| TEN
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
| What is the difference between the Eurailpass and
Europass? |
| The
Eurailpass covers 17 countries which include: Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France,Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland and can
be purchased as a consecutive day pass or flexipass. The Europass covers the 5
most central and popular countries which are Germany, Switzerland, France,
Italy and Spain and can only be purchased as a flexipass. |
| What is the difference between the
consecutive day pass and flexipass? |
| The
consecutive day pass is valid for the number of days purchased one day right
after the other. For an example, a 15-day pass is 15 days in a row, June 1 to
June 15. You do not have to travel every day if you do not wish, but you do not
get a refund for unused days. Flexipasses give the flexibility of purchasing a
number of rail days to be used within a certain time frame. Depending on the
pass it may be 15 days, 1 month or 2 months. This allows you to then spend time
between your days of train travel. |
If I purchase Associated Countries with my Europass,
how many extra days of rail do I get? |
| Purchasing Associated
Countries does not allow you any more days of rail travel, only additional
countries you may visit. Its purpose is to allow you to travel within or
through countries not covered by the pass. |
| What is a rail day? |
| For the
railroad, a day is midnight to midnight. The one exception is if you are using
a direct overnight train that the journey begins after 7pm. This may be counted
as the following day of travel (may not apply to certain country passes). A
month is considered 30 consecutive days. |
| Does my pass cover sleepers? |
| Your railpass does not
cover sleepers. If you will be utilizing a night train, it is necessary to make
an advance reservation and there will be an additional
cost. |
| When is a seat reservation
required? |
| Most trains are open seating and a seat reservation is
not mandatory. Seat reservations are required for most high-speed trains such
as TGV, Pendolino, Thalys, Eurostar, X2000, and highly recommended for ICE and
certain InterCity and EuroCity trains. As Friday and Sunday afternoons and
evenings are peak travel periods for Europeans, you may wish to consider a seat
reservation. All long distance trains in Spain, Romania and most in Norway and
Sweden require seat reservations. Many in Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland
do not offer them. Seat reservations cannot be made in the USA for Portugal,
Greece, Ireland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and FYROM. |
| What is the difference between first and second
class? |
First class is more quiet and spacious with fewer seats
per compartment or car. There is more room for luggage and generally will
be less crowded as most Europeans using the train travel in second
class. |
If I wanted to go from Germany to Italy on a Europass,
would I be covered? |
| Depending on the route you use the answer could be no.
If you wanted to go straight from Germany to Italy your train might go through
Austria. You must purchase the Austria/Hungary Associated Country or you would
be charged for the portion the train travels through
Austria. |
| Is the Eurolines pass a railpass? |
| The Eurolines pass is a deluxe motorcoach (bus) service
operating throughout Europe. It is an economical option for getting between
major cities of Europe using modern coaches and making frequent stops. You make
reservations for the bus in Europe. |
| Why are documents sent by courier
delivery? |
|
Railpasses and tickets are the equivalent of shipping
cash. To protect you and and the DER - the booking agent - DER sends them via
FedEx so that the package can be traced in case it gets
misdirected. |
