There exists a set of train passes meant to make life (transport) easier for non-Euro citizens. There are various types, from regional, one-country passes, or a select pass where you select 3-5 bordering countries, and in 2 months can travel 5-10 days. (price varies for number of days).
I was considering getting the Eurail Select Pass for Italy, Spain, and France, for 5 days of travel. ($299). After much research and reflection, I chose not to get it.
Here's why:
1. Time and time again, I have read and heard from other travelers to not buy any tickets, travel deals, tourist packages, etc, outside of the country where you are going to be traveling. The mark-up levied by travel agencies, websites customized for the American traveler, etc, is horrendous, usually spanning 1/3-3/4 of the price you would get on the ground. I saw this in action repeatedly in Ecuador, where people would arrive with 7-day excursions to the Galapagos, which they paid almost $3000 for. If they were to buy them in Ecuador, they would pay about$1,500-$2,000 for the same accomodations. It's easier to already have tickets when you arrive, but that security and comfort comes at a price.
1.a. Eurocheapo.com did their own investigation, testing out prices for train travel based in Germany with the Deutsche Bahn (local train company), and with a leading North American/British agent.
Let's have a look at what they found:
- Berlin to London (2nd class) DB: €49 / Agent Fare: €209
- Amsterdam to Salzburg (1st class) DB: €79 / Agent Fare: €255
- London to Cologne (2nd class) DB: €49 / Agent Fare: €106
- Berlin to Zagreb with stops in Hamburg and Munich (2nd class) DB: €29 / Agent Fare: €322
- Nuremberg to Dresden day return for family of 5 (2nd class) DB: €37 / Agent Fare: €705
Their explanation? "In most of Europe, rail operators have a whole raft of special promotional fares that massively undercut the regular tariffs (often with discount of more than 80% on the standard fare)" (http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/european-rail-tickets-deutsche-bahn-fares-better-than-rail-agents.html).
1.b. I didn't test out all of my trips, because in my case, I was deciding between Eurail and on the ground buying, never even considering buying through an agent. Just for fun though, I did run the trip of Milan - Piacenza [half an hour train ride] through both TrenItalia, and RailEurope. TrenItalia- 7 euros. RailEurope- 15 euros.
2. I did however run my planned trips through RailEurope, to see the highest possible total cost, and to then compare it with the total price of the Eurail pass.
These are the 5 major train rides I'm planning on taking:
Milan-Paris (two-way)
Milan- Diano Marina
Nice-Barcelona
Milan-Piacenza
The (highly inflated) total comes to $340.
Remember, my Eurail pass was only $299. Why didn't I just bite the bullet and get one? $41 cheaper!
3. Eurail pass is generally considered not worth it in countries like Spain and Italy where buses or the regional trains are extremely cheap.
4. Train travel with the Eurail pass is not as easy as they'd like to make you think. Here are the catches, and the hidden costs:
a. Say I'm going from Milan- Paris. Italy and France are both covered by my pass. The train, however, goes through Italy, Switzerland, and France. Switzerland is not covered by my pass. Here I have two options: 1. Zig-zag around Switzerland, (not too hard, but wastes one or two of my 5 allowed trips) and 2. Go through Switzerland and pay extra. Probably around 20-50 E.
b. The Eurail pass does not include additional costs of seat reservations, overnight travel, and high-speed trains.
Why does one need seat reservations? A seat reservation guarantees you won't be bothered by people coming up and demanding that you get out of their seat. This becomes a problem when new people come on at every station. Seat reservations are usually under 5E though, so no big deal.
For overnight travel and high-speed trains, I have read stories of people having to pay anywhere from 20 E - full ticket price extra.
c. Full ticket price, you say? That will really cut into your budget! In fact, it seems like some rail operators consider the Eurail pass to be a discount card, not as a free-ticket granting masterpiece.
For me, my own research on the train from Italy to Spain really put the nail in the Eurail pass coffin.
Price from Bermacchio (I don't think that's exactly it, but it's some coastal Italian town close to where I'll be) to Barcelona for a youth: 88 E.
Price for a Eurail holder? 71 E.
5. For one of my pricey journeys, (Italy to Barcelona) I have the option of going by ferry, which is about 41 E. Can't say I won't get seasick, but the savings and experience may be worth it.
6. Last but not least, I wanted to order it too late. [i.e. would get to Salt Lake on July 1st. I leave June 30th]
Conclusion: I'm going to go with my intuition and not purchase a Eurail pass. It would be an optimal choice if there were no hidden costs, or if the pass itself was much cheaper, to make the discounts offered worth it.
Like in so many cases, great idea, bad implementation.
But as always, only time will tell. I will be keeping careful track of exactly how much money I spend on the rail tickets, (and in general, of course) and will let you know if my hunch was right.
