My husband and I have a trip to Europe coming up. We used our sky miles and are flying in out of Amsterdam May 2 - May 12. Amsterdam wasn't necessarily our first choice but that was what was available with the sky miles! Anyway, this will be both of our first trip to Europe and we are interested in using the eurail system. We will either try to make a loop to leave Amsterdam and end up there in the end. Or just end up wherever and fly back in to Amsterdam to catch our flight home on the 12th. We are very interested in going to Germany (esp. Munich, even if it's "touristy" we want to visit the beer halls, and some of the day trips you can take from Munich sound interesting to us) we are also interested in Italy, but would consider another trip to Europe at some point to focus just on Italy. So, with that info, can anyone make any suggestions on possible itineraries using the Eurail system. I've noticed a common theme around here is to not try to do too much in one trip. But we want to see as much as we can. Any advice would help!!!!!

I always refer questions like this to get the free European Planning & Rail Guide that not only is a primer on rail travel and railpasses but presents a lot of sample itineraries to do with a railpass-- each country is covered with rail maps, travel times, etc. (free at: www.budgeteuropetravel.com) - i also refer folks to www.ricksteves.com who also has great info on rail and railpasses.

I have received the planner that I requested from Budgeteuropetravel.com and you're right Rick Steves does have a great, informative web site. I guess I was just hoping that someone could offer some info that they've found by traveling the rail through this area. Because one possibility I was looking at was going from Amsterdam, through France, and then to Munich, back to Amsterdam. But there seemed to be too many stops on the way on the rail to make this happen. I don't want to spend my entire trip on the train!

&quot;<i>the eurail system</i>&quot; Eurail isn't a rail system - it is a marketer of rail passes. Each country has its own rail/train syatems. If you just want maybe 3 or 4 train trips (like A'dam to Munich to Paris) over 10 days a rail pass probably will be more expensive than just advance purchasing individual tix.

And for many routes (like A'dam to Munich) flying will cost even less. W/ such a short trip - I'd try to maximize my sightseeing and minimize the travel times.

With only 10 days, I'd recommend you limit yourself to Amsterdam, Munich, and one other German city to break up the long train trip to Munich, from which you can do day excursions to Salzburg, Switzerland, and Neuschwanstein. You could spend 3 nights in Amsterdam and the other city and 4 nights in Munich, which is a decent amount of time to see the sights without too much rush, and then you can keep your travel days to a minimum. Or you could add in yet one more city (perhaps an overnight in Salzburg) On the last day, fly back to Amsterdam from Munich (but this may not be a cheap flight). Otherwise, it's a long, long train trip.

If you are only going to take 2 or 3 train trips, then you might do better buying individual tickets than investing in a pass.

Amsterdam - 2 days
Bruges - 1 day
Paris - 3 days
overnight train to Munich
Munich - 3 days
day trip to Salzburg, Austria or Fussen or Rothenburg, etc.
Train to Rhine area; do Rhine boats next day (free with railpass)
Return to Amsterdam

cut Bruges to save a day though this is one of the most wonderful cities in Europe IMO

except for overnight train, train trips are at most 3 or 4 hours.

And for this route you probably would want a Eurail Select Saver pass good in Benelux (Belgium, Lux, Holland), France and Germany - buy a six-day or longer such pass before 3/30/07 and get an extra day free. Not sure you would need six days - depends on day trips so the five day may work and there's no free day on this.
Check www.railsaver.com to see if a pass is warranted or point-points instead.

Thanks Palen, we really didn't want to spend much time in Amsterdam, so I could cut a day there, to add somewhere else, and what about Brussels instead of Bruges? It seems like an easy way to cut through from Amsterdam to Paris....

As to your last question, I wouldn't cut Bruges to see Brussels. I agree with PalenQ - it's a wonderful place. Very compact, charming, historical, walkable, very good shops and restaurants. Another advantage: it would be a nice respite from the larger cities on your itinary and a great way to see the &quot;other&quot; part of Europe which you don't get in big cities.

dfr, sounds great. I am definitely interested in seeing the &quot;other side&quot; so that is good advice from you both. On that same note, what about cutting out Paris, and seeing another area in France that still works with the sample itinerary that Palen suggested.........

Try &quot;itinerary&quot; (must still be Monday)

ha ha, it is definitely still Monday for me as well b/c I didn't even notice how you spelled it the first time!!

cdcal - that's a tougher one. Since it's your first time and you only have 10 days, I'd keep Paris on the list. Paris is ....well, Paris and there really is no place like it - especially at night. While we love other parts of France (Burgundy, Provence), I'd save those for another trip - they're worth several days (more like a week) themselves and we find it tends to take more travel time seeing them.

I would definitely second the suggestion of Munich (one of our favorite cities) and the Rhine River boats. Rothenburg, etc will also give you a flavor of the &quot;other&quot; Europe.

We spent 3 weeks in Europe last summer using a ten-day 3 country rail pass only to find out that it would have been cheaper to just buy the train tickets. However, we noticed long lines for tickets in the train stations of major cities, so if money is less an issue than time and convenience, go for the pass. Also, skip Rothenburg. What a tourist trap!

Thanks again to everyone, it's nice to know by Palen's suggested itinerary that we weren't thinking of doing too much with the time that we have, and thanks to the last two posts, they both had good advice. If anyone else reads this though and has any other thoughts I'm still open to suggestions

when comparing individual tickets to the cost of the Eurail Select Pass for three countries keep in mind that, if over 25, the Eurail Select Pass will only come in first class...fine

but individual tickets used to see if a pass is good or not will be second class (or much more for first class - 40% on the average).

So if you save only a few bucks with individual second class tickets then go for the first class pass...first class is much more relaxed than second class - more luggage space, empty seats whilst second class, which is certainly OK on most trains, is more crowded and finding adjoining empty seats, etc. will be harder.
I strongly encourage first class travel on European trains for the average novice train traveler (except for those under 26 where the youth passes, second class only, are significantly cheaper and younger folk can better cope with the possible inauguries of second class travel.

Hi CD,

With only 10 nights, I would take the train from Schipol to Brugge, via Brussels and stay 2 nights in Brugge.

Train to Paris for 6 nights.

Train to Amstdm for 2 nights.

Fly home.

Enjoy your visit.



Save the lesser places for your next visit.

Right, my husband and I have talked about even limiting our visit to Benelux and Germany, and the First class pass for this is much cheaper than First class point to point tickets for the train trips we've looked at taking, especially just the day trips, the point to points can add up quickly!

The German-Benelux flexipass is also good on the K-D boats on the Rhine, same as the Eurail Select Pass.

Amsterdam - 2 days
train to Rhine Gorge area (great base Cochem on the Mosel - picture postcard town of your dreams admist castles and vineyards and a gorgeous river

days 3, 4, 5
day trip to do K-D boats on Rhine ( Rudesheim-Koblenz

day trip to nearby Burg Eltz - one of europe's finest, dreamiest castles

day 6 - Heidelberg - one of the few German towns not destroyed in WWII - lovely setting on Neckar River

day 7 Castle Road bus to Rothenburg, overnight (great bus ride to me much more scenic than Romantik Road buses)

day 8 train to Munich
day 9 day trip to either Fussen or Salzburg
day 10 return to Amsterdam (overnight train possible)

Certainly Germany-Benelux railpass should be considered for this trip. Doesn't cover Castle Road but gives a 60% discount and don't need to use a day on your pass to get.

pass also good on K-D boats and all trains involved.

whole route by train - lots of trains, never too long on a train.

add a pinch of salt, a dollop of butter, shake and tailor to your interests.