Did a 3-country train pass for $150 in Europe and it actually worked

I was super skeptical about those Eurail passes cause everyone online says they're a rip off. But I had a specific route through Germany, Czechia, and Austria that I wanted to do in 10 days. Did the math and a 4-day flexi pass came out to $37.50 per travel day versus buying individual tickets which would've been like $60-$80 each for the longer legs. The catch is you gotta book your seat reservations early or you'll pay extra on the fast trains. I missed that on my Berlin to Prague leg and it cost me an extra 9 euro. Anyone else find these passes worth it for shorter flexible trips?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.cameron5d ago

Did the math" - this is exactly what I did too and it worked out great for me. I did a similar loop through Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium last fall with a 5-day pass. What saved me was only using the pass for the long haul trains like Amsterdam to Berlin which was like $80+ if booked day of, and just buying local regional tickets for the short hops. The seat reservation thing got me too though, I ended up paying the extra on an ICE train from Frankfurt to Brussels. Still saved like $60 total compared to buying everything separate. For a tight 10 day trip like yours I think you made the right call.

king.dakota5d ago

Wait wait wait, hold on. You're telling me one single leg like Amsterdam to Berlin would have set you back $80+ if you booked it last minute? That is absolutely insane, I had no idea the prices could spike that hard on those high-speed routes. Ngl @morgan.cameron that makes your 5-day pass sound like a no-brainer, even with the seat reservation fees piling up. Honestly it's wild how much of a gamble day-of booking is on those trains.