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| How Passes Work Plan Your Rail Trip Compare Ticket Costs Using Your Pass Ordering & Shipping |
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Study your options throughout this Rail Guide, and use our rail planning worksheet and "Time & Cost" map to see if a railpass will save you money compared to buying tickets as-you-go.
Make sure you order the right pass for your trip. Changes, exchanges, or refunds for unused passes are not always possible, and are subject to a service charge of 15% or more. Validated or partially used passes are not refundable.
If you still have many questions that need answers before you can select a pass, check out our trip-consulting services. If you have just one or two quick questions, send an e-mail to rail@ricksteves.com or phone at 425/771-8303 ext. 214.
2009 railpasses are offered for sale through Dec. 29, 2009, but pass prices are subject to change without notice throughout the year. Railpass wholesalers can adjust prices as often as daily based on fluctuations in European exchange rates and other variables. Prices can vary between different agents, too. Although we will have no control over these price fluctuations, we will automatically update the online version of this guide. The $U.S. price you pay will be locked in at the time of payment or ticketing, much like an airline ticket, and this rate remains in computer records of your purchase. Your printed pass, however, may show the price in euros only. (The $U.S. rate for mail or fax orders will be determined on the day we process the order, which may not be the same date received.) Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door is an agent for Rail Europe and is not responsible for their policies nor those of the European railroads.
Eurostar Tickets: Eurostar tickets are available online only, not by mail, nor fax, nor in our Travel Center. If your first choice of fare or departure time is not available, a Rail Europe representative will contact you by phone or email to make another choice. Please respond to the same e-mail address. Many Eurostar fares are not refundable or changeable once the ticket is printed.
Rail & Drive Passes: We do not sell Rail & Drive passes. They are available from Rail Europe or your travel agent.
Shipping and Delivery The last day to order railpasses at 2009 prices is December 29, 2009.
These holidays do not count toward our five-business-day delivery guarantee:
Train
Reservations Sorry, ETBD does not sell any reservations (except Eurostar). With your railpass, you can make reservations through www.raileurope.com (800/438-7245) or at train stations and travel agencies in Europe. See details at Using Your Pass.
Free DVD and Maps: One Travel Skills DVD, Europe Planning Map, and discount code per rail order. (Those traveling together are recommended to order together, and those selecting a Saver or Twin pass must order together.) We will automatically include the most appropriate rail map and a Eurail timetable. There is no printed timetable for Britain. Sorry, no substitutions. Find out more about railpass freebies.
Selectpass countries: Selectpasses are good for use only in the countries listed on your pass. You must choose your countries at the time you buy your pass. Be aware of your route! If you travel by train through a country not covered by your pass, and you have not purchased separate tickets to cover that portion of your trip, you will be fined!
Saverpasses and Twin passes: All members of the traveling group must be identified and paid for at the time of purchase, and must all be present when validating their Saverpass in Europe. A Saverpass is a single pass listing 2–5 travelers. (Groups of four or more may want to order separate passes in pairs or threes for more travel flexibility.) A Twin pass is limited to two travelers per pass, so a third group member pays full price.
Youth passes: Pass users must be under age 26 the day they validate their passes in Europe. There are no "saver" discounts for youth pass users traveling together.
Kids: For most passes, kids 4–11 pay half the adult price, under 4 travel free (rule varies per pass). Kids must be under age 12 the day they validate their passes in Europe.
Country of Residence: Most railpasses sold in the U.S. cannot be used by residents of Europe. You are not a resident of Europe if you live on an American military base or have only a temporary student visa for Europe. You must provide proof of at least 6 months residence outside Europe (and outside the Russian Federation or Turkey) when validating most railpasses. A passport or green card is the usual proof. These passes require only proof of residence outside the countries covered by the pass: Balkan, BritRail, European East, and Swiss.
Name on Passport: The gender, last name, and first name (or first initial) on your railpass must match your passport. Middle names are not used. Passes are personal and nontransferable.
More Fine Print: This is not meant to be a complete explanation of all restrictions and requirements. Carefully read all the information that comes with your pass!
Railpass Insurance Railpasses are not replaceable if lost or stolen, so your best insurance is to treat your pass like cash, keeping it inside your moneybelt, tucked under your clothes. You may purchase insurance which reimburses you for the value of the unused part of your railpass in case of loss or theft in Europe. Just check the box to add the costs below to your railpass order (we cannot sell it to you later). This non-refundable insurance does not get you a new pass in Europe! It does enable you to file a reimbursement claim with Rail Europe after your trip. See more info and links at How Railpasses Work.
If you get an error message that references stale data (and may mention improper use of the "Back" button), go to Order Your Railpass and reload (refresh) your browser. If that has no effect, close your Web browser completely and return to that page.
If you are using Norton Firewall or something similar, you may need to turn this feature off temporarily while placing your railpass order.
Your browser must be set to accept session cookies to complete an order. Cookies are necessary for the shopping cart to function properly. We do not use cookies to store sensitive personal or credit card information. If cookies are disabled on your browser, please enable them to complete your order, and then return the browser to the previous cookie settings. For more information about enabling cookies, please go to our help page.
If you are ordering a Selectpass and your choice of connected countries is rejected, try entering them in a different order. Even if Austria is one of your countries, it may be helpful to change the first selection that is pre-set for Austria.
If you receive the message "Security failure. Data decryption error," you may need to upgrade your Web browser or access the site using one of these Web browsers, which are compatible with high-security websites:
You can check your Internet Explorer version by clicking the Help menu and selecting "About Internet Explorer." Upgrades can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com. Mac users will find usually Netscape 4.7 Communicator in the Applications (Mac OS 9) file on your hard disk.
