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Eurail vs Britail Pass

  • 7 April 2024
  • 6 replies
  • 87 views
A

Hello!

 

We are looking to travel around Britain as well as one stop in Paris. We are there for 15 days. Our itinerary is roughly as follows. We have some dates that are fixed, but we also have a few spare days and so we want to stay a bit flexible. It seems like our options are Brit rail pass, this would cover all the Britain portions, and then pay out of pocket for London to Paris.

 

If we use Brit rail, we would need 4 days Flexi pass at a minimum This is 898 CDN$ for 2 people.

If we use the Eurail option, we would need 7 days Flexipass 1,138 CDN$ for 2 people + the 260.71$ fee for using it from London to Paris which makes it close to individual tickets.

 

I looked up tickets in advance on a few different websites. These are the prices I found in CDN dollars.

London to Paris Round 356.00 USD = 483.82 CDN
London to Bath   2 Adults @ £38.50 = 137 CDN

Bath to York    £157.29 = 287 CDN
York to Edinburgh  2 Adults @ £42.20 = 149 CDN

Edinburgh to London   £112.20 = 246 CDN

Total 1302

Would a eurail pass make sense in our situation as it is roughly the same price, but gives us some flexibility? Or would a britrail pass make more sense and then pay for the london paris round trip (costs a bit more but more flexible)

 

Or am I missing something, maybe there should be cheaper tickets somewhere?

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Best answer by ralderton 8 April 2024, 08:50

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6 replies

ralderton
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Userlevel 7
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I’m not quite following the prices you’ve found - which are for 2 adults and which are for one?

Is that US$350 round trip for 2 to Paris? 

The prices you have for London-Bath and York-Edinburgh seem pretty good. But Bath to York I think we can improve on if that’s for one adult?

You’re right that a pass gives you much more flexibility. In the UK, you can just turn up at the station whenever you want, and get the first train going to your destination. No need to worry about missing your train. The only trains you’d need to reserve would be the Eurostar.

G
Rank
Userlevel 2

The only difference between Brit Rail pass and Eurail One Country pass UK is the validity on the Heathrow Express (BR is, Eurail is not) but you can use the Elizabeth Line with both.

The Eurail global pass allows you to hop on a Eurostar to France, but they have added reservation fees of 30€ per person in 2nd Class. Reservations are NOT mandatory in the UK except for the two sleeper trains

A

I’m not quite following the prices you’ve found - which are for 2 adults and which are for one?

Is that US$350 round trip for 2 to Paris? 

The prices you have for London-Bath and York-Edinburgh seem pretty good. But Bath to York I think we can improve on if that’s for one adult?

You’re right that a pass gives you much more flexibility. In the UK, you can just turn up at the station whenever you want, and get the first train going to your destination. No need to worry about missing your train. The only trains you’d need to reserve would be the Eurostar.

Hey thanks for the reply! Everything is  2 adults, just not all websites I used broke it down that way. So it sounds like getting is very close in price and may be worth it since our plans are a bit flexible.

 

Other than price, if its close are there any gotcha or things to worry about using either eurail or brit pass? I read a lot of posts about how it's rarely worth it, so I was trying to figure out where I went wrong.

 

Thanks Again for taking the time to reply! We appreciate it.

R
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Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Other than price, if its close are there any gotcha or things to worry about using either eurail or brit pass?

Don't activate anything in advance. That minimises possible mistakes.

I read a lot of posts about how it's rarely worth it

Such general statements about the pass are not possible. Just ignore them and make your own evaluation.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
A

Other than price, if its close are there any gotcha or things to worry about using either eurail or brit pass?

Don't activate anything in advance. That minimises possible mistakes.

I read a lot of posts about how it's rarely worth it

Such general statements about the pass are not possible. Just ignore them and make your own evaluation.

Thanks! That’s why I did my own research and posted here to confirm what I thought was correct. We really like the flexibility as are days may slide a bit either way, and also the times wont be as rigid.

I appreciate your insight.

ralderton
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Userlevel 7
Badge +4

If the prices come out close, then I think you’re right to go for the pass. The flexibility is a big bonus

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