Mark Smith: In theory, Eurail tickets can ONLY be bought outside Europe, as they are intended for overseas visitors. But in many cases you'll find ordinary point-to-point tickets are a cheaper option, especially if you book direct with the European rail operators at their own website rather than through an expensive US agency, and especially if you are prepared to pre-book tickets on a no-refunds, no-changes-to-travel-plans basis so as to take advantage of European railways' various budget-airline-beating special train deals.

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Chicago, IL: May/June 2008, wife & I, ages 61&65, will go to Madrid, Sp. on frequent flier miles. Then Train to Lisbon, Por. for a 3 day pre group tour. Group travels 2 weeks & ends back in Madrid when we will Train from Madrid to Santiago, Sp. for 1 week & return to Madrid for flight home. (All 1st class train or overnight sleepers) I have gone on the internet to find discounts/schedules but only get more confused. Please HELP?

Mark Smith: Spanish Railways website will give you fares for the Madrid-Lisbon 'Lusitania trenhotel' sleeper train. I'd go for a 2-bed preferente sleeper, or better, a 2-bed gran classe sleeper with private shower and toilet. Then ask the same website for Madrid-Santiago and back. It's possible to go Lisbon-Porto-Vigo-Santiago, but with quite a few changes. And probably a hotel stop in Porto. To find Lisbon-Porto train times, fares and to book online, use the Portuguese Railways site for Lisbon-Porto (www.cp.pt). Then as neither Portuguese nor Spanish websites handle a cross-border multi-train trip very well, let's bring in the Germans: http://bahn.hafas.de (English button upper right) will find Porto-Santiago connections. For all of these trips, buying tickets at the station is the most practical option.

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Long Island, New York: Hello! We are 2 adults and 3 kids ages 10, 13 and 15. We are traveling by train from Madrid to Barcelona on December 25, 2007. Is there a "family" rate that will discount the children futher than a children's fare or are we all charged as individuals? Does Spain offer a family group discount? Thank you!

Mark Smith: None that I know of--the fares at www.renfe.es will apply per person, with a 20% discount for return journeys, whether you buy online or at the station.

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Charlotte, NC: My wife and I plan to tour Italy by train in September, starting in Milan, then to Genoa, Pisa, Rome, Florence, Venice, and back to Milan. We may add some side trips to places like Lucca and Assisi. We like the flexibility (and probably the cost-savings) of buying point-to-point tickets when we're there. But we don't want to spend a lot of time in lines or have to worry about the availability of reservations on those trains that require them. Your advice? Thank you.

Mark Smith: You won't have difficulty getting seats on trains at short notice, except at the busiest holiday periods--September should be no problem at all. You can plan your trip and check fares anywhere in Italy at the Italian Railways website, www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html. Normal tickets for Italy are almost always cheaper than a railpass, unless you're commuting from Milan to Sicily every day!

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Troy, OH: I will be visiting Rome on June 22 and taking a train to Naples on June 25. Going back to Rome on June 29. On June 30, I am going to Venice. I would like to purchase train tickets for these days online, but it seems so confusing. Can I just wait until I arrive in Rome to buy them all? I Would like first class seats. There will be two adults on the first trip and three from Rome to venice. Thank you.