Eurail Pass

Manage to dig out this parcel that are stashed away together with other memoirs. I have the habit of keeping tickets to attractions, used maps and postcards collected from vacation trips. Especially used maps, the mint condition adds value to the whole collection.

There are mainly 4 types of pass that Eurail offers; Global, Select, Regional and One Country pass. These passes cater to many different travelling plan, you may refer to the website for more details.

We chose the Select Pass (5 countries in 6+1 days) because it was the most suitable one that catered exactly to what we needed. Select pass works on the condition that the countries chosen must be bordering countries. When we bought the tickets, there was a promotion for 1 free additional travelling day when the 6 days pass is purchased. So we snagged the deal by paying 303 euros each.

Here's the Eurail package that I received after making the payment. It consists of a Eurail Train Schedule, a map of the cities in Europe and the Eurail Pass itself. (Yes, these 3 booklets are worth 303 euros).

Eurail Ticket
They are pretty simple to use and there's full instructions how to go about using them.

Before the whole trip, you can filled up section 2 & 3. They are mainly some details. You can refer to the next photo for reference.

Here's for section 1:

In order to start using the Eurail Pass ticket, the first thing you need to do is to activate it. To activate it, Easy! Simply just go to any participating Eurail countries train station counters, show them your Eurail Pass and passport. They will filled in the activation date, passport number and lastly stamped it. You can activate it on the day you decide to start your trip, and it will be valid (me for eg. 2months) and good for use for 7 days.

The bottom 7 columns are to be filled by you on the days you travel. I just fill it in just before taking the train, in case there's any unforeseen changes to the travelling plan.

While you are on the train, the train conductors will make their routine checks, so all you have to do is to present your Eurail Pass ticket and train reservation recipt. They will validate it by either stamping on the date you filled in or punch a hole underneath the columns.

The map that is in the Eurail package. Doodle them as you like, just like i did!

Ticket reservation is compulsory for some of the trains. For example, i noticed that most intercity trains in Italy require seat reservation. You can reserve the seat either through the automated machines at the train station of over the ticketing counters. Some popular train connections are sometimes fully booked on the departure day, so book early to avoid disappointment! Here's a photo of how the reservation ticket looks like.

Eurail Train Schedule

This booklet contains the schedule of train connections that connect the major cities. It's the next best alternative if you do not have data connection to search it on the Internet.

For eg. (Venice -> Florence)

From Santa Lucia train station take the train to Venezia Mestre at 7.18am (which is available mon to sat). Then transfer to another AVI train (reservation required) that departs at 7.39am and arrive Florence at 9.35am.

The platform for the train is subjected to changes, hence it is not provided in this booklet. Do reach the station early to check the platform of the train. For trains with seat reservation, you can check the rough location of your seat from the board at the specified platform. Sometimes boarding time can be relatively short, so it's always good to be in the vincity your reserved seats. Don't underestimate europe train, you need probably 5mins to walk from one end to the other end of the train.

Hopefully this is comprehensive enough for anyone who's considering taking train in europe.

Just one more thing I would like to recommend - The bayern ticket by DB Bahn.

This ticket which cost 29 euro is valid for 1 day travel in the entire Bavaria for up to 5 person. So it is especially useful if you are in Munich and are planning a day trip to visit Salzburg or Fussen (Neuschwanstein) with your travelling buddy. Effectively one journey will cost less than 4 euros!!(based on 4 travelling buddies).

Alright, that's about it! I shall update if anything cross my mind again.