My husband is retiring the end of this year. We are considering travel via EurailPass and B&B's for a couple of months. The EurailPass covers 17 countries. We packpacked Europe when we were young and feel we can do it again. It sounds like a great adventure. We would like recommendations on anything! Books to read by knowledgeable people? Books listing B&B's? Public transportation available in most cities? How to rent a car for a day? Etc... Thank you.

Books:
Lonely Planet series
Rick Steves' books
Rough Guides series

Forums (with associated sites):
http://www.guideforeurope.com
http://www.eurotrip.com
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com
http://www.ricksteves.com

One main thing that will have changed since you were young is the prevalence and convenience of budget airlines - e.g. Ryanair and EasyJet. Often it is a lot cheaper and easier to fly rather than to take the train.

the let's go series is the former harvard series of guides for young people, but it is budget oriented....

priceline is a great way to go for price...get a great hotel now and again for a cheap price---$50 for a $200 room in a major city....

would you consider a long term lease of a car....with www.autofrance, or the renault or peugeot programs are terrific, but not cheap---you get a brand new car each time...i have used all three and they can't be beat...

some schools have rooms to rent and there are rooms in monistaries and nunneries...in italy there is a book about them available in usa...check on-line with a search engine....

of course lots depends on what time of year you intend to go....other than june-september, you will find rooms very plentiful and cheaper...we like zimmer frei rooms in germany.....

I agree that no-frills flights are a major change, and if you ask me can e-mail you a note on who flies where, no-frills, within Europe.

Hotel, restaurant and other costs in Poland (except Warsaw and Krakow), the Czech Republic (except Prague), Slovakia and Hungary are a third or a quarter of the costs in west Europe, and our bombers mostly failed to reach them. Tickets from the German or Austrian frontier to such beautiful places as Torun, Wroclaw, Ceske Budejovice, Sopron or Budapest cost 20 to 40 euros, so you might like to enjoy another change?the new freedom of the ancient countries of central Europe.

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Thanks to everyone for the great responses! A lot of good information. We have a lot to think about and consider.

A great free guide with lots of info on European trains is Budget Europe Travel Service' free European Planning & Rail Guide. I've traveled Europe for 30 years and still learn things from this - call 800-441-9413 to get a copy. It's really great for novice rail travelers as it is really a great planning tool to understand the Europe rail system and the plethora of rail passes available.