Eurail how does it work

You can get the app through this link. They also have a web based timetable search on their website, should you not have an iPhone or android. Should you still prefer a printed timetable, Eurail now recommends to buy them since they no longer provide them printed. You can check them here. Thanks Norbert! Five countries… 10 weeks… lots of planning!

That sounds like an amazing trip!! Let me know if you need any additional info or have any question! I have a travel plan…. The train leave Hannover at around My travel date is Apr So which date should I consider on my Global pass? I am still curious as to when we are travelling that day with a Eurail pass that I will not need to purchase anything unless its a reservation train that travel day? So I can basically find a train route and time hop on it and not have any problems?

Thank you for your article! It really did help a lot. If no reservation is needed, you can just walk in, grab a seat, and just wait for the train conductor to check your pass. Have in mind, though, that now some stations have gates before the platform that only open after scanning your ticket. Hi Norbert, First of all let me put it on record that yours is by far the best blog on Eurail passes. My congratulations to you.

You have done a great service to the entire world of travellers. We are a family of 3 adults travelling to Europe in April I have a few questions:- 1. The transfer time at Zurich main station is 14 minutes for catching another train to Lucerne and it involves moving from platform numbers 6 to 9 with three large suitcases.

Will it be possible or not? Reservation on Eurail. Regarding your questions: 1. As long as it is not a reserved seat, yes, you can just walk in and sit wherever available within your class — 1st or 2nd. Have in mind, though, that lately some major train station have put some automated gates to access the platforms that open with a valid ticket.

In these cases, you should head to an agent so they produce a valid ticket with your passes. Tough to say, but I think you should be ok. Swiss trains tend to be on time, but delays could happen at any time.

I would recommend being ready and standing by the door the moment the train arrives so you can just walk out and change to platform 9. Hmmm, you should be able to book them through trenitalia. Not sure if the site is glitchy at the moment? Here are some instructions on the Eurail site showing you how to make reservations via trenitalia and even via their app. This is a great guide! The most comprehensive so far. Still, could use some advice. Traveling as 2 adults and 2 kids, both 9, for 2 weeks.

I feel like the Europass is the way to go. And could I make reservations now for a trip in late September? Hi Kelly, thanks!

So, Eurail now only has two passes, with are the country-specific passes and the global passes. From the route you mentioned, you will need a global pass — probably a flexipass for either 5 or 7 travel days within a one-month window. Hi, I have a question regarding the eurail global pass. When I buy online 3 days within 1 month it gives me an option to activate the pass.

It needs a starting date though. Is the starting date just the start of the 1 month clock or its considered the first day of the use of the card and I will have 2 more days left?

Seems like back then it could be used for the streetcars, buses, subways and ferries basically anything but a taxi. I was just wondering if that is still the case or even if my memory of me doing that is correct? Not sure if buses are included, but maybe some do. These all depend on the country. Do I go to any kiosk and get them with my Eurail number? Do I have to go to a ticket window and get tickets? Thank you in advance for the help. If you do not need a reservation for that specific train, you just validate the travel day on your pass at the stamp machine at the station, and go straight to the train sit wherever you like.

If you need a reservation, then you must go to a ticket kiosk at the station or purchase it online if available. Then, just head to the appropriate reserved seat.

How do you know if you need a reservation or not? You find that out when checking the routes online on the Eurail website or their app. I am currently 27 and looking to purchase my Eurail Pass in the next couple days. But, I will be 28 by the time I get to Europe. Can I still get a youth pass or will they see my Date of Birth on my passport and wind up charging me full price on all of my train rides?

For the 7 PM rule, if I ride a train in the afternoon on Monday and then later that same day take a 7 PM train to a new city that arrives at 12am on Tuesday, does that count as 2 days travel? Does the answer change if the train arrives at 4 am Tuesday?

I believe you should purchase the adult pass as they check your passport and pass when activating the pass.

On the 7 pm rule, if your train after 7 pm arrives after midnight but before 4 am of the next day, it still counts as 1 day, with that day being the day you boarded the train Monday.

The original trip was to Germany, but he has also mentioned interest in Scotland, Ireland, and Italy. Could such a trip be done on Eurail Passes in two weeks time with very specific destinations and 3 — 4 days per country? After the trip my grandson will be going into the military. What tickets would I purchase, etc.? Any help and information would be deeply appreciated! Thank you very much. Hi Rebecca — Apologies on the delayed reply. You can easily spend two weeks just in Germany and Italy which seems to be the easiest option.

It also depends on how many cities you wish to visit. You can spend two to three days per major city in each country. Know that the Eurail pass does not work for Ireland. It does work for Scotland, Germany, and Italy, so for that, I recommend a Global Pass with 5 or 7 days of travel within one month. My recommendation… if it were me planning this trip. Focus on Germany and Italy. That will keep you busy those two weeks and more! Hi Maureen — Thanks for letting me know. The 7 pm rule is no longer in effect.

Now, the travel day that counts on overnight trains is the departure date. Great post. We want to go to Switzerland on the last leg of our journey. My question is … if we used up all 7 days on pass. Can we still book the freebies train tour in Switzerland? Normally, if the transportation benefit is a discount, it does not count as a travel day, so you can use it at any time. If it is for free like a free ferry , then it does count as a travel day.

If the benefit is for tours and other stuff not transportation-related, then it does not count as a travel day either. My 1st visit country is Switzerland, can I validate my Italy pass in Switzerland? I think you may be able to validate both passes in Switzerland. Should you not be able, ask them what is the best option to validate the Italian pass before crossing the border, or, quite probably depending on the train you take , you will change trains right at the border when crossing from Switzerland to Italy, so you can head quickly to a clerk, validate, and hop on the next train.

Morning Norbert, Thanks. Afraid that time not permitted for the ticket pass validate. I did get advise from agent before make any arrangement and hope to they will help. Anyhow, good to known about ur Globotreks!

But do you know what train stations in Paris might sell the Eurail pass? Have in mind, though, that it will cost more, so you might want to check the point by point ticket prices to compare them. Hi Very good and useful post. I am planning a trip for more than 3weeks -Italy, Switzerland, France.

But how can I puchase and get it as I live in Bangladesh? I have days only before starting the journey. So I was checking the shipping info on their site to see if things have changed, and they now ship worldwide! Ask the hotel for permission to use their address too, just in case. Hello Norbert. Good tutorial. When boarding non reservation trains do you just hop on and fill out the pass Tony.

Thanks, Tony! That is correct. For non-reservation trains you can just hop on and fill out the pass. Kudos to you for being available in the comment section for over 7 years and counting.

Allow me to share my itinerary. I bought the Eurail Global Pass 7 Days in 1 Month and had to strictly follow the plan because of several accommodations and attractions booking. I will be spending 1 day for most of the cities, and travelling the next morning. Is registering an account on Eurail website mandatory? However, all of the trips except for one says Reservation Optional.

What does that mean? Am i guaranteed to board the train even if there are no seats? Do i have to reserve seats if not i will not be allowed on the train no matter if standing spaces are available? I have a huge confusion in this because different website gives different information the agent that i got my ticket from — Klook says that ond of my trips for Second-Class tickets are sold out 6 Is it still safe to say that if seating reservation is necessary, i can do so a day before given that i need to board the train.

This is because i will only be in the destination on the day of arrival and leaving the next morning. So they are considered regional trains right? What do i need to take note? I owe you this one, Norbet! Hi Wel! Thank you so much. I will be spending 1 day for most of the cities and traveling the next morning. But, all the cities mentioned are impressive. My favorites on that list are Prague and Berlin.

Make sure to visit some of the museums in Museum Island in Berlin. They are world-class. The old town in Prague is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. Just walk around and visit the main square, the castle, Charles Bridge, and the cathedral.

I believe you got your pass through a third party? Eurail allows you to activate your pass online when you purchase it, but not sure if your agent did that for you. Check with them. But, you can activate it at a train station before you hop on the first train. Just go to a ticket booth with your pass for activation. Am I guaranteed to board the train even if there are no seats? Yes, any train that is reservation optional allows you to board and just stand around if there are no seats.

This mostly happens on regional trains. The reservation, of course, will guarantee a seat. Do I have to reserve seats if not I will not be allowed on the train no matter if standing spaces are available? See if there are train changes along the way so that maybe one train has optional reservations while the other is required. I have a huge confusion in this because different websites gives different information the agent that I got my ticket from — Klook says that one of my trips for Second-Class tickets are sold out.

You can do this on the local website for each train company or right at the station. Regarding fully booked trains… chances are that there are still seats available, but Eurail is only allowed to book up to X amount of seats per train with their passes. This happened to me in France once. I went to the station to reserve my seat, they told me it was full for Eurail passes, but that I could purchase my seat because there were seats available.

In that case, I purchased my seat at the very last minute. This is because I will only be in the destination on the day of arrival and leaving the next morning. Overall, yes. What do I need to take note? No, regional trains stick to their region in their country. Now, border crossings with non-regional trains like the ones requiring reservations are usually a non-issue as the train will usually take you from start to finish for example, from Berlin to Prague without stopping at the border or changing trains.

The Eurail timetable will show you this too. Hi Norbet. Just another question. What happens when you fill out your diary only to decide to get of at a sleepy little town.

Using the global pass two month. The next day, then just fill Florence to Milan on the next row. This is why I recommend only filling the info once on the train. You are incredible for putting this together, and continuing to keep it updated and respond to questions! This has answered many questions for me. I am planning a day trip with my wife and child.

We are flying in and out of Paris. Our preliminary itinerary is:. While in Florence, we may take short day trips in that region of northern Italy. The two big train routes will be to and from Florence. I thought I could save some sight-seeing time by taking night trains and sleeping on the train. But this is where I start to get confused. Do you know where I can find sleeper reservation info?

In your article and comments you discussed border crossing. If I am on a train from Milan to Paris with 0 changes, what happens at the border? If I am asleep, does the conductor wake us up to see our passports? And do we have to get off the train at the border? Or is everything taken care of in Milan when the train departs? While we only have a couple long trains between Paris and Florence, we will like take short day trips 2 hours at the most. I was thinking of getting a 5 travel day Global Pass.

That seems to be the correct option for what we are doing. Can you share your opinion on this? Any other thoughts or ideas you have would be very welcome.

I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with us. This is quite overwhelming and your article already eased my mind so much! Honestly, in those two cases, I recommend flying specifically for the Metz to Florence part since the hassle is not worth it. The Florence to Paris train may or may not be worth it depending on the cost of flying. There are many budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet that do these routes cheaply.

You get the most out of the pass by doing several long-distance trips. Regional trains which are the ones typically used for those 2-hour day trips are usually cheap.

One of the places we plan to go is Madrid, and we plan to get there from Lisbon. So the travel journey is Lisbon — Madrid. Is that true? I actually took the Trainhotel from Madrid to Lisbon and I booked it right at the station with my global pass.

I booked mine like an hour before departure, but I was just one traveler. I purchased a Eurail pass for myself I plan to be traveling more frequently , and I am also purchasing Individual tickets for someone else, mainly on DB site for German train travel, but I have a few questions.

Sometimes the times are off, same train. My other question is how do I book advanced bus tickets via the Eurail site? Overnight sleeper trains cover huge distances such as Zurich to Prague or Paris to Venice, effectively faster than flying and it saves hotel bill, too. The train journeys become a welcome chance to chill out between cities Your train journeys are an integral part of the European experience , something to enjoy for their own sake, giving you a ground-level feel for the countries you're visiting Things to consider In Europe, cars and city centres don't mix.

It's not like driving in the States. In overcrowded Europe, driving on busy motorways is tedious. There may be fines for entering traffic-free zones. Some car hire companies won't let their cars cross borders, others charge prohibitive fees for one-way cross-border rentals. A 1-hour flight takes up to 4 hours once you include the bus or train to the airport, 2-hour check-in, flight, then more airport hassle and another bus, train or taxi into town.

More importantly, if you fly you miss out on the European journey experience: It's not just transport from A to B, the train ride lets you chill out, read, chat, work, meet people and experience Europe - it can even be a highlight of your trip.

And don't forget that short-haul flights cause disproportionate environmental damage. Long distance buses are usually the poor man's choice in Europe. Buses travel along ugly motorways which spoil the scenery they pass through. A 3-hour train ride at up to mph with regular departures might be an 8-hour endurance test by bus with just two buses per day. You're stuck in a bus seat for hours, no restaurant or cafe-bar and at night you sleep slumped in a seat.

Even Paris-Barcelona 6h20 is better by train, with great scenery centre to centre compared to 5 hours of RER train, airport, soulless flight, airport, then Spanish metro train.

Trains are low-hassle, low stress, with loads of legroom, you can wander to the bar or restaurant. Or feel free to bring your own picnic and your own bottle of wine or beer, it's allowed on trains! Back to top. Eurail is the brand name for the range of railpasses offered to overseas visitors giving unlimited travel on trains run by over 30 European train operators - see the list of participating countries below or see the Eurail map.

Eurail is not a train operator and there no special 'Eurail' trains, you use any and all of the regular trains run by the participating operators. It's the team in Utrecht who run the official Eurail website www. As it happens, I've been there to discuss recent scheme improvements with them, nice people! You can choose a Eurail pass giving unlimited travel for various periods of time on the national rail networks of just one of the 33 participating countries a one-country pass or all 33 countries a global pass.

Unlimited travel means unlimited - you can use 1 train or 20 trains a day, going 10 miles or miles, it doesn't matter. The different types of Eurail pass are explained here. Eurail passes now also cover various smaller private train operators. To understand how Eurail passes work, which trains they cover, and how reservation work, see how a Eurail pass works here. This can be done at the station as you go, or in advance, sometimes online, sometimes only by phone.

These non-Eurail passes are explained here. You must buy a Eurail pass before you get here, you cannot buy Eurail passes when you get to Europe. It's worth mentioning that over recent years the Eurail pass range for overseas visitors and the Interrail pass range for European residents have converged.

The countries participating in the Eurail pass scheme are:. See map of countries participating in the Eurail scheme. Adult - which should be self explanatory. Youth - for anyone aged under 28 on the first day of pass validity - it used to be under 26 until Child - for kids aged under Children inclusive get a free Eurail pass when accompanying someone on an Adult pass, although they still need to pay any relevant reservation fees.

On some retailer's website this is shown as 'family'. Note that you have to have an Adult pass to get the free Child passes, you can't get them with Youth or Senior passes. Infants - children aged under 4 travel free on trains anyway and don't need any pass, nor do they pay any reservation fees.

In some countries the age limit for infants is 5 or even 6, so don't pay if you don't have to, see the age limits for each European country here. Where are you going? A Eurail Global pass covers all 33 participating countries, see the list or see map of rail network in the Eurail countries. A Eurail Single-Country pass covers just one country of your choice. A one-country pass is cheaper than buying a global pass covering all the countries.

How long for? You can buy Eurail passes giving unlimited train travel for various periods of time. But you need to get your head around two different concepts. Continuous passes give unlimited travel every day for a continuous period of time, either 15 days, 22 days or 1, 2 or 3 months, starting on any date you like. These give the ultimate in freedom and flexibility, but to make them worthwhile you need to be on a train every day or two.

Flexi passes are more economical if you plan to stay put for a number of days between each train ride. Flexi passes give 4, 5, 7, 10 or 15 days unlimited travel within an overall 1 or 2 month period.

For example, take the 5 days in 1 month pass: The overall 1 month starts ticking on the date you validate your pass at a station, you can then 'spend' each of your 5 days of unlimited travel any time during that 1 month period, on whatever dates you like, just by writing the date in one of the 5 boxes printed on your pass each time you want to use one of your travel days.

All the one-country passes are of this flexi type. The 3-day pass was changed to 4 days in January You can look up the available pass types, time periods and prices at the official Eurail website, www.

You can now choose 1st or 2nd class with any pass type. But 1st class seating is available on most longer-distance trans and if you can afford it, 1st class is obviously nicer, with wider, plusher seats, more legroom. In 1st class there are usually more businessmen tapping on laptops and fewer families with kids. Don't assume 1st class gets you any food or drink or free limo transfers or complimentary massages or whatever, this is not an airline.

Your default assumption should be that 2nd class seating is nice, 1st class seating is nicer, and it's normally just the nicer seating with fewer people per car that you're paying for when you go 1st class. Sometimes a 1st class pass will get you into a first class lounge at a station , but more often than not it won't. That may help you decide!

As well as the large and well-known Eurail pass range, several countries do their own non-Eurail pass, which can be worth checking. The Swiss Travel Pass is what you want for Switzerland as there is no one-country Eurail pass for that country. I've summed these up here. They're priced in euros, but obviously you can buy in your own currency.

You can check these prices and buy online at the official Eurail website www. Check current exchange rates. Pass prices vary only slightly between retailers, although you also need to check delivery costs as some retailers deliver for free, others charge a delivery fee. I recommend buying direct from Eurail themselves, they ship worldwide. Mobile pass or classic printed pass?

If you buy at www. There are then no pass delivery costs or delays. You will need to connect the app to the internet every 3 days to keep the app updated and the pass valid. Mobile passes were introduced as an option in September If you live in the United States www. Forgive me for saying so, but overseas visitors sometimes seem brainwashed into thinking that they have to buy a Eurail pass to use trains in Europe.

Of course you don't. Anyone connected to the internet can buy the same cheap point-to-point tickets that we Europeans buy, at the same prices, direct from the same train operator websites that we use.

If you have a simple fixed pre-planned itinerary, buying cheap advance-purchase train fares is almost always the cheapest option. Thanks to the internet, you can buy these cheap advance-purchase fares from any computer, tablet or smartphone in the USA or Australia just as easily as I can from the UK, following my journey-specific advice on the How to Buy European Train Tickets page.

Let's assume your itinerary includes a journey from Berlin to Prague So is a pass the cheapest option? It's also the easiest option, quickly booked online at the German or Czech Railways website and printed out - or you can simply show it on your smartphone.

Click, click! But does a pass still make sense? Yes, if you don't want to nail your plans to the floor months in advance, if you want the freedom to travel when you want, or even decide not to go to Prague after all, but to Vienna instead.

Take a more expensive example: Amsterdam-Berlin:. Now a day pass breaks even or if you're under 28 saves money over the cheapest advance-purchase fare, and saves a lot over the full-flex fare. But it depends which pass length your itinerary justifies, as the pass-cost-per-day works out more expensive the shorter the duration of the pass - I've worked out all the pass costs per day here. But you get the picture! It's really a 4-way decision:. It's risky to generalise, but I'll have a go, for those without the patience to do the maths as explained in the next section For a few short train rides, don't buy a railpass A railpass is total overkill for a few short local journeys.

Obvious, I hope Simply head to the Eurail website to buy. After you buy your Eurail pass online, it'll be delivered to you by UPS, FedEx, or similar, and you'll be able to track its progress to your house. Once you've received your pass, take good care of it and treat it like you would your passport. You don't want to forget or lose your pass. Decide how many European countries you're visiting before you buy a pass, and that will help you narrow down which option is right for you.

You'll need a seat reservation, which can be made up to 12 weeks in advance. If you're aged between 12 and 25, you're in luck, because that means you qualify for a discount on your Eurail pass! These are referred to as student discounts, but you don't need to be a student in order to qualify—you just need to be younger than These discounts work out to savings of several hundred dollars, depending on the pass you choose, so it's definitely worth cashing in on your young age.

Before you start using your pass, it must be validated. A train station attendant will validate it at first use in Europe. Validating Eurail passes means marking the date on which train travel begins on your pass.

Eurail passes are purchased for specific time periods, like one month. So if you buy a one month pass, it's valid for one month from the date you first use it. If you've never been on a train in Europe before, don't fret—making reservations and buying tickets are generally straightforward and stress-free.

Only non-European residents can purchase Eurail Passes and they must be purchased before arriving in Europe. Some trains, particularly the high-speed trains like ICE and TGV, require you to purchase a seat reservation in addition to your Eurail pass.

Reservations for these trains can be made in your home country or when you arrive in Europe, however a limited number of seat reservations are allocated on each train so it is wise to book early. As you can travel on a lot of trains without a seat reservation, many passengers usually locals , take the chance and sit wherever they like on the train until someone with a seat reservation comes along and asks them to move. When this happens and the train is full, it is not uncommon to see passengers standing in the aisles for the whole trip.

On a trip from Bolzano to Munich four hours , I saw people without seat reservations who had to stand the whole way. In most cases, if you will only be making two or three short trips, purchasing the individual tickets for each sector will probably be cheaper than buying a Eurail Pass. With a Eurail Pass you only have to make one purchase even if your train journeys will be in different countries.

As an added bonus, a Eurail Pass entitles the holder to discounted rates on other travel services in Europe. Eurail Pass holders are eligible for bonus offers in some countries. The following are a sample of some of the bonus offers available. More bonuses may apply. For bonus offers applicable to the Swiss Travel Pass refer to this article.

You can purchase a Eurail Pass from a travel agent but a simple and convenient way to buy a Eurail Pass is via an online agent like this one.