D Ong

i need advice on which is cheaper - eurail, or point-to-point tickets for the following itinerary: london-paris-switzerland (bern, interlaken, lucerne)-austria (vienna, salzburg)-munich-london. any help on munich to london trip (too long)? which cities in between are worth a visit? thanks.

elvira

How long do you plan to be in Europe, and how many days in each country? That will help you decide which is more cost effective: point-to-point or a pass. A great site for gathering fare info and then comparing it to passes and their costs is: <BR>http://www.europrail.net/ie_index.html <BR>

s

D Ong, <BR>I haven't done the figures for you, but it's easy enough to do. Go to Rick Steves' website (www.ricksteves.com), then click on "Guide to Eurail Passes" on the right hand side. You'll find a new page that helps you calculate point-to-point tickets for most routes in Europe, and you'll also find a great guide to the many passes available. Spend some time there and crunch numbers, and you should have your answer quickly. For more detailed information or exact cost data, go to the German rail website (bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en. <BR> <BR>For the second part of your question, I would skip Bern and Interlaken and get right into the mountains at Wengen or Muerren. For detailed and comprehensive information on visiting Switzerland, go to www.twenj.com, a personal website loaded with information. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR> <BR>s

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>Dear Mr Ong, <BR> <BR>I expect point to point is cheaper. I don't know the price of your rauilpass: it may be on http://www.railpass.com. But I can say that pont is best started abd ended by air. <BR> <BR>Buzz no-frills airline fly from Stansted, north of London, to Paris for 29 pounds. You add ten pounds each for trains to and ftrom airports, total 49 pounds. This is less than the rail route, Eurostar.The site is http://www.buzzaway.com. <BR> <BR>Go no-frills airline fly from Munich to Stansted for 30 pounds. Again, you add ten pounds twice, total 50 pounds. Web site http://www.go-fly.com. <BR> <BR>In January basic second class one-way fares were Paris to Zurich 54 pounds, Zurich to Vienna 74 pounds, and Vienna to Munich 47 pounds. Add 50 pounds for diversions to Interlaken, Berne and Lucerne. Total rail 225 pounds per person. Plus air 99 pounds, whole trip 324 pounds or 453 dollars. <BR> <BR>Whether you have a railpass or no you'll pay supplements of 35 pounds each for sleepers from Switzerland to Vienna, and perhaps for fast day trains elsewhere. <BR> <BR>Where to stop for intermediate visits is for you to choose according to your taste: a guide book will say what there is. Such visits won't raise your fare Paris, Switzerland, Vienna, Munich, since you can stop(without pre-planning) anywhere you choose, and the tickets are valid two months. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. If you'll kindly use capital letters in the usualplaces that5 will jhelp me read your note. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

D Ong

thanks for all your advice. <BR>i still have a couple of days to do my homework before i leave on saturday.

Carey

Check out: <BR> <BR>www.eurail.com <BR> <BR>You can find info on the cost of Point-to-Point tickets, verses the eurail pass. Plus, you can view the different Eurail pass options. The first time I traveled in Europe we got the 5 day pass, and rented a car for4 days. It ended up being cheaper than getting extra days on the rail pass. This site should help you decide what will be the cheapest for you. Lots of Luck and happy travels!