A group of 4 of us are travelling in Europe next summer. We all need to get from Paris to Perugia in Italy as cheaply as possible. I would welcome any hints on either rail passes, cheap flights, hire car!!

I can tell you that the cheapest way maybe flying.I live in Pg and when I go to visit my cousin in Baumholder I spend around 100 euros with GPL and tolls, but going throug il Passo del Gottardo and not Mont Bianch (it cost more).GPL is a gas that doesnt cost as gasoline but you cant find a car to hire whith it so you will spend 3 times more. Consider the train or flying but with the train you have to change, there is no direct train to Perugia. Instead there is a direct flight to Perugia but is a small airport and no bus or train near by, and maybe you have to call a taxi.

DebM,

Your best bet is to fly from Paris Orly to Rome on Volareweb, then take the train to Perugia (there's a station at Rome airport, but you'll have to change trains twice - total train portion takes about 3.5 hours).

Another option is to rent a car at Rome airport if you need one anyway.

Flight info & booking at:
w3.volareweb.com

Train schedules & prices (no need to book in advance) at:
www.trenitalia.com

Hope this helps,
Andre

Many thanks for your suggestions, we would really like to see a bit more of the countryside either by car or train. Thanks also for the advice on not booking the train.
Deb

DebM,

You will definitely see a lot of "countryside" on your 13-14 hour train odyssey across Western Europe from Paris to Perugia... You would have to PAY ME to get me to do this! Plus I strongly doubt it would be any cheaper than flying.

Train schedules are at:
www.rail.ch

Hope this helps,
Andre