anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Posted 7 years ago
Is there a Eurail Select Pass available for the four countries listed above or do I require a Eurail Global Pass? We are two seniors and will require 22 days of train travel during a 31 day period commencing on the 30th April and ending on 30th May, when we depart Paris to return to Australia.
We will be travelling from Amsterdam to Brussels then onto Bayeaux ( France ) . From there we will be travelling around France- Ambiose, Sarlat, Carcassone, Arles, Nice, Annecy, Chamonix to Colmar ( via scenic rail route through Switzerland ), Reims, then back to Paris.
I have booked accomodation in the above towns and now would appreciate your assistance and advice on selection of the most appropriate train travel ,to enable us to achieve our trip. We plan to use train use exclusively apart from the occasional use of a hire car for local day tripping.
Thank you for your service
allan01
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Hi!
Yes, there is a Eurail Select 3 Country Pass available for Benelux, France and Switzerland (the Benelux countries count as one country). You can support our work by purchasing your pass through our partner link to eurail.com at [ux]https://rail.shop/eurail[/ux]. No extra costs for you of course - thank you! :)
If you buy your pass in February or March you will get free extra days for your pass as part of the Spring Promotion. Number of days depends on the type of pass you buy.
From Amsterdam to Brussels you an travel with the Thalys high speed train (reservation required) or with a regular Intercity train. Read more about the route: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/amsterdam-brussels-train/[/ux]
The Thalys has a higher comfort including a light meal in 1st class; however you need a rather expensive reservation and the regular Intercity is not much slower.
From Brussels to Bayeux the best route is via Paris; from Brussels to Paris you can again travel directly with Thalys high speed train; you will arrive at Gare du Nord and have to change to Gare St Lazare to get a train to Bayeux from there.
From Bayeux you can then travel to nearby Caen, from where direct trains run to Tours; from there you can continue to Amboise.
From Amboise return to St Pierre de Corps, a station in the suburbs of Tours where TGV high speed trains call. Take a TGV either to Bordeaux, or better to Libourne. From Bordeaux, regional trains run via Libourne to Sarlat (so if you take a TGV to Libourne you can avoid travelling back and forth between Libourne and Bordeaux).
From Sarlat to Carcassonne, connections might be a bit awkard; in general you have to travel to Le Buisson, change there for Agen, then go to Toulouse and continue to Carcassonne. Avoid travelling with TGV on this route (between Agen - Toulouse - Carcassonne) as this would require a reservation but has not advantage in travel time.
From Carcassonne to Arles you can travel with regional trains again via Narbonne - Montpellier - Nimes - Avignon. However I would recommend to travel with one of the direct Intercity trains (reservation required).
Arles to Nice is best done by regional trains (change in Marseille). Some info on the route Narbonne - Arles - Nice can be found here: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/barcelona-marseille-nice-train/[/ux]
From Nice to Chamonix you have to travel back to Marseille. The quickest option would be to take a TGV from Nice or Marseille to Lyon; from there travel via Bellegarde to St Gervais. From St Gervais a narrow gauge railway runs to Chamonix.
From Chamonix you continue with the narrow gauge railway to Martigny in Switzerland; then cross Switzerland to Basel and continue to Colmar. Do you have a particular scenic route in mind in Switzerland?
From Colmar, travel to Strasbourg, then take a TGV to Champagne-Ardenne TGV (a station on the high speed line close to Reims); from there connecting services run to the city centre.
Finally, take a TGV from Reims to Paris.
For schedules either look at http://plan.rail.cc/ or check on the SNCF website: [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux] or for local connections also at [ux]http://ter.sncf.com/[/ux].
Reservation fares: [u]https://rail.cc/en/eurail-train-reservation[/u]
TGV information (applies to Eurail as well): [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/interrail-reservation-guide-tgv/[/ux]
If you have question please ask. :)
Flo 8)
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Thank you Flo for your very helpful assistance.
When I go into your site to purchase a Select 3 Country Eurorail pass, as you suggest, I can only buy one for a maximum of 10 days at a cost of $712 Aus each ,whereas I require 21 days of train travel for both myself and my wife within the 31 days we are planning to be away. Do I have to purchase multiple passes for both myself and my wife to make up the 21 days required? This would become quite expensive? What do you suggest?
I note that I can buy a Eurorail Global pass for 22 days continuous with 3 extra bonus days, at a cost of $903 Aus . Is this the only option I have?"
What is the benefit of the Select 3 Country Pass compared to the Eurorail Global Pass?
With regard to our trip from Chamonix to Colmar via Switzerland can you advise me what our options are? I was reading an article by Rick Steves ( "Where to go in France" ) who mentioned a 6.5 hour scenic rail route between these two towns so we though we would like to take it.
Look forward to your reply.
Regards
allan01
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
It would be interesting to see your travel day calculation. If I count your above route I come up with a total of 11 travel days:
Amsterdam - Brussels
Brussels - Bayeux
Bayeux - Amboise
Amboise - Sarlat
Sarlat - Carcassonne
Carcassonne - Nice
Nice - Annecy
Annecy - Chamonix
Chamonix - Colmar
Colmar - Reims
Reims - Paris
Maybe I misunderstood your plan; do you want to visit other cities too?
Regarding the trip from Chamonix to Colmar:
There are many different scenic routes available; first of all you have to travel with Mont Blanc Express to Martigny in Switzerland. From there, different options are available. For instance, you could travel to Brig, then over the old Lötschberg route via Kandersteg to Spiez: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/lotschberger/[/ux]
From Spiez you could travel the Zentralbahn route via Meiringen to Luzern; then to Basel and Colmar.
Alternatively you could go from Martigny to Montreux on Lac Leman, then travel the Golden Pass Route via Gstaad to Spiez and continue as explained above.
Yet another option would be to travel from Martigny to Lausanne - Yverdon - Neuchatel; then into the Jurassic Mountains via La Chaux de Fonds - Le Noirmont - Glovelier - Delemont - Basel.
Map: [ux]http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/map.php?file=maps/switzerland/switzerland.gif[/ux]
For your first trip to Switzerland I would recommend to travel the first or second option. :)
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Hi Flo
Yes there are some day trips where we are staying in the one town for say 3 days. I will study your suggestions ,then get back to you , in case you have already covered some of the extra trips we have been considering.
Thanks again
allan01
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Hi Flo
Of the scenic rail trips through Switzerland you have suggested what is the time taken for each?
allan01
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
OK. If you are planning to make day trips it may be cheaper to simply buy the tickets locally and use the Eurail pass only for the longer "transfer" journeys.
Travel time from Chamonix to Martigny: 1h45
Martigny - Brig - Spiez - Luzern - Basel - Colmar: 8h
Martigny - Montreux - Spiez - Luzern - Basel - Colmar: 8h45
Martigny - Lausanne - Neuchatel - La Chaux de Fonds - Delemont - Basel - Colmar: 6h15
Martigny - Lausanne - Neuchatel - Biel - Delemont: 4h15
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Hi Flo
Thank you again for all of your helpful advice.Can you help me with the following queries
1.With regard your directions Nice To Chamonix.You have suggested take a TGV from Nice or Marseille to Lyon. Do you mean from Nice or Marseille to Lyon?
My preference option would be to go from Annecy where I have booked accomadation direct to Chamonix. Is that possible?
2. I have listed my Eurorail Select 3 Country Pass rides below
Amsterdam- Brussels ( Point to Point Brussels-Ghent & Bruges)
Brussels - Bayeux
Bayeux or Caen - Tours ( Tours - Ambiose Point to point )
Ambiose - Lisborne ( Lisborne - Sarlat Point to point )
Sarlat - Le Buisson ) ( Le Buisson to Agen- Toulouse- Carcassone Point to Point ) (
Carcassone- Arles
Arles - Nimes (Point to Point )
Nimes-PontDu Gard-Avignon via bus
Avignon-Arles
Arles-Nice Nice -Antibes & Nice - Monaco ( Point to Point )
Nice-Annecy
Annecy-Chamonix
Chamonix - Colmar
Colmar- Reims
Reims-Paris
That is a total of 1 Eurorail Pass rides as I understand, and the rest Point to Point.
On this basis which is the best Eurorail Select 3 Country Pass for me to purchase for both my wife & I. I believe it is worth buying First Class tickets? What is the cost of same? I will purchase same through your organisation.
Where do we make the reservation for these rides- online or at the station?
I understand the point to point we can buy at the rail station on the day? Is there any concession on the latter for Seniors? Or would you suggest we buy on line as well?
3. With regard to our trip Chamonix to Colmar. Thank you for your suggestions. Do we require a reservation for this journey?
Thankyou in advance
alan01
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Hi!
1) Nice to Chamonix/Annecy: I have forgot about Annecy in my first post. However this doesn\'t affect your recommended travel route: TGV from Nice or Marseille to Lyon; then regional train (called TER) to Annecy. From Annecy continue by regional train to Chamonix.
2) The "Point to point" trips will happen on different days than your Eurail pass trips, correct? E.g. you want to travel from Bayeux or Caen to Tours, spend at least one night there and then travel on another day to Amboise?
To me it seems that you will need only a few Eurail travel days (maybe 7 or so) for the longest trips (eg Nice - Annecy or Chamonix - Colmar). The remaining trips will be cheaper if you buy them locally (eg Avignon - Arles).
If you buy both passes together via [ux]https://rail.shop/eurail[/ux] a 1st class pass with 8 travel days (plus one extra free day thanks to the current promo: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/eurail-spring-promotion-2017/[/ux] this will be a total of 860€.
With the resulting nine travel days you can cover Amsterdam - Brussels; Brussels - Bayeux; Bayeux - Tours; Amboise - Libourne/Sarlat; Nice - Annecy; Chamonix - Colmar; Colmar - Reims; Reims - Paris and would have one remaining day.
Amsterdam - Brussels: You can travel without a reservation if you travel with the hourly Intercity Brussels service; this would leave you with a maximum of flexibility.
Brussels - Bayeux: Reservations for high speed train Thalys on the leg Brussels - Paris are available via [ux]https://rail.shop/beurope/reservation[/ux]
Reservations for high speed train TGV trains in France (for Amboise - Libourne; Nice/Marseille - Annecy, Colmar - Reims and Reims - Paris) are available via [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf/reservation/[/ux]
All other trips will be with regional trains as far as I can see; where you dont need a reservation.
3) No reservation required.