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Hello everyone.  I’m a first time traveler to Europe and will be taking my family this summer.  We will be traveling by train between some of our destinations and I’m trying to figure out if getting an Eurail pass is 100% necessary.  I looked on the Eurail site and the 4-day travel pass ranges from $928 (2nd class) to $1178 (1st class) for a family of 4.   

We will need to take a train between the following cities:

Rome → Venice (round trip over 2 separate days)

Zurich or Bern → Paris (1 day)

Paris → London (1 day)

My questions:

  1. Is it worth the amount of money for the pass for the month we will be in Europe?
  2. If I do not get the Eurail pass, will my overall spend be less?  What I mean by this is will the difference in purchasing the tickets without the Eurail pass be more cost effective?
  3. Are there any monetary advantages of buying a Eurail pass or is it more for convenience/flexibility? 

 

Thank you very much!

 

Probably not good value if those are your only journeys + you don’t need flexibility (aka you’re able to buy advance tickets). You need to compare pass + reservations prices vs advance ticket prices. Nobody can give you a precise answer as tickets vary a lot depending on time and date (for example tickets to Paris will be very expensive with the Olympics).

However, are you planning to do day trips in Switzerland? Tickets quickly add up there so Eurail could make sense. You also get a lot of freedom with the pass there as seat reservations aren’t a thing.

Note that seat reservations are required on most high-speed trains (extra costs with Eurail) → have a look at https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

Feel free to read this too : https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-a-eurail-pass.htm

Btw there is a direct Venice - Zurich train : very comfortable train and beautiful journey. Hourly connections with a change in Milan too.

Regarding Switzerland you can get Saver Day Pass that is valid for almost all transportation for 52 CHF per person over 16 if you book well in advance. The price raises closer to the departure date.  The Saver Day Pass is 19 CHF for children 6-16. 

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