Eurail Pass - Is It Worth It? Update

First off, happy birthday Kate for November 16th !!

Second, I'd like to provide an update regarding our Eurail pass.  With one month down and one month to go on it, we've  gotten the value out of it already and then some.  That's including the supplements, the extra non-optional charges for mandatory reservations and for sleeping cars.  We have a first class Eurail as we're both unable to get a second class pass being over 25 years old, but for the sake of this exercise we've used second class pricing to figure value because that's how we would normaly have travelled.  We've been able to avoid some supplements by sitting second class with the first class ticket. 

The Eurail's enabled us to travel to a lot of places we may not have otherwise, and it's given us options when we've encountered problems like:  Linds and I,"Paris!".  Milan agent,"Nope, there's a stike in France.".  Us,"Barcelona!!".  Agent,"Nope, have to go though France."  After conferring with the map, "Prague!!".  An 18€ supplement later and we had a night train to Prague via Munich and Verona.  We've travelled through 10 countries already in mainland Europe and been able to chase good weather.  We've travelled very comfortably in first and even second class, aside from some couchette night trains.  We haven't spent a lot of time in a few of the cities we've been to, but we've figured out how to make the most of what time we've had.  We've resided in the fact that we can't see it all; there's just too much to see in two months and not enough money to see all of Europe.  You could blow an entire lottery fortune here and still not see it all. 

With an initial cost of 2027€ (986€x2+20 ins+35 s&h), plus supplements 230.40€, gives us a total cost of 2257.40€ for the Eurail Global Pass (two months continuous) .  Having done 2816€ worth of second class travelling gives us a surplus of 558.60€ with a month left to gain more value on top.  The question I'd have if considering buying the Eurail is what do I want to see?  If you know exactly what  you want to see, and maybe your travels are not as far flung as ours have been, there are other passes that are less expensive and more centralized.

Flights in Europe all also a cheap way to get around however they ding you if you have a lot of luggage or a rucksack.  If available, it advantagous to book your large bags ahead of time because it's cheaper than just showing up with your large luggage and paying before you hop on a plane.  Airports are also not as convienent nor centrally located as train stations.  Airports usally require a train to get you to your eventual location.  Every city we've visited has had a train station in the middle of the city that's been close to accomodation, metro, and sightseeing.  You can show up 10 minutes before a train and get right on, Spain being the only country so far with security checks similar to flights, but they only took  a couple of minutes to navigate.  Airports require you to arrive 1-3 hours before departure, sometimes this extra time in itself takes the advantage, time wise, away from flying over training.

All in all, we've really enjoyed our train travel in Europe.  It's been a relaxing way to travel, convienient, and time saving.  I'd definitely recommend it for this kind of travel.  The Eurail pass is expensive, but worth it if you want to see a lot of Europe and to keep your options whilst in Europe open.

If anyone is thinking of or knows anyone else that's thinking of getting an Eurail pass don't hesitate to ask any more specific questions. 

The Yank