Eurail Multiple Country Pass
The Eurail Regional Passes are ideal for those of you on a short stay in Europe, wanting only to visit a couple of countries. Eurail Regional Passes include:
The Eurail Multiple Country passes are perfect if you are visiting Europe for a very short time and only want to visit two or three countries. The names of the passes for the most part indicate the countries you can visit on them. This article will discuss a few of them. Most have pretty much the same structure as far as what they provide. Most usually give you some sort of unlimited rail travel for a certain number of days in a two-month period. And the multiple country pass is good for the countries it services in its name. It is not transferable for other countries.
For example, there is the Eurail Hungary - Croatia/Slovenia Pass where one can purchase 5, 6, 8, or 10 day options of unlimited rail travel within a two month period. The travel is on the railroads within Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia only. The travel allowed on the train by this pass is first class. The days bought for the pass (5, 6, 8, or 10) can be used either consecutively or non-consecutively.
And these multiple country passes are not without their restrictions or conditions. And most of these multiple-country passes have similar conditions. The conditions for this Eurail pass are:
- Eligibility to use and purchase this pass includes those who have their permanent residency outside of Europe, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or the Russian Federation.
- Validation of the pass has to occur within 6 month of the date it was issued by a railway official. The railway official will also fill in the passport number where the pass is associated with the countries purchased to travel in.
- Prior to boarding the first train, the passes have to be validated.
- The date of travel must be entered correctly on the pass before boarding the first train. This is usually done by the passenger.
- There is a 7:00 PM (19:00) rule that basically states that if a train starts after that time then the next day’s date must be entered on the pass. This is only if the next day is a valid day for the pass.
- Residents of Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (which would be the former Soviet Union), Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia who are temporarily residing in the United States with any type of Visa are not eligible to use the pass.
- Anyone using a U.S. Military I.D. is allowed to use this pass.
Many of these multiple country passes have bonuses as well. For instance, for the Hungary, Croatia/Slovenia pass you have the following bonus options:
- You get 50 percent off the price of entrance to the Hungarian Heritage Railway Park which can be reached by motor train from Budapest-Nyugati station (seasonal).
- You get 50 percent off the price of nostalgic train rides.
For each multiple country pass, the bonuses are probably the features differing the most.
The different multiple country passes in addition to the one just discussed include:
- Austria - Hungary Pass
- France - Italy Pass
- France - Spain Pass
- Germany - Benelux Pass
- Germany - Denmark Pass
- Greece - Italy Pass
- Hungary - Croatia/Slovenia Pass
- Italy - Spain Pass
- Romania - Hungary Pass
- Spain - Portugal Pass
- Austria - Czech Republic Pass
- Austria - Switzerland Pass
- Benelux - France Pass
- France - Germany Pass
- France - Switzerland Pass
- Germany - Switzerland Pass
- Germany - Austria Pass
Some other samples of what other passes have to offer are:
- The Benelux pass (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) has 5 flexible travel days within one month for those three countries. You can also travel in first or second class and there is a Twinpass discount if you are traveling in a pair.
- The European East Pass takes you first class to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Austria with choices of 5 to 10 travel days within one month.
One thing these passes all have: They make it convenient and affordable for you to visit many different countries in beautiful and historic Europe.