Something I spent ages researching before my trip to Europe was whether I should get a rail pass or buy individual point to point tickets. When I was younger and envisioned myself travelling to Europe, I always imagined having a Eurail pass so I could travel wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. However, basically everyone in my circle told me: “it’s soooo much cheaper to buy point to point tickets”! So which option is better for you? In this post, I’ll help you to decide whether to buy a rail pass or point to point tickets for your trip. For this post, I will be using examples from my trip to Europe in May 2025 using the Eurail Global pass.
What is a rail pass?
A rail pass is a ticket that covers you for train travel in a particular region for a set duration of time. In the context of Europe, you have two options. If you are predominantly travelling in one country, you can get a rail pass for that country. Take Italy or Switzerland for example. Alternatively, there is the Eurail Global pass which covers most of Europe and the UK. If you reside in the continent of Europe, you’ll need an Interrail pass instead, but it’s exactly the same thing.
There are varying lengths of time you can purchase a rail pass for. These can either be continuous or a set number of days within a month or two. For example, I was in Europe for a month, so I bought the Eurail global 1 month continuous pass. This allowed me to travel on the train every day for 30 days. My friend on the other hand, had a pass that allowed her to use 15 days within two months. She would activate her pass for the day and could then travel on whatever trains she liked on that day. It is important to note that your rail pass does not include a seat reservation.
You can get rail passes for other countries or regions as well, of course. For example, back in 2015 my family and I travelled around Japan with a rail pass! It’s a little outdated now, but you can read about that journey here.
What are point to point tickets?
Point to point is basically just a fancy way of describing a train ticket valid from one point to another. You would buy one ticket for each train journey you want to take. For example, I could go to the Eurostar website and buy a point to point ticket to travel between London and Paris. You can also buy point to point tickets at train station kiosks. Point to point can also refer to a journey that requires travelling on more than one train. You can also buy a point to point ticket from London Paddington to Tenby. Even though this journey requires two trains (one to Swansea, then one to Tenby) you can buy it as a package. The price of a point to point ticket should include your seat reservation if required for that train.
Benefits of a rail pass
As you know by now, I ended up buying a rail pass for my trip to Europe and therefore have experienced the benefits for myself. But to be totally honest, the main reason I chose to get a Eurail pass was because I was too lazy to book all the point to point tickets required for a month-long trip. Rail passes are most commonly used by travellers who are going with the flow; deciding on the day where their next stop will be. And they are great for that purpose thanks to their flexibility! But they are also great for trips where your dates are set in stone but you are relying on the train to get around. If I had booked point to point tickets, I would have had to book over 30 individual tickets. YIKES.
I used the flexibility of the rail pass to great effect in the Netherlands and Belgium. There are some countries, such as these, where even high speed trains don’t require seat reservations. Even though I was based near Amsterdam for four days, I decided one morning to catch the train down to Den Haag and visit Madurodam miniature world. With the rail pass, I could just hop on that train! On an even smaller scale, on the morning I travelled from Brussels to Rotterdam, I decided that even though past-me was enthusiastic and planned to leave at 8am, current-me was not that motivated to leave my bed. So I waited another hour. No problems with the rail pass!
Rookie error alert… A rail pass can help when you make mistakes!
My favourite part of the rail pass, though, was the buffer it provided when I made mistakes or my trains were delayed. I am quite embarrassed to admit, I wasted over $100 AUD on various train-related mistakes on my trip. From missing my train altogether to cancellations and delays. But that number would be a lot higher if I hadn’t had the rail pass.
At the end of my time in Naples, I managed to miss my train to Milan by exactly 30 seconds. I literally arrived in time to watch it drive away. Heart-breaking. This train did require a seat reservation, so I had to join the queue at visitor services and buy a new ticket. But the seat reservation only costs 14 Euro. Meanwhile a whole new ticket would have cost approximately 110 Euro. This is based on an online search, same day ticket; it could be more at the station.
I also had two instances (in the UK and Switzerland) where my first train was delayed, causing me to miss my connection. In the first instance, I had a seat reservation but it wasn’t required. So I just chose not to purchase a new one. Lost $10 AUD but definitely could have been worse. The second time, I hadn’t booked seats at all so no problem to hop on the train an hour later! Plus there are much worse places in the world to be stuck for an hour than the train station in Lugano Switzerland!!
Benefits of point to point tickets
As I mentioned in the beginning, the main benefit of buying point to point tickets over a rail pass is the cost. If you book your tickets in advance online, you can save a lot of money. Doing this would make sense for a shorter trip or one with less destinations. The other big benefit of buying point to point tickets is in some countries, such as Italy, you will have a greater number of trains to choose from. In Italy, there are two main high-speed train operators: Trenitalia and Italo. However, under the Eurail pass you can only travel on Trenitalia trains. Buying point to point tickets opens up a whole lot more times for train services on popular train routes. Plus, I’ve heard Italo is really nice to travel with.
Disadvantages of a rail pass
The biggest drawback for buying a rail pass is the cost. For my one month continuous Eurail pass, I paid over $600 USD (over $900 AUD) for a youth pass. An adult pass costs $821 USD ($1258 AUD). YIKES. If you are on a strict budget, spending over $1000 for ground transport feels kind of crazy, especially if there are cheaper options out there. Also be aware that many of the high speed trains in Europe require a seat reservation. For example, all high speed trains in Italy, the Eurostar, and international trains entering the Netherlands from Germany. This all adds to the cost after you have purchased the rail pass.
Another drawback of the rail pass is that the rail pass is not valid for all train operators. Alternatively, the rail pass might be valid, but have limited seats available to pass holders. This is something I saw often when using the Eurostar. I travelled with Eurostar from London to Brussels, and from Rotterdam to Paris. Whilst I never had an issue booking a seat, I did make sure to do so well in advance. This could be a big drawback if you are deciding where to travel on short notice.
Disadvantages of buying point to point tickets
Having raved about the flexibility a rail pass provides, I am sure it’ll come as no surprise when I say the big drawback of point to point tickets is the lack thereof. Once you book your point to point tickets, you’re locked in to that date and time. If you miss your train, you have to deal with the stress of booking a new one. If it’s your own poor planning that caused you to miss (which did happen to me…) you’ll have to pay again. However, if you miss your train due to delay, it is possible in many cases to apply for a refund online. So at least you could get some money back.
In summary…
Whether you should buy a rail pass or point to point tickets boils down to your budget and how much flexibility you want. Rail passes are VERY expensive, but worth it if you want to be able to decide your destination or departure time on the day. They also provide a bit of a buffer if you do miss the train you planned to take. Let’s be real, it’s also the lazy way out!! On the other hand, buying point to point tickets can save you a lot of money. Especially if everything goes smoothly and you don’t experience any delays resulting in missed trains! However, once you buy them, you’re essentially locked in.
Either way, travelling by train is a great way to get around Europe. Planning your own trip? Keep an eye out for my upcoming posts! You can subscribe to my blog by entering your email below.