#eurail pass

If you’re planning a trip through Europe, I’d really recommend you look at rail passes! Especially if you’re planning a longer trip through connected countries, this can be a great way to get around. It removes all the hassle of catching flights, allows for a lot of spontaneity, and depending on where you’re going, it can also be the cheapest option.

About two years ago I spent a month going from Istanbul to Lisbon with an Interrail Global Pass, and while the trip was by no means without flaws (some notable moments include stranding myself on the continent of Asia and that night I spent homeless in France) the pass itself was fantastic. Here’s a rough overview, and if it sounds like it’s in your wheelhouse you should poke around their site!

• Interrail is the less expensive option, and it’s only available if you’ve been in Europe for more than six months. In other words, if you’re spending a year abroad you can get a cheap rail pass just in time for your spring break. The only caveat is that it won’t work in the country you’ve been living in.
  
• Eurail is for everyone else. It’s a bit more expensive, but depending on how far you’re going and in which countries, still worth it.
• Interrail/Eurail passes are really flexible: if you’re taking a commuter train, you show up at the train station, log on the pass which train you’re boarding, and then board it. That’s it. That’s the whole thing. It’s about five hundred times less time-consuming and stressful than planes. For more exclusive trains (overnight, express, etc.) you might need reservations, but these are cheap, and easy to get either at the station or online.
  
• A lot of ferries and buses are also free or discounted with the pass.
• There’s three parts to the process of choosing a pass: first you decide a region. Your options are one country, two to four connected countries, or all thirty-plus in the European Union.
• Secondly, you decide on a time period: one week through three months.
• Thirdly, decide if you want an unlimited pass, which means you can take trains any day within the time period of the pass, or a pass with a specific number of travel days. For example, four travel days in two weeks.
• Order the ticket at least a month beforehand; it can take a little while to arrive in the mail.
• On the pass, there are slots to fill in the train number, time, destination, and origin. Fill it out before boarding a train.
• There is a free app that works offline, and it’s amazing. If you plug in your starting point and your destination, it will show you every train or combination of trains that can get you there, along with duration, times, and whether or not it needs a reservation fee.
• The map they mail with your ticket shows every train route in Europe, as well as the buses and ferries included or discounted with the pass. Everything is color-coded to show commuter trains, scenic routes, express routes, and overnight routes. On the flip side it details all the discounts for non-train transportation.
• Some trains require a reservation fee, even if you don’t have to buy an actual ticket. It’s common for more exclusive trains, such as overnight trains and high speed trains. Spain is the only country I know for a fact requires a reservation for commuter trains (if I remember correctly, the fee is €10). If you’re unsure, look it up.