Transport around Europe
 

Hi everyone,

my girlfriend and I are spending August, September and October in Europe. I am trying to work out the best way to organise the following journeys:

- train from Paris airport to Avignon on 2 August;
- train from Nice to Cinque Terre on 23 August;
- train from Florence to Rome 6 September;
- train from Rome to Venice 10 September;
- train from Venice to Interlaken 13 September;
- train from Interlaken to Berlin 15 September;
- train from Berlin to Paris 20 September; and
- train from London to Scotland on 20 October.
(all of the travel in between will be done by car).

I am wondering if we should book some sort of bulk eurail pass (you can get one that gives 10 days travel over a 2 month period) or if it would be better to just book trains as we go.
I am already leaning towards booking as we go because we can book a train directly from Charles de Gaulle airport to Avignon and I don't know whether eurail offers this.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Eurail sells passes. Each country has their own train company. In France, it's scnf and TGV. In Italy, it's Trenitalia. In Switzerland, it's sbb.ch.

Some of your trains would not be covered by a pass. France limits the number of passholder places on some trains. In Italy, all of the faster trains require paid seat reservations even with a pass. You also have to pay supplements for trains between countries. You have to crunch the numbers of your itinerary and add in all the supplement costs to see if a pass is better or point-to-point tickets.

http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/pdfs/reservations.pdf

When buying tickets between countries, you usually need to buy from the departing country's website.

Venice to Interlaken is a long day (about 7-8 hours).

If you haven't already booked flights, I would put Scotland first to have better weather. Head south to London, then Paris, etc. Fly home from either Berlin or Italy.

Most train companies have discounted tickets available for advance purchase online (120 days in advance on Trenitalia, but summer schedules aren't loaded yet).

Some of your routes would be better by one of the many budget airlines in Europe.
www.whichbudget.com
www.skyscanner.com

Before you purchase any type of rail pass compare with the cost of buying point to point tickets direct from the rail company. In France you'll get the cheapest ticket prices for long distance trains if you purchase up to 3 months in advance. For France you can use www.voyages-sncf.com to research schedules and prices and book tickets.

The website www.seat61.com is one of the most comprehensive websites for info about rail travel in Europe. Also check the budget airlines cost vs. rail travel. To check rail times between places and other info anywhere in Europe use the website www.bahn.de and then go the official rail company to search ticket prices.

I am wondering if we should book some sort of bulk eurail pass (you can get one that gives 10 days travel over a 2 month period) or if it would be better to just book trains as we go.
I am already leaning towards booking as we go because we can book a train directly from Charles de Gaulle airport to Avignon and I don't know whether eurail offers this.>

Eurailpasses are valid on trains from CDG to Avignon though you have to pay a few euros for the mandatory seat reservation. As for the efficacy of a Eurailpass well you are traveling on lots of trains and the more the more viable a pass becomes - anyway for lots of great info on European trains and passes I always spotlight these IMO info-laden sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; and www.ricksteves.com.

You are taking 7 long train trips and even if you could get discounted tickets on all segments - very iffy and if you do not full fare on most of those routes could be very expensive - so often folks just throw out the idea of online discounts without knowing if they are available on all segments and even if they were that means putting your itinerary in concrete as those tickets arew usually non-changeable and non-refundable and must be booked weeks in advance to guarantee.

A pass lets you chose which trains you want to take as you go along and in many countries like Switzerland, Germany you can just hop on any train anytime and are you over 25 - then it is a first-class pass with first-class perks - in my years of incessant European train riding I adamantly say that there is a significant benefit to first class, especially for folks with baggage - usually a lot of empty seats - seats are bigger, baggage storage is easier, etc.

Also, do not use RailEurope to buy tickets without first checking the official rail companies. Often RailEurope doesn't show all the available trains and will also usually charge higher prices than the official rail websites.

RailEurope has been planning on tapping into the same booking system as used by various national railways of Europe but has repeatedly delayed that thru technical glitches my sources say - when they do they will make their much of their staff in White Plains NY redundant and presumably offer the same rates as the national railways with a modest surcharge - like I read in Man in Seat 61, I think, where RE is now using www.renfe.com - Spaoish Railways official sites with corresponding prices with a modest $7 added on - well worth it to many who try to use that extremely flummoxing and frustrating site to many (as proved by innumerable complaining posts on Fodors!) - that said I guess not all the renfe.com's trains are yet possible at going rates but many.

But for the present FrenchMystiqueTours is correct in what he/she says TMK.

>><i>- train from Berlin to Paris 20 September; and
- train from London to Scotland on 20 October.
(all of the travel in between will be done by car).</i><<

I don't see '- train from Paris to London'. Does that mean you plan on taking a car from France to the UK? The Eurostar is (usually) by far the easiest way to get from Paris/most of northern France to London.

Yes I agree with janis - ditch the car on the Continent and take the Chunnel train, as Americans are want to often call the Eurostar trains and rent a British right-side drive vehicle in Britain - or you may want to drive to Calais, return car there, hop the short ferry ride to Dover, pick up car and motor thru wondrous Kent en route to London or elsewhere.

<<take the Chunnel train, as Americans are want to often call the Eurostar trains>>

Americans call it the Eurostar, because that's what it is, despite PalQ repeatedly reurging that bit of nonsense on these boards.

Fact is, if you take a car from the Continent into the UK, you will have a left-side driving apparatus and drive on the left side of the road. That's unnatural - it's far easier to drive on the left side of the road if your driver-side is on the right side of the car.

Plus, you do NOT want a car in London. Good gosh.

PQ: >>as Americans are want to often call the Eurostar trains<<

Since you insist on posting this over and over (and over and over), at least get the grammar right . . .

<u>wont</u> not 'want' . . .

Thanks for the correcto - I meant wont but it came out want - but both fit the context for what most Americans call trains that go via the Channel Tunnel Rail Link - Chunnel trains!

The occasional old geezer who hasn't been to Europe for 30 years may mistakenly call it the Chunnel. Everyone else caught on decades ago.

>>Thanks for the correcto - I meant wont but it came out want <<

Interesting - it has also 'come out' that way all the other times you've posted it. Once <i>maybe</i> a typo (but the O is a loooooong way from the A on a qwerty). Multiple times . . . :?

Doesn't really matter - either way the premise is wrong.