Navigating Europe by Rail: A Guide to Using the Eurail Pass
When it comes to long-distance travel in Europe, trains are my favorite. They're comfortable, offer plenty of legroom, and you don't have to worry about baggage fees. Plus, the scenery along the way is often stunning. Train stations are also usually located right in the city center, unlike airports or bus terminals.
Because I travel by train so often, I frequently use a Eurail Pass. On a recent trip, I used my Eurail Pass in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. As you might know, these are countries where using a pass offers both flexibility and cost savings compared to buying individual tickets.
Maximizing Your Eurail Pass
Generally, with these countries, you don't need to overthink it. Simply count the number of travel days you need and buy a pass accordingly. I had 10 days of train travel, so I bought a 10-day pass for 400 euros, which works out to 40 euros per day. Knowing that my daily train journeys would cost more than 40 euros, I didn't bother checking individual ticket prices. However, if you have fewer travel days (e.g., 4 days), the per-day cost of the pass is higher (over 60 euros), so it's worth investigating further.
Whether or not you check individual ticket prices, I highly recommend writing down all the train journeys you plan to take. Don't try to do it in your head; it's easy to get confused!
If your itinerary includes countries where using the pass isn't always beneficial, you can create a table to calculate the costs, like the example below.
After listing all your train journeys for each travel day and checking prices, I recommend categorizing them into three groups:
- Group 1: Definitely use a pass day (because individual tickets are very expensive, like Day 1 in the example below).
- Group 2: Definitely don't use a pass day (because individual tickets are very cheap).
- Group 3: Possibly use a pass day if it's convenient or if you have extra days.
Keep in mind that how you categorize each travel day depends on your individual circumstances. For example, were you able to purchase tickets early, or did you have to wait until closer to your travel date? Are you prioritizing the cheapest option, or are you willing to pay a little more for flexibility?
Navigating Seat Reservations
For trains that require reservations:
Using a pass still offers flexibility if the trains don't often sell out (e.g., in Sweden).
The trains that are most likely to sell out are Eurostar, Thalys, and French TGV trains. For these, buying individual tickets in advance is usually cheaper.
In the example below, if on Day 1 you're only traveling from Paris to Basel, buying an individual ticket might be better. However, if you're continuing to Interlaken on the same day, using a pass is almost certainly the better option, even though you'll still need to make a reservation for the first leg. Another advantage of using a pass is that if you miss your connection in Basel, you can simply catch the next train. Trains from Basel to other parts of Switzerland are quite frequent.
Should You Reserve Seats If It's Not Required?
For trains in Germany and Austria, since reservation fees are relatively low and easy to book on their websites (not through Eurail), I always reserve seats on high-speed trains like IC, ICE, and EC. It only costs a few extra euros, and you have a guaranteed seat for the entire journey, without having to worry about someone tapping you on the shoulder and saying, "This is my seat!" ICE trains in Germany can get quite crowded. When checking train times on the German railway website, you can see which trains are likely to be busy.
On my recent trip, I took a train from Austria to Switzerland. I originally planned to take the 13:47 train but then decided to take the 15:47 train instead. If I hadn't used a pass and bought a ticket close to the travel date, it would have been quite expensive. Because I was using a pass, I only had to pay an extra 3 euros to rebook the seat on the later train. (Reservations weren't required on this train, but I made one for the reasons mentioned above.)
Flexibility Doesn't Mean No Planning
Even if you don't need to make reservations and can hop on any train along your route, you still need to check how long the journey takes, how many transfers are required, how often trains depart, and what time the last train of the day leaves – unless you're prepared to stay an extra night in the old city!
- If you only need to search for train times (without checking prices), you can use the German railway website/app or the Rail Planner app from Eurail.
- To search for prices when planning, you can use ticket vendors like The Trainline, Rail Europe, or Omio. Note that these websites may not list routes for which they don't sell tickets.
Some (but very few) private train companies are not affiliated with Eurail, so you cannot use a pass on them. Examples include Italo in Italy and Ouigo in France.
Some trains from city centers to airports are covered by the pass (usually because they are regional or suburban trains). Airports where I know the pass can be used include Oslo, Stockholm, Munich, Zurich, London Stansted, and London Gatwick. Note that in Oslo, you can use the pass on regular trains but not on the airport express train.
To determine whether a train is covered by the pass, open the Filters section in the Rail Planner app and select "Eurail/InterRail Pass network only." Then, when you search, you'll only see trains where the pass can be used.
To see if a train requires reservations, search for the train in the Rail Planner app. If a reservation is required, it will say "Reservation required."
When searching for train times and ticket prices in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, I always use their respective websites or apps. In other countries, I use DB Navigator or Rail Planner to search for train times and The Trainline to search for prices. These are just personal preferences.
German Railways DB: bahn .com/en, app DB Navigator
Austrian Railways OBB: oebb .at/en/, app OBB
Swiss Railways SBB: sbb .ch/en/home.html, app SBB Mobile
Italian Railways TrenItalia: trenitalia .com/en.html, there doesn't seem to be an app for all of Italy, but there is a Trenord app for the Lombardy region (TrenItalia owns half of Trenord)
Pass Benefits: Beyond Train Travel
A Eurail/InterRail Pass is primarily for train travel and generally does not cover other modes of transportation, especially within a city. This is because urban transit systems are typically managed by different organizations, unrelated to intercity railways. Just like buses within Ho Chi Minh City have nothing to do with buses traveling between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat.
However, Eurail/InterRail Passes also offer several additional benefits. The list of these benefits used to be about two A4 pages long, but now they have created a portal where you can search for benefits by destination. These benefits can change at any time (being added or removed), so remember to check before using them. Here's a summary of some of the most appealing benefits.
Switzerland:
- 50% discount on boat trips on major lakes.
- Free travel on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, as the boats on these two lakes are operated by BLS, which is also a railway company. This is the same company that operates part of the Golden Pass Line.
- 50% discount on tickets to Rigi and Pilatus.
- 25% discount on tickets to some other mountains, mainly in the Lucerne and Interlaken area.
Germany:
Rhine River cruises with K-D: 20% discount.
Austria:
10% discount on the Salzburg City Card.
Norway:
30% discount on tickets for the famous Flam Railway.
S-Bahn (suburban train) in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Some of the airport trains mentioned above are free because they are suburban trains (usually trains that travel from the city center to the suburbs). To be sure which trains are covered, check the Rail Planner app.
You also get discounted fares on some sea ferries around Europe. A link to the list of ferry companies offering discounts is provided below.
