EuroRail Pass
This is a very affordable option to travel throughout Europe without paying tons of money for transportation, if you use it correctly. There are many different options, but it basically allows you to choose the number of travel days within a specified time period.
For example, a 7 days in a month pass means that the pass is valid for a month and you can choose 7 days to travel within that month. These travel days are from 00:00 to 23:59 of one day and you can take as many trains as you'd like. So you can technically take a train from France to Luxembourg, spend the day in Luxembourg, then head to Berlin, and you have only used one travel day.
The following are important tips to using it:
In general, the Eurorail pass is very easy to use and a great way to travel at affordable rates. They also have special discount prices for people under the age of 26 and discounts if one buys them during the holiday seasons.
For example, a 7 days in a month pass means that the pass is valid for a month and you can choose 7 days to travel within that month. These travel days are from 00:00 to 23:59 of one day and you can take as many trains as you'd like. So you can technically take a train from France to Luxembourg, spend the day in Luxembourg, then head to Berlin, and you have only used one travel day.
The following are important tips to using it:
- Basic Usage
- The Rail Planner App allows you to plan your itinerary, giving you access to all relevant train schedules throughout Europe
- Before the conductor comes to check your ticket, make sure you have the information in the card filled out: Departure Time, Destination, and Departure Location. Also, have your passport handy, because they sometimes confirm the two.
- Make sure to activate your Pass by simply passing by an information desk and having them stamp it on your first day of departure. You can also have the Pass pre-activated for a specific date when you order it online.
- Making Reservations
- Some trains, such as those in France and overnight, and buses require an additional reservation fee (5-13€). You can find out which ones need reservations based on the App.
- While you can reserve through a 3rd-party online, I recommend simply going to the ticket office and reserving there or even reserving on the train, if the ticket window is closed (most are only open between 7:00 - 20:00) or too crowded. For some French trains, the conductors are standing on the platform and you can buy a reservation ticket from them directly.
- PROTIP: If you are travelling during the summer or other peak travel hours, you should book trains in advance.
- Overnight Trains
- There's a nice caveat with the Eurorail pass that allows you to extend the 24 hours if you use a Eurorail pass. Since you only need to write down the departure time, if you leave before midnight and it's a one-way train, it counts as the previous day.
- For instance, if you take a direct 9:10 PM train on Dec. 20th from Budapest --> Munich, landing at 6:15 AM on Dec. 21st. You only need to write down Dec. 20th.
- However, a direct overnight train after 7:00 PM arrving at the final destination after 4:00 AM can also count as the next day, so in the example above, you can also use it to count as the day of Dec. 21st and you can begin your Eurorail travels that day as well
- PROTIP: While overnight trains do have sleeper trains, I was unfortunate to receive seats. If this happens, be prepared to be woken up multiple times at night for different conductors to ask for your ticket and/or passport. From Budapest to Munich, they checked at 9:30 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:15 PM, 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 5:00 PM, so I did not get good sleep. Earlier reservations would have probably let me get sleeper cars where I assume passengers would not be bothered constantly.
- There's a nice caveat with the Eurorail pass that allows you to extend the 24 hours if you use a Eurorail pass. Since you only need to write down the departure time, if you leave before midnight and it's a one-way train, it counts as the previous day.
- General Tips
- Since the Eurail doesn't necessarily require you to book tickets in advance, your plans might change really quickly and you may lose deposits to lodging. To avoid this, I recommend not paying for hostels in advance and making sure they allow for 24 hour in-advance cancellations.
In general, the Eurorail pass is very easy to use and a great way to travel at affordable rates. They also have special discount prices for people under the age of 26 and discounts if one buys them during the holiday seasons.
