Dishin’ with the Diva

Quick Tip – Eurail Passes

Your friendly neighborhood Diva was asked by a friend the other day to provide some travel assistance to another friend who was planning her first trip to Europe. Since I can’t afford to go myself, I’m more than happy to engage in a bit of vicarious living and was happy to oblige.

The so-to-be traveler had mentioned that she wanted to do a couple of train trips while on the continent. I suggested a Eurail pass; she said she was already planning to get one. Good.

On her way out, I mentioned that she may want to talk to the folks at Rail Europe before she left to get some help with hotel questions and bookings, as well as her Eurail pass – since she had to get that before she left the country anyway. Which caught her by surprise; she had assumed – incorrectly – that she could buy the pass once she got to Europe.

Eurail passes are for international visitors, not those already living on the continent. Even if you produce a passport, plane tickets, birth certificate, or any other form of documentation you can think of, you won’t be able to buy a pass once you arrive in Europe. And don’t put it off until the last minute, since you’ll need to be sent the paper ticket; to my knowledge, there isn’t any kind of electronic option available.

And by the way, I do highly recommend getting a Eurail pass for travel within Europe (with the exception of Ireland). You can get to most everywhere pretty easily (except in Ireland, unless you want to stay in Dublin and do day trips out), and you get to look at the scenery while doing so.