The schedules are typically the same every year unless there is some major rail addition or they are having construction on a line or something like that. There are books that come out every year with schedules in them, Europe by Eurail, Rick Steves has a rail guide, when you by a Eurail pass they send you a schedule as well (and you can use the railpass up to 6 mo later, so they are valid at least that long). I think they are updated every year though.

great, thank you! and so the eurail tickets are the way to go then right?

What do you mean by “eurail tickets” — point to point tickets or one of the numerous types of Eurail passes that are available? Whether a pass is a good deal depends on your specific itinerary (dates and times) and how willing you are to commit to specific dates and times 60 to 90 days in advance. For your itinerary, some sort of railpass will save money, particularly if you’re not willing to shop for (probably hours of on-line shopping) and pay for non-refundable tickets for specific trains 60 days in advance. I’d guess that a 4 or 5 country (Benelux, Germany, Austria, France and maybe Italy) select pass for about 10 days and some point to point tickets will probably be best.

sounds great. That is what I thought, but then I was reading lots of places that were sying don’t buy “rail europe” or something like that. thanks! Still lots of time to plan, but it’s so fun I have to do it now!

Rail europe is a travel agency online which sells all sorts of train passes, including Eurail. I prefer to buy Eurail straight from the source: eurail.com. But other websites sell them too, such as Rick Steves (and you get some free stuff and 20% off in his store when you buy with him— this would be my 2nd choice). Apparently you can book them through this website as well.

Prices are the same no matter where you buy railpasses — including eurail.com which I think is just another travel agency that managed to buy the “official” designation. There may be slight variations in shipping charges and freebies like discount on gear, travel books, etc. so it pays to shop around.

All things being equal my recommendation is to buy from this site — support the folks who kindly sponsor this website. I’ve never bought a pass from this website, but I’ve dealt with one of their sister agencies and was pleased with the service.

I am definetly planning on booking some things through here…it has helped me out SO MUCH!