European Travel Train
European Travel Train questions and answers
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Question: European Train Travel Question?
I am going to Italy for a 2 month study abroad program this summer. I would like to also travel to Spain and Holland during the program for short weekend visits (say 4 or 5 visits over the 2 months).
My question is--Is it cheapest to get a Eurail pass?
I have heard that many people claim that the Eurail pass is more expensive that actually paying for the tickets at the station individually. Additionally, if it is not cheaper what would a ticket cost from Florence to Amsterdam and Florence to Madrid roundtrip?
Answer: U can opt for eurorail but it wud consume time to travel up & down.Ur best option for going to nother place in europe wud be actually booking urself on a budget flight instead.U can google on budget flights that u can take from Italy to Spain & Netherlands.U can check if ryan air & easyjet offers routes to the countries that u wanna go to.I know its popular to travel wid eurorail,but if u dont have much time to visit the countries,best try to save time by flying instead.U can also try to get a travel agent in Italy to help get u a quote.Cheers!
Question: European Train Travel?
hello, i am goin to europe this summer for 3 months, i am looking to go on a shoestring budget and cut costs but maximize the experience(i dont really care about art and that stuff, i am more going for the culture and the people). so my question is, in europe do they run overnight trains? one way i was thinking of cutting costs was taking overnight 6 or 7 hr train trips to use as a place to sleep using a EuroRail pass instead of Hostels. of course i will try to maximize the security ofmy backpack by possibly useing it as a pillow or something, so that if some one moves it or tries to take it they will shift my whole weight.
Answer: Great thinking! A lot of people do exactly as you are planning. A website that you can't live without is www.ricksteves.com I don't work for him or have anything to gain, but I've been using him for travel advice for over 20 years. I've met him twice and he's the real deal. Based on your question I think you will agree with his "backdoor" philosophy. He writes books and appears on public TV, but his website is a necessity for planning rail travel in Europe. He will help you decide which railpass you need, how to use it, when to pay separate to save it for longer, more expensive trips, etc. He even sells the rail passes for less than you can get them elsewhere. His site is great for planning your time. He has a map of the major rails in Europe, the cost between each city and the time of the ride. He will direct you to www.raileurope.com for the actual times and costs of each leg, etc.
I'm envious, European is one of my favorite places to travel.
Question: Papers needed for european travel?
me and few friends are planning to travel around europe before we all head off to Uni, or what ever. Can someone tell me, what papers i'll need to fill out to allow us to travel around europe? We're all proper british citizens, and plan on traveling via train. also, i've heard that there's a european train pass that allows unlimitied travel on all country's networks. can someone help us out?
Answer: As mentioned - interrailing is the best way to go concerning the train travel
Concerning actually travelling around - so long as you stay in the EU/EEA countriues, all you will need is a passport. Actually the majority of Europe is open to you, but make a plan first and check in advance if you need a visa or not to ensure you don't run into problems (depending on where you actually want to go)
You can also apply for a EHIC card (replacement of the E111) to cover medical costs, but this is purely basic emergency cover and won't cover many things - e.g. repatiation to the UK if you get immobilised. So make sure you get a insurance to cover you as well. They don't cost much these days but "just in case" will ensure you never get landed with a huge bill if things were to go wrong
Make sure you have a secure way of carrying documents such as your passport of money (you will need to carry ID on you at all times in some countries e.g. the Netherlands in case you get stopped by the police). Pick-pocketing is a big of a problem in some of the larger cities and they are very good at it, so make sure you consider this point
Read up a big online, blogs and so, and get a many idea of what you want to see or not, it's amazing how quickly time goes on trips like this and you find yourself missing some places you really wanted to visit!
This is also a good site for you - official info http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/ on each country, requirements, vaccinations needed (rare), insurance, travel etc
Question: Im looking for some European travel tips.?
I'm planning on going solo on a 2 week trip around Europe.I want to fly into London and travel by train to Holland,France,Germany and Italy minimally.I have a few questions if anyone could help.
1.Is it easy to find familys' who are willing to rent rooms at a cheap rate or for free ?
2.How cautious does one need to be when traveling alone to these places ? I'm street smart but is that enough?
3.Is 100 dollars per day spending money enough to eat and drink on etc.?
4.Is it true that you should act very low key and not present yourself as an American?
5. Is there a cheaper time of year to travel to Europe ? If so , then what are the drawbacks?
6.How efficent is the Eurorail ? Is it easy to navigate ? I only speak English.
7.Are the bars and clubs in London worth checking out ? Is it expensive to drink ?
8.Is it easy to make connections with the locals and find people to hang out with.
~ Please forgive the corny nature of some of these questions.I'm a rookie !
Answer: Don't know about "renting rooms", but you should consider joining SERVAS, which is an international network of travelers and hosts: www.servas.org
Also search "youth hostels" for each of the locations you might visit (ex. "youth hostels london").
Use common sense and you should be OK. Keep most of your cash, ID, and credit cards in an under-the-trousers security belt. Only keep what you need for that day in your wallet, and don't discuss whatever valuables you are carrying. Send your passport number and date & place of issue to yourself in an e-mail message. Better is to scan a copy of your passport's photo page and send it to yourself. That way the info is available to you from any computer connected to the internet in case your passport is lost or stolen.
Purchase "travel medical insurance" even if your regular insurance claims it will cover you in Europe. Travel medical insurance is cheap and having it will avoid all kinds of grief if you need medical care abroad. Airlines & travel agents sell it, and so does American Express: 800 332-4899 or
www.globaltravelshield.com/CTN
$100/day should be enough for food and drink. Depends somewhat on where you are - London (for example) is very expensive and one pint of beer in a regular pub can cost $8.
Low-key is almost always good, regardless of nationality. I haven't had any problems traveling in Europe since 9/11 or since the invasion of Iraq, and I don't pretend to not be an American.
Summer and Christmas/New Years are peak travel periods for most of Europe. Airline tickets and hotels will charge more at those times. Some areas have high season due to a local factor, such as snow-skiing or a big festival (mainly affects hotels).
You will very quickly learn how to navigate the European rail system. Train travel is much more common than in the USA and the schedules are self-explanatory with a little study. Just watch that you don't accidentally get on a "local" train if you meant to take an "express" train (local trains make LOTS of stops). Go to www.travelocity.com and click on Cars/Rail, then Search Rail. You will find explanations and prices for various rail passes.
Again, consider joining SERVAS as you will have a list of verified (there is a background check) contacts almost anywhere you could go.
Question: European Travel Suggestions?
Hi, this question may be a bit complicated but heregoes:
I really wanted to visit London this summer but my parents really want to go to Germany. But my dad thought it was appropriate to travel by train from germany to places like italy and london. I don't think this would work out because it would cost too much money.
Is there any place in Germany where i can travel to bordering countries (not necessarily the countries above) without having to pay like 200 euros each train trip? What would you recommend to a family that wants to visit a good amount of european countries in about 2 weeks (ignoring hotels and such).
Any help would be great, thanks!
Answer: Your father's idea is indeed a crackpot one. It is like basing yourself in SanFran bc you want to visit Canada, Las Vegas and Mexico including Cancun all in 2 weeks.
As a general rule you need at least 2 weeks per country if you want to visit Europe. For larger countries like France, Spain, Italy and Germany it is better to plan on spending 3 weeks. Big capitals like Rome, Paris, Berlin need about 5 days to see properly.
You might be able to cover 2 countries partially in 2 weeks, but not much more. Your parents might want to take a look at this table: http://www.ricksteves.com/rail08/
For a family it is usually best to rent a campervan or a car and travel around this way. Arrange car rental through a travel agent when you book your flight tickets, it is cheaper. Train is too expensive for a family unless you use special offers.
When you want to cover large distances, budget flights are the best option. There are some good deals in summer for west-east routes and vice versa (Berlin to London). North-south however is usually booked solid and has high ticket prices. See http://www.skyscanner.net
Some pages for your parents to read:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tips_menu.htm
Question: How to travel cheap around Europe via Train?
I'm planning to travel to Switzerland, Austria and Czech Rep this summer via train from UK. One of the cheapest options is to buy the Global Pass, which is only for European residents. However I'm not a European resident, which means that I need to find another cheap options to travel. Can anyone give any suggestions?
Answer: The global Interrail pass is for European residents. The global Eurail pass is for non-European residents.
So look at Eurail passes, but take into account that Czech Republic and the Eurostar are not part of the Eurail pass.
I personally would fly from the UK to Switzerland and from Prague to the UK. For Czech Republic I would by point-to-point tickets, for Switzerland and Austria I would compare point-to-point with national rail passes.
See www.whichbudget.com for flights
Question: How long would it take to travel through these european countries?
How many days would it take to travel through these countries on a train?
-Spain
-France
-Germany
-Italy
Answer: Maybe break it down to your favourite 3 countries.
Looks like far to long distance, between spain and italy.
I sugguest choosing central location, and see how you feel, going by train.
Gets tiring after a week of changing cities ..etc. ok
Question: How to pack for a 10 days European trip?
Myself and my husband are planning on a UK/European vacation this april with train travel in between the countries. Is it good to take on big rolling suitcase + one small carry on or two medium sized rolling suitcases?
Any packing suggestions welcome.
Answer: This is a really complete site to help with packing: http://travelpete.com/planner/packing_list.shtml
As far as what type luggage, it really depends on what you prefer. If you are going to be doing a lot lifting with it, takiing it in and out of trunks, etc. You may want to do two smaller suitcases so they are easier to handle. The more you handle your luggage, the more you will regret how much you packed. So try to pack light and only bring what you need. I usually take one suitcase and a carry on so there is less to handle. But since you will have your husband two shouldn't be a problem.
Question: What is the quickest and cheapest way to travel between European countries besides flying?
What would you suggest if I wanted to fly to Paris and spend a few days then go to Amsterdam and spend a couple days and then fly back to the US from Amsterdam?
Renting a car is outrageous and nearly as expensive as flying if you drop it off in another country and the only trains I can find take a long time to get from point A to point B and they are expensive too.
Know of any other rail systems I don't know about or any other suggestions?
Answer: Train.
It takes 4hrs from Paris to Amsterdam. Fare is around $
70 Euro = $104 USD. It depends on what time of the year. You have to make sure there are some restricted days that the train doesn't run this route. Just like Amtrak in the US.
Check this out
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/eurostar/service.htm
or http://www.thalys.com/nl/en/
Question: Train Travel from Berlin to Munich?
Hi Guys,
Im looking into a european trip and want to travel by train from Berlin, Germany down to Munich Germany and then onto Salzburg and then Venice.
Im finding the eurostar etc very confusing.
Can anyone help with a place I can go to on the net or help me with some info in regards to this??
my dates and itinerary is as follows:
SYD - paris 17 nov - 22 nov FLY
paris - berlin FLY
Berlin-munich TRAIN
Munich-Salzburg TRAIN
Salzburg-venice TRAIN
Venice-rome TRAIN
Rome-Egypt FLY
Egypt- Sydney HOME! FLY
Any help would be great! we are not doing any tours or bus about we are going independantly.
Thanks!!
Answer: Go to eurail.com and look at the different ticket plans for purchase. You really don't need to pre-book unless you need a sleeper or an overnight train. however, the earlier in the day you go the less crowded it seems. You will get a map with your tickets as well as info if you need to make reservations.Ferries book quickly if you're going to Egypt so you may want to pre book that portion. Flying is very expensive in Europe so check it out first.