Flying OneWorld around Europe [credit to QF]

SYD said:
I thought the consensus these days is Eurorail passes are poor value? Like you need to be on a train everyday to get the same value as just booking direct the few trips you actually need?

A bit like buying a “Drinks package” once on board a cruise ship and then realising you need to be permanently pissed for 7 days to get value! (We may have done that once…).

Happy to be corrected!

Probably better if you can get a legit seniors pass?
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I had a Eurail pass a couple of years ago in Switzerland France and Italy - got it at 15% discount sale and first class and I well and truly got my money's worth. I was travelling alone and off peak and for me I like the flexibility of it that you are not bound to a particular time train. Sometimes you want to stay longer and sometimes you don't like somewhere and want to move on
 
SYD said:
I thought the consensus these days is Eurorail passes are poor value? Like you need to be on a train everyday to get the same value as just booking direct the few trips you actually need?
Click to expand...

It really depends on needs .... the amount of travelling,, where that will be, and how much flexibility is needed. Two stand out countries are UK and Switzerland - some form of rail pass covering those countries can easily pay for itself. Especially if you want some flexibility to deal with variable weather. But anything last minute in (Western) Europe can be expensive. But a well planned journey with individual sectors pre-booked can be a lot cheaper. Eurail pass = travel insurance 🤣

Take the UK this coming Monday, most trains for the 4.5 hr journey from London Glasgow are well over $200 AUD. To Cardiff (2hrs) for $150AUD. The one hour/100km journey to Brighton, $60 AUD. Imagine paying $60 to get from Melbourne to Geelong or Sydney to Wollongong!

Now at the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg was mentioned up thread. Within the confines of Luxembourg (yes there are places you can go via rail within the small Grand Duchy), a railpass is 100% useless - as public transport is free.
 
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dajop said:
It really depends on needs .... the amount of travelling,, where that will be, and how much flexibility is needed. Two stand out countries are UK and Switzerland - some form of rail pass covering those countries can easily pay for itself. Especially if you want some flexibility to deal with variable weather. But anything last minute in (Western) Europe can be expensive. But a well planned journey with individual sectors pre-booked can be a lot cheaper. Eurail pass = travel insurance 🤣

Take the UK this coming Monday, most trains for the 4.5 hr journey from London Glasgow are well over $200 AUD. To Cardiff (2hrs) for $150AUD. The one hour/100km journey to Brighton, $60 AUD. Imagine paying $60 to get from Melbourne to Geelong or Sydney to Wollongong!

Now at the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg was mentioned up thread. Within the confines of Luxembourg (yes there are places you can go via rail within the small Grand Duchy), a railpass is 100% useless - as public transport is free.
Click to expand...
Yes, the UK can be horrendous but with some planning - still manageable.

Locals can get all sorts of passes and things, so rarely pay rack rate. Some routes usually have an off peak ticket on the day - just wait by the machine until the clock ticks over and a £50 ticket becomes £10 (although, they seem to be less common I’ve found).

Still curious if that “insurance” cost is more than flying plus avoiding the fun of “why fly direct when I can fly via”? Which was the gist of the OP.
 
SYD said:
I thought the consensus these days is Eurorail passes are poor value? Like you need to be on a train everyday to get the same value as just booking direct the few trips you actually need?

Happy to be corrected!

Probably better if you can get a legit seniors pass?
Click to expand...

There are occasional sales offering 15 to 20 per cent off Eurailpasses on the Eurail site.

The extra value of a pass is flexibility, unlike a point-to-point ticket that may only be valid for a particular train.

One or two lengthy journeys rapidly eats up the cost of a pass.

Best value for Eurailpass is in nations with higher fares per kilometre, such as Germany and UK, plus Switzerland. and to some extent Austria. Scandanavia is probably in this category but I've not been there for 20 years.

Pass-unfriendly countries include Spain and France where reservations on most long distance trains are compulsory and supplements high.

I love using a Eurailpass in UK as on the main line operators in first class, you're entitled to free food and drink, including alcohol.
 
SYD said:
I thought the consensus these days is Eurorail passes are poor value? Like you need to be on a train everyday to get the same value as just booking direct the few trips you actually need?

A bit like buying a “Drinks package” once on board a cruise ship and then realising you need to be permanently pissed for 7 days to get value! (We may have done that once…).

Happy to be corrected!

Probably better if you can get a legit seniors pass?
Click to expand...

For my next trip in the Baltics many of the routes it was cheaper to fly than get the train. They’re not particularly noteworthy train journeys so I’ll take the flight.
 
justinbrett said:
For my next trip in the Baltics many of the routes it was cheaper to fly than get the train. They’re not particularly noteworthy train journeys so I’ll take the flight.
Click to expand...
I’m driving Tallin to Vilnius later this year.
 
justinbrett said:
I looked at that but rental cars were extortionate I got a couple of €25 flights (stopping over in Riga)
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2 wks in between Tallinn and Vilnius with two (maybe three) cars allows us to zig zag across thee countries.

About €850 with AVIS (not cheap) but Hertz was €2,500!

As AVIS Presidents Club I just need to managed the unwanted “upgrade”.
 

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