Train is by far the best way to see the countryside and cities of Europe. The Eurailpass gives you unlimited rail travel in 17 Eurailpass countries and is also valid on some major shipping lines. Depending on which option you choose, it is valid on a continuous basis for 5 days, 21 days, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months. This gives you the utmost flexibility by allowing you to travel on any day within the chosen validity. For most trains you don’t need reservations, allowing you to change your itinerary on the spur of the moment.

Which Eurailpass?

Your choice depends on the following:
+ Amount of time you have
+ Amount of money you have
+ Class of service: the standard Eurailpass provides 1st class travel. First class travel is more physically comfortable than 2nd class and the railcars are much less crowded. There is also a “Eurailpass Youth” option, which provides 2nd class travel to people under the age of 26. The advantage of this pass is that it about 30% cheaper than the standard Eurailpass and allows you to travel the way most Europeans do: 2nd class.

Note that there are other options, such as a pass that provides some savings by two people traveling together and “flexi” passes that allow you so many days of travel within a given timeframe.

Where can I buy a Eurailpass?

You can buy the Eurailpass directly from the following, among others:
eurail.com
raileurope.com
eurorailways.com

How do I plan my trip?

First, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the European rail system. Some good books are:
'Europe by Eurail 2005, 29th (Europe By Eurail)'
'Traveling the Eurail Express (Traveling Europe's Trains)'
'Frommer's Europe by Rail'
'Eurail and Train Travel Guide to Europe (Eurail Guide to Train Travel in the New Europe)'

Then, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the 17 participating countries so you can determine which countries and cities you want to visit:

Austria: 'Austria (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'
Belgium: 'The Rough Guide to Belgium & Luxembourg'
Denmark: 'Insight Guide Denmark (Insight Guides Denmark)'
Finland: 'Insight Compact Guide Finland (Insight Compact Guides Finland)'
France: 'France (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'
Germany: 'Lonely Planet Germany (Lonely Planet Germany)'
Greece: 'The Rough Guide to Greece'
Hungary: 'Lonely Planet Hungary (Lonely Planet Hungary)'
Ireland: 'Michelin Green Guide Ireland (Michelin Green Guide: Ireland English Edition)'
Italy: 'Italy (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'
Luxembourg: 'Michelin the Green Guide Belgium/Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Michelin Green Guide: Belgium-Luxembourg English Edition)'
Netherlands: 'Lonely Planet Netherlands (Lonely Planet Netherlands)'
Norway: 'Norway (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'
Portugal: 'Portugal (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'
Spain: 'The Rough Guide to Spain'
Sweden: 'Fodor's Sweden, 12th Edition: The Guide for All Budgets, Completely Updated, with Many Maps and Travel Tips (Fodor's Gold Guides)'
Switzerland: 'Michelin the Green Guide Switzerland (Michelin Green Guide: Switzerland English Edition)'

What is the best itinerary?

The best itinerary depends on you . . . what you like to see, how much time you want to spend at each destination, and a host of other variables. Here, however, is a “Highlights of Europe” itinerary that I put together, which uses a 30-day Eurailpass to visit all 17 Eurail countries.

DAY

1. Fly into DUBLIN, Ireland. 'Dublin (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)'

2. Validate Eurailpass (the 30 day clock is ticking). DUBLIN to ROSSLARE HARBOUR, Ireland. Take Ferry to CHERBOURG, France.

3. CHERBOURG to PARIS, France.

4. PARIS. 'Let's Go 2004: Paris (Let's Go Paris)'

5. PARIS to BRUSSELS, Belgium. 'Frommer's Brussels, Bruges & Antwerp'

6. BRUSSELS to LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg. 'Frommer's Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, Eighth Edition'

7. LUXEMBOURG CITY to AMSTERDAM, Netherlands.

8. AMSTERDAM. 'Streetwise Amsterdam'

9. AMSTERDAM to COPENHAGEN, Denmark.

10. COPENHAGEN. 'The Rough Guide to Copenhagen 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)'

11. COPENHAGEN to OSLO, Norway. 'Insight Pocket Guide Oslo and Bergen (Insight Pocket Guide Oslo & Bergen)'

12. OSLO to STOCKHOLM, Sweden. 'Lonely Planet Stockholm (Lonely Planet Stockholm)'

13. STOCKHOLM to TURKU, Finland via Ferry. 'Lonely Planet Finland (Lonely Planet Finland)'

14. Ferry back to STOCKHOLM.

15. STOCKHOLM to HAMBURG, Germany. 'Insight City Guides: Hamburg'

16. HAMBURG to ZURICH, SwitzerlAnd.

17. ZURICH. 'Frommer's Switzerland'

18. ZURICH to VIENNA, Austria.

19. VIENNA. 'Vienna (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'

20. VIENNA TO BUDAPEST, Hungary.

21. BUDAPEST. 'Budapest (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'

22. BUDAPEST to VENICE, Italy.

23. VENICE. 'Rick Steves' Venice 2004'

24. VENICE to BRINDISI, Italy and then onto CORFU, GREECE via ferry. 'Corfu Pocket Guide, 4th Edition (Berlitz Pocket Guides)'

25. Ferry back to BRINDISI and then on to ROME, Italy.

26. ROME. 'Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'

27. ROME to NICE, France. 'Michelin Alpes-Maritimes: Includes Plans for Nice, Cannes (Michelin Local France Maps)'

28. NICE to BARCELONA, Spain. 'Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides: Barcelona (Eyewitness Travel Top 10)'

29. BARCELONA TO MADRID, Spain.

30. MADRID. 'Madrid (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)'

31. MADRID TO LISBON, Portugal (End Eurailpass). 'Lisbon (Eyewitness Travel Guides)'

32. Fly out of LISBON.

Happy Eurailing!