Comments on: Europe by train: why a rail pass doesn’t make sense

By: Jackson Dai

Jackson Dai — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:08:39 +0000

Thanks for the breakdown!

Rail Passes are based on the idea of just showing up and hopping on a train so advanced booking is almost always cheaper.

I think RailEurope (only available for non-Europeans) is a little better deal. The 6 Day Germany Pass + German Extension would cover pretty much everything between Bologna and Brussels. For a pair traveling together it would be $343 USD each (£219 or €279)

I sell both point-to-point and RailEurope passes but when clients ask for the cheapest it’s almost always point-to-point. Rail Passes have lots of bonuses (like hotel discounts and such) that only make financial sense if you’re going to use them.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:59:59 +0000

Thanks John and John.
Suspect that you’re right about getting on the rails pretty much every day to make a full month pass pay. You can get passes that cover 3 or 5 days in a two or three week period and if you make really long journeys on those days then perhaps it will pay. But then, those examples where it does pay to use a pass are the exception rather than the norm.
Thanks also for the Belgian information John. Worth knowing for those heading that way shortly. I presume these are advance fares?

By: John

John — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:43:58 +0000

As someone who prefers travelling to reading about it, this post is pure platinum. I hope enough people from the companies behind the various rail passes read this and do something about.
As a footnote at the moment (till 31 August) it is possible to buy a ticket for any rail journey in Belgium for €7.50, but if travelling on a short journey such as Brussels to Leuven it is cheaper to buy a standard ticket at the station.

By: John

John — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:19:58 +0000

It’s been six years now since my last big trip around Europe, and even then it was easy to see that an Interrail pass was not my best option.

I guess it depends how many journeys you plan on making, but even back then it seemed that I’d have to be hitting the rails almost every day to get value from it.