Best/cheapest way to travel within Europe
 

If I am starting in Paris and want to see Germany, Prague, and Switzerland, what is the easiest/cheapest way to travel between the countries? Train or air? Is there an European airline that is the best deal for these kind of flights?
Is there a train pass that allows travel within the different countries?

Google discount airlines europe. There are many.

Walking is cheapest, but takes longest.

>>Walking is cheapest, but takes longest.<<

But then you'd have to factor in the cost of repeatedly replacing your shoes. I bet that would cost more than the tickets!

Mode of travel depends on your itinerary - in general trains are best for travel within a country or to a neighboring country IMO but if you want to go between Prague and Paris then look at flights - though overnight trains can take you between two far removed cities as well and save a night's hotel cost to boot.
But say you go Paris to the Rhine area in Germany - then to Munich - to Prague - to Vienna to Salzburg to Switzerland and back to Paris then the train would be the best.

Is there a train pass that allows travel within the different countries?> Yes dozens of them - the classic Eurailpass or one country passes, 2-country passes, 3-country passes, etc. To sort it all out (and if you do the type of itinerary i outlined then some kind of Eurailpass is a no-brainer IMO) i always spotlight these fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free and super IMO European Planning & Rail Guide to get many itinerary suggestions, rail maps, etc. The European train system is so so sophisticated to that in the U.S. - they have at least hourly departures night and day between all key cities it seems and trains are modern - now going up to near 200 mph in some cases.

Depends on how long you have to travel also. It might even be a car rental.

Is there an European airline that is the best deal for these kind of flights?

www.whichbudget.com and www.skyscanner.net clue you in on any discount airlines serving any two cities.

Depends on what you plan to see in Germany.
If you want to go to Berlin from Paris, you should better fly. If you plan to see the Rhine valley or the Black Forest and Bavaria, the train will probably your best option.

Hi K,

>If I am starting in Paris and want to see Germany, Prague, and Switzerland,.....<

How many weeks?

((I))

Cheapest and best are usually mutually exclusive.

Which is best depends on your budget and tolerance for time wasted and inconvenience - as well as your specific itinerary. There are many budget airlines - but it rarely makes sense unless the train trip is 6 hours or more - due to the location of airports used by budget airlines. If you search in advance there are often budget prices for train trips.

Use bahn.de to research train schedules (but you need to check the company for each country for prices.

If you want to go to Berlin from Paris, you should better fly.>

Many folks feel that way and fine but i am partial to taking overnight trains - wake up right in the center of Paris and you can get incredibly cheap fares sometimes online if you act far in advance of 39 euros or so - if you have a railpass you can book most overnight trains right up to the day of travel and as the railpass pay the train fare you do pay for any sleeping accommodation you wish - a few euros for a reclining seat to about 25 euros for a place in a couchette to a whole lot more euros for a private single or double compartment.

But there are overnight trains linking any two major cities that are far enough apart it seems - hundreds running each night.

koryandleslie - still here - any questions?

??? It's nice to know how plans change ,etc.

Sorry, this is for my brother's senior trip and he has now decided he wants New Zealand, so I have to start planning that instead.