Rick Steves train map

How much would you pay for train tickets if you didn't buy a rail pass? These maps are your best tool for quickly getting a fairly accurate estimate of how much it'd cost to just pay for separate tickets for each leg of your itinerary.

These maps show point-to-point, one-way, second-class train fares in $US. Connect the dots and up fares for your itinerary to get an approximate cost for what you'd pay in train tickets for your whole trip. Then compare that to the price of the rail pass that covers the same journeys to see whether a pass will save you money.

Don't worry if one of your destinations isn't shown on any of these maps: Ticket prices are mostly based on distance, so you can estimate fares. For example, if you're going to Italy's Orvieto, about halfway between Florence and Rome, it's safe to assume the train fare to Orvieto from Florence or Rome is about half the total shown for the whole Florence–Rome stretch.

Fares are shown for the fastest trains on a given route; prices are drawn from each country's own railway website and converted assuming an exchange rate of €1 = $1.25. (Those willing to lock in tickets ahead, shop around in Europe, or avoid the fastest trains can find some significantly cheaper deals.) All said, these estimates are accurate enough for comparison purposes.