In today’s rough economy, many North Americans think of traveling in Europe as a costly endeavor, available only to those with disposable income. Fortunately, Eurail makes it possible to plan a trip of a lifetime throughout Europe without paying a luxury price or adhering to a rigid schedule.Eurail makes planning a trip through the European continent easy, with a variety of destinations and packages available for travelers on almost any budget. Whether you’re backpacking around Italy alone or taking your entire family on a transcontinental trip of a lifetime, Eurail can be your sole destination for booking travel plans during your vacation.

Eurail offers passes to non-European travelers through 22 countries. One pass validates multiple days of travel, in which you may take as many trains as you want within the country or countries designated on your pass. Many passes use a flexible schedule as well, where travelers do not have to use their travel days consecutively so long as they are used within a designated timeframe, giving Eurail passengers the freedom to plan their trip however they want. Do you want to spend most of your vacation in Zürich, but you would like to take a day trip to Bern as well? The Eurail pass makes it easy with flexibility of use and multiple departure times.

Eurail also makes your trip as affordable as it is easy to plan. Multi-day passes in a single country can start as low as $48 USD for passengers 12-25 years of age, and Eurail offers a variety of options for family passes that provide discounts for groups with children. Eurail also offers a Regional Pass providing travelers with access to two bordering countries, a Select Pass with lines in three to five bordering nations, and a Global Pass that services a staggering 22 European countries. Their 22-nation Global Pass starts at $489 for 15 unlimited days of travel, opening almost all of Europe to foreign visitors for less than the cost of a single transatlantic flight. The Regional Pass features a promotional offer, adding a free extra day of travel to Eurail passengers who book before the 30th of November.

Eurail provides packages with ferry service as well, so travelers are not limited to nations that share a land border. So why waste money and add stress to your vacation with plane tickets, multiple individual bookings and the constant rush to catch flights? Enjoy a calmer, more relaxed pace to your European vacation. See the European countryside as you travel by rail from destination to destination. Be adventuresome and take a ferry between Greece and Italy, seeing the ancient world and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.Be sure to travel safely and be conscious of the rules and regulations governing international travel and Eurail. Always have your Eurail pass information and passport with you when riding trains and crossing national borders. Also be mindful that “Benelux” is actually made up of three countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - and is considered bordering Ireland, despite having no direct ferry or train links. Finland and Norway are not considered bordering, and there are no One Country Pass options available for France through Eurail, so plan your trips accordingly. Most importantly, have fun planning a truly unique and affordable European adventure.