Need some information about "Eurail Global Pass" , http://www.railkey.com/tickets/eurail.asp?AFF=STU#

Question

If u are aware of the concept then u probably know it`s a train travel throughout 18 European Countries.Me and my husband we were thinking if it`s a good idea to actually spend our honeymoon time in this journey.which is going to be in february.
Now I tried to read their details but it seemed quite confusing for me.I`m not sure about their journey detail.
My questions are does the ticket price includes meals and taxes?
see this link and tell me
http://www.railkey.com/tickets/specials.asp?AFF=STU
What are these extra supplements that i have to pay when i reach every country?
And if i go for a 15 day journey than do i spend the whole time inside the train or is it like i `ve to catch a train every time i reach a country?
If i have to spend nights in various hotels than is it gonna cost me a lot?Cause my budget for the whole thing is about 1700 USD.
And if it`s that than how am i supposed to go around 18 countries in 15 days?
Or what do u think about Eurail Select Pass 3 Countrys

Answer 1

Read this answer I gave to a similar question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqfBI.pMCs5lLAuOy8qQ1TtW7RR.;_ylv=3?qid=20071228102018AAX9nng

Price for Eurail global pass covers no meals. There are no taxes on rail tickets, so this is not an issue. What you get is unlimited rail travel on normal trains all over Europe. For some trains you need to pay special surcharges and reservation fees like for a mandatory bed on a sleeper, a mandatory seat reservation on a fast-track train (TGV in France and ES in Italy) or a special supplement for a fast train. This varies between 50 EUR (bed on a sleeper) and 3 EUR mandatory seat reservation fee on ES in Italy.

You can use the 15 days anyway you want, trains are hop-on, hop-off. If you arrive in Paris, fall in love with the city and choose to spend the whole 15 days there this is your business. The trains in Europe are not for tourists, they are for locals to get around. If you are from the US, think Greyhound buses - this is how European trains work. (Only with more comfort and style.)

BTW, 1700 USD is not much for two people on a honeymoon. As a rule, you need about 50 EUR (70 USD) per day and person if you do it super-cheap like stay in a hostel and buy food from the supermarket (this amount covers some local transport costs). A couple on a honeymoon (cheap hotels or B&B's plus some eating out) would need about 150 EUR (210 USD) per day. Add to this the flight tickets from the US to Europe - between 600 and 1200 USD per person and you'll see that 1700 USD is nothing!

For 2 people from the US spending 10 days in Western Europe a realistic budget including airfare would be 3000 USD, provided they can get flight tickets for 800 USD return each. They would then be left with 1400 USD which equals 70 USD per day and person. On this budget they would need to stay in hostels (between 15 to 30 EUR per night and person in Western Europe) and eat food from the supermarket (usually around 5-15 EUR per day and person) and would then be left with roughly 10 EUR per day and person for sights, activities and cost of transport from one place to another. A good initiary with this budget and timeframe would be to fly in and out of Rome, visit Rome, Florence and Venice, get to and from the cities using the train and staying at http://www.plusvillages.com .(Ultimate cheapest places to stay for a couple wanting privacy at in Rome, Florence and Venice - only downside is that Florence has only tents and is thus closed in winter.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpacking_%28travel%29

You might also want to check out http://www.ricksteves.com/
Take his info with a grain of salt, while most of it is very well reserched Rick doesn't know all there is. For some Europeans who don't have a car it is a sport to find out the cheapest way from A to B using any method possible. This involves tricking the train system to cough up the cheapest fares and combining it with budget flights, ride-share services and buses. Rick Steves has not even started scratching at the surface of this with his site.
http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/howrailworks.htm

Answer 2

The Eu rail pass is just a train ticket for most of the trains in Europe, it does not include anything but the trains. And if you want the fast trains or a bed in an overnight train you have to pay extra.

If you want a tour including hotels and meals you have to find a different kind of tour.
They do exist too.

If you decide to do it all by yourself you can buy such a pass.
You do not need to go to all 18 countries. That is just for train idiots who do not mind sitting in a train most of the day, every day.

Best make your travel plans first.
Think about what you want to see, where you want to go.
Afterward you can find the best train pass or tickets to go with it.

I would stay in each town at least 2 days and maybe one additional day in a small town or village in the same country.
So in 15 days you can see 5 countries that way.

So list all the towns or countries you really want to see, and select 5 out of them.
That way you can go on planning.

I will look for a 'ready made' tour for you, as I feel that is what you want, more than a pass to do your own trip.

This site has a whole list of tour operators.
You can choose one that fits your budget:
http://www.atlastravelweb.com/europetours.shtml