The Site: RailEurope.com
- Most comprehensive rail pass inventory from Ireland to Turkey. Popular rail passes include Swiss Saver Flexipass, Eurail Germany/Austria Pass, Eurail Selectpass Drive, Thalys High-Speed train, Eurail Spain Pass, European East Pass, and the popular Eurostar ~ between London & Paris
- Two Main Types of Rail Passes:
- Flexible Passes (Flexipass): Buy a rail pass for any European country you’re visiting. The pass is valid for a specific number of travel days (ie. 1 month) in that specific area. You may travel any time during this set time period. Note that some trains require booking a seat in advance, which you can do online while in Europe.
- Consecutive-Day Passes: Buy a pass for unlimited rail travel on any single day or set of consecutive days.
- Anywhere Anytime France Pass. Buy advance credits for trips that you can redeem online for actual 1st class seats on any French train. You can change your mind, change departure times or go somewhere else.
- Eurail pass holders are eligible for reduced or free fares on ferries, cruises, private trains, hotels, museums, and many other attractions
- Discounts for Seniors (over age 60) and Youth (under age 26)
The Good: When traveling between 2 countries, you will often get a bonus “layover” in a third country. For example, on the train from Paris to Rome, we got a 3 hour stop in Lausanne, Switzerland. One of the most unique products they have is the Elipsos Train Hotel, which is a world-class international night train with all the ammenties of a contemporary hotel. You can take your whole trip on the train, eat, sleep and see up to 4 countries. We also like the flexibility of the Eurail Selectpass. Unlike airline tickets, you can purchase a pass for 2 months, and travel whenever and wherever you like (up to 4 countries). All adult Eurorail Selectpasses are first class too!
The Bad: For someone who is new to rail travel in Europe, it can be a little bit of a confusing experience. Take the time to read the FAQ section prior to searching for passes. The default “class” when using the booking engine is “comfort class”, which is an upgraded “restricted” 1st class, and can be twice as much as economy class. If you are a budget traveler, you must select “economy class”. Rail Europe has an overwhelming amount of products. They are definately flexible, which is generally a good thing. However, it left us a little confused and unsure what we wanted to buy.
The Fees*: Up to $18 Handling Fee per transaction. Even after you purchase your rail pass, make sure you reserve a seat on the train (some trains do not require reservations, however, certain High Speed trains such as the TGV, AVE, Talgo, ICE, IC, Eurostar Italia, Thalys, Eurostar, require mandatory reservations). 15% minimum Cancellation Fee + 5% Administrative Fee. Refunds, when applicable, pertain to totally unused and unvalidated tickets only. Expired tickets/passes are non refundable. Non-refundable Products: Paris Visite, Paris Museums, Great British Heritage Pass, London Travel Card, Fly-Rail Baggage, Original London Sightseeing Tour, Rail Protection Plan™, Seat Reservations. Passes cannot be issued to residents of the countries the pass is valid in.
*Based solely on research done by TravelSiteCritic.com, and may be inaccurate and subject to change.
The Deals:
CLICK HERE for all new Rail Europe Discounts!
Free shipping* on orders of $449 CAD ($399 USD) or more from Rail Europe
Under 26? Get discounted Youth Passes
Senior travelers – Enjoy discounted rail passes
Read more travel site reviews • Find more travel site deals • Subscribe to our email newsletter
Read our reviews disclosure
You Rate It:
Rail Europe Reviews | RailEurope.com,
Do not use RailEurope under any circumstances.
1. Website is confusing and when you try to work through it, it does not issue a ticket, but informs you that someone will call you back. They do call back to straighten out the website problems, but do not tell you that your booking is still web based, whch is a problem if you are delayed or want to cancel.
2. My flight was cancelled, so I tried to cancel the train, but could not get anyone on the phone at RailEurope. By the time I reached them it was too late to cancel, lost $320.
3. Did cancel the return trip in time, was assured that credit would be issued, but it never happened. Had to call RailEurope again, they said I had to request the credit by e-MAIL, even though it was canceled by phone. I am still waiting for a refund from RailEurope.
If I could give Raileurope less than one star, I would. Poor Service and very expensive. Not worth the effort. We just returned from Spain. I was traveling with my husband and 2 kids. We flew into Madrid then planned to take train to sevilla drive along coast to Marbella then take train back to Madrid from Malaga. Our vacation was fabulous but Raileurope tickets were a total waste of money. You have zero options to change or modify tickets once there. We lost both sets of tickets due to circumstances out of our control. Our outbound flight was cancelled due to weather so we completely lost those tickets – no refund no change – no options – nothing. Their policy is 3 days for a full refund. We ended up flying into Barcelona instead then flying to Sevilla. On the return, we lost the folder with the travel documents so while I had the receipt and a reservation on the train, we could not use the tickets without having the actual paper tickets. The loss of the travel documents did not effect any other aspect of our trip because I had all the receipts and confirmations in my email account. However, with Raileurope we had no options. If you think it is hard to get raileurope on the phone while in the US, imagine trying while out of the country. Here is the kicker. Our hotel concierge got tickets for us no problem for less money. We ended up buying the new tickets from Malaga to Madrid in the same class for $80 less than raileurope charged us. There has to be a better way. I would never buy tickets from them again. If I had the optional rail protection, i could have recovered a portion of the $1,000, but I charged on my amex card and will deal with them for buyer protection.