How a rail pass could be the ideal ticket for cheap travel across Europe for all ages – The Irish Times

Slow travel is back in fashion. Fearing climate problems, a growing number of people are choosing to trade the quickest – and let's be honest, often the cheapest – flight option for a ferry/rail/bike combination.

But even if you can't afford the time needed for a slower trip to your destination, flying then trading a rental car for the train this summer can still make sense.

It can also save you money, thanks to initiatives across Europe to get people out of their cars and back on the train.

So, with that in mind, here are some options for traveling on the cheap this summer. Each has its own rules and, in general, they do not offer travel on high-speed services, so it will be beneficial to carefully review the terms and conditions of each before purchasing.

Germany

Cost: €49 per month

Eligibility: Open to everyone

Or buy: Irish residents can purchase a rail pass via bahn.de or the DB Navigator application. Europe's first low-cost train ticket, the €9 per month pass, was launched in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, offering unlimited travel across Germany. More than 50 million passes have been purchased by locals and tourists, but unfortunately this is only a temporary measure.

The good news is that even though its replacement is more expensive, at €49 per month, it is here to stay.

The Deutschland-Ticket (D-ticket) is now valid throughout Germany, on all local public transport, including RB, RE, S-Bahn (SPNV) trains, as well as on public transport such as buses , trams, metros, etc. (ÖPNV) – but not ICE high-speed trains.

This means that while you can still travel by train from Munich to Berlin, for example, it will take longer than the faster intercity option. But it will save you money. A ticket from Berlin to Cologne with the fastest intercity train, for example, costs around €80 one way.

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A word of warning. The ticket is only available on a monthly subscription basis, so be sure to cancel it – before the 10th of the month – once you no longer need it.

France

Cost: €49 per month

Eligibility: Ages 27 and under

Or buy: New The “rail pass” should go on sale in June via SNCF Connect

Catch an Olympic football match in Nice, then head to Marseille for bouillabaisse. Continue west to catch some waves, then return home from Biarritz.

This year, the French government is preparing to launch the new “rail pass”, intended for people aged 27 and under. The pass will be eligible on local TER as well as intercity trains – but not on the more expensive high-speed TGVs. This will also not apply to the Île de France region (i.e. Paris).

If you're just over 27, there are other passes to consider in Hexagon, as the country is sometimes called. If you're heading to the south-east of France, for example, you might consider “the Occitanie Rail Tour Pass”. Covering regional lines operated by liO Train across the Occitanie region, it serves cities such as Montpellier, Rodez, Nîmes and Toulouse. Intercity and TGV trains are excluded.

The pass would allow you, for example, to fly to Toulouse, then take a bike or boat on the Canal-de-Midi before taking the train to Carcassonne for a medieval tour, and head to the south for a beach holiday in Argelès. -sur-mer or Collioure, via Narbonne and Perpignan.

The pass costs from €20 for two consecutive days of travel and up to €60 for six consecutive days of travel. You can buy it at www.ter.sncf.com/occitanie.

In Brittany, if you have not chosen to take the ferry and drive, you can consider a TER BreizhGo pass. For €55, you and up to four other travelers can enjoy unlimited travel in the region for two days, including weekends. A seven-day pass is available for €110.

If you're flying to Rennes for example, you can take the train to visit the walled city of Saint-Malo and enjoy the area's beaches, before heading west to Quimper or Vannes.

Belgium

Cost: €18 for a week/€35 for a month

Eligibility: Under 26

Or buy: www.belgiantrain.be

If you're spending a week or a month in Belgium this summer, the Vacances Jeunes pass offers excellent value for money, starting from just €18 for unlimited travel across the country.

The trap ? You must be under 26 and the pass only applies during summer holidays. This year it will run from June 29 to September 1.

You can use the pass to travel to and from Brussels Airport, but a surcharge (€6.70) will apply. You can also travel part of the way to Charleroi Airport, where Ryanair serves, with the pass.

Portugal

Cost: €49 (no other discounts available)

Eligibility: Everyone

Or buy: In an office in Comboios de Portugal

Fly to Porto with Ryanair and after a few days of sipping port and eating sardines, take the train to Lisbon, with a few stops along the way in Aveiro and Fatima. Then, head to Cascais for a little relaxation on the beach, before heading to Albufeira and the Algarve. Take the direct train to Faro and choose between Ryanair and Aer Lingus to return home to Ireland. All without renting a car and all for the princely sum of just €49 each.

If this sounds like a plan, you should consider the Passe Ferroviário Nacional, or National Train Pass.

You will need to get a CP card for €6 at the counter, for which you will need ID photos (CP stands for railway operator Comboios de Portugal). The pass will then be loaded onto the CP card.

If you want to reach the Algarve after Lisbon, keep in mind that you will have to pay extra as the route is intercity and not part of the regional road network covered by the pass. However, once in Portimao you will be able to use your CP pass again to travel around the region, including to Faro Airport.

Don't expect the pass to give access to the fastest train; Porto to Lisbon will take less than three hours by intercity train. With the national pass, you will be limited to regional trains and should therefore expect journey times close to five hours.

You can request a refund for any time portion of the pass that you do not use.

Ireland

Cost: €88 for four days / €128 for the five-day pass (€64 for a child)

Eligibility: Adults/adults + children

Or buy: Selected ticket offices including Dublin Heuston and Connolly; Cork, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford. Passes are not available online.

If you prefer to stay in Ireland this summer and travel by train, you also have several options, although they are not as attractive as those available on the mainland.

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With a Trekker pass, for example, you'll pay €88 for four consecutive days of travel – so travel from Dublin to Cork on a Monday for example, to Killarney on a Tuesday, to Limerick on a day. Wednesday and return to Dublin on Thursday. Buying the pass would save you money – an open adult return ticket from Dublin to Cork costs €71.20, for example. But the deadlines are particularly tight.

A better option might be an Explorer ticket, which costs €128 for five days of travel – but this time you'll have 15 days to do everything.

Inter-rail

Finally, if being confined to one country isn't enough for you, why not consider an Inter Rail pass? Just as attractive for young people as for the less young, the pass now covers 33 European countries.

While it may not be as well priced as the single country passes mentioned above, if used well you can definitely cover a lot of ground at low cost.

For example, a seven-day second class pass (to be used for travel within a month) will cost €286 for a person aged 12 to 27 (youth pass); €381 for an adult aged between 28 and 59; or €343 for a person aged 60 or over. You can upgrade to first class for an additional €93 per person.

Children aged 11 and under are free and you can purchase a pass online at interrail.eu.