Relax and save on Europe's reliable rails

By William A. Davis, Globe Correspondent, 03/02/03

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After a happy couple of days in Paris, my wife and I wanted to visit an old friend who lives in a village in southwest France. However, maneuvering a rental car through morning rush-hour traffic to get out of the city, followed by a long drive, was a daunting prospect.

A Parisian acquaintance pointed out what was to him, and most Europeans, the obvious alternative. "Take a train to the nearest town," he said, "and pick up a rental car at the station." In France as in most European countries, we discovered, rental car agencies have offices at train stations as well as airports, and the train-rental car combination is a popular — and economical — way of getting around.

The train ride was pleasant, giving us a chance to see the countryside without the fatigue of driving. We also avoided tolls and having to fill up several times at European gasoline prices, roughly three times US prices. The rental car, a small economy model ideal for narrow country roads, would be waiting for us at the station.

We traveled second class, which was quite comfortable. If we had bought a French Rail Pass before we left the States, though, we could have traveled first class at a discounted senior rate, available to anyone over 60.

The classic Eurailpass is still available, but visitors to Europe have many more train travel options to choose from these days. The website of Rail Europe, which represents the railways of 35 countries, including Britain, is a smorgasbord of discounts and packages that combine train travel with car rental, hotel accommodation, and guided tours.

Intended to encourage tourism, most deeply discounted European rail passes — senior discounts can run from 10 to 50 percent — cannot be purchased in Europe. Passes can be bought on line at the Rail Europe site, www.raileurope.com, and at the British Rail site, www.britrail.net. Senior discounts usually apply only to first-class travel, but discounted senior second-class tickets are available on French, Dutch, and Scandinavian railways.

The first of its kind, Eurail, now a 44-year-old institution, remains the best-known pass and offers more rail travel through more countries than most people want or need. Priced from $588 to $1,654, the Eurail pass is good for unlimited first-class travel on 15 to 90 consecutive days in 17 countries. The price is right, but that's a lot of getting on and off trains.

Rail Europe's bestseller today is the Eurail Selectpass, which costs from $396 to $794 and can be used for five to 15 days of first-class travel in three to five adjacent countries. Also available is the Eurail Selectpass Drive, which adds a rental car option.

Seeing as many countries as possible in a single trip was the goal of many American travelers in 1959 when the Eurail Pass was introduced and immediately embraced by the traveling public. Nowadays Americans, particularly older ones, are learning to slow down and explore places in depth, so single-country senior rail passes are increasingly popular.

The BritRail Classic SeniorPass, priced at $245 to $749, is good for four to 30 days of consecutive first-class travel anywhere in the British Isles. The senior's BritRail FlexiPass, which costs $305 to $669, can be used for four to 15 days of first-class travel within a two-month period. The best rail deal of all for a senior in Europe is probably BritRail's Senior Party Pass, which applies to both Classic and FlexiPasses and gives seniors who are the third or fourth person in a party of three or four people traveling together an additional 50 percent off their ticket price.

To encourage visitors to explore Britain by train, BritRail also sells discount passes to tourist attractions easily accessed by rail. The four-day British Heritage Pass, at $35, covers 600 castles and historic sites around Britain. The three-day, $25 Scottish Explorer Ticket is good for admission to some distilleries, castles and stately homes.

Learning together

Elderhostel, the Boston-based nonprofit organization that pioneered innovative educational programs for people 55 and older, is now offering programs that will allow three generations of a family to explore the world and learn together. Elderhostel has been sponsoring grandparent-grandchild "learning adventures" since 1985, but this summer Mom and Dad can share the experience.

Among other options, family groups can participate in an Elderhostel safari in the wilderness of Botswana and Zambia, follow the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804, or study native cultures in Mexico. The programs are designed for families consisting of older adults with their adult sons and daughters and grandchildren ages 9 to 18. As long as one member of the party is of Elderhostel age, however, other relatives such as nephews and nieces — or even family friends — can be substituted.

Prices vary depending on the length, location, and nature of the trip. The eight-day Lewis and Clark adventure is $646 per adult and $539 for a child. The 16-day Botswana and Zambia safari is $6,223 per person, including air fare, regardless of age. For more information, call 877-426-8056 or visit www.elderhostel.org.

William A. Davis, a freelance writer who lives in Cambridge, can be reached at bill@davis

travels.com. Going Strong, his column on senior travel, appears the first Sunday of every month.