The Eurail Pass is popular among travelers who are looking for some freedom for where they go. First, let me tell you what it is.

The Eurail Pass is a ticket for train rides in Europe. There are different options available that will cover different regions and lengths of time. The benefits of the pass are that you don't have to purchase your tickets a la carte from one place to another. IF you plan on traveling a lot or long distances, this pass will save you money. However, if you're only planning on taking one or two train rides during your whole trip, then this probably isn't the option for you.

Let's start with the basics. The first thing you choose when you go to the website is the region that you will be traveling in:

There are three options, Global, Regional, and Single Country. Based on your trip, choose which one would best suit you. My favorite is the Global Pass because it affords you the most freedom.

After you choose your pass type, you can choose what travel timeline. This can get a little sticky. You can either travel on certain days within a given time period (you choose the days) or you can choose continuous travel. I have personally used both of these and I have a strong preference for the continuous travel. Again, more freedom, but there is a trick in the travel days that you should know going into it. The conductor on the train of your chosen travel day will stamp your Eurail Pass somewhere to indicate that you are actively using one of your travel days. Sometimes, these gentlemen do not recognize each other's writing. Consequently, I lost a travel day because of it and thanks to the language barrier, I was unable to get it back.

I prefer the continuous travel, it will get you the most freedom. It is also the most expensive. I don't think that it's all that bad though for what you're getting. For an entire month covering 28 countries, taking as many trains as you want the entire month is just over $700.

You may be thinking that this is an absurd amount of money to spend on trains, but I'm telling you, if you do the math, you'll see. $700 for 30 days is only $23/day to travel anywhere you want to go in 28 countries. There are many train rides that are way more than that per ride.

If you're real adventurous, you can also take an overnight train on your Eurail Pass and sleep on the train, saving yourself a night of lodging. It's beneficial for that, also.

Now, if you're thinking that 22 countries is a bit much and you want to stick just to one, you can still benefit from a pass. The prices will vary slightly from country to country, but looking at say Italy for a week's worth of travel, you'll spend roughly $150 for 8 days of travel.

The point is that it's a cool deal and it's a great way to get around. They often have sales and deals and I'm here to tell you that they are worth it! Do your research and see which pass best suits you.

One small side note. I would order the pass in advance unless you are flying into a major city right off of the bat. They do not sell Eurail Passes as just any train station. They are only sold in a handful of places. I learned that on my big backpacking trip in 2012. I had to buy an a la carte ticket to get myself to Paris to get the pass itself.

Galllivant Gallantly and Go See the World!