Eurail Travel - All you ever wanted to know.

A few years ago we did an interesting summer trip with my cousin’s family. The trip covered 3 countries and many cities. We bought the Italian Rail pass for travel within Italy. Other countries were Greece and Turkey so they did not require the rail pass. Otherwise each country has a different rail systems and they all combine to make it Eurail. We had booked the passes from Delhi through our agent and my cousin Kunal had possession of these passes. As mentioned, the pass we had booked was from Italian Rail system (trenitalia.com) and it allowed us to travel on 4 days in 1 month anywhere within Italy.This meant that you could travel as much as you wish on these 4 days within Italy as long as it was within 1 month from the 1^st use of pass.

It so happened that our Turkish Airline flight to Venice got cancelled after several delays as something went wrong with the aircraft and we were asked to board Lufthansa flight instead. We were told that we would get the checked in baggage only after a couple of days as there was no time to load it on to Lufthansa flight. There was panic as Kunal informed us that the rail passes were in checked in baggage. Our schedule in Italy was hectic and we were in Venice just for a day followed by 2 days in Florence and another 3 days in Rome. Where will we take delivery of suitcases ? By the time we would get our passes, the Italian leg would probably be over.

The Italian pass for our family had cost around $700. It is a steep price to pay  for just for 4 days of travel. But this is what Eurail travel is all about. It is convenient  but very expensive.  The prospect of losing out this money was scary when you were travelling abroad with limited amount of money. It would have ruined our holiday.

Luck smiled on us. As we had to get our immigration cancelled we came out of boarding area and as luck would have it our luggage  also came out after being offloaded from Turkish flight. We begged the staff to let us take out the passes. Obviously they refused. My sister in law begged and begged to our surprise they relented. Persistence pays ! The baggage was opened and quickly the passes were retrieved. We next saw our baggage after 5 days as the Lufthansa flight was ready for takeoff and there was no way our luggage could be loaded on to that. Even though we had no clothes etc, for 5 days  it did not bother us. Clothes we could afford to buy but buying new passes would have been tough !

Our first use of pass should have come for our journey from Venice to Florence. It would have taken around 2.5 hours to reach if we had managed to board our train. So enamored were we by this interesting city and its canals that we reached late and were told that we would have to wait for 4 hours for another train. We had a rail pass so we looked at the map and got onto the train to Bologna. We now managed to explore a new town which was not in our itinerary. We had lunch at Bologna and roamed around this historic city and then caught the train to Florence. Here we learnt our 2^nd lesson. On some trains you require reservations even though you may be having a rail pass. We shelled out the reservation charges and penalty to the TT.

Another important lesson was that the lighter you travel , the more enjoyable the trip would be as you could get down at any station to explore an exotic city. 

It was then that I decided to study about the rail system of Europe. I think in this blog I have covered most questions a person would be asking before taking a Eurail pass. 

Q) What is the difference in Eurail pass and interrail pass ?

Ans) Eurail pass is for Non European residents staying out of Europe for at least 6 months. European residents can use InterRail pass issued by Interrail.eu

Q) Is Eurail one rail system ?
Ans) Each country has its own rail system and they combine to form the Eurail system. Examples :
Germany : Deutsche Bahn
Swiss : SBB Swiss Rail
Italy : Reilitalia

Q) What is Global Pass, Select Pass & One country pass

Ans)

            a) Global Pass : Allows you to travel to 24 countries with one pass within the limited time for which you have bought the pass.

b)      Select Pass : Allows you to get one pass from 3-5 neighboring countries.

c)       One Country Pass or regional pass : Valid for 1-2 countries. You could buy for 2 neighboring countries also like Switzerland and France. Regional pass can mean Benelux countries or Balkan countries which are considered as Regional.

Q) What is the definition of a day ? What do you mean by saying one can travel on 3 days within one month ?

Ans) A day means a minute past midnight to midnight. If you take an overnight train starting at 10 PM and reaches destination at 7 AM – this would mean that you have travelled on 2 days. If you have a pass saying 3 days in a month then you can travel as much on 3 days in this one month.

Normally if someone says I have a Eurail Pass it means he has pass for continuous days of travel. For example Eurail 4 day pass means he has pass for continuous travel for 4 days. Flexi pass for 4 days means that he could travel on any four days in 2 months or 1 month as the case may be.

Q) What happens if you have a 2 country pass but you travel to a 3^rd country ?

Ans) Make sure you buy a separate ticket for that portion of journey in advance. Otherwise you will be fined.

Q) What do you mean by activation of rail pass ?

Ans) Once you buy a Eurail Pass then you have 6 months in which to get it activated. Activation happens on the first day of travel. If the pass is valid for travel for 4 days in one month then the one month starts from the activation of the pass. There are activation/validation machines on all stations in Europe which imprints the date on the pass. Make sure that you activate your pass before boarding the train. And validate it on each day that you travel so that you are not considered a cheat. Generally you activate the pass by a machine on 1^st day of travel and from next journey onwards you fill up by hand the date so that when TT comes he can see that you have filled up the date.

           Activation and filling up of travel dates

Q) Normally what are categories for Passes ?

Ans) a) Adult or saver pass : For Adults over 25 years. Savers pass is for 2 or more adults travelling together. This saver is discounted but one always has to travel together. It could be for 1^st class or 2^nd class.

b) Youth : You have to be under 26 years. Only valid for 2^nd class.

c) Child : Normally from 4-12 years. Children under 4 travel free.

Many a times families travelling together get special rates.

Q) Does pass give you any other benefit ?

Ans) Depending on the season there are schemes so one should study that. At times even local transportation is included. Each country has a list of benefits it offers. You get a booklet with the pass which mentions all the benefits in each country where your pass is valid. The benefits are like discounted entries to museums, free tickets to amusement parks, free ferry travel, discounted hotels, discounts at restaurants etc.

Q) Is Reservation required for Eurail travel ?

Ans ) When travelling with a Eurail pass you’ll need to book reservations for most high-speed trains and all night trains. In the popular countries of France, Italy and Spain almost all trains need reservations, except the slower regional trains. 

You can book your reservations up to 3 months before your travel date . In France most trains require reservations except for regional slow trains.  The Eurail booklet is a good way to find out if reservation is required or not when you check on trains. On internet also when you give details at Eurail website, the pink R shows if that train requires reservations or not. This is an additional expense but you have to live with it. There are many ways of making reservation including by phone and by post but delivery of reservation slip may be a problem as they send by post. For E-Reservation also you need to do it a week in advance and you can print the reservation right away. But do we have one week when we are travelling? Most of the times I have gone to the rail station a couple of days before boarding date and got it done. At rail station you can get reservation even one hour in advance is availability is there. The biggest problem is that reservations also cost a lot of money. For a 4 hour journey it was almost 10 Euros per person.

Q) Should first class be preferred to second class ?

Ans) Well, I have always travelled second class and it’s pretty comfortable. Economically it makes sense also as the trains are very clean and comfortable. The 1^st class ticket holders can travel in 2^nd class but the reverse is not allowed. The seats are a bit better in 1^st class and it is supposed to be quieter. In some long haul trains they may give you a glass of wine. But I have been very happy with 2^nd class and I can’t afford 1^st class with my budget.

The views like these are common

Q) Can you actually travel great distances like from  Barcelona from Paris by Eurail ?

Ans) Yes and with loads of fun and scenic beauty. You will have to change a few trains but then you should travel light. It will take around 11.30 hours and 4 transfers but it could be fun. You will go from Paris to Migennes to Dijon to Lyons to Avignon and finally to Portbou (Spain) which is near Barcelona. Better still, stopover in a few towns of France in-between and enjoy a couple of days in South of France also. If you don’t care about views etc. then there is a direct night train between Paris and Portbou. Just sleep through your journey but pay more for reservations.

Q) What is better – Rail pass or point to point ticket ?

Ans) If you don’t intend to take long journeys and travel for just a couple of hours in a day then point to point tickets may be cheaper for you. Just check the price on internet at Eurail website.

q) Sometimes you get very cheap flight tickets within different cities of Europe. Isn’t that better than train?

Ans) We got tempted by a similar deal and decided to fly from Madrid to Barcelona. This is what we realized :

1)      Taxi fares were exorbitant as Airports are located outside cities.

2)      Most rail stations are right in centre of cities.

3)      The hassle of check ins, security and reporting time is a problem at airports.

4)      Flights get delayed frequently but trains are normally on time.

5)      From hotel to hotel it would have taken us 4 hours on train from Madrid to Barcelona. It took us 9 hours by flight. Flight got delayed by 3 hours.

Train stations are in city centre in most cities

Q) Where have I enjoyed travel most in trains ?

Ans) Switzerland , without any doubt. Trains run by clockwork precision. The scenic beauty is unmatched with snow capped mountains, lush green mountains , huge lakes and waterfalls. Most of the time it seemed as if you were watching a picture post card.  The rail pass offered us special discounts on excursions to Mt Titlis and Mt. Jungfrau. I want to do it again as when we went last the kids were very small.

Inside the Swiss train

Q) How should I plan buying my rail pass ? What is the best way of buying a rail pass in India ?

Ans)

1)      Decide on the countries and cities you want to visit. Decide if 1 country pass would do or more.

2)      If going for more than one country then try to choose neighboring countries like Switzerland, France and Italy for select pass.

3)      Decide how many days you will be travelling in one month period. Try to reduce these days by combining a few sightseeing destinations on a single day.

4)      For short journeys don’t waste full day of pass but by point to point ticket.

5)      Decide who all will be travelling together.

6)      Feed information on website and you will get rough price.

7)      Any recognized agent will give it to you for same price.

Q) What happens if I lose my pass ?

Ans) It is gone. It is like cash.

Q) What is rail planner App ?

A) It is an android and iphone app. You must load it before you travel.The Rail Planner App is a tool that allows you to look up train information, no matter where you are. It works offline and gives you quick access to departure and arrival times for European trains. The app can help you plan your trip in advance, but it can also be of great value when you're standing in a busy train station, trying to find your connecting train. Load it on your mobile before you go.

Q) What next ?
Ans) Start planning for a trip next summer !