fridalorraine

Hi!

I'm going to Europe for the first time and I accepted the challenge of doing it alone as 22 year old girl so I need all the advice I can get. I'm going to visit friends in most of the countries, all leading up to a month stay in Milan for a summer course in IED. I was thinking of buying a Eurail pass and go in the following order: Oslo-Gothenburg-Berlin-Brussels-Paris-Milan. I'm still not sure how long to stay in each place at least in Oslo, Gothenburg, and Berlin I will be staying with friends, the rest I will be alone. I arrive in Oslo on June 16 and have to be in Milan by June 30 so it is pretty limited. I'll appreciate all the help I can get here.

PalenQ

That's a lot for 14 days if you take longish travel times in between then into play- but if you are content with a short stay in each place - try for more than two days in say Paris - anyway for lots of great info on European trains and railpasses (you can by biengunder 26 years of age get the bargain Eurail Youthpasses) - check these IMo superb sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com. If taking trains between all them then the Eurail Youthpass may be the best deal especially since as except in France you can hop pretty much any train anytime with the pass - no reservations required except for Brussels to Paris.

Don't have any angst about traveling on trains or anywhere in Europe IME by being a single women - lots your age doing it alone - stay in youth hostels and youth hotels where you don't have friends and you'll meet many your age.

PalenQ

I would encourage you to get a copy of Let's Go Europe - written by Harvard college 'kids' for other young folk traveling on their own with an emphasis on hostels, youth hotels, etc - great critical reviews of the good hostels from the dumps, etc plus a world of other great practical info - www.amazon.com has it along with the dwindling number of book stores - local libraries are want to have some too.

dyoll

Don't waste a day of your pass on Oslo-Gothenburg. Cheaper fares directly from Swedish rail if you book max 90 days in advance (but you need to spell Gothenburg the Swedish way in the travel planner - Göteborg) - http://www.sj.se
While in Norway take the Norway in a Nutshell trip to see the fjords - http://www.norwaynutshell.com again you can save by buying discount train tickets in advance - https://www.nsb.no/en/ the rest of the journey is public transport too and you can just pay as you go.
Note that that is the last week of school - transport will be busy at the weekend - book soon to get the best prices.

PalenQ

One aspect of a pass that I find neat is that if you do not want to book in concrete weeks/months in advance then full-fare tickets are often very very expensive and the pass is a fully flexible ticket - just show up and hop on trains in most countries - some require seat reservations before boarding and those IMO are usually easy to get for a few euros.

But yes if you want to go to several different web sites and book all your tickets weeks early and are OK with non-changeble non-refundable tickets, usually, then that could well be the cheapest way - and some folks just like having everything in order - tickets in hand for each segment before leaving and do not desire flexibility - but to me at least the full flexiblility to chose what trains you want to take once there is priceless and on your trip would merit having a pass if that is key.

PalenQ

there is an overnight train between Paris and Milan too if you want to avoid a long daytime train.

PalenQ

Paris-Milan-Venice overnight train - www.thello.com - well in advance in a couchette your can get fares all told for around 59 euros I think - saves on a night in a hostel too.

PalenQ

Note however that Thello night trains only give a discount to pass holders and the overall price with the discount may be more expensive than the cheapest discounted ticket - so save a day on your pass if doing this night train, one of the few in Europe not to fully honor railpasses (for the basic train fare that is - sleeping options are extra - from a reclining seat on some - couchettes - multi-berth uni-sex bunks of 4 or 6 in a room - to private singles and doubles and private or mixed with strangers of same sex triples.

fridalorraine

Thanks for all the advice. I got the Eurail global pass and reserved the Thello night train. I'm so excited! I decided to save Brussels for another trip, that way I'll be spending 3 days in Oslo, 3 in Gothenburg, 3 in Berlin, and 4 in Paris before my month in Milan. Any other advice for things to see and do are welcomed!

PalenQ

Yeh - in Berlin try to take a half-day to take the S-Bahn out to Potsdam and Sans Soucci Palace - the Prussian Versailles in a huge park dotted with follies - whimsical structures and things like a Chinese pagoda - Sans Soucci was the palatial summer home of Frederick the Great - less than an hour by S-Bahn (overground metro; railpasses valid if you are using a day on your pass) - and Potsdam is a sweet regional town quite different from Berlin.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sans...=1600&bih=1075

PalenQ

You could easily do the Norway in a Nutshell thingy from Oslo - getting back late and leaving early but a sweet sweet day - go in winter and IMO that excursion would be a washout, literally!