Verified answer

A EURail pass for any length of time for any age is really a bargan. My Mother and My Daughter came to Europe for a 30+ day vacation. They both had passes. I did not (couldn't buy one at the time) and the same travels cost me almost $1,600.00 MORE ! ! !

Are you talking about the 2nd class youth 15 days global pass for USD 469?

If yes, simple math will tell you that it is only worth it if

1) The total cost of all train trips you are taking (excluding reservation fees and surcharges for fast trains) are more than USD 469. The national train sites can tell you how much tickets are, so you are able to compare.

2) You are spending on average 33 USD (24 EUR) per day on train travel. Since an hour of train travel costs roughly 10 EUR in most parts of Western Europe, this means spending on average 3 hours per day on a train over a period of 15 days.

You will be able to get the best value out of it if you take a lot of long-distance trains. Be wary of night trains though - you'll have to pay surcharges for couchette or sleeper which are usually more expensive than a hostel bed.

For example: I recently went within Germany from Magdeburg to Munich. The train ticket with ICE fast train was 117 EUR (no surcharge for Eurail pass holders). The sleeper train was 88 EUR plus 29 EUR surcharge for the couchette, 117 EUR total. A Eurail pass holder would have paid 29 EUR surchage for the couchette on the sleeper train. For the return trip I used a special discounted ticket called Schoene-Wochenende-Ticket (Happy-Weekend-Ticket). It was 35 EUR for a Saturday or Sunday of unlimited travel on the regional trains in Germany. It only took me 2 hours more than the ICE train and the difference in price was worth the inconvenience of changing 4 times instead of once.

I guess what I am trying to say is that travellers are usually better off buying point-to-point tickets and using a combination of bus, plane and train tickets.

http://www.eurolines.com/

http://www.skyscanner.net/

http://www.seat61.com/