Rail Passes – Which Eurail Pass is Right for You?
Long gone are the days when a Eurail pass was the transportation pass of choice for footloose backpackers looking to save a bundle of cash on long European vacations. The basic idea was sound–you just boarded a train and handed the pass to the conductor when he seemed to be asking to see tickets. No need to fret over language or cost, and no need to stand in long lines at the ticket windows either. So what happened? The Eurail pass got expensive, faster trains required supplementary fares, and many Americans take shorter vacations these days. Marketers had to come up with passes whose days of use and destinations were carefully controlled to offer value while protecting the bottom line. So these days the traveler must sift through a long list of European rail passes to find one that’ll suit a chosen set of destinations; there are passes for single countries, multiple countries, seniors, students, youth, and conglomerations of options labled “flexi” and “saver.” It’s a jungle out there
