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Eurail pass instead of interrail

  • 28 August 2023
  • 5 replies
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Hi, 

I live in Germany with a permanent residency but I am a non-EU citizen (of course with a valid non-EU passport). Can I choose to travel with Eurail pass instead of Interrail pass? I would really prefer to travel with Eurail pass as Germany’s central location and interrail pass’ inbound/outbound rule renders the interrail pass kinda useless if I want to say travel a few days to France and some days on the other side of Germany, to say Austria (unless I take some complicated route that doesn’t include journey’s in Germany). 

The language on eurail website creates a bit of a grey area (as it’s mentioned there that non-EU citizens who reside in the EU can ‘choose’ to buy an interrail pass). If I buy an eurail pass by providing the details of my non-EU passport, would it be fine or would I get into trouble? Has anybody been fined for such cases? 

 

To be really honest, this inbound/outbound rule is very very inconvenient and frustrating, especially for people like me who live in central europe. At least earlier interrail pass was cheaper than eurail and that was some consolation for limited journey’s in your home country but now I see that the prices for both eurail and interrail are exactly the same.

 

Thank you very much in advance! 

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Best answer by nick007 29 August 2023, 11:42

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BrendanDB
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Until a couple of years ago, you couldn’t even use an Interrail pass in your own country. So the two home country days are already a big improvement.

There are ongoing test for a third travel day in your home country for the Interrail passes, but no idea if Germany is part of the pilot. A lot of people see this rule as a challenge and detour in order to discover new destinations or keep their home country days for the most expensive part of their travels.

Bon to answer, it’s not a grey area no? It literally says you can choose. So choose the one that is most benificial for you.

As long as you have your valid non-European (=/= EU!) passport with you, you’re eligible to use Eurail. I don’t know cases of people that got in trouble with this. In fact, having to show your passport is already a rare occasion when inspected on the train. They just take a quick look to the pass and hup, you’re good.

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Thank you for your feedback BrendenDB. I would choose Eurail then and hope everything works fine.

 

It’s a grey area because on on hand it says you can choose (if you are non-eu citizen but reside in EU) but then it also says that the pass is based on country of residence. Then it isn’t a choice. I hope they don’t go way too much into details. 

BrendanDB
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Userlevel 7
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It will work out, don’t worry.

To get rid of all your doubts. The website says this:

“A Eurail Pass can only be used by non-European citizens or non-European residents. European citizens can use an Interrail Pass instead, available from Interrail.eu for the same price as a Eurail Pass.”

  • You’re a non-European citizen/resident, so you are eligible for Eurail. (European does not equal the EU btw. The European continent counts, so UK, Norwegian, Icelandic, Turkish... citizens need to pick Interrail).

“If you are not a European citizen, but you are an official resident of Europe, you can also choose to use an Interrail Pass. We ask for your country of residence when you order, so you will need to bring an official European residency card or document along with you that matches the country of residence written on your Interrail Pass.”

  • As a non-European that lives in Europe you have the choice what pass to pick. If you decide to go for Interrail, you need to bring an official European residency card/or document that can be linked to the pass. Only when picking interrail they will ask for your country of residence. For Eurail, you need to link link your non-European passport to the pass.

That’s all it says, no doubt needed nor is it a grey zone. The conditions are quite clear (i’ve seen much worse in professional context 😅).

You have the choice, so choose what is most benificial for you.

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Great! Then I will just go for Eurail pass. Thank you!

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I accidentally selected my own reply as the best answer rather than selecting a reply given by BrendanDB which is actually the answer but I don’t see any button to change this back. Anyone knows how I can do it? Thank you. 

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