A Guide to Europe Rail Passes
Seeing Europe by train is an immensely fun experience. Small countries and fast trains means in the space of a few weeks or even less, you can visit many different countries and check out some of Europe's great cities. It is possible to get global passes which enable you to hop on more a less any train in Europe or single country passes if there is one country you want to see more of.
The type of pass you get depends on whether you are European or a non European. If you are from Europe (including countries not in the Interrail zone such as Russia or Ukraine) then you need to get an Interrail pass. People from other countries such as USA, Canada and Australia need to get a slightly more expensive Eurail pass.
INTERRAIL Passes (for European Citizens)
There are 30 countries in the Interrail zone:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey
Interrail Global Passes
A global pass enables you to travel by train in any of the above countries and also on international trains between countries in the Interrail zone. All national railways and almost every train company in these countries recognises the Interrail pass and showing a valid pass will allow you to travel. The only restriction is you cannot use the pass in your own country. There are several different passes of varying length. Fares quoted are for second class travel and youths are classed as under 26's.
5 days within 10 days (travel on any 5 days within a 10 day period)
Youths €169 Adults €259
10 days within 22 days (travel on any 10 days within a 22 day period)
Youths €249 Adults €369
Note- On a travel day you can take as many trains as you want within that 24 hour period.
15 days continuous (travel any time during a 15 day period)
Youths €289 Adults €409
22 days continuous (travel any time during a 22 day period)
Youths €319 Adults €479
1 month continuous (travel any time during a one month period)
Youths €409 Adults €619
One Country Passes
You can also purchase single country passes for any country in the zone (except your own). Passes are valid on train routes within your chosen country and are all valid for a month. You can choose between 3, 4, 6 and 8 days of travel within that month. There are also 5 different price categories depending on the country. Note Benelux is classed as one country as is all of Ireland. Fares below are for 6 days travel within a month. See website for 3, 4 and 8 day fares.
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Price Cat 1: France, Germany, UK
Fares: Youth €184 Adult €279
Price Cat 2: Austria, Norway, Sweden, Spain
Fares: Youth €169 Adult €259
Price Cat 3: Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), Denmark, Finland, Greece Plus (includes all of Greece plus the ferry between Greece and Italy), Italy, Ireland and Northern Ireland, Switzerland
Fares: Youth €125 Adult €195
Price Cat 4: Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania
Fares: Youth €80 Adult €123
Price Cat 5: Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey
Fares: Youth €69 Adult €102
Full price lists and more info can be found on the Rail Europe website
EURail Passes (for non-European citizens)
There are 25 countries in the Eurail zone. However some countries are only included in certain types of pass. Compared to Interrail Passes these are more expensive but there are more options available enabling you to focus your travel in certain regions. Great Britain, Slovakia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Turkey are not covered so the full Eurail list is:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden
Global Passes
A Eurail Global Pass enables unlimited travel in 22 countries. Poland, Serbia and Montenegro are not included in the global pass zone. Youths are again those under 26. Adult passes enable travel in first class and 15% discounts apply for groups of 2 or more (adults only). The following passes are available:
10 days within 2 months (travel on any 10 days within a 2 month period)
Youths €407 Adults €625
15 days within 2 months (travel on any 15 days within a 2 month period)
Youths €534 Adults €820
Note) On a travel day you can take as many trains as you want within that 24 hour period.
15 days continuous (travel any time during a 15 day period)
Youths €345 Adults €529
21 days continuous (travel any time during a 21 day period)
Youths €445 Adults €683
1 month continuous (travel any time during a one month period)
Youths €547 Adults €841
2 month continuous (travel any time during a two month period)
Youths €772 Adults €1188
3 month continuous (travel any time during a three month period)
Youths €952 Adults €1464
Select Passes
Select passes enable you to choose 3,4 or 5 bordering countries within the zone and get a pass enabling rail travel within and between these countries (eg France, Spain, Germany, Italy would be a 4 country pass). Poland isn't included in select pass options. Three regions are classed as one country:
Benelux (Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg)
Serbia & Montenegro
Slovenia & Croatia
Passes are available for the following periods and the fares vary from 3 country Youth fares to 5 country Adult fares with several in between price bands. Check the Eurail site for a complete list.
5 days within 2 months €218 to €412
6 days within 2 months €240 to €447
8 days within 2 months €284 to €515
10 days within 2 months €330 to €582
15 days within 2 months (5 country pass only) €480 to €738
Regional Passes
There also many special regional passes combining travel in two or more countries that you can choose from. These passes vary in length from 4 to 10 days travel within a 2 month period.
from €142 Eurail Austria - Croatia/Slovenia Pass
from € 122 Eurail Austria - Czech Republic Pass
from € 219 Eurail Austria - Germany Pass
from € 122 Eurail Austria - Hungary Pass
from € 199 Eurail Austria - Switzerland Pass
from € 191 Eurail Benelux - France Pass
from € 191 Eurail Benelux - Germany Pass
from € 127 Eurail Croatia/Slovenia - Hungary Pass
from € 205 Eurail Czech Republic - Germany Pass
from € 160 Eurail Denmark - Germany Pass
from € 160 Eurail Denmark - Sweden Pass
from € 162 Eurail Finland - Sweden Pass
from € 211 Eurail France - Germany Pass
from € 178 Eurail France - Italy Pass
from € 178 Eurail France - Spain Pass
from € 210 Eurail France - Switzerland Pass
from € 224 Eurail Germany - Poland Pass
from € 224 Eurail Germany - Switzerland Pass
from € 170 Eurail Greece - Italy Pass
from € 133 Eurail Hungary - Romania Pass
from € 178 Eurail Italy - Spain Pass
from € 170 Eurail Norway - Sweden Pass
from € 198 Eurail Portugal - Spain Pass
from € 181 Eurail Scandinavia Pass
One Country Passes
Eurail One Country Passes are available for some of the countries but not all. Passes entitle you to 3, 4, 6 or 8 travel days in the country of your choice within a month.
from € 77 Eurail Austria Pass
from € 124 Eurail Benelux Pass
from € 46 Eurail Bulgaria Pass
from € 65 Eurail Croatia Pass
from € 56 Eurail Czech Republic Pass
from € 69 Eurail Denmark Pass
from € 130 Eurail Finland Pass
from € 94 Eurail Greece Pass
from € 59 Eurail Hungary Pass
from € 169 Eurail Ireland Pass
from € 124 Eurail Italy Pass
from € 145 Eurail Norway Pass
from € 65 Eurail Poland Pass
from € 106 Eurail Portugal Pass
from € 111 Eurail Romania Pass
from € 34 Eurail Slovenia Pass
from € 163 Eurail Spain Pass
from € 145 Eurail Sweden Pass
Full price lists and more info can be found on the Rail Europe website
General Advice for all European Train Passes
It is always worth checking at the ticket office at the very least just before boarding trains as sometimes you are required to make seat reservations (you may have to pay a small fee). Night trains are also often subject to extra fees because you need to book a sleeping berth but they are still be considerably cheaper with a railpass and you will of course be saving on a nights accommodation anyway. Night trains only use up one day of your allotted days of travel. Some of the high speed trains are subject to a supplement such as the ICE trains in Germany and France which charge around €10 extra but these routes normally have other trains that you can travel on without paying any extras.
If you are intending to visit several different countries then a rail pass is almost certainly much cheaper than buying individual tickets and it also offers you enormous freedom to change your plans along the way. Any extra charges are pretty uncommon and normally avoidable by choosing a different train company. You need to fill out your route fully (see left) before boarding a train as inspectors will check it as well as your passport. Sometimes border and customs police will board International trains but you will never have to disembark to go through border posts.
There are other little perks that you get from having a rail pass such as free or heavily discounted travel on ferries on routes such as Italy to Greece (free on Attica ships) and Helsinki to Tallinn (50% off). You can also sometimes get discounts at attractions and museums so it's always worth trying to blag a discount at such places by showing your rail pass.
Useful European Train Links
Bahn.de
German website with exact train times for literally every train in Europe. Seriously useful for planning your journeys. Danke DB Bahn!
Seat61
Tells you every think you need to know and lots more you probably didn't about travelling by train in Europe.
For route ideas see our suggested route for seeing Europe by train.
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