Should I get the eurorail global pass, just buy tickets or fly?

I am looking for the most affordable way to travel through out europe.



I will be there for 2-2.5 weeks.



I will be hitting austria, france, spain, italy, czeck republic, netherlands, UK and possibly more countries. I was told that you could sleep on the trains while traveling at night and that is the most appealing to me because you dont waste time traveling during the day and you dont have to rent a hotel room or hostel.



advice?Should I get the eurorail global pass, just buy tickets or fly?
Get a Eurail Pass - it's a no brainer.



But be careful about the sleeper train thing: not all trains running at night are/have sleeper cars. You need to check, but it's not hard; just look for the symbol of a person in a bed when you check schedules. That will tell you they have sleeper cars. And these usually require a reservation. You don't just hop on a sleeper car and grab the first available berth.
When planning to hit several sites in several cities I think the pass is the way to go. They sell a great book that has all the schedules for everywhere. You will be glad you have it sitting on the platform watching the train to Venice leave without you!!Should I get the eurorail global pass, just buy tickets or fly?
Get the pass.



If you want lay-flat sleeping, check that the pass will cover that and on which trains. It may cost more.
Sleeping on trains is great - however be aware that there is an extra charge, basically equivalent to what you will pay for a hostel bed (20 to 30 Euro) for a couchette or Schlafwagon (in Germany, along the high end).



You are going to a lot of countries, so a rail pass may be your best bet. That is particularly true if you qualify for the youth pass. Rick Steves (site below) does a good job of giving advice as to whether your best bet is a railpass or individual point to point tickets, and what kind of the many kinds of rail passes is best for you. As far as air, you need to do that figuring on your own, since airfares vary too much to really have a set rule.
As an American who has lived in and out of Europe for about six years now, I'd recommend that you cut your itinerary in half - that's averaging 2 days per country and you're relying on a strike-happy someone else for your transportation. (Just the major stuff in Prague itself is good for 4-5 days' worth of excitement, and London itself another 5-6 days as a minimum.) Bear in mind that you will be extraordinarily jetlagged, too. Whenever I move, it takes me about 3-4 weeks to truly get used to the time difference and not have it bother me.



Transportation is also one of the most expensive parts of a trip, so if you pick one or two "home bases," you'll be able to spend more money on fun stuff. Many hostels even offer special deals if you're there for more than one or two nights. For example, I recently booked a one-week hostel deal in London and will be taking day trips to Paris, Dover, and Stonehenge. Despite going on all of these tours, I am saving about $600 US by not hopping around from town to town, and when I need a nap, I don't have to worry about finding someplace or getting bugged by the police. (This is especially important if you don't speak German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, or Czech.) I also do not have to worry about finding someplace secure to stash my luggage.



Are you good at sleeping in cars? Sleeping in trains overnight is a louder version of that, with more people and stops about once an hour, plus depending on where you will going, someone may wake you up at 4 a.m. and demand to see a passport. The sun will also be out and streaming through your clear, open train windows at around 5 or 5:30.



Another thing to bear in mind: some of the places you are visiting are not considered as part of the Eurail pass and most trains that get you anywhere within a reasonable amount of time require that you purchase additional pass supplements. I have yet to meet anyone truly happy with a Eurail pass purchase.



Flying can be a deal, but most discount airlines fly into airports far away from the city center, so sometimes it costs more to use a discount airline than a legit one, once the cost of getting to the city center is taken into account.



Have you considered a bus pass? That is what most young people in Europe do.
I am from Europe. If you want to visit all these cities is better and also cheaper to get the eurorail global pass. It is a great experience!