Eurail Youthpass
Eurail Global Pass Youth — I have some question about this, please read on?
Hey. I’m planning a trip to Europe for a week and I just noticed that if you’re under 26, you can get a 15 day Eurail Global Youth Pass for $457. I just have some questions about it, so hopefully some of you can help me out!
1.) Even if I have this pass, do I still need to make train reservations for each departure right? (In other words, even if I have the pass, I’m still not really garunteed a seat on any train, right?)
2.) Do I still need to pay anything out of my pocket at the train station for my tickets (other than the bulk sum of $457 upfront)?
3.) If I get this pass, I’d like to take hostel-stays out of the equation entirely and simply just sleep on the train each night, thereby saving myself quite a bit of $$ — but are night trains covered by the pass, or are they more money than the day trains?
4.) Will my meals be free on the train? (I’m guessing ‘no’. =)
Here’s the link to the site btw: http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/eurail_youthpass.htm
1) You need to make reservations on some trains. For example, reservations are mandatory for the TGV trains in France. For these trains you need to reserve a seat at least 24 hrs in advance. You can do this at the counter at the train stations. The reservation costs a small fee.
2) Reservation fees (see above), supplements for special fast-track trains and supplements for night trains.
3) Night trains are covered in the pass. What is not covered is the couchette or bed on these night trains, which are sometimes mandatory to book. If it is not mandatory: Depending upon the train seats can be very uncomfortable, so you’ll want to book them anyway. These fees for couchette or bed are sometimes more expensive than a hostel bed. The only advantage of night trains is that they can save you time and hassle by not having to go to airports.
4) No free meals.
Personally I find the Eurail passes not half the bargain they are made out to be. Quite a few people would have saved money buying point-to-point tickets, using a combination of bus, train and plane.
Buy using simple math the above pass is only worth its money if you would otherwise spent at least 22 EUR per day on trains during a 15 day trip. If you are going for only 7 days, this would be 45 EUR per day. Woah! That is quite a lot of train travel!
If I was you I would seriously reconsider buying the Eurail global pass. Feel free to email me your rough schedule and I will advise you on the cheapest ways from A to B without a railpass.
You can also use the following sites to estimate cost of transport:
http://www.eurolines.com
http://www.skyscanner.net
http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/timecostmap.htm
Note: the Time-Cost map from the Rick Steves’ site was drawn up when the dollar was at 1.20 to 1 EUR, you need to take this into account when looking at the prices.