Eurorail, Best Way to See Europe?

#16
If you aren't chasing time, it is definitely one of the best and affordable (esp if you are 25 or under) ways to see Europe! :yes: I personally love train travel :P Have you already checked out Eurail.com? You can check out the different passes to see what would be best for you. When I went I got the Selectpass (you choose 3-5 bordering countries and get a number of travel days) as I only traveled within Western Europe.

If you want to maximize your sightseeing in the cities, you can certainly go by plane. The thing with Ryanair and easyjet though, is that you have to keep checking everyday to get the best/cheapest price. Also, I heard that they are pretty strict with baggage.

In any case, have fun!!!! :yahoo: I really enjoyed Europe. I'm already planning a trip for DH and I even though it'll be at least a year before we can go! LOL!
 
#18
I definitely think you should look at what flights cost. Some of the airlines have SUPER CHEAP flights if you buy in advance. I know there are different trains, and there were some I was definitely comfortable on, but some... were just not good experiences and I would have much preferred flying, regardless of a higher cost. If you are trying to decide and there is a big difference in prices, I say go with trains for shorter distances, maybe under 5 hours or so? And then fly anything longer.
 
#19
jillybean307 said:
Thank you so much for the info. I'm torn between flying to each country & eurorail. Luckily I have time to decide!
Click to expand...

If you want flexibility then the Eurail is the way to go. If you know your travel dates/plans then air travel may work out better. As well I am a proponent of the high speed trains (looks like they would work for most of your journey) but again - you would need some advanced planning for those also. So for example - if you planned to spend your time in the major european cities on specific dates - high speed and planes may work. If you want to switch things up.. then go Eurail.

FYI, if you do plan to travel Europe in summer.. you may want to have exact travel plans (hotels, etc). Hotels can get expensive and scarce. ( lol I speak for my misadvendures in Spain but other countries can experience this as well).

Hope at least a smidge of this helps. :smile: Have a great time!!!!!
 
#20
My .02 cents - the train is a really awesome way to see Europe - if you have the time to do so (and not a ton of luggage). We eurorailed it throughout Europe from the UK and made a huge circle ending in Spain. We did night trains - those were NOT fun. The last one we did we slept in our clothes with our valuables on us - the people sharing the cabin with us kept eying our items and shooting each other looks. Plus people snoring is never good.

Also - you do lose a lot of time on the trains. It took us easily 4-6 hours to get most places, therefore wiping out a good part of our day. In addition, with bags... trains are NO fun. Since I'm a packrat and picked up tons of goodies all across Europe my bag was hell by the last two countries of our trip. Really uncomfortable. Also - watch out for smoking cars - yuck!

As for Easyjet/Ryan air - you HAVE to be careful about the weight of your bag. Yes, your ticket may be 35 Euros, but if your luggage is over the allotted weight you will really pay for it. We flew Easyjet from Madrid to London and I wore a ton of my clothes to avoid possibly not making the correct weight limit.

The trains are fun - just make sure you have the time. Best of luck and have fun in Europe! (And yes, Spain/Italy is HOT, but you can always go swimming!)
 
#21
My bro is looking into going around Europe for a week this summer. He said there's a eurorail card and it's £120 for a week and you can go anywhere you want, on up to 5 of the 7 days. I think that's what he said anyway lol.
 
#22
Beware! Here in Italy it's so HOT during June/July/August and eventually September!!! It's hot like the hell!!
Also, I know of Interrail you can find more infos on www.trenitalia.com there should be for sure an english version. I don't recommend you Italian trains! Dirty and always late!
Take a look at www.ryanair.com and www.easyjet.com they are flight low cost company - I used them many times, they are totally safe (based on Ireland just to pay less taxes) and cheap!
 
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