Travel Secrets - Train Travel and Eurail Passes provide Great Opportunities

Train Travel - The Way to Go!

I use train travel to get around many countries throughout the world. In Asia and Europe it's the preferred way to go.

Train travel has improved greatly over the years.

Getting around Europe is a snap. Always check the introduction to each country in your guidebooks for specific details on travel. Study it and remember the particulars. Here are my secrets on train travel through a foreign country.

Purchase Eurail Passes or country-specific passes. The general rule of thumb is if you go more than 1500 miles in two weeks then you can use a pass. Buy regional or country passes, if you limit the areas you visit in your trip.
There are all kinds of deals concerning Eurail Passes. There are consecutive day passes, less expensive "flexipasses", where you travel a few days out of a set period like three weeks. There are youth and senior passes, passes for couples. There is even mixed passes that allow you to travel by train and then rent a car with the same pass. Check guide books or go on line.
I tend to avoid all train passes myself, because I've already done my long distance European train travel. I concentrate on one area for the entire trip, say, England and Wales. Then I return another time to visit, say, Germany and Switzerland.
I buy point to point tickets. I make sure I know not only the time and track number of the train, but also which car on the train I need to be on. There is a sign on each car giving the class, smoking/non-smoking and destination. Ask a conductor or a man in a suit (they know) if you can't figure it out. On the platform there is usually a Composite of the Train with all cars and destinations. Look for it.
When I get off, I check the time tables for departures and what track they are leaving on. This saves a lot of panic when you are departing in a rush.
Remember, in many places in Europe a train leaves for your destination every half hour or so. So relax. Confirm this on the departing schedule (above) as soon as possible.
Keep your eyes open for local, excursion trains that go all over the place including up into the Alps.

Staying in one general area longer, to me, is a lot more fun. It's less stressful. I try to learn the local language before I go. That way it's easier to meet the locals and understand better what's happening around me when I'm there.

I did buy a Eurail Pass one summer. I bought it in Egypt. Started it in Greece and traveled by train all the way to Copenhagen, Denmark, to visit friends I met in France. That's a proper use of a Eurail Pass. Today, it's sometimes cheaper and a whole lot quicker to fly within Europe.

For train travel, I usually purchase point-to-point tickets. This is because I tried to keep long-distance travel in Europe to a minimum. I try to stay in one area for the most part and explore it thoroughly. That way I keep culture shock and languages to a minimum, always a good idea.

It’s much easier to try to be a French person for two weeks than two days. That way I study up on the French language and French ways before I take the trip.

If I do purchase a point-to-point ticket, I usually visit the best train travel website in Europe.

That is the Deutsche Bahn or German Railway.

German Railway can help plan and sell ANY rail journey anywhere in Europe, in English and German. It gives all routes, travel times, transfers, travel class (1st, 2nd, high speed, etc.), smoking/non-smoking, arrival times and a whole lot more. It’s easy to use.

I learned about this trick from a Swedish Railway Ticket Seller, who found and booked my trip from Sweden to Norway and back. This was not on the Swedish Rail System but on the German Rail System.

In the USA, I use Amtrak for planning and booking. America has some of the best railway journeys in the world. Try the Coast Starlight (Seattle - Los Angeles) on the west coast or the California Zephyr (Chicago - San Francisco) through the Rocky mountains.

General ticket sales and Rail Passes:

Rail Europe- One of the best.
The Man in Seat Sixty-One...– A curious website with lots of info.
Die Bahn - International Guests – German Railway. It can help plan sand sell ANY rail journey anywhere in Europe. Less overhead costs. Direct sales.
AcpRail.com - World rail ticket sales – Buy train ticket anywhere.
RailsNW - Train Tours everywhere in the world.
RoutesInternational.com – Train Reservations Worldwide.
Eurail - Official [Senior discounts] - Good deal.