Eurail pass basics
Activate your pass when you arrive in Europe
You need to activate your Eurail pass in a train station before you can start using it. It must be activated within 6 months of the issuing date. Once you have arrived in Europe, you can activate your pass at the ticket office of most large train stations.
Freedom to travel where you want
Yes, you can visit the countries included in your pass as many times as you want, and cross the borders between them as often as you like. Use national and international trains to create your ideal European travel itinerary.
Travel outside of the validity of your pass
No, your Eurail pass only gives you access to the train networks within the countries where your pass is valid. You're not covered in any other countries, even if you remain on the train for the whole time and don't change trains in that country.
Length of month validity
A Global Pass - Every day within 1 month is valid for train travel on each day during 1 month. The number of travel days you have, depends on the length of the month in which you start using your pass.
Save travel days when you travel by night
It’s very useful to know about the 7 p.m. rule if you have a flexi pass (e.g. Global Pass - choose 15 days within 2 months) as it can save you precious travel days! The rule means that you only need to use 1 travel day when you travel on a direct night train that departs after 7 p.m. (19:00) and arrives after 4 a.m. (04:00).
Fill in the travel calendar before boarding
When you have a flexi pass with a specific number of travel days e.g. a Global Pass - choose 15 days within 2 months, you need to fill in the date in the travel calendar on your Eurail pass before boarding the first train, free bus or free ferry of each day. Decide as you go, when you use each travel day.
Travel by train every day your pass is valid
The Eurail pass is available with different numbers of travel days. With a continous pass every day is a potential travel day during the period your pass is valid. With a flexi pass you have a fixed number of travel days which you can use whenever you want during the overall validity.
Choose when you use your travel days
There are 2 types of Eurail passes available depending on how much of your trip you want to spend on trains. The flexi pass lets you travel by train on a specific number of days that you choose to travel on during the validity of the pass. The continuous pass lets you travel on as many trains as you want during the whole period that your pass is valid. A flexi pass is cheaper than a continuous pass.
Plan your Eurail trip
- Train timetables
Find train schedules and travel times. - Railway map
View the major train routes in Europe. - Train reservations
When and how to make reservations.
