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RAIL PASSES GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES at RAILPASS.COM Click Here
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Confused over inconsistent prices
abrichr
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Here’s my itinerary:

http://www.eurotrip….

It’s possible that we’ll have alternate transportation from Amsterdam to Berlin, but ideally we would get a train ticket for that as well.

Now, the Eurotrip planner says $320 for the 3 Country Benelux/France/Germany 5 Day 2nd Class Youth Select pass + $132.75 for city-to-city tickets, which comes to $452.75 per person

The RailEurope planner at http://www.raileurop…, however, says the cheapest will be all point-to-point tickets at $966 per person, while using the passes will cost $1102 per person.

I also tried RailSaver (http://www.railsaver…), which recommends to get the France – Germany 4 Day 2nd Class Youth FlexiPass for $310 + point-to-point tickets at $159.75 which comes to $469.75 per person. The details, however, involve switching trains every time we reach a border.

My main goal is to minimize the cost, while at the same time requiring the least amount of train switches as possible (for example, I’d be willing to pay $10 extra to avoid a switch, but not $100 extra).

My question is why the discrepancy, and which to trust? I don’t want to get a pass and then end up having to pay twice as much as I thought I would have to in city-to-city tickets.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I am leaving from Amsterdam and traveling for 57 days
Amsterdam, Berlin, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
oldlady
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Quote:
The details, however, involve switching trains every time we reach a border.
This can not be right. I think what it means is that you buy a ticket for part of the trip — the part that’s in a country your pass doesn’t cover — and use the pass for the rest. You buy that ticket at the train station before you get on the train in the first place — YOU DO NOT get off the train at the border and switch trains.

Railsaver is based on an estimate of regular priced train tickets, using a formula based on distance. It is not perfect, but it’s reasonably close to the cost of buying a ticket at the train station. Raileurope uses global pricing — what they, a travel agency, sell the tickets for. That’s generally 30% more than the price you’d pay for the ticket at the train station.

I don’t understand a difference between the trip planner and railsaver since the trip planner uses railsaver, although it’s only a few dollars. Are the itineraries exactly the same? Did you click on “use a rail pass ‘only if it saves money’” in railsaver? I would go with the 3 country pass as opposed to the 2 country pass France/Germany pass, as I think they’re pretty much the same price — that may be the difference in recommendations. I think the trip planner opts for a 3 country select pass if the price is almost the same as a less inclusive pass.

abrichr
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Thanks for the quick response oldlady Smile

I didn’t realize Raileurope marked up the price, I’ll definitely be scratching that off the list.

I chose the exact same itinerary in both, and selected “only if it saves money” in railsaver.

Here are the details for the first two segments of the trip:

From To Segments
Amsterdam, Netherlands Berlin, Germany : use the 2nd Class Youth City-to-City Ticket to cover the segment from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Bad Bentheim, Germany, then use the Eurail France – Germany 4 Day 2nd Class Youth FlexiPass to cover the segment from Bad Bentheim, Germany to Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany Wrocław, Poland : use the Eurail France – Germany 4 Day 2nd Class Youth FlexiPass to cover the segment from Berlin, Germany to Lebuser Vorstadt, Germany, then use the 2nd Class Youth City-to-City Ticket to cover the segment from Lebuser Vorstadt, Germany to Wrocław, Poland

I think I’ll follow your advice and go with the 3-country.

This may seem like a silly question, but how do I order the passes/tickets? There doesn’t seem to be any option to do so on the page at http://www.eurotrip….. Also, if I have them shipped to London (I’ll be there starting this Friday), will they get there on time?

Thanks again oldlady, I really appreciate the help.

I am leaving from Amsterdam and traveling for 57 days
Amsterdam, Berlin, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
oldlady
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Raileurope is a travel agency, no better or worse than others. They have a very helpful website, compared to some. All travel agencies sell point to point tickets at inflated prices compared to what you pay at the station in Europe — raileurope just uses these prices for comparison in order to push the sale of railpasses. All travel agencies sell railpasses at the set price, so the only variance is shipping charges and perhaps a $10 discount for members, here?????

Click on the “railpasses” tab at the top to purchase your pass from the folks (travel agency) who help support this forum. I would check international shipping and/or express shipping with them. If they can’t accommodate international shipping, then two travel agencies that do are www.railpass.com and www.eurail.com I would guess you could get a pass shipped to London to arrive in time. Both of these ship via secure shipment so someone will have to sign for the railpass, which may be a difficulty. If you live in/near Seattle, you can buy a pass as a walk-in at the Rick Steves agency, so no waiting. You may also be able to get a pass at an STA travel agency. Most travel agencies order their passes from one of a couple of sources and you will have to wait for (and pay for) shipping.

If you can’t arrange international shipping, you can probably buy the pass in London. It will cost 20% more than buying at home, but that may not be that big a deal compared with international shipping charges. Here, pasted (doesn’t paste well) from www.eurail.com are the locations.

Rail Europe Travel Center British Columbia House London SW1Y 4XT Mon-Fri: 10.00 am – 6:00 pm Sat: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm German Rail UK Booking Centre Surbiton KT6 6UB Tel.: 08718 808 066 Mon-Fri: 9.00 am – 8.00 pm Sat+Sun: 9.00 am – 1.00 pm

If all else fails, just buy point to point tickets. You can buy some tickets on-line and perhaps take advantage of on-line, advance purchase specials. Others you can buy at the station. The links to the individual national rail company websites (the only places to buy point to point tickets on-line without paying inflated travel agency prices) are in a sticky at the top of this forum or on the “travel tips” tab under “transportation.”