5 Ways to Maximize Your Use of a Eurail Pass

A lot of European travelers will plan to purchase a Eurail pass before heading on their trip, and that’s with good reason. Eurail passes offer a lot of benefits, particularly if you’re looking to travel to several countries during one trip, if you’re a youth traveler, or if you want a ticket that’s flexible and gives you some freedom in how you get around.

There are several different Eurail options you can select from when you’re buying a pass, and the following are general tips you can follow to make sure you get the most not just over your travel pass, but your entire trip.

Take Overnight Trains

A lot of travelers try to avoid the overnight trains, but you can actually make the most of your entire trip if you’re willing to travel overnight. These trips are less expensive in most cases, and if you’re traveling instead of booking a hotel or hostel, you’re going to save money.

You can rest on the train, and wake up in the next city without having to pay for additional accommodations. Also, for travelers who take overnight trains, the traveling you do the next day will count as the same day.

Take Day Trips

If you have a Eurail Pass, you usually have a certain number of travel days within a particular period (although this depends on the type of pass you select). If you want to maximize your use of the pass and get your money’s worth, consider taking day trips within the same day you travel to a new city.

For example, if you’ve traveled from Barcelona to Madrid in the morning, you can then use your pass to take a day trip outside of Madrid, and go back to the city that evening. It will be free since you used your pass on the same travel day.

Don’t Use Your Pass for Cheaper Train Rides

If you’re going to be taking some local trips that are shorter and cheaper, you might want to just go ahead and pay for them without using your pass. You may find that you’re spending only a few dollars, and you can reserve your Pass rides for the longer and more expensive journeys.

Reserve Your Seats All At One Time

It’s advisable to reserve your seats ahead of time on any train trips that you plan on taking that accept reservations. To make it easy for yourself you may want to reserve seats when you first get to each country you’re visiting.

For example, if you’re going to be traveling to several destinations in France, once you get there, go ahead and book seats for all of those train journeys. It will save you time and frustration on the days you’ll be traveling.

Utilize Your Bonuses

When you buy a Eurail Pass, it comes with quite a few discounts and bonuses, and most are worth using. For example, you may find discounts on hotels throughout Europe, and maybe even free trips to places like museums.

Not everyone opts for a Eurail Pass to carry them through Europe, but if you do you can book all of your travel through a resource like GoEuro, which allows you to organize all of your travel plans at one time, including not just trains, but also planes, busses, and even Airbnb ac