The Rail Pass

[toddkaz]

I know this is wrong and probably being asked before but has anyone used erasable ink on the rail pass? Does it work? Any other tricks?

[agriadam]

I have heard of people doing this though if you get caught they will confiscate your rail pass and kick you off the train at the next stop. also alot of conductors will stamp over, write over or hole punch the date that you wrote in. I recommend to not cheat the system especially in a foreign country. Yes the rail passes are expensive, though they are a great deal and you wouldn't want to ruin your trip so you could get an extra train ride out of your rail pass.

options to get more out of your travel:

• Save your rail pass for the expensive legs of your trip. if you're traveling from Pisa to Florence just pay for the approx. 14 euro leg. same for traveling from nice to canne, etc.
• Use other travel methods such as Ryan air and easy jet. you can save a lot of money and some of your rail days by flying. though flying all the time can put a damper on your trip (who wants to go to Europe to sit in an airport) keep these to a minimum.
• meet friends in hostel that have bought or rented a car. This does not happen nearly as much as it used to due to restricted driving at border crossings, foreign drivers license and the expense of gas. though it does happen and most back packers are more then willing to give you a ride (plus some gas money). Note that in my 6-week tour I only met two people that had vehicles.

Hope this helps Have a good trip and safe travels.

[expatben]

I agree with Agriadam-I have heard stories but these days it is almost impossible to cheat the system with checks stamps and hole punches.

[Dig]

Man up and pay for your train ride.

[toddkaz]

Originally Posted by Dig

Man up and pay for your train ride.

Wow how intelligent.

[juliagulia]

I would say that you should get what you paid for, and the rail pass is already a good deal. So it wouldn't be the smart thing to try and cheat the system, particularly since it'll end up costing you much more in the end.

That being said, if I were really, really desperate, as in, I will be stuck in a foreign country with no money otherwise or something drastic along those lines, I wouldn't try it until I only have one or two travel days left on my pass.

Hope we're not killing your hopes and dreams, but the fact of the matter is that it wouldn't be worth it in the end.

Good luck!

[travelpunk]

One option is to spend a little more and get the unlimited pass and everything else becomes a non-issue.

Look, you can always try erasable ink on one of the rides and let us know how it goes. Just be aware of the consequences of being caught.

[Dig]

I'm just saying that planning to steal and cheat from the system while on holiday is not a good idea. Don't you think they have already thought of the erasable ink trick and loads of other scams?

I'm all down about a chat on how to stretch your europass though.