The two examples below show that it pays to do your research.  Don't assume that a rail pass is always the most economical option.  In fact, your working assumption should be the exact opposite:  Assume that normal point to point tickets are the cheapest option unless you can prove that a rail pass will save you money.

Rail pass or normal tickets?  Example 1:

• You want to spend a few days in Rome, then travel to Venice, then a few days later travel to Florence, then a few days later from Florence to La Spezia (for Cinque Terre), then a few days later from La Spezia back to Rome.  A typical visit to Italy!

• Using the Rail Shop UK  (for UK & Ireland travellers) or Rail Shop USA (for US & Canadian travellers) or Rail Shop Australia (for Australian & New Zealand travellers), you can check rail pass prices.  A 4-days-in-one-month Trenitalia pass looks perfect.  Rail pass price (in euros to make it simple) 174 euros.  That's 43.50 euros per day.

• But you now go to www.trenitalia.com to check what normal point-to-point fares would be.  And what's this?  The normal fare, including InterCity supplement, is just 40 euros Rome-Venice, 20 euros Venice-Florence, 14 euros Florence-La Spezia and 32 euros La Spezia-Rome.  Total 106 euros, a 41% saving over the rail pass price!  In this case, a pass does not make sense and you can save a lot of money sticking with normal tickets.  And with normal tickets, you have the option (if you are sure of your itinerary) to buy them online complete with seat reservations on your chosen trains.  If you buy a rail pass, you cannot make reservations to go with the pass online, as the trenitalia.com website will only sell tickets+reservations together, not 'reservations-only'.

Rail pass or normal tickets?  Example 2:

• You want to go London-Paris, Paris-Rome, Rome-Venice, Venice-London.  You want the cheapest couchette in a 6-bunk compartment on the Paris-Rome and Venice-Paris sleeper trains.  You are prepared to book your trip in advance on a no refunds, no changes basis.

• If you live in the UK, a 5-day flexi InterRail pass costs £128 (if you are under 26) or £200 (if you are over 26).  Eurostar has a passholder price of £100 return.  This is more expensive (though admittedly more flexible) than the normal book-ahead return fares so in practice you end up buying a normal cheap £59 return anyway.  The special passholder price for the Paris-Rome train is £22 one-way, plus another £22 for the Venice-Paris train.  The InterCity supplement Rome-Venice is 4 euros (£3).  Total cost with a rail pass £234 (under 26) or £306 (over 26).  You will have to make all the reservations through the agency that sells you the rail pass, as you cannot make passholder bookings online, only buy normal tickets.  The agency may charge you a booking fee, perhaps £10-£20 on top of this cost.

• If you live in the USA, Australia and so on, you qualify for a Eurail pass, and a 4-day France 'n Italy Eurail pass costs $230 (if you are under 26), or $306 (if you are over 26).  Eurostar has a passholder price of $160 return.  This is more expensive (though admittedly more flexible) than the normal book-ahead return fares so you end up buying a normal cheap $110 return anyway.  The special passholder price for the Paris-Rome train is around $30 one-way, plus another $30 for the Venice-Paris train.  The InterCity supplement Rome-Venice is 3 euros ($4).  Total cost with a Eurail pass $404 (under 26) or $480 (over 26).  You will have to make all the reservations through the agency that sells you the rail pass, as you cannot make passholder bookings online, only buy normal tickets.  The agency may charge you a booking fee, perhaps $10-$25 on top of this cost.

• The alternative is to buy normal tickets.  So you go to www.voyages-sncf.com, buy a £59 ($115) return ticket London-Paris, you find a cheap book-ahead 35 euro (£30 or $60) special fare Paris-Rome and again Venice-Paris, and at www.trenitalia.com you buy a normal Rome-Venice ticket for just 40 euros (£32 or $60) by InterCity train.  Total cost £151 ($300), whether you're under 26 or not.  In this case, once again normal tickets are cheaper, assuming that you're prepared to book in advance on a no-refunds, no changes basis, and that you find the cheap advance-purchase fares available.   And with normal tickets, you can buy them all online complete with seat or berth reservations on your chosen trains, no booking fees, and no waiting for an agency to confirm.

• For a journey wholly within one country, use the journey planner on these websites:

Austria	www.oebb.at
Belgium	www.b-rail.be
France	www.voyages-sncf.com
Germany	www.bahn.de (for overnight trains, see www.bahn.de/citynightline, 'English' button at the top)
Italy	www.trenitalia.com
Netherlands	www.ns.nl
Portugal	www.cp.pt
Switzerland	www.sbb.ch
Spain	www.renfe.es
Sweden	www.sj.se
There is a complete list of websites for all countries on the useful links page.

• For international journeys, follow the advice on the How to buy tickets page.

• Fares for international journeys in eastern Europe are difficult to find online, so here are some approximate fares as a rough guide.  These are all one-way adult 2nd class fares.  1st class fares are 50% more than the 2nd class fare.  Returns are normally twice the one-way, but in many cases there are reductions for return tickets.  Children under 12 travel at half fare.  You will need to add the same sleeper and couchette supplements to these basic fares as you'd pay with a rail pass.

Prague-Krakow 48 euros Prague-Budapest 57 euros Prague-Vienna 48 euros Prague-Bratislava 44 euros Prague-Bucharest 153 euros Prague-Belgrade 82 euros Budapest-Krakow 64 euros Budapest-Prague 69 euros Budapest-Bratislava 28 euros Budapest-Bucharest 80 euros Budapest-Vienna 37 euros Budapest-Warsaw 83 euros

Budapest-Moscow 97 euros Budapest-Istanbul 124 euros Budapest-Belgrade 39 euros Budapest-Sofia 84 euros Budapest-Thessaloniki 118 euros Budapest-Kiev 69 euros Budapest-Zagreb 36 euros Warsaw-Budapest  73 euros Warsaw-Prague 54 euros Warsaw-Vienna 63 euros Warsaw-Budapest 83 euros Sofia-Istanbul 18 euros

Vienna-Prague about 50 euros Vienna-Budapest 37 euros Vienna-Warsaw 63 euros Bucharest-Istanbul 40 euros Bucharest-Belgrade 142 euros Belgrade-Istanbul 43 euros Belgrade-Sofia 45 euros Belgrade-Zagreb 44 euros Belgrade-Budapest 39 euros Belgrade-Venice 80 euros

• Some American travel agency websites show sample point-to-point fares for comparison with the rail passes they sell.  These point-to-point fares are often the most expensive fully-flexible fares, not the cheap deals that you can now get on many international trains in western Europe if you book in advance.  It's best to check the actual fares quoted on the European train operator websites.

• European trains normally only open for reservations 60 days before departure (or sometimes 90 days) and most websites will only show train times and ticket prices within this time period.  So if your European trip is still many months away, choose a random date within the next 60 days and enquire about fares for that date.  The prices won't change much in 6 months..!

The key factors to look for...

• What geographic area does a pass cover?  Some rail passes cover just one country, others cover a group of countries.  It's generally cheapest to buy a pass that covers only the specific countries you want to travel in and no more.  It can sometimes be cheaper to buy a combination of passes tailored to your travel plans, rather than just one.  If you live outside Europe, the pass-choosing system mentioned below is great for checking this.

• Continuous or 'flexi'?  Some rail passes give unlimited train travel for a continuous period, which is the deluxe option, good if you plan to make a train journey every day or two.  Other rail passes give you a number of days of unlimited travel on any days you choose within an overall one-month period ("flexi"), which is cheaper if you are only going to spend a lot of time staying in one place between train journeys.

• What passes do you qualify for?  Just to make things a bit more complicated, one range of rail passes is sold to people resident in Europe (including UK citizens), and a different range to people from overseas.  For example, Eurail passes can be bought by anyone visiting Europe from overseas, but not by us Europeans.  InterRail passes can be bought by anyone resident in Europe, but not by people from overseas.

        Rail passes for UK & European residents

         Rail passes for overseas visitors

Rail passes for UK & European residents...

Rail passes for Overseas visitors

You can buy these rail passes if you live in the UK or another European country, or can prove you have been resident in a European country for more than 6 months.  If you live overseas, for example in the USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, see the next section.

Rail passes for just one country...

Any country in Europe:		You can buy a single-country InterRail pass for almost any country in Europe, giving unlimited train travel in that country for either 3, 4, 6, or 8 days within an overall 1-month period.  The days of unlimited travel don't have to be used one after the other.  Each time you want to use up one of your train travel days, you just write the date in one of the empty boxes printed on your rail pass.  This is a good option if you are only going to be making train journeys occasionally, with long periods staying in one place between trips.  Note:  Eurodomino passes were withdrawn from 1 April 2007, replaced by this new range.  Check out the other passes too, if there's one for the country you're interested in - for example, German Railways' own German Rail Pass is cheaper than the single-country pass for Germany.
France		As of April 2007, the France Pass has been replaced with the single-country InterRail pass.
Switzerland		Swiss Pass:  3, 4, 5, 6, or 8 days unlimited travel in Switzerland within 1 month.  The Swiss Pass is very good value and highly recommended, as Swiss rail fares can be expensive.  And as few if any Swiss trains require a supplement or reservation, a pass gives you 'hop on, hop off' convenience.  You can check Swiss point-to-point fares at www.sbb.ch.  Map of routes.
A few other singe-country rail passes are also available.

Rail passes to visit several countries...

InterRail pass		InterRail is one of the best pass deals there is.  Unlimited train travel for 5 days in any 10 day period (flexi), 10 days in any 22 day period (flexi),  22 days continuous or 1 month continuous, covering almost all of Europe.  Adult or child 2nd class, adult or child 1st class, youth (under 26) 2nd class versions are available.  For more information, see the InterRail page.
ScanRail pass		ScanRail passes (which gave unlimited train travel in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) were withdrawn from sale as from 31 December 2007.  They have been superseded by the new range of InterRail passes introduced in 2007.
Balkan Flexipass		5, 10 or 15 days unlimited 1st class train travel within one month in Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro.  However, normal fares in these countries are already extremely cheap, and ordinary tickets are probably cheaper.
Benelux Tourrail Pass		5 days unlimited train travel within 1 month in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.  Also consider the similar Benelux InterRail pass.

Rail passes for a grand tour of Europe...

• If you want to travel extensively across most of Europe, an InterRail pass is ideal, see the InterRail page.

This is the range of rail passes available if you live outside Europe, for example, in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore.  If you live in the USA or Canada, you can browse the options further at the Seat61 Rail Shop USA or www.raileurope.com (USA) or www.raileurope.ca (Canada) to browse rail passes.  If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Asia or Africa, use the Seat61 Rail Shop Australia or www.raileurope.com.au.

Rail passes for just one country...

Single-country rail passes include:

• Single country Eurail passes for most western and some eastern European countries.  More on Eurail

• France Pass for France.  For comparison, you can check French point-to-point fares at www.voyages-sncf.com.

• Paris Visite card:  Unlimited travel on the Paris metro, and more...

• Swiss pass for Switzerland.  Swiss passes are excellent value and highly recommended.  You can check Swiss point-to-point fares at www.sbb.ch.

• German Rail pass for Germany.  For comparison, you can check German point-to-point fares at http://bahn.hafas.de.

• Czech Flexipass for Prague & the Czech Republic.  Though Czech rail fares are very cheap anyway.

• Spain Pass for Spain.  The issue here is that just about every long distance train in Spain requires a reservation and supplement.  For comparison, you can check Spanish point-to-point fares at www.renfe.es, and the fares quoted here include the reservation and supplement.

• Portuguese Rail pass for Portugal.  You can check Portuguese point-to-point fares at www.cp.pt.

• BritRail Pass for Britain.  For comparison, you can check British point-to-point fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk.  There's advice on understanding the different types of UK rail fare on the UK page.  For unlimited travel on the London Underground for 3 or 7 days when staying in London, you can get a London Visitor Travelcard.

• The rail pass links above go to the Seat61 Rail Shop USA.  If you're from Australia or New Zealand, go to the Rail Shop Australia or www.raileurope.com.au.  Or if you're handy with the internet, just click on any of the above links and replace the "U" (for USA) in "AFF=S61U" in your browser's address bar with an "A" (for Australia) to make it "AFF=S61A", then you'll see the same page on the Australian Rail Shop, with prices in AUD$.

Rail passes to visit several countries...

• With Eurail Selectpass you can choose any  3, 4 or 5 neighbouring countries out of the 18 European counties in the Eurail scheme, and choose to buy either 5, 6, 8 or 10 or 15 days unlimited 1st class train travel within any 2 month period on the national rail networks in those countries.  More on Eurail.

• Alternatively, for 2 countries, there is are Eurail Regional Passes, such as the France 'n Spain pass, the France 'n Italy pass, the Iberic pass for Spain and Portugal, the Hungary and Romania pass, the Britain+Ireland pass, and so on.  More on Eurail.

• For 3 or more countries, there's the Benelux Tourrail pass covering the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg, the Eastern Europe pass covering Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, the Balkan Flexipass covering Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia & Serbia.  ScanRail passes (covering Denmark, Norway, Sweden & Finland) were withdrawn in December 2007, replaced by 'Eurail Scandinavia' passes.

• The rail pass links above go to the Seat61 Rail Shop USA.  If you're from Australia or New Zealand, go to the Rail Shop Australia or www.raileurope.com.au.  Or if you're handy with the internet, just click on any of the above links and replace the "U" (for USA) in "AFF=S61U" in your browser's address bar with an "A" (for Australia) to make it "AFF=S61A", then you'll see the same page on the Australian Rail Shop, with prices in AUD$.

The rail pass for a grand tour of Europe:  Eurail pass

• If you plan to travel extensively across most of Europe, the famous Eurail pass is the top-of-the-range rail pass which gives unlimited train travel in 18 participating countries, covering most of western Europe plus Hungary, Romania & Greece.  Map of rail network in the Eurail countries.

• The Eurail section below explains what Eurail passes are and how they work.

Eurail pass range

Back to top

What is a Eurail pass?

Eurail (often mispronounced 'Eurorail') is the brand-name for a range of international rail passes for overseas visitors to Europe.  Eurail is not a company or a train operator, it is simply the brand name of a product offered jointly by the various national train operators.  The national railways participating in the Eurail scheme are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.  From the start of 2009, Eurail Passes will also include the Czech Republic (i.e. Prague).  This section explains the Eurail pass range, the next section will explain how Eurail passes work.

Who qualifies for a Eurail pass?

You can buy a Eurail if you live in the USA, Canada or the rest of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and most of Asia and Africa.  If you are a European citizen or if you live permanently in Europe, Turkey, Russian Federation, Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia, you cannot buy a Eurail pass, but you qualify for an InterRail pass instead.  Eurail passes should normally be bought before leaving your home country.

Eurail pass...

The original Eurail 'Global' pass is the deluxe option, giving unlimited 1st class train travel across all 18 participating countries for a continuous period of either 15 days, 21 days, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months.  If two of you travel together, the 'Saver' version of the Eurail pass gives you a discount.  If you are under 26 years of age, there is a cheaper 'Youth' version of the Eurail pass which gives 2nd class travel.

• Eurail Global pass prices & details, if you buy in USA or Canada. 

• Eurail Global pass prices & details, if you buy in Australia, New Zealand or worldwide.

Eurail Flexi pass...

If you don't want continuous unlimited travel - for example if you will stay put for long periods between train trips - the Eurail Flexi pass gives 10 or 15 days unlimited 1st class travel within any 2 month period.  You choose when the 2-month period starts, and you choose which days within those 2 months you do your train travelling.  You simply write the date in one of the ten or fifteen spaces provided on your Eurail pass each time you want to 'spend' one of your 10 or 15 days unlimited travel.  If two of you are travelling together there's a 'Saver' version of the Eurail Flexi pass, which gives a discount.  If you are under 26 years old there's a discounted 'Youth' version of the Eurail Flexi pass which gives 2nd class travel.

• Eurail Flexi pass prices & details, if you buy in USA or Canada. 

• Eurail Flexi pass prices & details, if you buy in Australia, New Zealand or worldwide.

Eurail Selectpass...

If you don't want to tour all 18 Eurail countries you can save money by choosing a Eurail Selectpass giving either 5, 6, 8 or 10 or 15 days unlimited 1st class train travel within any 2 month period on the national rail networks of any 3, 4 or 5 bordering countries.  Again, if two of you are travelling together there is a discounted 'Saver' version of the Eurail Selectpass.  If you are under 26 years old there is a 'Youth' version of the Eurail Selectpass giving 2nd class travel.

• Eurail Selectpass range, prices & details, if you buy in USA or Canada. 

• Eurail Selectpass range, prices & details, if you buy in Australia, New Zealand or worldwide.

Eurail 2 or 3 country passes...

There are also special deal Eurail passes covering just two or sometimes 3 countries, such as the popular France-Italy Eurail pass, France-Spain Eurail pass or Switzerland-Austria Eurail pass.  These all work on the 'flexi' principle, of 4 or more days of free travel within an overall 2-month period.

• Eurail regional pass range prices & details, if you buy in USA or Canada. 

• Eurail regional pass range, prices & details, if you buy in Australia, New Zealand or worldwide.

Eurail single-country passes...

There is a range of single-country Eurail passes covering just one country, all based on the 'flexi' principle of 3 or more days of free travel within an overall 2-month period.

• Eurail single-country pass range, prices & details, if you buy in USA or Canada. 

• Eurail single-country pass range, prices & details, if you buy in Australia, New Zealand or worldwide.

• You validate your Eurail pass at any main station when you arrive in Europe, before you get on your first train.  You do this by going to the ticket window, where the booking clerk will enter the start date on your pass.  Your Eurail pass is then valid for the overall pass period. 

• In the case of 'flexi' type Eurail passes, the overall period will probably be 2 months, with a set number of free days travel during that period.  If the number of days is, say, 5, there will be five empty boxes printed on your pass.  On a day when you want to use one of those 5 free days of travel, you simply write in the date in one of those boxes in ball-point pen.  You now have unlimited train travel from midnight to midnight on that date.  You do not have to decide in advance which 5 days these will be, you can decide as you go, simply writing the date in a box each time you want to 'spend' a day of free travel, until all your boxes of free travel are used up.  Simple!

• Unlimited travel means unlimited travel.  I'm not sure which part of 'un' people don't understand, is it the 'u' or the 'n'..?!  You can take as many trains as you like that day, you can stay on trains all day of you really want to..!  Though there may be seat reservations or small supplements to pay on certain trains, more about that below.

• Although a pass day runs from midnight to midnight, direct overnight trains leaving after 19:00 count as running the following day, so this only uses up one day of your pass.  So for example, if you travelled on the 'Palatino' sleeper train from Paris to Rome, leaving Paris at 19:06 on 26 August arriving Rome 09:50 next morning, then travelled on to Naples later that day, this would only use up one day of free travel, and the date you'd write in the box on your pass would be 27 August.  You will need to pay the normal supplements for overnight travel in a couchette or sleeper (see the couchette and sleeper page).

What trains are Eurail passes valid for?

• A Eurail pass gives unlimited free travel on all the train services run by the national train operator in each of the countries it covers, although you'll need to make a reservation and/or pay a supplement on some trains, more about that below.  Eurail passes