So I'm totally lost on how the Eurail works. I went online, to the eurail website, http://eurail.rs.teaw.de/index.php?view=cms_676#spaportsaver, and it's telling me a 3 day pass between Spain and Portugal is 288 (euros I assume). But then there's the caveat that trains in Spain may require additional money. I'm looking to go from Barcelona to Madrid on the overnight (which looks to be 50euros), and then Madrid to Lisbon on the overnight, and then Lisbon back to Barcelone (or I may try to go along the Southern coast. Someone please help. I need to know if there would be a benefit in buying the eurail in my situation Thanks
Other - Europe - 2 Answers
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1 :
You can go to the website www.renfe.es to figure out how much it would cost to buy the tickets individually, and then compare them to the cost of the eurail. (Although the website is in Spanish--I don't know if you speak the language or not!) I spent my junior year in Madrid, and travelled by train from Madrid to both Barcelona and Lisbon. It's really pretty easy, and I don't think it was particularly expensive (although this was about 5 years ago and the exchange rate wasn't as bad then.) I didn't have a eurail pass--if you're only going to be buying 2 tickets, then it might be cheaper to just buy them via renfe. Have an amazing trip! Those cities are all so beautiful and fun. You're going to have such a good time. I'm jealous!
2 :
Eurail sucks, because it is usually more expensive than buying the tickets individually. It only becomes really useful if you are on a 2-month trip travelling at least every 2nd day on the overnight train. The best international tariff calculator is http://www.jizdenka.cz - click on the british flag and pretend you intend to buy an international ticket from CZ Rail. It will give you a fairly accurate estimate what you pay for the cheapest avialable, normal priced rail ticket on your route if you cannot get a quote from Madrid-Lisbon from renfe.es. It might also be worth to check out budget airlines and buses. Places to start looking (but don't limit yourself to these sites:) http://www.eurolines.com http://www.skyscanner.net Edit: Checked on renfe.es - they do have an English language option and allow you to buy Barc-Mad for 65.30 EUR 2nd class normal train and 38.10 EUR ticket price on the overnight train (with an additional of 48.90 EUR for the bunk bed it seems). Mad-Lisb should be in the same range, but since it says "trenhotel" I assume special prices apply - but probably no more than 200 EUR. You Eurail pass would likely not be valid on the trenhotel train (like the Paris-London Eurostar) and you would likely have pay the 48.90 in addition for the bunk bed from Barcelona-Madrid. So it is very clear that you do not benefit from a Eurail pass at all - buy individual tickets instead. If you are worried and need to catch that particular train, reserve them in advance through renfe. Do not buy them abroad, the fees are ridiculously high for this service.
