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railpass vs point to point
brenoburk
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Hi everyone, Me and my partner are heading to europe in April 2012 and are trying to figure out what would be more economical, Booking point to point trains or buying a eurorail pass. Any feedback is welcome.

I am leaving from Australia with $20000 for 92 days
Paris, Irun, Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Naples, Ancona, Split, Venice, Salzburg, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Bruges, London
Requesting help with Transport, Hostels, Budget, Itinerary, Food, Sights
Don
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Depends on your itinerary and which pass you get for it, vs. best you could book p2p otherwise. With as many places as you listed, over 92 days, I tend to say that I’d prefer some sort of pass just for the simplicity and ease (ie. not having to keep track of so many p2p ticket confirmations with me during travel). But there might be some ways to cut your itin down to a pass or 2 + some point-to-point. From London to the mainland, for example, passes do not cover Eurostar, and the discount a pass gives on this usually is based on the higher fare class(es), so that’s one that would probably pay to book in advance on a special offer. Trains within Italy are relatively inexpensive, so check typical p2p walk-up prices there (trenatilia.it) vs. pass day price to cover Italy (ie a $350, 5 day pass covering Italy works out to $70 per trip, when you might be well able to book them for $50 or less on average—ahead of time). Getting to/from Athens is probably best done with cheap flights instead; see whichbudget.com.

brenoburk
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Thanks for the quick reply Don. Probably go with a pass for France, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. Use point to point in Spain as we are only travelling twice there. Cheers for your help.

I am leaving from Australia with $20000 for 92 days
Paris, Irun, Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Naples, Ancona, Split, Venice, Salzburg, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Bruges, London
Requesting help with Transport, Hostels, Budget, Itinerary, Food, Sights
oldlady
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Just remember that you probably can’t buy point to point tickets on trenitalia.com if your credit card wasn’t issued in Italy. Buying them at the kiosk (which will probably accept your credit card) at the train station is quick and easy.