Europass Rail
Purpose of the Euro Pass / Rail / Rail Pass?
Travelling to Italy, Spain, Germany. I was going to purchase the Europass but then it said I had to book a reservation for the train which costs about 1/2 of the pass. Whats the purpose of the pass?
I looked online for flights to these countries and they seem to work out cheaper going there individually without the passes vs. purchasing the passes and then purchasing train reservations. Not to mention the trains take about 13 hours vs. 2 hours on the plane. I am really just trying to understand the pass. I have checked many major websites. I am really looking for someones basic explanation. Thanks in advance. NO WEBSITES PLEASE (UNLESS BEING USED AS SOURCES).
The passes have come in existence before the cheap flights and the fast trains which make booking needed and expensive.
Now they stay because many people like to travel by train, and while the pass may not be the cheapest option, it is the most convenient.
If you just want to go from capital city to capital city, flying is the way.
But if you want to see a lot of the countries the train is better.
And while the plane trip takes just one hour, you need to go to the airport (often one hour) check in two hours before the flight, fly, and wait for your luggage before you can go one to the bus or train.
That can take up to 6 hours for a one hour flight.
So the train trip London-Paris is quicker than the flight, all included.
If you decide to buy a train-pass, check for the ‘slow’ train options, often you do not need to pay extra on those, and they often do not cost a lot of time more. (Or give you a night on the train instead of in a hostel and even save money.)
And instead of a train-pass that is valid for all days in a two month period you can also buy one that is just a few days out of those months, saving you a bit. And if you buy passes just for the countries you are going, rather than a global pass, you might save even more.