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France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland
My friends and I are college students and we’re planning on taking a trip to Europe. One of my friends is already in Spain and we’re not too concerned about seeing museums because we love just walking around and sight-seeing. We’re trying to visit these cities:
Madrid-Spain Paris-France Genoa-Italy Bern-Switzerland Should we buy a Eurail pass or is it even doable to do these countries? We were planning on spending 3-4 days in each city and those are the only cities that we plan on seeing. We’re college students so not getting sleep is nothing new to us and we have lots of energy! |
Of course it's do-able. Whether a Eurrail pass is worthwhile or not depends on a lot of things. You need to spend some on on the Man In Seat 61 website to figure that out. Usually, point-to-point tickets, if purchased well in advance, are a better deal.
Why Genoa? Why Bern? They seem like odd choices for a first trip to Europe, but will be fine if you know why you chose them. |
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Indeed
I just did Barcelona only for 50 euros booking last week. Can't imagine Madrid more expensive. Vueling or easy jet. Avoid Ryanair they land in the middle of nowhere and call the place Paris. |
Doubt if a Eurail Youth Pass (for those under 26) would be cost effective for such limited travels and you may want to fly some of those long distances. Anyway for loads of great info on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.
Instead of Bern head to the fabulous Jungfrau Region around Interlaken to fulfill the romantic Alpine wonderland you may be dreaming of but won't find in Bern, a nice city but one day is enough - check out youth hostels in Interlaken or Grindelwald. |
Most of these destinations are too far apart to make traveling between them by train practical.
I think Bern isn't a bad destination for Switzerland, but I'm a little bemused by Genova. |
Do be aware that if you want 4 days in a city, you will need to stay there 5 nights. Yu lose at least half a day and often, most of a day each time you change locations.
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You can take overnight trains Paris to Milan - and change for Genoa - save on the cost of a hotel and have fun - bring whatever food and drink aboard- book up a couchette for all of yous.
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Madrid - Genova: Vueling (plane change at Barcelona) or Ryanair (plane change at Stansted). Fares start at 100 EUR, checked in luggage not included.
Genova - Berne: train via Domodossola Berne - Paris: train, 4 hrs journey, standard fare 170 EUR, big discounts if you book in advance in the web bus, 15 hrs, standard fare 35 EUR |
Again why Bern or Genoa - both nice cities but for 3-4 days in each?
Re-think that- Madrid and Paris for sure but Bern and Genoa? |
Having taken the Paris-Milan overnight train myself, I think you should be warned that it's very bare bones. It's been a while since I took it, but I've seen some recent reviews on TripAdvisor and it looks as though nothing's changed. There was no potable water on the train. I asked if I could buy a bottle of water, but the answer was "No."
There was no food served, although there was supposed to be. Breakfast was supposed to be included, but was not available. I don't know the reason for this lapse, but no explanation was given. The berths were fairly comfortable. The shared bathroom had a miniscule sink, and the floor (and everything else) was a mess in the morning. One of my couchette mates managed to wash her hair in that tiny sink, which certainly didn't help the state of the floor. |
How can you expect to get breakfast in the overnight train if it arives at Milan before 6am?
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Genoa makes sense to me, but Bern....?
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college kids may find the night train fun - especially with their own party compartment. Breakfast is not included I think in couchettes?
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I was going in the other direction, and breakfast was supposed to be included even for people traveling in the couchettes. Maybe they've changed it now.
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Well bvlenci has probably taken those trains more recently than me- mine was about six years ago before Thello took over from problem-plagued Artesia - but these seem to be not much better.
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Even if breakfast were included, I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be edible. I didn't really mind, I just waited until we go to Paris. I did mind that there was no potable water, not even to buy. I brushed my teeth with the non-potable water, and hoped for the best. On the way back, I made sure to bring some.
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Copy from Thello website:
Food & Drink Night train Paris-Venice The dining car Take your dinner in our dining car and enjoy a pleasant and warm atmosphere. Our catering teams will be pleased to welcome you with a menu card to suit every budget. A selection of warm and cold dishes, tasty French and Italian Cuisine and a range of carefully selected wines are available to you. The bar Fancy a snack? A cold drink? Relax at the bar with a wide selection of drinks, sandwiches, salads, and soups available to make your trip more tastier. When you wake up, our teams are ready to offer fresh baked pastries and coffee to start your day. Your day is just starting. Opening hours The restaurant and bar opens 15' after departure for the trains leaving Paris (trains 221) 30' after departure for the trains leaving Venice (trains 222) and closes at 11:00 pm Payment on board: On board, we accept payment in cash (Euros) and following credit cards: Master Card, Maestro, Visa and Visa Electron. © Thello 2016 |
In other words: when you board the Paris bound train at Milan, everything will be closed and it will indeed not be possible to get even a bottle of water.
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