Most economical pass for mid-length trip to Western Europe

I’ve not heard of a three country pass. In France you need to pay extra for all high speed trains which varies from 10 euros to 40 euros each if on an International TGV. Start your research now as there are normally slower but free trains. No problem in Germany and Switzerland. Speaking personally the cheapest option is rarely the best! I’d buy 22 day continuous and then you are free. Trains are very expensive in Switzerland but there are amazing journeys and just one trip you have pay for could wipe out any difference. Buy a refundable pass and a paper one to avoid any IT glitches. Allow plenty of time for it to be posted to you. Take out insurance as soon as you book. Finally, read the advice from the experts on this site. We are happy to help but we can’t plan it for you. Read all the sections about how and when to book seat reservations!!

@1-there was very long ago, maybe you hit an old guidebook-now no more. In fact EUrail as such has been drastically reduced in price for the global version-making the others obsolete.

@2: simply count the nr of LONG trips you intend to do-incl. long daytrips-and buy for that nr. Or if wanting to do also daily trips-by TRAIN-the continu 15 days pass. The diff in price between f.e. 10 traveldays or 15 days is very small.

@3.no-or not that i am aware of, as it has/makes no sense.

@4: wait till as late as possible-there may still be an unannounced promotion sale till that day (mostly with 10% off and NO refunds)

Selamat jalan, lah!

With your plan it would need too be a Global pass because your plan crosses more than the 3 countries you outline plus you could make side journeys into neighbouring countries without problem.

Whether you but X days in a month or a 1 month continuous pass is simply based on your own budget and plans.

The continuous pass (22  days for $401) means you can be totally flexible and able to hop on any train on any day without extra cost. 

The fixed number of days ( 7 days in a month $259 )is ideal if you have a scheduled travel itinerary and can calculate the days - remember extra days are relatively inexpensive to add to your pass (10 days in 2 months $310) when you first buy. 

Both passes are  equally flexible in the sense that, until you are on the train, you can change plans  and take other trains.

Thank you for all your replies !

Our schedule currently has 7 connecting trips starting and ending at Paris, through 3 countries only.  For Switzerland, it’ll only be 1 city : Munich (DE) - Lucerne (CH); Lucerne - Dijon (FR).  We may make a couple of side trips (to closeby attractions though nothing firmed up) but our main route is fixed. 

Re the mobile Pass, the terms indicate that e-tickets will be sent to one’s email address, so I guess there is some backup after all.

So just to confirm :

• Still worth it to get a Global Pass ?
• Our trip will cross over into early December.  EuRail counts the “month” from starting trip, not calendar month, right ?  (e.g. 15 November is 1 month after 16 October, and you can make the 5, 10 travel days, etc in that period) ? I don’t to see a definition of “month” on the terms and conditions.

Alvin

As you seem to have a fixed itinerary with some relatively short journeys your options will be global pass covering the number of days rail travel you will do (as well as separate reservations for the journeys requiring them ) or buying fixed price tickets for all the individual trips.

You will need to do your research on which is cheapest for your specific needs.

When doing your sums remember that many cheap advance tickets are non refundable or exchangeable, whereas IR/Eurail you only lose any reservation fees if you change plans or miss the train. Tickets purchased on the day can be very expensive.