2. Getting around: trains, buses, flights and your passenger rights

By train

• Interrail Global Pass: one pass for trains in 33 countries. If you are 12 to 27 years old on the first day of your trip, you get the cheaper youth pass. Most high-speed and night trains need a seat reservation at extra cost. Interrail is for people living in Europe; visitors from elsewhere use the Eurail pass.
• Born in the right year? With DiscoverEU, 18-year-olds can win a free travel pass. DiscoverEU »

Rail passenger rights: if your train arrives 60–119 minutes late you can claim 25% of the ticket price, and 50% if it is 2 hours or more late; the company must pay within a month. With a long delay or a cancellation you can choose a refund, the next train or travel on a later date, and you get meals and, if needed, a hotel. No compensation is due for events the company could not prevent (such as extreme weather), but staff strikes are not one of them.

By long-distance bus or coach

For regular services of 250 km or more: if departure is delayed by more than 2 hours or the trip is cancelled, you can choose a refund or another bus. If the company does not offer that choice, you can claim 50% of the ticket price. On trips longer than 3 hours you are entitled to meals and, if needed, up to two nights in a hotel (up to €80 a night).

By plane

• EU rules cover all flights within and from the EU, and flights into the EU on an EU airline.
• Arrival 3 hours or more late, a cancellation less than 14 days before departure or being denied boarding: €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance – unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances (most technical faults are not).
• While you wait, the airline must provide meals, a way to communicate and, if needed, a hotel.
• Lost or damaged luggage: complain in writing within 7 days (21 days for delayed luggage).
• In June 2026 the EU institutions agreed new air passenger rules; they are not yet formally adopted, so the rules above still apply.

By car

A driving licence from any EU country is valid everywhere in the EU. Speed limits, alcohol limits, vignettes and tolls differ from country to country: Driving in Europe – 36 countries compared » · Motorway tolls and vignettes »

Sources: Your Europe – rail passenger rights · bus and coach · air passenger rights · Council of the EU, 15 June 2026 · Interrail Checked: 2 October 2026.