Everything You Need to Know About Train Travel in Europe

Taking the train in Europe is quite possibly the easiest thing you'll do on your travels. Trains are quick, efficient and generally go everywhere that you'd want to go. By taking the train you get to see the landscape you're traveling in, which is not the case for flying place to place. You also don't need to worry about getting to the train stations as most of them are as close as possible to the city center - there is absolutely no need to take a bus or taxi. It's also generally safe, as long as you don't leave your belongings unattended. Getting to your destination can take just a few hours rather than double that on a bus, enabling you to make far better use of your time. So, do as so many Europeans do: Embrace the train!

When planning your trip in Europe, it is extremely important that you understand the types of rail passes that you can purchase, from what countries you visit and for how long. It can be a confusing and time consuming, but with a little help, you'll soon feel like an expert when it comes to rail passes along with riding the trains. If you hail from the United States, the site to buy your rail tickets is found at RailEurope.com - If you're located in Europe already, visit EuRail.com. This article will deal, however, with tickets and prices from RailEurope.com.

--Note: 1c= 1 Adult, 1^st class; 2c= 1 Youth, 2^nd class.
Participating countries include: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (the UK is not included and pass must be bought separately from Eurail passes).

Types of Rail Passes

There are several general types of rail passes that you can choose from. These include single country passes and multiple country passes with discounted senior passes, youth passes, saver passes and flexi passes. Senior passes are offered to those over 60 years of age and are generally more restricted in the types of passes one can buy. Youth passes are extremely common for those under the age of 26 and generally are around 20% off the adult, 1^st class pass. Saver passes are discounts for small groups traveling together that are adults in first class (therefore, not included for youth passes which are second class).

Single country passes are fairly self-explanatory - they are for one European country only and offer tickets for both 1^st and 2^nd class passengers. Prices vary per country and tickets can be bought for 3 to 10 days of travel used anytime within a 2 month period that can be used consecutively or non-consecutively. If you are traveling another person, you can opt for the Saverpass, which offers a discounted version of a single country pass.

Multi country passes include the Eurail Global pass or the Eurail Select Pass.

Eurail Global Pass: The Global Pass enables you to have complete and utter freedom in where you want to travel. You have the option to travel to 20 different European countries (note: not including the UK). Unlike many of the passes, with the Global Pass, the countries need not share a border with one another. You can purchase the Eurail Global Pass for 15 days (1c: $796, 2c: $517); 21 days (1c: $1,032, 2c: $669); 1 month (1c: $1,281, 2c: $833); 2 months (1c: $1,808, 2c: $1,177); or 3 months (1c: $2,232, 2c: $1,453). The Eurail Global Pass days must be used consecutively. Meaning that once you activate the rail pass during its first use at the train stations, the pass expires in X amount of days whether you travel on those days or not. If you do not want to have a rail pass that uses consecutive days, you can also purchase the Eurail Global Pass Flexi which allows you to travel for 10 days (1c: $939, 2c: $612) in 2 months or 15 days (1c: $1,234, 2c: $803) in 2 months.

Eurail Select Pass: This pass includes travel to 3, 4 or 5 bordering countries (for example, France, Switzerland and Italy). Travel can be used consecutively or non-consecutively for 5, 6, 8, 10 or 15 days of travel within 2 months. However, passes for 15 days can only be purchased when one is traveling to 5 countries. Rail prices for a 1^st class pass to 3 countries range from $504 (2c: $328) for 5 days to $764 (2c: $496) for 10 days. Travel to 4 countries range from $564 (2c: $367) for 5 days to $822 (2c: $532) for 10 days. Prices for 5 countries are $621 (2c: $404) for 5 days to $1,115 (2c: $725) for 15 days.

You can also purchase a Regional Pass which generally includes 2 countries that share a border, such as Austria and Hungary. Passes range include 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 days of consecutive or non-consecutive travel within a 2 month period. Unlike the Select Pass in which you choose the country that you visit, the Regional Pass is a pass for 2 specific countries, you cannot change you're mind with an Austria-Hungry Regional Pass and go from Austria to Germany instead. Like the Single country pass, prices range by country and region with 1^st or 2^nd class passes.

Deciding Where You Are Going

In order to get the cheapest ticket you can, you need to have some general idea of how long you're planning on being in Europe and which countries you wish to visit. If you're unsure, don't worry - for some, their decisions of duration and location formulate as they analyze what types of rail passes they want and what they are willing to pay.

Things to be Aware Of

Be aware that you can also buy place-to-place tickets, either online or at the train station. Though, in general, these tickets are more expensive if you are planning to use the train more than once or twice. Also, some rail passes require an extra fee to use certain trains, such as the fast train which are generally much, much faster and are of a better quality inside. In Italy, for example, if you hold an Italy Rail pass, to travel from Florence to Venice you must pay an extra amount to ride the fast train (usually anywhere from $10 - $50). These supplement tickets can be bought at the train station or on the train. However, if you buy it on the train, the price will be significantly higher and you'll receive some very grumpy looks from the person who checks you tickets.