Train or Plane?
 

I will be backpacking Europe for 4 weeks in September and October. I will be flying into London and I plan on taking the train from London to Edinburgh, then a plane from Edinburgh to Dublin. After that I am not sure of my group's itinerary but I know we want to go to Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France...ending in Paris.

Would it be cheaper to get a Eurail pass or Fly (either Easyjet or RyanAir)?

This is a hard one to figure out, for esentiall;y two reason. (1) With a EURAIL Pass, you know what ll your exenses will be. (2) The train usually drops you off in the center of any city, if that is where you want to go.

With the low cost arlines, there are extra expenses tacked onto the ticket, such as luggage charge, etc, etc. These often bring the total cost almost to those of the majors. Additionally, the low costs often land you in the boonies. For example, for Frankfurt (Germany) on Ryanair, the airport is Hahn, an old military field some 100km from Frankfurt. So you have to figure the costs of time and transportation to get to Frankfurt proper.

To make your comparisosn, find out what's included in the airline ticket and - more importantly - what's not, and get yourself a good atlas to see where exactly the plane lands.

Very often, a third option is the best one: Buy point-to-point train tickets after you get to Europe. There are many discounted tickets available. Again, for example, you can travel all over Bavaria on a day ticket called the Bayernkarte. On weekdays it starts at 9AM and ends at 3AM the next day. On weekends the time is longer. Up to 5 of you can travel on one ticket for EUR28. You are limited to REGIO-type trains, no IC, ICE or EC express trains, 2nd class only, and no reserved seats.

sorry - but it really doesn't matter HOW you travel. London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Paris in 4 weeks is ridiculous. Simply nuts.

That is 8 major countries spread over most of Europe in 4 weeks is ridiculous. W/ 1/2 to 1 full day travel from one city to another, and say you want to see JUST London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Florence, Amsterdam and Paris leaves you approx 20 days free to explore 11 cities.

nutty . . . W/ 4 weeks - consider Open jaw into London and out of (your choice) Rome, Madrid, A'dam or Paris and design your itinerary based on those flights. Pick 4 countries max - 5 if you only mean Dublin and nothing else in Ireland.

I have to agree with the 'nutty' comments. You simply cannot enjoy a country's nuances with that kind of travel agenda. I once found 5 days in Manhattan not long enough and luckily was able to extend my stay by 2 more days(feeling I really needed a month). 4 weeks 4 cities - max (but I'd strongly advise making it 3 cities and 1 week roaming the countryside for a balanced and happy backpacking excursion.) Good luck and enjoy Edinburgh - it is mad fun that city.

Agree there is now way you can see anything but an extended tour of european train stations and airports. We have done several 3 weeks - that is 22 day - road trips. One was from Rome to Paris (parts of Italy Switzerland and France). Another was Netherlands, Belgium and Germany - again parts of. One was just Spain. One parts of Portugal and Spain. One parts of England and Scotland.

You simply will not have the time to see much of anything - just check off cities on a list.

To get a realistic idea have a look at bahn.de - which has train schedules, but not prices - for all of europe. And realize that since trains are city center to city center in most cases they are no slower than planes (when you include time trekking out to the airport, checking in 2 hours in advance - a MUST for many budget airlines - then trekking back into the next city).

Also, put together a brief list of what you want to see in each city - then how long it takes to see each place - I doubt very much it will fit into the 1.5 days you 're allowing in each place. (IMHO London, Paris and Rome need at least 5 nights for a first trip if you want to see some of the major sights and have some time to explore neighborhoods, have time to sit in a cafe with a glass of wine or campari and soda and just experience the place.)

7 countries in 4 weeks is WAY too much. You need to trim down your itinerary. You'll spend all your time going place to place, whether by train or plane doesn't matter. You need to get a more practical list of where you're going... then refine your planning for transportation.

"Would it be cheaper to get a Eurail pass or Fly (either Easyjet or RyanAir)? "

How the hell can anyone but you answer such an inane question?

There's precisely one way of working that out. Draw up an itinerary, then price the three options (buying the pass from trhat American company, buying individual train tickets and flying).

To do that requires someone to get round to creating an itinerary. And just one person on this planet is able to do that.

Now get off your arse and do your homework. When you've got a sensible question, you'll find this board is a great resource for getting it answered. But as long as you ask dumb questions like this, you deserve every single one of those equally dumb "you can't visit 7 countries in 28 days" answers. Of course you can: you've just stumbled on a few people who wouldn't do that themselves and can't get it into their tiny brains that not everyone thinks like them.

Hey

7 countries in 4 weeks? Good luck.

((I))

actually 8 -- England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France.

And yes - technically it is possible to get to all those places. But do you want to just say you've been, or do you want more than a day and a half in places like London, Paris, Rome Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam . . . . .

Thanks for the feedback.

As I said, that was just the list of countries we wanted to go to, and that most interested my group. Not that we were going.

There's no one form of transport that always comes out cheapest. You have to work out where you are going and compare planes, rail pass or individual rail tickets (or combinations thereof).

Not easy but no-one else can do it for you.

I think the only thing that is safe to assume is that from Ireland to the Continent, the only sensible way to travel in your case will be by plane and not by train(s)/ferries.
After that.. well.. see flanner's remarks. You can come up with a "plane-friendly" itinerary or end up with an itinerary that makes trains more suitable.

ok, if that's just a list of ideas, I'd work first to firm up the itinerary with your group. THEN work on the transportation options. Your question really can't be answered until you know where you're going. For example, you'll want to compare 2nd class point-to-point rail tickets vs. buying some sort of rail pass in advance (but you can't do a price comparison until you know your route & stops).

BTW, a Eurail pass does not apply to British train travel.

Ok, thanks for the tips. My group is going to decide where exactly we are going to go. Then do some research.