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[swtrixie]

Hey folks, I'm heading to Central/Eastern Europe in a few weeks. I'm in the U.S.

Two questions:

Is it smarter and/or cheaper to buy a Rail pass here before I go or should I wait until I get to  my starting country (Czech Republic)?

Second, I haven't thought of this before but is there a place  here in th U.S. where I can buy an International phone card? I really have no clue...Radio Shack, a cellphone store?

Thanks in advance.

[galactic_hedgehog]

Will you really need a rail pass? When I traveled in Europe, I found that just buying point-to-point tix were more economical than a pass.  It will depend on how much traveling you're actually doing.  You should be able to find websites that list point-to-point ticket prices.

Also, it's been a long time, but if I remember correctly, Eurail passes could only be bound outside of Europe.  I don't know what's available these days.

[wegie]

You can buy Eurail passes over here, but they're more expensive than buying them outside Europe. However, unless you're travelling every other day, you'll probably find buying point to point tickets cheaper.

Good places to start are the Deutsche Bahn website, which has the best timetables for all of Europe and The Man in Seat 61.

[swtrixie]

Thanks for the links. We are traveling to 4 cities in a weeks time.

Prague to Vienna to Budapest to Krakow and back to Prague. I found an Eastern European rail pass good for travel on 5 days for $380 per person. That is about half the cost of buying individual legs.

But....if it's cheaper to buy tickets on the day of travel.....??????

eeks.

[iomhaigh]

GH is spot on.  And a good deal of this is irrelevant because of recent posts. 

Eurail passes can only be bought by non-European citizens.  I don't know if you can buy them in-country.  Also, if you have multiple passports/ forms of ID, be sure to bring your non-Europe passport because otherwise you can't use the pass.  

If you're doing a lot of short haul trips, then the passes are nearly useless.  If you're doing Athens to Sarajevo to Berlin to Yerevan... well... I'd check on planes because they're likely to be faster and cheap enough (if not cheaper than the passes.)

I'd price your actual train tickets here:
http://www.raileurope.com/

before comparing with eurail.com

I've always bought phone cards in country as well, but most of the places I stay will sell you a cheap one.  You might want to look into a rechargeable cell phone, too, if people are going to need to call you as well.  


And have a good trip!

[wegie]

Thanks for the links. We are traveling to 4 cities in a weeks time.

Prague to Vienna to Budapest to Krakow and back to Prague. I found an Eastern European rail pass good for travel on 5 days for $380 per person. That is about half the cost of buying individual legs.

But....if it's cheaper to buy tickets on the day of travel.....??????

eeks.

Almost certainly the same price or more on the day of travel.

Check as well whether you need seat reservations for any of the trains. In fact, I'd recommend seat reservations in any case.

I'm now off to deal with Europe's worst rail system . . . sigh.

[avidreader]

I've usually found that rail tickets cost more on the day of travel, personally. But phone cards are very easy to find once you arrive.

AR.

[galactic_hedgehog]

Another thing: ticket prices can also depend on where you buy them.  When we lived in Germany and traveled to Prague, it was considerably cheaper to buy tickets in the Czech Republic than in Germany.  We'd buy the tix to get us to the border, then buy the tix to get us to Prague.  (If we had to change trains at the border.  There may have been some occasions when the train went straight through; I can't remember)  For the return, it was always less expensive to Prague to home than home to Prague.

[swtrixie]

Another thing: ticket prices can also depend on where you buy them.  When we lived in Germany and traveled to Prague, it was considerably cheaper to buy tickets in the Czech Republic than in Germany.  We'd buy the tix to get us to the border, then buy the tix to get us to Prague.  (If we had to change trains at the border.  There may have been some occasions when the train went straight through; I can't remember)  For the return, it was always less expensive to Prague to home than home to Prague.

SO will is leaving for Prague on Thursday. She will be researching train travel tickets while there. I'm not leaving for a few more weeks so I still have time to buy them here if that's the better bargain.

[zharkov]

When we got the rail passes, they came with $5 "starter" phone cards that one could add to (online).

[swtrixie]

When we got the rail passes, they came with $5 "starter" phone cards that one could add to (online).

Did you buy the rail passes in Europe or in the US (or other non-european county)?

[zharkov]

When we got the rail passes, they came with $5 "starter" phone cards that one could add to (online).

Did you buy the rail passes in Europe or in the US (or other non-european county)?

In the US.  I don't know if it was cheaper or more expensive.

[pink_]

You can get calling cards for pretty cheap at sams or costco.  I have used them several times and never had a problem.  The thing that is getting more difficult is finding a payphone.  Now that cellphones are so ubiquitous, payphones are becomig more and more scarce.  In big cities, you'll still find them pretty easily, but if you are at all off the beaten path, you might have to ask around or just go to the train station to make your calls.

I bought my ticket (not eurorail, just point a to b) from the states, and it was considerably more expensive than buying it there, but it was worth it to me to not have to worry about it.  By the time it came for me to get on the train, I had crossed several time zones and not slept for almost 24 hours, so I was glad to just get on the train and not have to think too hard.  I bought the return ticket there though, and it was cheaper.

[scotia]

All my research suggests that passes for European rail travel are cheaper when bought outside Europe (there is one pass that is not available in Europe, but I cannot remember which). For individual tickets the online booking systems seem to produce cheaper tickets, but my command of Czech is somewhat inadequate when it comes to transportation (or anything else). My impression is that, unlike airline tickets, train tickets only ever seem to get more expensive as the date of departure approaches.

It is heading to peak holiday time in Europe when many trains can get very busy so I would second wegie's suggestion of reserving seats if at all possible. I only got a seat on a train on Friday evening because I sat in a carriage full of screaming teenagers. Fortunately I was on the train for only 50 minutes, but it would have been grim for several hours. 

[deleteplease]

I'd recommend the first class consecutive or flexi-passes (x days out of two months,e.g.) depending on particular needs. The good thing is that they are valid on all trains -- so if you miss a connection or want another day in a library or decide to take a short side trip on a whim, you can change plans with no penalty.

As for first class -- unless you really enjoy drunken football hooligans, screaming babies, and unhygenic backpackers, it's really necessary in the summer. I actually have managed to get lots of productive reading and writing done in first class carriages -- in second class, it takes all my willpower and power of concentration simply to avoid committing mass homicide.