Where is the best place to buy tickets for Euro rail?

There are several websites to buy euro rail tickets like http://www.raileurope.com/index.html or http://www.eurorailways.com/ and honestly i am confused. Here are my questions



1) when they say eurorail, are they talking about the the same thing? Or are there different kinds. I am asking because there seem to be several websites offering to sell Eurorail tickets and I wonder which one is legit.



2) How does Euro rail work? I buy the pass and then when I need to travel from, let;s say Verona to Paris - I just show up at the train station or do I have ot make reservation before hand? Are Euro rail passes kind of like discounted tickets that have black out dates or limited seating? As in on eahc train there are only a very limited number of seats for Euro rail pass holders? Because that would suck.



3) Is eurorail kind of like cheaptickets? Where it looks at the fares of all trains? Or does it actually read and print on the side of the train Euro Rail?



4) what do people who have used it generally think of it? worth it? Over priced? Clean?Where is the best place to buy tickets for Euro rail?
The seat61 site that was given to you in another answer is an excellent resource for train travel here and railpass information in particular.



All of the sites that offer the Eurail pass are offering the same thing. It's a pass that can be used on the various national railroads of participating countries.



Using the pass depends on the trains you take. Usually regional trains that are slower and make a lot of stops do not require reservations - the regional trains here in Italy do not even accept reservations. You can just hop on with the pass and use the train. Other trains require reservations which you can usually buy at the station up to the time your train leaves (assuming the train doesn't sell out earlier). Note that you have to pay for the reservation - here in Italy, the fast trains cost 10 euro for a seat reservation. The seat61 site has information on reservations and their cost for the various types of trains in the various countries. On some trains there are limited seats for Eurail passes - again explained in the seat61 site.



Individual tickets for international trains to/from may be cheaper too if you buy in advance. For example a night train between Rome and Paris (either direction) normally costs 130 euro for a berth in a 4 bed compartment. With a Eurail pass, you can get the same berth for 45 euro for the reservation. However, if you buy an individual ticket far enough in advance to get one of the limited number of discounted tickets, the cheapest fare is 45 euro - exactly the additional price you pay with the pass. It takes a lot more work to get the discounted fare and they sell out quickly, but this is also one of the trains that limits the number of Eurail passes that can be used on the train.



Eurail tickets are almost never worth the price here in Italy because individual tickets can be bought relatively inexpensively - even if you don't buy the individual tickets in advance to take advantage of available discounts. On the other hand, Eurail tickets can represent significant savings in other countries where the train prices are higher, the supplements for reservations are lower and/or there may be fewer mandatory reservations. The seat61 site has information on how to determine if a Eurail ticket is worth the price for your trip or not and includes links to the various national train websites where you can price individual tickets.



Note that the question about clean is not relevant. Eurail does not operate any trains, You're just buying a pass that allows you to use the same national train systems that you would be using if you don't have a pass. The cleanliness and comfort of trains depends on where you are and the type of train you take. Generally, they're not bad.
This web site has plenty of info - http://www.seat61.com/Where is the best place to buy tickets for Euro rail?
Seat 61 is not terrible, but it is extensive.



Each country page shows how to get there from the UK, true, but it also has the 'how to buy tickets in this country' in the top part of the page.

For the rest, use the search function.



Mostly it is best to buy tickets from one of the countries you travel in, Seat 61 is useful for that, as the countries website is mentioned on each country's page.

Some train companies will sell you more than others, but you will almost have to make contact with a seller and not try to use an automated system. Specially the German rail is good for that, as long as you contact them by phone or mail: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de They do have an English version.



Rail Europe for the American market is known to only sell you the more expensive tickets, so it is worth it to check out the national rail site for one of the countries involved.



Eurail is a pass, rail Europe a ticket seller, both sell you the option to use the trains that the European rail companies run. Those are mostly clean and good to travel in.

EuroRail does not exist, it is a wrong name for Eurail as in the Eurailpass, and that has nothing to do with how the trains are run.