1

I am travelling to Europe from India in December and my plan is as follows -

Normal Tickets for 2 people - 2nd Class: 451.82 Euro

  1. Amsterdam -> Brussels
  2. Brussels -> Paris
  3. Paris -> Landerneau
  4. Landerneau -> Paris Airport (CDG)

And probably may go to Bruge for a day trip from Brussels.

Eurail Pass for 2 people after- 2nd Class: 468 Euro

The eurail pass I checked is benelux-france-pass for 4 days withing 2 months.

https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/select-pass/two-country/benelux-france

In the website, it also tells that some benefits will be there if we buy benelux-france pass like some discounts in museums, public transport. But I am not able to clearly understand . Also, I am not sure whether eurail will support Paris-Landerneau train travel to and fro or not.

I want to know whether in all my travel places will I get public transport discount/free with Eurail pass? My hotels are already booked. I was also thinking to buy I am Amsterdam Card . Can anyone guide me the best thing to do?

|improve this question
  • 3
    Be aware that from Brussels to Paris and possibly Amsterdam to Brussels (depending on the train), you need to take mandatory seat reservations into account as well. Last time I used Interrail those were €35 per person on the Thalys. I don't know if it's the same with EURail, but you should at least check and consider those in your calculations. – gerrit Oct 19 '18 at 10:34
  • @gerrit sure I will check that. thanks for sharing. do we need to take seat reservation if we take normal individual tickets? – Liz. Oct 19 '18 at 11:11
  • Mandatory seat reservations are included with normal individual tickets on the Thalys, which is the most likely train to travel to Paris from The Netherlands or Belgium. – gerrit Oct 19 '18 at 11:41
  • There is some useful guidance on the seat 61 website seat61.com/… which also has advice on buying other tickets at the best price. – mdewey Oct 19 '18 at 12:24
  • 1
    Amsterdam - Brussels has cheaper (but not much slower) trains which do not require seat reservations when traveling with a pass. Brussels - Paris has many fast trains and you can almost always find tickets for less than the full price if you book a few days in advance. – Willeke♦ Oct 19 '18 at 16:33
2

As a rule a rail pass does not work out cheaper if you travel a single travel in a single direction. Your side step to Landerneau can make it worth the money if you can only buy your tickets on the day. But if you can book early, you will likely find good deals.
The pass will also cover your side trips, but you may need to pay a reservation fee for the French bit as well as for all the other fast trains.

There are the offers for reductions when you have the pass but often you will find the same reductions for other reasons, or you will find you can not benefit from those reductions for other reasons. (Like being in the wrong time of the year for the offer.) If you have the pass, you should look to get reductions with it, but it should not figure much or at all in your financial plans when you compare prices.

In the Netherlands and Belgium you will always find train ticket prices to compete with the 'one day on your pass' value.

For the fast trains into and in France you can get the best deals if you book early, but even when you book only a few days in advance you can get tickets for good prices.
I had a look just now and in three days you can travel Brussels Midi to Paris Gare du Nord for €55 although most tickets for that day start at about €99. You can find the prices on one of the French tickets selling sites, this is just one and in English.

Whether your city card in Amsterdam makes financial sense depends on whether you want to go to the museums included in the deal and how much use you want to make of the local public transport.
Again, do your sums, add up the entry tickets and the number of one time (or one day) tickets you would buy.
In many cases it will be near the same amount but a lot of people end up doing less than they had planned when they are without the pass and do a bit more than they had planned with the pass as it is cheap to do that extra museum for just a short visit. Or to take that tram or bus as you have that pass.

|improve this answer
  • thanks for such an informative comment. It helps me. I am not such a museum person. So, even if I don't visit museums that will be fine for me. But I would definitely like to take boat ride in Amsterdam. However, it will be december month. And I will be using public transport more to travel from one place to another in the city. – Liz. Nov 16 '18 at 9:28
  • The boat tours run round the year unless it is freezing hard (which is unlikely in December) and some are hop on/hop off. Day and multiple day public transport passes are for sale as well. – Willeke♦ Nov 16 '18 at 12:01
  • en.oui.sncf/en/payment-methods the website you mentioned , can I pay from India? I cannot find in INR. its only in euros – Liz. Nov 17 '18 at 21:04
  • 1
    Sorry, I do not know. If you can pay by credit card, distance is mostly no problem. Use a money exchange site to get a feel for the exchange rate but realize that the actual cost may be a bit different. – Willeke♦ Nov 17 '18 at 22:05
  • thanks a lot @willeke . your answer has helped me to do the right bookings – Liz. Nov 20 '18 at 10:11

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.