This is our first trip to Europe and we are extremely excited! We're trying to make our poor little US Dollars stretch as far as possible without being ridiculously cheap(We're not going to eat pigeons in the park a' la Hemingway). We'll be in England for a week or so -- half in London and half on day trips and overnight excursions to farther places. Then half a week in Paris and the remaining week and a half or so in Italy -- Rome, Cinque Terre and Sicily. We were planning on buying the Britrail Consecutive Passes and the France 'n Italy Passes. We haven't bought the tickets yet and, as you can see, are pretty flexible. For all four passes it will be right about $1000 USD. Having never really had to rely on public transportation we don't know if this is excessive or par for the course. Any of your wisdom and advice would be greatly appreciated!

This isn't a perfect answer, but go to RailSaver.com, enter a sample itinerary, and select the option that is something like "Only if a pass saves me money". Then you will know if you are likely to find the passes a good deal.

You might also find it useful to have a budget flight or two in that itinerary.

<b>www.whichbudget.com</b>

Hi BKP,

It's unlikely that you will have to spend that much.

As noted, goto www.railsaver.com and enter your entire itinerary. Make sure that you have both passengers listed (there is a discount for groups of two), and click on &quot;only if it saves me money&quot;.

I assume you are flying into London but where are you flying out from? Sicily? Rome? Paris? London? There are many budget airlines in Europe and you might not want to use the trains as it can be cheaper to fly.

Wow -- you guys are really helpful! I went to Railsaver and based on my itinerary I should buy these passes. At least I can feel like I'm not wasting my money. Regarding flights -- we thought about it but I was worried that getting to and from the airport would eat too much time and money. Besides, I'm a hopeless romantic and riding trains seems so much more European! We're flying in and out of London so we may take a flight (if possible) from Sicily back up so we don't waste a full day just for traveling. Thanks again for all your help!

One more question regarding railpasses. I'm 24 so I'll be buying the youth passes to save money. My husband is 25 right now but will be turning 26 our second day in Europe. So, he'll be 25 at the time of purchase but 26 when we actually start using any of these passes. Should he just buy the adult one to be safe? I'd like to save money but I don't want to cause any problems especially in France or Italy where I don't speak the language.

BKP,
I'd just like to point out that it would be virtually impossible to travel by train from Sicily to London in 24 hours, full day and night. Definitely look into the flights, often much cheaper than train fares.

You may want to consider the time you will be on trains (longer than you realise). I would tour London and then catch a budget flight to Sicily the work your way north which is still going to involve many hours on the trains. Remember the passes won't include costs for overnight and seat reservations.

Purchase according to age a beginning of usage.
I second the suggestion for cheap air. easyjet.com ,flybmi.com have saved me a bundle.
Coach service is quite affordable if you have a student i.d.

Hi BKP,

I think that your hubby will have to be 25 on the day that the pass is validated.

However, I suggest you call Raileurope.

Only advice I would add is that if you are using ANY flight within Europe try to keep your luggage weight within the required limits imposed by the airlines (usually 20 KG or 44 lbs in Economy).

I'm a big BIG rail travel fan but I agree that going all the way from Britain to Sicily might be best done by flying and working your way back by rail.
Enjoy your trip regardless.

Great advice! Do you happen to know if the weight limits are for checked baggage only or for checked and carry on? By the way -- what makes you a BIG rail fan? Convenience, price, adventure . . .?

I also love the &quot;romance&quot; of the train. I consider trains in Europe to be a part of my people-watching and sight seeing education. I value the time to read, look out the window and ponder life, and write postcards back home. (Or compose email on your favorite device, if you're so inclined.) I personally disdain airports and the time and effort it takes to go to and fro. Yes, in most cases, the train takes longer. But I do enough rushing around from Point A to Point B in my real life that I choose not to do that on vacation, especially given the comfort, views and sheer down time the train presents for me.

If you haven't bought your airline tickets yet, you might look into an open jaw (multiple destination) ticket, where you could fly into London, and fly home from, say Rome? That could save you some time and money.