Eurail vs point to point train tickets

[VPS]

I've just been researching trains in Europe and for me it seems the cost of point to point tickets is about 60% of the cost of Eurail pass for say 5 days and that doesn't include the reservations you need for the TGV.

Just wondered what other's experiences are?

 

[kamchatsky]

I thought the point of Eurail pass is flexibility rather than cheap price?

Last time I travelled to Europe I only book point to point tickets as I can always find cheaper fares. I intend to do so in my next trip next year. It just means that I need to go to many website to search and buy tickets.

 

[VPS]

You may be correct but I thought it was meant to be more economical

 

[SCM]

It's pretty much never more economical unless you are taking trains every day - which you probably shouldn't be doing since you'll not get to actually do much.

Additionally, it won't give you reserved tickets, which would be very useful - especially if you are going anywhere around summer in Europe.

Trains are especially busy nowdays that Europe can't manage the most basic of air travel within the union (however bad you think Qantas and Virgin are, it's nothing compared to the situation in Europe, where you're more likely to win the lotto than have a successful flight where nothing goes wrong).

The best is to carefully plan your itinerary months beforehand and book precise tickets 3 months ahead (price increases the closer you get to the date).

If you cannot manage that and want to be more spontaneous, then a eurail pass can work if you have a *short* holiday with lots of travel between cities - and you don't mind standing in the train lobby/doorway area, as all the seats will likely be allocated to people who had more foresight than you.

 

[dajop]

If you cannot manage that and want to be more spontaneous, then a eurail pass can work if you have a *short* holiday with lots of travel between cities - and you don't mind standing in the train lobby/doorway area, as all the seats will likely be allocated to people who had more foresight than you.

Or if wanting to be more spontaneous, just grab a good umbrella a very thick coat and travel in winter (but not around Christmas?)

 

[FishFood]

I'm having the same conundrum but decided to go ahead with purchasing the eurail pass. The one I purchased works out to be 50 AUD per day so I'll plan to use it on days where that will be better value than booking the tickets independently

 

[Mattg]

It's pretty much never more economical unless you are taking trains every day - which you probably shouldn't be doing since you'll not get to actually do much.

I remember meeting someone in Europe who had bought a Eurail Pass and was trying to get some value out of it. He was travelling to around 2 cities per day for 5 days. He saw almost nothing in any of the places he stopped at and was exhausted at the end of it!

Personally, I have done a lot of train travel in Europe and have never bought a Eurail Pass.

 

[ellen10]

I have always bought point to point tickets for Europe. Other than in Switzerland, I bought a companion Swiss pass for Switzerland it worked out very economical and allowed us to use it on trains, boats and buses.

 

[VPS]

I ended up doing point to point and also purchased the French seniors card which gives me 30% off all trips

 

[Jacques Vert]

I ended up doing point to point and also purchased the French seniors card which gives me 30% off all trips

Could you post a link to that card please?

 

[VPS]

Could you post a link to that card please?

Avantage Senior card

If you’re age 60 or over, our Avantage Senior card is for you. Sign up now to save 30% on 1st and 2nd class tickets on every journey, all year long.

www.sncf.com

Here you go and if you ignore the fact I paid 49 euro for the card then those first class seats are much better value than the second class ones

 

[SeatBackForward]

I remember meeting someone in Europe who had bought a Eurail Pass and was trying to get some value out of it. He was travelling to around 2 cities per day for 5 days. He saw almost nothing in any of the places he stopped at and was exhausted at the end of it!

Personally, I have done a lot of train travel in Europe and have never bought a Eurail Pass.

this is actually what i plan to do next month, three days just on trains..so the Eurrail pass may work out well for me then?

 

[moa999]

Also some countries have 50% off cards or trial cards.

The Switzerland one is very worthwhile

Swiss Half Fare Card price, coverage, how it works

All about the Swiss Half Fare Card. Find out how it works, what's included, prices, where to get it. Simply ask us if you have questions.

www.myswissalps.com

Germany also has some discount cards, just be careful of auto renewal

BahnCard: Save on every train ticket with the discount card

Save 25 or 50 per cent on every ticket purchase with the BahnCard 25 and BahnCard 50. With the BahnCard 100 you can travel without a ticket as often as you like

www.bahn.com

 

[VPS]

this is actually what i plan to do next month, three days just on trains..so the Eurrail pass may work out well for me then?

Just use Cheap Train Tickets | Timetables for Germany & Europe - Deutsche Bahn to look at prices.

Don’t forget with your Eurail pass you often have to reserve a seat which can be 10 euros each time.

I did the maths and found point to point more economical

 

[SeatBackForward]

A

Just use Cheap Train Tickets | Timetables for Germany & Europe - Deutsche Bahn to look at prices.

Don’t forget with your Eurail pass you often have to reserve a seat which can be 10 euros each time.

I did the maths and found point to point more economical

And I suppose I know which services I'd like to take (including overnight sleepers) whereas the railpass may suit more flexible travels or spur of the moment decisions.

 

[Anna]

Agree the Swiss half fare card is brilliant, and it can be delivered electronically.

A German card on the other hand, takes 2 weeks to be manually processed by DB and then another 2 weeks for snail mail to Australia. At least that was my experience with DB pre pandemic. So if you're going for a DB card, leave plenty of time before your departure date for it to arrive from Germany.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Thank you @VPS for this timely post.I was about to book a pass later this week, but based on the notes here, I may save myself a fair bit by booking point to point instead!

 

[VPS]

Thank you @VPS for this timely post.I was about to book a pass later this week, but based on the notes here, I may save myself a fair bit by booking point to point instead!

that's what we are here for. From another forum I have just extended my stay in Strasbourg and will hire a car for a couple of days

 

[BCons]

Invariably better deals to be done booking individual trips. As well as the excellent discount cards (several mentioned above) there are better fares on major routes for off-peak travel as well. Just had nearly a month of France, N Italy and Swiss rail travel, some of it booked using the Trainline app (incl reserved seats), and the rest done on the excellent SBB app for (unreserved) travel within Switzerland. Apart from booking and displaying yr ticket, the SBB app was very useful in showing demand on each train, accurate platform info and even alternative scheds - we had tkts Bellinzona to Zurich but found that by changing trains at an intermediate stop (from IC inter city to a RE regional service) we saved time and cut out another change.

 

[TravellerTim]

I've just been researching trains in Europe and for me it seems the cost of point to point tickets is about 60% of the cost of Eurail pass for say 5 days and that doesn't include the reservations you need for the TGV.

Just wondered what other's experiences are?

I found Eurail Passes worthwhile only if travelling long distances every day or so.
The Man in Seat 61 website has extremely helpful advice, such as leading me to book trains in different European countries on the one website: Trainline.