Selectpasses come with the usual “saver” and “youth” options. Selectpasses are similar to Flexi passes in that they are good for five, six, eight, or ten days of travel in three or four countries, with an additional option of fifteen days of travel if you buy a pass for five countries. Looking at the prices, these passes only make sense if you are CERTAIN you will only visit a few countries. For example, if you were to buy a fifteen-day Eurail Selectpass Youth for Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, it would cost USD 556 for fifteen clays of travel in those five countries. A seventeen-country Flexi Eurailpass Youth for fifteen days only costs USD 86 more. Eighty-six bucks for twelve more countries? You’ve got to be kidding me. The bottom line is that Selectpasses are losers if there is ANY possibility of you traveling further than your original plans.

Not only that, three- and four-country Selectpasses are losers compared to five-country passes. Let’s say you planned on visiting France, Switzerland, and Italy. Your Selectpass, for ten days of travel, would cost USD 379. A four-country pass would only cost you USD 30 more. For USD 30 more you could add Germany, Spain, Austria, or Portugal to that pass? That’s a no-brainer to me. For USD 58 you could upgrade that three-country pass to a five-country pass. Also, a no-brainer. I know almost all of us are on tight budgets, but don’t save a few dollars in this way unless you are certain of your plans. If you have the slightest doubt, get a seventeen-country pass.

Country and other regional passes: There’s a bewildering variety of passes for rail travel within individual countries or specific regions of Europe. Scanrail, Britrail, this rail, that rail: the number, type, and price of train passes can change drastically from year to year, so the only way to decide is to get all the details from a vendor and compare. Some of these passes are good for unlimited travel, some work like Flexi passes, and all reflect the idiosyncrasies of the rail systems of the individual countries involved. When considering a one-country pass within the Euro Selectpass system, compare it with a cheap version of a Euro Selectpass, to see if perhaps you could get a lot more travel for a little more money. Beware: some vendors may only furnish information for the passes they sell. Call more than one company to compare (see list on pp.220-221).