Using the Eurail Pass for Family Travel: My Experience and Tips
Naturally, I decided to travel with my family as well. However, I wasn't happy with the soaring flight prices. Fortunately, I had a Eurail Global Pass that I hadn't had the chance to use yet. I was considering canceling it, but this was the perfect opportunity. While students typically use the pass for backpacking trips, traveling with family is a different experience. Many aspects of the Eurail Pass aren't fully covered online. So, I've compiled my personal experiences, opinions, and tips beyond just the general usage guide.
1. Traveling as a Student vs. Traveling with Family
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| Eurail global pass |
The most significant advantage of the Eurail Pass is its cost-effectiveness. It's ideal for students because they can maximize its value.
For instance, I have traveled from Denmark to Prague and the Czech Republic. Without the Eurail Pass, a second-class ticket (which takes 1.5 days and requires three transfers) costs 260,000 KRW (~₩269893.69). However, with the Eurail Pass, the trip is free if I don't book a seat or 40,000 KRW (~₩41983.46) if I choose to reserve a seat.
I bought a 1-month, 4-day pass for 300,000 KRW (~₩314875.97), so the more I travel, the cheaper it gets per trip.
However, when traveling with family, there are different considerations, more Luggage
, and more people to take care, a flight that takes only 2 hours might take 8 hours by train, with three transfers. Even if you factor in airport transfers and check-in times, a 2-hour flight is realistically a 5-hour process. But spending an entire day on trains can still be exhausting.
Thus, as a parent traveling with children, the Eurail Pass is most useful for trips between countries that take 3 to 5 hours. Domestic train tickets are often cheap anyway, so the Eurail Pass may not be necessary. In Italy, for example, train tickets are already cheap, making the pass less valuable. The pass is handy for multi-country routes, such as Denmark-Germany-Czech Republic-Austria.
2. First-Class vs. Second-Class Eurail Pass
When I first bought the pass, I wondered:
"What's the point of a first- or second-class pass if I don't have an assigned seat?"
However, after using it, I understood. A second-class Eurail Pass means: "You can sit in any second-class seat, except reserved ones."
A first-class Eurail Pass means: "You can sit in any first- or second-class seat, except reserved ones." This makes it an unlimited travel pass for the given class, provided you follow the rules.Choosing first or second class determines where you can sit.
3. Do You Need Seat Reservations?
Activating the Eurail Pass is straightforward, but some trains display a message saying, "Seat reservation recommended."
This means, "The train is likely crowded, so book a seat if you want to sit."
I decided to make a reservation. Only second-class reservations were available on one train, so I booked a second-class seat even though I had a first-class pass. This seemed odd, but I went along with it.
Once onboard, a ticket inspector checked my pass and reservation. After seeing my first-class Eurail Pass, he informed me:
"You have a first-class pass, and there are empty first-class seats. You can move there."
He also mentioned that snacks, coffee, and tea were available.
When I moved to the first class, I was shocked—it was nearly empty, while the second class was crowded.
🤦♂️ I regretted booking a second-class seat, even though it only cost 6 dollars per person.
Later, when transferring to a Hamburg-bound train, I wondered:
"Will the first-class section be empty again?"
This time, however, the first class was full.
From this, I made the following conclusions:
Activating the Eurail Pass is straightforward, but some trains display a message saying, "Seat reservation recommended."
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| Smartphone reservation screen |
This means, "The train is likely crowded, so book a seat if you want to sit."
I decided to make a reservation. Only second-class reservations were available on one train, so I booked a second-class seat even though I had a first-class pass. This seemed odd, but I went along with it.
Once onboard, a ticket inspector checked my pass and reservation. After seeing my first-class Eurail Pass, he informed me:
"You have a first-class pass, and there are empty first-class seats. You can move there."
He also mentioned that snacks, coffee, and tea were available.
When I moved to the first class, I was shocked—it was nearly empty, while the second class was crowded.
🤦♂️ I regretted booking a second-class seat, even though it only cost 6 dollars per person.
Later, when transferring to a Hamburg-bound train, I wondered:
"Will the first-class section be empty again?"
This time, however, the first class was full.
From this, I made the following conclusions:
- ✅ First-Class Eurail PassFor short trips between smaller cities → Seat reservations are unnecessary; sit in first class.
- For major city routes (e.g., between capitals or large hubs), → Seat reservations are necessary; otherwise, you may end up standing.
- 🚨 However, this is not always true—for example, the system recommended a reservation on the Lisbon-Faro route, but first class was still empty!
- 🚫 Second-Class Eurail PassYou cannot sit in first class.
- Without a seat reservation, you may have to stand.
- 4. No Need for Paper Tickets
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| 1st calss |
The Eurail website mentions three things:The Eurail Pass app
Seat reservations, Paper tickets, if necessary. This was confusing, but in reality, the app alone is enough.
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| 👆 Just showing this screen is sufficient. |
Every ticket inspector I met only checked my pass on the app—they didn't even look at my seat reservation.
(This applies to my experiences in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the Czech Republic—other countries might have different rules.)
4. Online vs. App – Scheduling Issues
This was the most frustrating part.
When checking train schedules: On the website, you can see schedules in advance.
On the app: Schedules update much later.
For example, I wanted to book a train on December 16, but the schedule only appeared on November 20.
After contacting Eurail, they said, "This was an unusual case," though they didn't explain why.
📌 Solution: If the app doesn't show schedules, check the website.
Website reservations don't sync to the app, so you must manually add trips in the app.
5. Issues with Payment & Refunds
One strange thing about European train bookings:
🚨 Once you book a ticket, you cannot get a refund.
Another frustrating issue: I tried booking a train, but the payment froze for five minutes and didn't go through. So, I used another browser to book successfully.
Later, I found that the first payment had gone through after a long delay, resulting in two bookings for the same trip.
Eurail's response?
"We warned you on the website that payments can take up to 30 minutes." 🤦♂️
Final Thoughts
I've slowly adapted after multiple confusing experiences with Europe's train system—including frequent delays, different ticketing rules per country, and unclear information.
I hope these insights help others navigate the Eurail Pass more smoothly! 🚆✨
