Eurorail Pass

How does a rail pass work?

The range of train passes for Germany and Europe is quite overwhelming. The good news is that you can purchase all passes through one company. Rail Europe is a company with more than 75 years of experience selling Eurail and national rail passes for Germany and other European countries.
In many countries around the world you can purchase eurail passes before you leave home, and pay in your own currency.
If your travel itinerary is already fixed, you can even purchase seat reservations from home. Of course, this would spoil the flexibilty advantage of any pass. You can easily make seat reservations online a couple of days in advance. Reservations are only possible for long-distance trains.

General facts about rail passes:

• RailEurope passes are only available for residents outside Europe. European citizens who have been living for more than six months outside Europe can buy a rail pass.
  European residents can buy InterRail passes which are only available for Europeans. However, the way how the passes work is just the same. Wherever you live, you only need to find the right company. That's why I am here to help. :)
• You can buy your pass up to 6 months in advance. Rail passes must be validated within 6 month of the date of purchase. If you validate the pass a day before the 6 months end, the pass is still valid for the purchased timeframe.
• Validate your pass before you travel by train the first time. Just go to a counter or travel centre at a railway station and an officer will stamp your pass and include the day of your first journey.
• For the rest of your travel days don't forget to write down the date of the day you are travelling before you board the train. If a conductor checks your rail pass and the date of the day is not included, you are travelling without a valid ticket and risk a fine. You need your passport as well to prove that you are the holder of the train pass.
• Some overnight trains require that you use two travel days.
• Passes for train journeys within one country are usually valid for one month. You can purchase from 3 to 10 travel days.
• An Eurorail Pass to travel in 3, 4, or more countries in Europe is usually valid two months, and you can buy more than 10 travel days.
• Rail and Drive passes - purchase a certain number of train travel days and days for using a hired car. This is pretty convenient when you want to explore the rural areas surrounding a big city.