Explore Europe by rail 3
With a large railway network and many trains running straight to the center of cities and no luggage limit, the railway is truly the ideal means of transport for your trip to Europe.
Plan your trip
You need to clearly outline how many countries the trip will go through, which city to go to first, which city to go to next.
Please choose the type of ticket/train card that suits your itinerary.
Types of cards and train tickets
Depending on the itinerary, you can choose one of the following cards:
– Eurail National Pass is a card that allows unlimited travel by train within a European country.
– Eurail Regional Pass is a card that allows unlimited travel by train in two adjacent European countries.
– Eurail Select Pass is a train card with unlimited travel between 3, 4 or 5 adjacent European countries.
– Eurail Global Pass is a train card to travel in 24 European countries within a certain period of time.
Then, you choose a flexible train card (Flex Pass) to travel a specific number of days in a certain period of time or a continuous train card (Consecutive Pass) to travel a fixed and consecutive number of days.
Each type of train card and each country will have its own applicable conditions, you should carefully check the information to consider before buying.
If you don’t have a specific plan or love a free journey, buy a one-way ticket (between two cities) to avoid waste.
Buy tickets in advance
After determining your itinerary, you can buy train tickets 60 – 90 days early.
For train cards, you do not need to buy them too early, each type will have its own discount for each person and group of people.
If the train passes through a country not included in the train pass, you need to buy a ticket for the train segment not included in the pass, and you should buy it before boarding the train because train tickets are often very expensive.
The train is the ideal means of transportation for your European trip.
Book your seat
Although not required, booking in advance will help you be sure to get a seat on the day of travel that is comfortable and right for you, such as being close to the window, the aisle, or the type of seat and car you want.
Start
You should check departure times on online websites to ensure there are no time changes (although this rarely happens).
When using a train pass, you need to confirm it at the ticket counter at the station (along with your passport) and the train staff will fill in the departure and arrival dates for your journey.
Night train
Taking the night train is a wise choice when you want to travel long distances, because it saves time and room costs.
When departing on an overnight train, the cabin crew will direct you to your sleeper compartment and ask for your train ticket or card, plus your passport, which will be returned at the end of the journey.
Don’t forget to bring some snacks when boarding the train.
Note on board
In addition to admiring the scenery from the train window and chatting with people, you should bring a few books or a laptop to `kill` time on the train.
Luggage should be locked securely and placed within sight or in the compartment above the seat.
You should also prepare some snacks to fill your stomach because prices on the train are often more expensive.
