Determine the countries or specific cities you'll be visit, and whether your itinerary is set or loose. Write down your itinerary, including dates you plan to be in each area, if you know it in advance.
Decide if you should purchase a rail pass or individual tickets. If you leave your plans open ended as to which cities you'll visit -- but know you'll be visiting Germany for two weeks, for example -- a rail pass for the entire country is your best option. However, if you know you'll fly to Munich and stay for a week, then plan to take the train to Paris for another week, book an individual train ticket to Paris.
Book your rail pass online before your trip at a train travel website like Eurail.com, Ricksteves.com or Raileurope.com. Rick Steves advises that most rail passes can't be purchased once you get to Europe, with the exception of Eurail passes, which are offered at select major European stations and cost about 10 to 20 percent more when purchased in-person. Swiss and German rail passes are sold at stations in their countries as well.
Choose a rail pass based on your travel needs. Select a country-specific pass, a Eurail Global Pass (which covers 22 countries), a regional pass (covers cities in a specific region) or a select pass, which can be customized to cover three, four or five countries. Your rail pass(es) will be shipped to you in advance of your trip.
Make seat reservations if you plan to take high-speed trains or overnight sleeper service journeys and know the dates you'll travel. Even with a rail pass, you must pay an additional fee to ride these trains. Reservations can be made in person when you arrive in Europe, or you can book them in advance via Raileurope.com.
Activate your rail pass once you arrive in Europe by visiting the ticket window at a train station. This must be done before your first train trip. Most larger train stations can activate the pass, which requires stamping it and filling in the dates of validity, for you. Show your passport to the ticket agent when validating your pass.
Reserve train travel when you arrive in Europe if you're purchasing individual train tickets. Tickets can be purchased at a train station once you reach your destination, although you can sometimes get a better deal by purchasing in advance online through a site like Raileurope.com or on the country's rail system website, such as Italy's Trenitalia.com. Book in advance only if your travel dates are firm.
