Europe & Japan · Book with confidence
Train tickets, prices and age discounts
Where to buy. How to book. What to compare.
Buy from the railway or the official pass seller, enter each traveller’s correct age, and compare the full price—including reservations and any discount card you must buy first.
Where to buy Europe train tickets
| Our itinerary leg | Official place to buy | What to enter and check |
|---|---|---|
| Paris → Strasbourg | SNCF Connect website or app ↗ | Paris Est → Strasbourg, your date and every traveller’s age. Select a TGV and compare fare conditions. Add a discount card only if you hold it or will buy it. |
| Strasbourg → Lucerne | SNCF Connect ↗ or SBB ↗ | Strasbourg → Luzern. Inspect the Basel SBB change, total fare and whether the purchase covers the full journey. Do not accidentally buy only the French section. |
| Lucerne → Innsbruck | SBB ↗ or ÖBB ↗ | Luzern → Innsbruck Hbf. Check routing via Zürich, engineering changes, reservation options and the conditions of the international ticket. |
| Innsbruck → Venice | ÖBB website or app ↗ | Innsbruck Hbf → Venezia Santa Lucia. Check for a change at Verona and confirm all parts of the trip are included. Mestre is not the island-city station. |
| Venice → Florence | Trenitalia ↗ | Venezia S. Lucia → Firenze S. M. Novella. Compare available high-speed fares, class, refund rules and any eligible age offer. |
| Florence → Rome | Trenitalia ↗ | Firenze S. M. Novella → Roma Termini. Select the exact train and passenger details before payment. |
Railway station ticket offices are another option where staffed sales are available, but popular departures and limited discounted fares may sell out before arrival. Online booking is usually the practical starting point for the important intercity legs. Use the operator’s official app link from its website rather than an advertisement that resembles the railway.
For a pass, start at the official Interrail Global Pass page ↗. Choose the right travel-day allowance, class and passenger age. Then check reservation availability for the trains you intend to take before assuming the pass has solved every booking.
Europe: student, adult and senior price comparison
Student is not a universal rail-fare category. Many useful discounts depend on age, with no requirement to attend university. A student older than an operator’s youth limit should compare the adult offers unless a specific student product explicitly accepts their credentials.
A useful pass benchmark for our six main rail days
The following are published 2026 standard Interrail Global Pass prices for 7 travel days within 1 month. That provides one more travel day than our six main intercity moves; it does not mean all local outings or reservations are included.
| Traveller | Age category | Second class | First class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth / eligible younger student | 12–27 | €286 | €371 |
| Adult | 28–59 | €381 | €495 |
| Senior | 60+ | €343 | €445 |
Source: Deutsche Bahn’s published Interrail 2026 price table (PDF) ↗. These are reference list prices, not a live sale price. Check the current seller total, residence conditions and age on the relevant start date. Required reservations cost extra.
Individual tickets and discount cards
| Railway / product | Youth or student option | Adult option | Senior option |
|---|---|---|---|
| France: Carte Avantage | Jeune: ages 12–27; published card cost €49/year. | Adulte: ages 28–59; €49/year. Its journey/date conditions matter. | Senior: ages 60+; €49/year. |
| Austria: ÖBB Vorteilscard | Jugend: under 26; €21/year. | Classic: €73/year. Compare the card plus tickets with available Sparschiene fares. | Senior: ages 65+; €31/year. |
| Italy: Trenitalia Frecce | FrecciaYOUNG: under 30, CartaFRECCIA required. Published offer prices €19, €29 or €39 depending on route. | Compare the available Base, Economy and Super Economy fares. There is no single fixed adult fare for these journeys. | FrecciaSENIOR: operator describes eligibility as over 60, CartaFRECCIA required; published fares start at €29 depending on route and class. |
| Switzerland: tourist Swiss Half Fare Card | CHF 150 for one month, for eligible visitors resident outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This is the card price, not unlimited free travel or a student/senior ticket. Compare the card cost plus discounted tickets with full-fare or supersaver options. | ||
The French and Austrian amounts above buy a discount card; you still buy train tickets. Check whether the saving on your actual itinerary exceeds the card cost. Do not assume a domestic card discounts every cross-border segment. On SBB, select a half-fare reduction only if you have the qualifying card.
Trenitalia’s listed FrecciaYOUNG and FrecciaSENIOR offers have limited availability, advance-purchase conditions and restrictive change/refund rules. They are not guaranteed prices for our Venice–Florence or Florence–Rome departures. Enter the valid CartaFRECCIA details, check the eligibility returned by the booking system and carry the required identification.
Official conditions: SNCF Carte Avantage ↗ · ÖBB Vorteilscard ↗ · Trenitalia fare rules ↗ · SBB Swiss Half Fare Card ↗
What will each individual ride cost?
Run the six searches above for your travel dates and ages, then record the displayed totals. Advance fares can differ greatly by departure and booking date, so a made-up “student/adult/senior fare” for each route would be misleading. Compare that six-ticket total with the pass price plus required reservations and uncovered transport. The cheapest general advance fare can sometimes beat an age-labelled offer.
Japan: where and how to buy the train tickets
| Journey | Where to buy | What to book |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Shinjuku → Hakone-Yumoto | Odakyu Romancecar / EMot Online Tickets ↗, or an Odakyu ticket office. | Choose your departure and reserved seat. A Romancecar limited-express ticket is required in addition to the basic fare or a qualifying pass; buying only the seat supplement is not the whole fare. |
| Odawara → Kyoto | Official Smart EX ↗, or a JR ticket office / suitable ticket machine. | Enter Odawara, Kyoto, date and travellers; choose a service that actually stops at Odawara. Check seat class and any oversized-baggage requirements. |
| Kyoto → Osaka and Osaka → Nara | The appropriate JR or private-railway station, or a compatible transport IC card where accepted. | Match the operator and destination station to your hotel and sightseeing plan. JR Nara and Kintetsu-Nara are different stations. A local ticket is not automatically valid on another company’s train. |
| Osaka → Kansai Airport | JR West ↗ or Nankai ↗, according to your departure station. | Check airport KIX and terminal, service type and whether an express supplement or reserved seat is needed. |
Smart EX uses Japan Standard Time. Follow its ticket-use instructions after booking: the confirmation email alone is not a substitute for the required QR code, linked IC card or collected ticket. Read the official reservation guide ↗ before your first journey.
Japan Rail Pass: adult, student and senior reference prices
The nationwide pass has adult and child prices, not separate standard student and senior price bands. For travellers aged 12 and over, the adult prices below apply unless a specific separate product says otherwise. A foreign student card alone does not create a nationwide JR tourist discount.
| Ordinary-class pass | Adult | Student age 12+ | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days, official online purchase | ¥50,000 | ¥50,000 | ¥50,000 |
| 14 days, official online purchase | ¥80,000 | ¥80,000 | ¥80,000 |
| 7 days, overseas designated agency | ¥53,000 | ¥53,000 | ¥53,000 |
| 14 days, overseas designated agency | ¥84,000 | ¥84,000 | ¥84,000 |
Source: official Japan Rail Pass prices ↗, checked 12 November 2026. Ordinary class, per person; purchase-channel prices differ. Check eligibility before buying. Child prices and rules are listed separately by JR.
A pass is not automatically the best buy for our 14-day Japan itinerary. Price the actual one-way journeys first. Hakone’s private transport and some other services are outside the national pass’s normal coverage. Use the official Japan Rail Pass website ↗ to reach its purchase service, read eligibility and check coverage; do not select a pass merely because your holiday lasts the same number of days.
For individual Shinkansen trains, get the exact fare from Smart EX for your date, service and seat class. Ask the railway about any special eligibility rather than assuming a general student or senior reduction. Our Japan rail-planning guide explains baggage, passes and the Hakone transfer in more detail.
How to book, step by step
- Open the official seller. Use the links above and select the correct language and currency.
- Enter exact stations and the travel date. Check the local time zone and distinguish the city’s different stations.
- Add every passenger. Enter ages or birth dates accurately and add only valid discount cards or passes.
- Compare the whole journey. Inspect changes, total duration, class, luggage conditions and what the price includes.
- Read the fare rules. Check refunds, changes, name restrictions and reservation requirements before paying.
- Reserve seats where required. For a rail pass, buying the pass and booking a compulsory seat are separate tasks.
- Save the actual ticket. Follow the seller’s app, QR, printing, collection or activation instructions. Keep an offline backup where supported.
- Carry proof. Bring the passport or ID and discount card required for your fare. Recheck the departure and platform on the day.
If payment fails or you cannot complete an eligibility check, use the operator’s support or ticket office. Do not buy an ineligible fare hoping the onboard staff will convert it without extra cost.