| How Rail Passes Work
To Purchase
Purchase your pass in North America from a travel agent or
from Rail Europe before you leave for Europe. You can purchase
it securely from the Web site if you like, or you may call
Educational Travel Centre at 1-800-747-5551.
Additional travel days must be purchased at the same time
to qualify for the special rates quoted here.
Passes can not be purchased or used by residents of a country
for which the pass is valid. Residents of CIS, Turkey, Morocco,
Algeria or Tunisia are not eligible to use any of the Eurailpasses
or Europasses.
To Begin Travel On Your Pass
Have your pass validated on or before your first day of use.
Your pass must be validated within 6 months from date of issue.
To validate your pass, present your passport and your pass
to a railway official at the ticket window in the train station
(not the conductor) who will enter the first and last date
of your travel period. This must be done before boarding a
train, bus, boat, plane or renting a car for the first time.
Please do not write on or fill in any part of your pass before
it has been validated. All services (rail, rental car, air
travel and travel bonuses) must be used within the validity
of the accompanying railpass.
As You Travel On Your Pass
Before boarding the first train or ferry of each day, write
the date in ink, in the appropriate box on your pass.
Seat Reservations and Overnight Travel
A pass allows the boarding of a train, bus, plane, or boat,
but does not guarantee a seat. Seat reservations are optional
for most trains but are mandatory for all TGV, Thalys, Cisalpino,
AVE, TAV (Treno Alta Velocita) and X2000 trains and selected
EuroCity and InterCity trains and for all sleepers and couchettes.
Reservations are subject to availability so reserve in advance.
Reservations for all seats, sleepers, couchettes and trains
noted above are subject to an additional fee for pass and
ticket holders. Seat reservations, sleepers and couchettes
can be purchased from Educational Travel Centre at the same
time you purchase your pass. Use the comments box on the order
form to specify reservations when you book your pass. Travel
on certain high-speed trains (such at The Thalys, Eurostar,
and AVE in Spain) requires a supplement in addition to the
presentation of your pass.
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