"Parlez vous Travel?"
Plan before you buy. A Railpass can cost more than point-to-point tickets for your itinerary.
Chart out your itinerary and then calculate the cost point to point of the cheapest available fare for each route. You can consult the links listed for train travel.
Terms:
Round-trip: used primarily in America, means going from point A to point B and returning to point A.
Return: used in the most of the world to mean "round-trip."
Cheap Return: As above with restrictions on use. The restrictions may involve time of travel or a need for advance purchase
Single or One-way: Not a reference to marital status. Both of these terms apply to a ticket from point A to point B, or Paris to Brussels.
Seat Reservation: In most of the world this is an additional fee paid to ensure a particular seat on a particular train. Please note: if you are in Termini Station in Rome you can buy a ticket for Florence, go to the platform and find that without a reservation you and your companion will not be able to sit together or [horrors] that you may not find a seat at all. It seldom happens but you may find yourself waiting for the next train if you are traveling on a popular route. If you are a smoker, you may find seat reservations imperative in order to obtains a coveted spot in the dwindling number of smoking seats.
Sleeper, Sleeping car: You usually require a reservation for a sleeper. Solo travelers in second class will find themselves booking into a minuscule compartment with a same-sex stranger who has poor personal hygiene. Even in first class, abandon your Orient Express images. Sleeping cars are the size of the average shoebox and you feel every alteration in train speed. Claustrophobics experience acute psychotic breaks in them. But, if your itinerary involves a long haul via choo choo, you do save the cost of a room for one night.
Couchette: For budget travelers who enjoy the sardine experience, a couchette is a must-do. Packed in on reclining "couches" otherwise known as slippery benches, you share the snores, mumbling, and body smells of eight to twelve strangers. On some long distance routes through Eastern Europe the only way to avoid this treat is to break your journey frequently. No privacy is available, so keep your passport and your money in your underwear.
Once you have deciphered the options that are available for your route
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