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What can I use the EURail for?

Rynelle DeSouza

Hi! So I am backpacking the UK + Ireland and France from Aug to Sept, alone. Lots of people mentioned the EURail but I was wondering if the pass also allows for use of transit (train, bus, etc) between smaller places such as London and Bath, or Glenfinnan and Glasgow, or Nice and Monaco.

I am quite literally in a different place every 1-2 days (except for London, Nice, Paris where I’ll be staying for about a week each). So I want a transit pass that works well to get around each place as I know public transport can be costly or weird.

I am super confused, so any help would be appreciated!

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Best answer by Al_G 31 July 2023, 09:54

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T
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The Eurail Pass is your ticket for all European trains. It is not valid on buses (except when they replace trains due to engineering works) or subways.

The pass is generally good value in the UK as it gives you full flexibility (you basically hop on hop off any train) while last-minute tickets are very expensive.

If you'd like to take the Eurostar between London and Paris, book well in advance as it is a very popular (and expensive) route : 30€ mandatory seat reservation. Those trains also have a passholder quota.

More info here : https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-a-eurail-pass.htm

Do not hesitate for further questions !

Rynelle DeSouza

Oh! Okay that’s awesome. So if I were to use an app like Rome2Rio to find transportation between two places (like York and Edinburgh) and it shows that a train is available, then the EURail pass will work for that train service? And the only thing I’d have to possibly purchase is a seat reservation NOT an actual ticket?

Sorry, I’ve been trying to research transit for the last week and I am so confused.

R
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Rome2Rio should not be used for detailed planning. The best is to use national planners, e.g. www.nationalrail.co.uk for the UK. For international travel, bahn.com or the DB Navigator app is a good choice. The rail planner app, used to manage the Eurail pass, also comes with a planner but it should not be trusted. Just use it to register journeys and nothing else.

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
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You should make out an itinerary and go from there, it doesn’t have to be exact but it will give you an idea of the journeys you will be taking.

You can then work out how many of those days a pass will be useful for.

For days you spend in a city then a Eurail pass will not be any use as buses, trams, metros/underground are not valid, a local ticket of some kind will be the best option.

For short trips such as Nice - Monaco, if that is the only rail journey you take that day, a pass will be valid but bad value as a regular ticket bought at the station would be less than €5.

A pass day on a flexi pass costs between €25 and €65, longer duration passes being cheaper per day and depending on if you qualify for the youth or senior discounts.

Rynelle DeSouza

Thank you! Yes I’ve created an itinerary and am planning to use local public transit when in the city, but between cities… I am trying to find the best option for that. Idk if I am just looking in the wrong places, but it’s really hard to find the matching prices or passes for those. So just trying to get as much info as I can before buying a pass.

I appreciate your input! Definitely helps and gives me more direction. Thank you!!!

A
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The link @rvdborgt provided will give you all train schedules and regular ticket prices for Britain.

For France https://www.sncf-connect.com/

For Ireland https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

For Northern Ireland https://www.translink.co.uk/

The rail network in Ireland is limited, in Northern Ireland it is very limited. You may find that bus services are more useful especially for places away from the main population centres.

For any day with travel only in Northern Ireland a Eurail pass day would almost certainly not be worth it as a day ticket valid on all train and bus is £18.50

If you post up your plan we can give it a look and advise on the likely best options, also do say what your priorities are re cost saving or convenience or speed etc.

Rynelle DeSouza

Oh wow! Thank you so much. I’ve listed below the places I am hoping to hit. As for priorities, I’d say all round just good value without compromising on timing (I know some transit options have highe time differences). So the cheapest and shortest would be great, but I am flexible. Within each place, I plan to make use of just walking around or bussing, so I am mainly trying to make sure I choose the best option for getting between cities.

Luton - Bath

Bath - Swansea

Swansea - Tenby

Tenby - Portmeirion

Portmeirion - Traeth Porth Wen Brickworks

Traeth Porth Wen Brickworks - Bethesda

Bethesda - Liverpool

Liverpool - Manchester

Manchester - York

York - Edinburgh

Edinburgh - The Kelpies

The Kelpies - Inverness

Inverness - Glenfinnan

Glenfinnan - Glasgow

Glasgow - Belfast

Belfast - Donegal

Donegal - Galway

Galway - Killarney

Killarney - Cork

Cork - Dublin

Nice - Monaco/Antibes/Cannes/Grasse/Villenfrance Sur Mer/etc

Nice - Marseille

Marseille - Arles

Arles - Lyon

Lyon - Paris

Paris - London

 

Thanks again!!

A
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That’s quite the plan there!

I’ll fill this post in bit by bit.

All of these assume each section is the only travel on each day, if you combine some then chances are a pass day will be the better option.

 

Luton - Bath 

Eurail Pass - Luton - London St Pancras and London Paddington - Bath, underground or bus between the 2 London stations not included, use contactless bank card for London travel

Bath - Swansea

Pass. You could save a small amount by buying fixed journey ticket online in advance.

 

Swansea - Tenby

Regular ticket, buy on the day for £19, advance booked for a fixed train for less.

Tenby - Portmeirion

That’s going to be a long journey no matter what you do, Links between South and North Wales are slow.

Quickest will be by train Tenby - Carmarthen, bus Carmarthen - Aberystwyth, then train or bus Aberystwyth - Minffordd which is the nearest station and bus stop, about a mile from Portmerion. That will be 7-8 hrs

By train only you would be going via Cardiff and Shrewsbury, taking 9hrs or more.

By train only a pass day.

The bus is not included in Eurail so the cheapest for that option is likely to be a regular rail ticket at £35.70 which includes the train - bus - train connection.

 

Portmeirion - Traeth Porth Wen Brickworks

There is a day bus ticket for North Wales for £6 that will cover that.

https://traws.cymru/t1c/use-1bws-ticket-north-wales

Traeth Porth Wen Brickworks - Bethesda

As above

Bethesda - Liverpool

Bus to Bangor, Train changing in Chester to Liverpool.

Train is £32 regular ticket,or cheaper fixed train advance or use pass day.

Liverpool - Manchester

Buy regular ticket, less than £20

Manchester - York

Regular ticket £35 or use pass.

York - Edinburgh

Pass day.

Edinburgh - The Kelpies

Regular ticket, long walk or bus from Falkirk train station.

The Kelpies - Inverness

Pass day

Inverness - Glenfinnan

No remotely direct train for this, Bus Inverness - Fort William and bus or train Fort William - Glenfinnan would be the most direct however the rail lines Inverness - Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig - Glenfinnan - Fort William are 2 of the most scenic lines in Britain, it is well worth spending extra time to do these. It is possible to connect from Kyle to Mallaig by bus and ferry. If you are interested in this give a date and I’ll check the bus and ferry times, they seem to change constantly.

Glenfinnan - Glasgow

Pass day. Another very scenic line.

Glasgow - Belfast

3 options for this.

Sail-rail - train Glasgow - Ayr, Bus Ayr-Cairnryan Ferry Carnryan-Belfast Port (and bus to Belfast Centre which is not included in fare)

£35 regular fare

Pass is no good for this

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/rail-and-sail/to-ireland

Bus with Citylink, Bus to to Ferry terminal and second bus from Belfast port to city centre 

£32

https://www.citylink.co.uk/

Bus with Hannon Coach. A bit more at £43 but with this service the bus drives onto the ferry so you can load your bags and not have to unload them and carry them on the ferry. This is the best option IMO.

https://hannoncoach.com/belfast-to-glasgow-with-hannon-coach/

Belfast - Donegal

Train or bus but train is more scenic Belfast - Derry

No point in using a pass day for this as regular fare will cost less.

Derry - Donegal  by bus, there are no trains in this part of Ireland.

If you mean Donegal Town then it is a direct bus, if it is somewhere else in County Donegal then it may require more planning.

https://www.expressway.ie/

Donegal - Galway

By bus, as above

https://www.expressway.ie/

Galway - Killarney

Use pass on train with multiple changes https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Or a bit quicker and just 1 change by bus, Expressway again as above,

Killarney - Cork

Similar options, Bus mostly quicker than train, if using train €15 fare available on Irish Rail website.

Cork - Dublin

Train, use pass day or buy from Irish Rail website, similar cost.

Nice - Monaco/Antibes/Cannes/Grasse/Villenfrance Sur Mer/etc

Nice - Marseille

Marseille - Arles

Arles - Lyon

Lyon - Paris

Paris - London

T
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You'll definitely save money with a pass.

A 15 days within 2 months pass costs 575 USD or 448£ = 30£ per day. Some journeys will be way more expensive than that.

You'll only need a reservation for Arles - Lyon if you take a TGV : 10€ limited fare, then 20€.

TGVs Lyon - Paris have pretty much always seats at 10€ (even last-minute) so you're a bit flexible.

You could also do the journey on reservation-free TER regional trains but it takes much longer and connections are infrequent.

Book Eurostar well in advance : 30€ + 2€ booking fee on eurail.com

Rynelle DeSouza

Okay perfect, thank you so much for the info. Seems like it the best option is to buy the 15 days within 2 months pass for the larger train travels and the rest, I’ll just buy the tickets/use bus passes.

 

Thanks for your help!

J

Hi! So I am backpacking the UK + Ireland and France from Aug to Sept, alone. Lots of people mentioned the EURail but I was wondering if the pass also allows for use of transit (train, bus, etc) between smaller places such as London and Bath, or Glenfinnan and Glasgow, or Nice and Monaco. 

https://www.gadgetskool.com/

I am quite literally in a different place every 1-2 days (except for London, Nice, Paris where I’ll be staying for about a week each). So I want a transit pass that works well to get around each place as I know public transport can be costly or weird.

I am super confused, so any help would be appreciated!

The Eurail Pass allows you to travel on most trains operated by national railway companies in participating European countries. This includes high-speed trains, regional trains, and night trains, offering you the opportunity to visit various cities and regions. I hope you understand it.

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