Give any traveler a “free” ticket for European train travel and they’ll probably go. So, when an opportunity arose to do a story for the international rail travel booking agency, RailEurope, I jumped at it.
Full disclosure: My deal with the travel tech company RailEurope included two Eurail Global Travel Mobile Passes in second class, valid for seven days of unlimited European train travel throughout 33 countries during a one-month period. In exchange, the PR team at RailEurope asked me to share what I learned with other travelers — students, families and seniors -– to smooth the ride.
Train Travel, Why and Why Now?
Train travel is having its moment. Environmental activism is part of the reason because trains produce up to 20 times less CO2 than airplanes. Additionally, sky-high fuel prices are pushing cash-strapped families to skip road trips and inflated airfares.
Riding the rails also feeds into the slow travel movement. Board. Sit. Experience phenomenal views and new cultures as the journey unfolds. As for us, we are on a personal mission to support greener, more thoughtful travel. And, I had a story to write.
1. Is train travel in Europe for you? Who will benefit from a Eurail Pass.
European train travel offers perks to every age group and type of traveler. Despite big advances, however, it’s still a challenge for the mobility impaired.
Students are natural European rail travelers.
Any non-European ages 12- 27 who’s ready to roam will love the Eurail Pass, a top value ticket to move around Europe on a budget. Unlike the Eurail adventure you had in your 20s, however, using a Eurail Pass today is more complex and expensive. On long haul routes, one of Europe’s low-cost airlines usually provides transport much faster and cheaper.
- Pro Tip: Train travel passes for Europeans traveling within Europe are Interrail Passes.
Families love European train travel
We boarded Swiss Family Zone train cars decorated with cartoon characters and foldout tables with games on them. European families love trains for several reasons.
- Family pricing is such good value. Children ages 4-11 get a free Eurail Pass and under-4s ride free on most systems.
- You board trains easily. There’s no waiting for airport security or flight delays.
- Families sit together without paying extra fees.
- Everyone appreciates the space for kids to move around. Plus, there’s storage (and no fees) for carrying strollers, bikes and bags.
- There’s less to worry about when you arrive in city centers rather than remote airports.
Active Seniors are using trains.
Active seniors and the young-at-heart enjoy the adventure and recreation of train travel most. Enjoy 10% off if you’re age 60+ and maintain some level of fitness. Every station we used had elevators and/or escalators to make boarding easy, though sometimes they were out of order. At minimum, you will likely carry a rolling suitcase up and down a few steps to board, disembark or change cars within a moving train. You’ll also have to lift and store bags on a shelf, overhead or under seats, depending on the train model.
- Pro Tip: You must be able to handle your own luggage.
Here are 10 more travel hacks that will smooth the tracks for an easier ride. Let the adventure begin!
2. Develop a trans-Europe itinerary to start your adventure.
We always strive to include family, a few bucket list moments, time in nature, culture and history on our trips… a tall order made easy with the flexibility of a Eurail train pass.
We began our 24-day adventure in Ireland to visit my brother living in Galway. We crossed to Normandy to explore what we’d heard was the true heart of France (c’est vrai), headed north to the tulip fields of Amsterdam, south to the heat and dust of Pompeii, and back to Milan to visit a friend and fly home.
You’ll have your own priorities. Train travel should not be confused with vanlife. European train travel takes some planning ahead. Most tickets are cancellable or changeable within 24 hours of travel without a fee. (Less true on extras like overnight couchettes or berths.)
- Pro Tip: Nomad alert — purchasing tickets or seat reservations on the day of travel costs up to twice as much as an advance purchase.
3. Use AI and maps for train travel planning.
Planning is essential. I used a Lonely Planet Europe Planning map to review stops with my husband. We wanted to confirm the date for our longest ride — a sleeper on the Amsterdam > Naples train — first. The standard Eurail option uses ICE (Inter City Express) trains from Amsterdam to Paris, then Germany and south through Italy. This 14 to 24 hours’ route included four to eight train changes. The good news was that tickets were free. The bad news: we had to change trains throughout the night.
AI does a good job with train queries. I asked about overnight train options, then read some of the train nerd boards on Reddit. Both indicated that only one line, the OBB Nightjet, made a non-stop overnight run. (I also learned the train was punctual, comfortable, extremely popular, not on the Eurail Pass, and not cheap.)
4. Search for your preferred train route and search again.
When you can’t find the route you want, for example, Amsterdam > Naples, get out a map and split it into the major legs. Using AI, I found Amsterdam > Zurich (the OBB Nightjet route), then Zurich > Milan, then a large variety of regional train options Milan > Naples. It took planning on three websites and three sets of tickets – plus more money than Ryanair would charge — but I got the train route we wanted to try. Here’s how we followed AI’s recommendation.
On the laptop, I googled that train and found Austria’s OBB website, which sold the train with a variety of sleeper car options, but no discount for Eurail Pass holders.
Eventually, after several tries, I found the right time, date, sleeper car without bath for two and booked it for about 500€ (US$580). However, the site declined my credit card. I had to start again.
Armed with the knowledge of what was possible, I checked Eurail. It listed both the traditional ICE route and the OBB Nightjet route. After several efforts, including turning off my VPN to book directly, I bought the same couchette for two passengers including breakfast on the Amsterdam > Zurich route for US$396.24.
- Pro Tip: Be patient, research the options. Be sure before you buy.
5. Watch your Pass days; save them for the big trips.
We activated our Eurail Passes for Galway > Dublin to meet an overnight ferry to France. Since Irish Ferries offered a 30% discount to Eurail Pass holders, the train and overnight ferry counted as Day 1 and Day 2 of our seven days of Eurail Pass usage. I knew the Amsterdam > Naples trip would take two more Eurail Pass days, so we had three free Eurail travel days to play with.
6. Make seat reservations on each train to reduce stress.
On many trains, Eurail pass holders don’t pay the fare but do have to pay for seat reservations. They are a pain to book, and cost from about 5€ to more than 40€, plus booking fees.
Insecure about our first leg, we visited Ireland’s Galway station to ask advice in person. The Irish Rail agent said we didn’t need seat reservations but recommended an earlier train to allow more time to reach the ferry port. When we showed up the next day, the train was totally sold out. A sympathetic conductor gave us two jump seats in the luggage hold.
The RailEurope app and the Eurail TripPlanner app indicate if seat reservations are required. However, to combat unexpected crowds and reduce stress, we suggest doing it for every trip. Sometimes conductors were helpful, sometimes not.
7. Allow plenty of time to find the next place to be.
We arrived at Dublin Heuston with plenty of time and went outside to catch the tram to Connolly Station. Two bystanders gave us conflicting directions to the port. At the nearby long distance bus station, an information officer told us to catch the regular public bus. It cost 1.3€ and ran hourly.
We voted instead for a 13.50€ taxi, an interesting ride with a divorced cab driver who said meeting his wife 38 years ago was the worst mistake of his life. She always hated their ramshackle home in the slums overlooking the port. Now that the port is the hottest real estate in Dublin, he will sell his place and retire. Alone.
8. Use these tech tools for your Eurail train adventure.
To get the most out of your Eurail passes, you need a few tech tools. First, your cellphone must be equipped with a global roaming plan, RailEurope app, Eurail TripPlanner app, Google Maps app, and Whatsapp. All essential.
The rail travel apps are essential for trip planning. Google Maps or your favorite GPS system is required to find the train station in each town, and directions to a hotel. Whatsapp is the way most Europeans communicate, because if you don’t speak their language, they can copy your typed request into a translation app and understand what you’re asking.
- Pro Tip: Use Uber, because in several cities, the tourist office said it was cheaper and more reliable than local taxis.
9. When the apps don’t work, here are other ways to find local trains.
In addition to the high-speed intercity trains, each country has lots of local trains that are cheaper and slower. These do not require seat reservations or advance ticket booking. However, it’s hard to find them. When the Eurail and RailEurope apps don’t list them, try Google Maps. It’s a great resource for local trains, trams, trolleys and even public buses.
Try the state railway company. The Eurail app has a list of which train lines operate in each country. In the case of France, for example, the SNCF sells train tickets online, so we booked short rides direct with them.
10. How to manage train tickets and avoid problems.
The most frustrating part of Europe rail travel is managing train tickets. Since rail station security and every train conductor rely on a ticket barcode to enable access, having the PDF version of your ticket is essential.
Regardless of where we purchased them, the tickets rarely ended up visible in the “Tickets” folder on either the RailEurope or Eurail apps. Or, if they were there, the train station or wagon WiFi (I could never get it to work) wouldn’t load so I only saw a blank page. A train conductor explained that travelers should always photograph or screenshot the PDF confirmations they’re sent so they can show a barcode.
RailEurope runs a complex digital operation that relies on hundreds of partners, so glitches are inevitable. On several legs of our trip using a Eurail Pass for payment and RailEurope to book reserved seats, we received the notice: “Your journey is composed of multiple trips run by different operators and therefore has distinct tickets… these tickets are separate travel contracts with their own individual cancellation and refund conditions.”
Minor problems we encountered throughout the journey were resolved onboard by the conductor.
11. Cost. Is the Eurail Pass from RailEurope still a good value?
A Eurail Pass is absolutely good value. A quick AI query estimates our April to May 2026 Europe trip at 2,100 to 2,300 miles (3,300–3,700 km) without international flights. Given the flexibility of a Eurail, the complexity of managing international train options, and the (sometimes) ease of online booking, our Eurail Global Travel Second Class Mobile Pass was a true bargain at US$420 each.
RailEurope was an essential part of our European train adventure because their technology and distribution system made it easy to book train journeys across the continent. Since launching the?first Eurail Pass?in North America in 1959, RailEurope has expanded to Asia and the Pacific, connecting global travelers with more than?250 train operators.
On to Pompeii
And so, at last, we reached Napoli Centrale, close to the finish line of our marathon rail trip. We rented a flat from Marriott International and booked an Uber to get there. Angelo pulled up in a huge black Mercedes minivan.
We started driving, slowly. Traffic seemed chaotic and even I, who had never been in Naples, thought we were driving in circles. Finally, at a light, Angelo typed into his phone’s translation app and showed me: “Papa Leone, the Pope, is in town, many streets are closed.” He had come to pray at the Duomo of Naples which safeguards the remains of San Gennaro.
It had been three trains over 23 hours since we left Amsterdam. After another 30 minutes, Angelo stopped. He threw up his hands. He pointed to a long, dark cobblestone alley.
“Out!” he cried.
He waved straight, then right, then left. “Casa there!”
We were sore and tired, reluctant to drag our clattering luggage across the uneven pavement to an unseen destination.
And thus, our Pompeii holiday began.
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