Hi,

Am planning to take a two week budget trip with my wife around the continent
(excl. UK and Scandinavia).
What would be an efficient itenerary on Eurail?

The hotel-trains available seem pretty interesting and hence would try to plan as many journeys on them to save time and money.

The focus of the trip would be more to see places (history / culture / architecture) rather than a cozy romantic trip.

Thanks!!!!!!!

Kiran

Is your objective to maximize your time on the trains 0r the number of trips? Or do you have specific destinations in mind?

Unless you are a true train buff and racking up mileage is your goal I would suggest you either list the places that interest you most or prepare a draft itinerary - then people can make suggestions to help.

The best Web site for planning a train trip is here:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...ol=http:&;

You can save a lot of money sleeping on the trains, but it isn't exactly comfortable and you won't want to do it every night.

http://budgettravel.about.com/cs/tra...rain_sleep.htm

Even though you're on a budget, pay the supplements to get on fast trains whenever available. The time you save is more valuable than the financial cost.

Just my two cents. Good luck!

Hi,

What I am trying here is a first time reconnaissance trip to see what europe is all about. Needless to say, it will be the standard destinations like Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, Vienna etc. Would love to keep coming back later for specific trips / places.

I am a train buff and really dont mind sleeping in berths as opposed to sleeping in comfy rooms. And since it is a short budget trip, I thought rail is the best option.

My rough itenerary (in April - May) would be something like Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain ending with France.

Waiting for suggestions,

Thanks

Kiran

Hi Kiran,

>Am planning to take a two week budget trip with my wife....<

>My rough itenerary (in April - May) would be something like Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain ending with France.

8 countries in 14 days? Does your wife know about this?

Do you have any plans other than riding on trains at night?

I suggest that you take UU's advice and look up train schedules. This is not a vacation, it is an expedition.

I have done some reading on sites and have realized i was being too ambitious! Now maybe 4-5 countries in 2 weeks is more like it.

Pls suggest some itenararies / must-see places in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Austria.

Thanx,

Kiran

Hi Kiran,

>Now maybe 4-5 countries in 2 weeks is more like it.

Pls suggest some itenararies / must-see places in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Austria.<

This is better, but Greece is an outlier.

You could do Switzerland, Italy, Austria in 2 weeks.

We did a trip that included Venice, Vienna and Prague a few years ago. The train ride over the Alps is quite beautiful.

You can find train schedules at
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

No reason Greece has to be an outlier. There are budget flights to Greece from Venice, Rome and several other cities.

And this trp has taken on a very different concept since you asked your question initially. I would personally omit Switzerland, and just allocate any days you would have spent tere to Austria.

And I don't see the use of overnight trains on this itinerary at all (but then, I never see the use of overnight trains on <i>any</i> itinerary!)

The most important advice I can give you is that you need a lot of &quot;reconnaissance&quot; time at the <i>library</i>. For example, three days Salzburg (arrival), 5 hour train ride to Venice and then three days there. And then eight days for what? Personally I would focus on Italy or Greece for 5-6 of those eight days - - but how you use them depends on what you want to explore and why.

Best wishes,

Rex