These New Europe Rail-Pass Deals Are Pretty Good

Summer’s not over yet, and a bevy of seasonal rail deals for Europe travel are available for the taking. Here are some of the best ones we’ve seen so far.

Free Day of Rail Travel

Buy any BritRail Pass or BritRail England Pass by August 31, travel within six months of purchase, and enjoy an extra day of pass validity at no extra cost. That’s the current promotion from ACP Rail; you can buy direct or through your travel agent.

Free SIM Card

Buy a Eurail Global (24 countries) or Eurail Select Pass (four contiguous countries) and Eurail will throw in a prepaid SIM card. The card provides both U.S. and U.K. numbers. The U.S. number perits you to receive calls from the U.S. at no charge; the U.K. number includes 200 minutess of Wi-Fi access from some hotspots plus 18 euros (about $24) worth of combined outgoing use: 100 minutes of data, 100 minutes of outgoing voice calls, or 300 text messages. If you use up the initial stored amount, you can recharge online and continue those rates, which are around 75 percent less than international roaming rates on major U.S. wireless systems. You can specify which type of SIM card you want—regular, micro, or nano. But the deal does not include a phone; to use it, you must have your own GSM phone that is unlocked to use SIM cards from providers other than your U.S. wireless company.

To get in on this deal, first buy your pass, from BritRail, ACP Rail, STA Travel, or Rail Europe. Then log onto Eurail Roaming to request your SIM card. This promotion does not list a cutoff date.

25% Off Tickets

Book a German rail pass and at least two seat reservations—required on the top trains—through Rail Europe before September 29 and enjoy a discount of 25 percent. Travel is valid through October 31.

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