That’s not quite true. Plain vanilla train tickets are priced, mainly, based on the distance traveled. Passes are supposed to make your travel planning easier, not necessarily cheaper.



It looks like you are going to make a major move about 10-12 times. Perhaps “10 days in 2 months” pass will be your best bet.



The easiest way to guesstimate what works best for your trip is to use http://www.railsaver.com/ “have a good idea” feature. Enter your planned route, or some approximation to it, and their engine calculates what combination of passes and possibly point-to-point tickets is the cheapest.

I also had similar difficulty

But I had read so much negative things about the eurorail
and a travel agent friend of mine recommended traveling by plane from city to city – its not that expensive and can cost similar to a Eurail in the end anyway

an example he gave me was around 60-80 euros from country to country
if you go to 10 countries its around 600-800 euros… it also tends to be faster and far cleaner… I have heard terrible things about train toliets and hygene

Just an option to consider.

Yes, you can often fly from city to city cheaper than the train, but there are lots of situations when it’s almost impossible to find a cheap flight.  You usually have to set your plans weeks in advance to take advantage of the cheapest flights, so it’s not very flexible if you decide you want to spend an extra day in Amsterdam.

Also, air travel is hectic — an hour to get to the airport, 1 to 2 hours checking in and getting through security, a 1 hour flight then an hour to get out of the airport and into town — it’s often faster to take the train.   If you take more than a couple of flights within Europe your memories will be of airport departure lounges.

The bus or train to get to the airport can cost as much as 20 euros — on each end of the trip — although it’s usually in the 7 or 8 euro range each way.  Extra charges for airport taxes (usually but not always in the final ticket price) and excess baggage often cost more than the actual plane ticket.

Whether or not you buy a railpass is a different decision than whether to fly or take the train.  I really don’t think you’ll enjoy your trip if you take too many flights.

thats interesting Lady
 
Well I will be going to Europe for first time
Do you suggest me to go all out and get a Eurail pass OR to combine cheap flights with some train rides – and buy when im at each town.

Will that work? or is it a risky idea.
 
Also – by train – you have luggage with you? [right?] -so it is less wait then airport?
 
Thanks

It’s impossible to tell without having your itinerary,
but the sensible strategy is to use
(1) budget flights for a few extra long-distance trips (e.g Spain to/from Netherlands)
(2) pass to cover long train trips (e.g. Paris to Milan)
(3) point-to-point tickets for shorter train trips (e.g. Cologne to Heidelberg)
Yes you do. There is hardly any reason to be at a train stations more then 10 minutes ahead of schedule, as long as you have a ticket. Majority of the European cities have centrally located train stations so you save both time and money not having to go to an airport.

Well. Perhaps you should not trust EVERYTHING you hear.

As for toilets on trains — many, but not all, are modern and immaculate.  Some are truly 3rd world awful.  Toilets in train stations also vary widely with the average not quite up to par by US standards.  At the station there’s often an attendent who will expect a euro — particularly if she doles out a few squares of toilet paper.

One addition to Seva’s tips.  Train tickets are sometimes expensive North of Italy and Iberia and West of the “former Eastern Block.”  A railpass may save money on a fairly short trip (like Paris to Brussels or even Paris to Lyon) if you aren’t able to take advantage of special pricing for a ticket. There are also situations where overnight trains, or buses and ferries make sense — it all depends on where and when you travel.

wow
such great information thanks. I am very uneducated about this []

when i will go to Europe
there will be a few longer distance trips which are:

Train: London to France
Plane: Paris to Madrid
Train: Barcelona to Nimes to Nice
Train: Nice to Milan
Ferry: Italy to Corfu
Plane: Athens to Larnaca

any I should use train Paris to Madrid instead? or fly? []

  My 1st choice would be to fly.  If you can’t find a cheap flight on the day you want, then take an overnight train. 

When are you traveling and what’s your interest in Nimes, Nice and Milan?  I’ve never been to Nimes, but I love the area for the quaint towns, scenery and laid-back feel.  While I like Nice, I like other Riviera towns better.  I’m not sure any of the South of France would be a lot of fun in the dead of winter — unless you’re interested in the art museums, which are widely scattered around the area.  Milan only interests me because of La Scala (opera), although if you’re interested in incredibly expensive Italian fashion or seeing business types in Gucci loafers, it’s just the place for you. I’d go for Florence, Venice or Rome instead. 

its Summer 08 – Nimes is more a stopover Or I will just stop at Nice and see Cannes etc….
My fathers cousin has daughters in Milan and Torino – so I may meet with some – so maybe spending a day in Milan – and Seeing Juventus play [] will be the plan. Mazzo is where my father comes from so I would like to visit []
My cousin told me her favourite was Florence & in Venice the water is nice brown colour [].
Yea sounds good

thanks for advice Lady [][]