Europe by train: how to get more bang for your buck

May 10, 2011 12:29:09 AM

Mark Smith
Lonely Planet Author

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When it comes to train travel in Europe, the big question is always the same: is it better to purchase a railpass or point-to-point tickets? Railpass marketing is persuasive, and I’m often emailed by American or Australian travellers who want to make two or three train trips which could easily be booked online for 30 euros ($40) each, asking if they should buy a $500 railpass. So check out these four different options before assuming you need a pass!

Option 1: Invest in a railpass

When to use it: If you intend to clock up a fair old mileage and (crucially) want to stay completely flexible, then a railpass can be the just the ticket. It’s especially likely to be the best bet if you’re under 26, as ‘youth’ passes are much cheaper than adult passes and better value compared to normal tickets.

How it works: You can buy a pass covering most of Europe (‘Global’) or just one chosen country, for a variety of different durations, from either the Eurail pass range if you live outside Europe, or the InterRail pass range if you’re a European resident. ‘Continuous’ passes give a number of consecutive days’ unlimited rail travel, ideal if you’re going to be on the go much of the time. ‘Flexi’ passes give a number of days’ unlimited train travel to be ‘spent’ on any dates you like within the overall duration of the pass, making them more economical if you plan to stay put between journeys.

A word of advice: If you buy a pass, remember that there may be extra charges to pay. In France, Italy and Spain, virtually all long distance trains require passholders to pay a reservation fee, typically 3 to 10 euros a trip. Thalys trains from Paris to Brussels and Amsterdam now charge passholders a whopping 39 euros. On the other hand, in Switzerland, Germany and Austria reservation is hardly ever compulsory and there are few if any passholder surcharges. Passes also don’t cover Eurostar between London and Paris – there’s a £57 passholder fare, but if you book in advance on the Eurostar website you’ll find regular one-way fares from £39.

You’ll find more pass information on the Eurail website or the InterRail website.

Option 2: Buy point-to-point tickets at the station as you go along

When to use it: This option makes more sense than a pass if you’re only going to make short journeys, or journeys in Eastern Europe where fares are so cheap anyway.

How it works: A trip from Florence to Pisa for 5.80 euros each way hardly justifies a pass, and in Eastern Europe, Ljubljana to Zagreb costs less than 17 euros, Prague to Krakow around 35 euros. To check fares, you’ll need to find the train operator website for each country, there’s a list on the Seat 61 website.

Option 3: Buy cheap point-to-point tickets online in advance

When to use it: This is what railpass agencies would rather you didn’t know. Over the last few years, most Western European train operators have adopted airline-style pricing, with expensive flexible fares on the day of travel and some remarkably cheap fares if you book in advance. This means that if you’re willing to put in some planning time, you could pocket the savings.

How it works: Naturally, the cheapest fares are non-refundable and non-changeable, but if you have a fixed itinerary and are happy to pre-book one to three months ahead, this is often cheaper than a pass. For example, the French Railways website sells tickets from Paris to Amsterdam from only 35 euros ($45), 4 euros less than the 39 euro surcharge you’d pay with a pass, and there’s no postage or booking fees to pay, seat reservation is included, and you print your own ticket (Tip: If you’re from the USA, say you’re from Canada to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe).

The German railways website sells tickets from Berlin to Prague from 29 euros, or Amsterdam to Prague by overnight train from 49 euros with couchette or 79 euros with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. In Spain, a ‘web fare’ from Madrid to Seville costs 33.30 euros on the Spanish Railways website, and Tren Italia offers ‘Mini’ fares from Florence to Rome for 19 euros or an overnight couchette from Venice to Paris for a ‘Smart’ fare of 45 euros. The key thing is to book in advance direct with the relevant European train operator. You’ll find guidance on which websites to use for which journey on the Seat 61 website.

Option 4: Mix and match

Of course, why not pre-book a cheap advance-purchase ticket for a long-distance journey at the beginning or end of your trip, a railpass for flexibility in the middle, and a normal ticket bought at the station for a short trip where it wasn’t worth spending a day on your pass?

Mark Smith is the Man in Seat 61.

For inspiration on where to travel in Europe by train, take a look at our article on ‘Europe’s 8 best night trains‘.

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Comments

26 April 2011 4:50AM alexberger Report this comment
Great write up. A combination definitely tends to be the best match up unless the traveler is moving at warpspeed. I generally suggest to friends that the best starting point is to identify the countries they are interested in, then from there the rate at which they'll be traveling at and the distance they'll be covering. Once that's done I look at the countries and identify if they're bus, cheap rail, or expensive rial oriented countries. If it's a combination of somewhere like Italy, Croatia and Spain (cheap rail/bus countries) I almost always suggest against the rail pass. On the other hand if it's Germany, Switzerland and Denmark I'm usually more inclined to suggest one.
The other thing I learned the hard way is to be careful about Rail passes in Norway and countries with similar infrastructure. Not only are many of the best railways private, but everything routes on a spindle system through Oslo forcing massive backtracking.
26 April 2011 5:53AM allie_a Report this comment
Question: I'm studying abroad in England next spring for 6 months. I plan on traveling around while I'm there, and I was hoping to do it by train (I love trains...). It's rather difficult to plan far ahead, because I don't know what my class schedule or workload is going to be yet, but what railpass would you suggest?
26 April 2011 7:41AM rismau00 Report this comment
i think if you are under 26 railpass is the way to go but over 26 either point to point or cheap flight probably a better option, especially if you want to travel around and might want to use the time to look around instead of spending it on the train.
26 April 2011 9:55AM finn_nl Report this comment
My suggestion would be: if you do have time enough to ramble around the continent, catch a cheap flight to somewhere (anywhere?) nice on the continent, then use a railpass. I live in Ireland and it's much the better option than ferries or the horribly overpriced Eurostar. The surcharges on Interrailing I find ridiculous, personally. It's taking so much of the fun out of pass-based train travel. I will still go Interrailing this summer but I'll make very sure to check out deals and I'm simply boycotting anything with a surcharge over 10 euros. They have quite a nerve charging more than that while still selling IR as a hassle-free roaming ticket. *righteous indignation ends here, sorry folks!*
26 April 2011 3:46PM tootsall Report this comment
There is another consideration and that is the possibility that you may be able to purchase "day passes" which are discounted or "on sale" dependant upon the rail operator's need to fill the seats during a particular time frame. We found some of these dirt cheap on the German system a couple of years ago. Check the rail company's website a couple of days before you plan to make a rail trip to see what's available (but be prepared in case there aren't any sales on).
26 April 2011 7:53PM gbaker2299 Report this comment
ok, it seems eurail is fairly expensive for only 5 or so travel days. I may buy small distance tickets this summer as I go from France to Czech rep. and then buy one long range ticket from Prague to Paris to fly home. is it a safe bet that if I show up in the train station with nothing booked and try to buy a ticket from Paris to brussles I can get one without reservation? if some one with more European travel experience than me (none) could also tell me how you would handle the travel segment of a month in Europe starting and ending in Paris, going to say Germany Belgium, Austria and czeck rep. (in the cheapest fashion)
1 June 2011 12:54AM kelly87 Report this comment
Eurorailing is very over rated, with long journeys in over crowded run down carriages, but if you are looking to do a short train journey to remember then i fully recommend a trip on the Bernina express through the Alps from Italy through to Switzerland. Amazing views and very cheap too. I booked with www.activitybreaks.com and the break was under £200 for a 2 night break with a return journey on the train
7 September 2011 6:50AM chrisgleadell Report this comment
A tip. When booking online tickets, especially in France, always click the tab that shows all classes of seats. Due to supply and demand and the release of tickets, premier class can sometimes be cheaper than standard. Then sit back and relax and watch the world go by.
3 February 2012 5:51AM josefinacornejo Report this comment
Hi, i'm going with my boyfriend to europe for 3 weeks. The places that we want to visit are frankfurt, cologne, brussells, brugges, amsterdam, hamburg, berlin, dresden, prague, viena, budapest and stuttgart. I'm 25 years old but my boyfriend is 26. What do you think is the cheapest way to travel? to buy the point-to-point tickets or the eurail global pass?