We will be spending 1 month in Europe, beginning June 1, and want to see Austria, Switzerland, Germany (Rhine area) , & Northern Italy.
The train along part of the Rhine, to include Koblen to Bingen, along with Grimmelwald, Vienna & Lake Como (possibly the Bernini train) are things that we wanted to cover. Can anyone advise on the sequence that makes the most sense, and length of Eurorail pass we should consider? My previous jet lag experience makes me want to start for one week in the city that has the most local sites, in order to get acclimated. We are low key, and like to move pretty slowly :)
Thanks,
Marie
Posted by
Chicago
7839 posts
First of all you should fly into the Northern most point and then fly out the Southern most point or vice versa.
Research the air fare cost and ports of entry and departure first and then fill in the blanks about trains
Posted by
City of Seattle
1768 posts
Think about a river cruise on the Danube - not too pricey given they feed you and you have a place to sleep, great option for slower moving people who want to relax and take in the sights.
Posted by
City of Seattle
1768 posts
also just generally note that even if you're not on a multi-day cruise you can take ferries along the stretches of river you mention, way better way to take in the scene than the train.
Posted by
OP
Arizona
16 posts
Thank you for all the great ideas. The Danube sounds like a must see.
Posted by
Melbourne, Australia
35 posts
It really depends where else you may want to visit. But in the brief locations you said, you could do in two ways.
A... Germany - Switzerland - northern Italy - Austria.
B... Germany - Austria - Switzerland - Northern Italy.
or visa versa on either of them... Just really depends on what you want to see. But all great areas and locations of Europe, that we did back in 2013.
If your looking for a Eurail pass, that really also depends on the number of travel days you intend to do. But if your going for a month you could just get a month pass. Or if your destinations are going to be limited just buy point to point tickets. Another thing to be mindful of is to get to Gimmelwald (Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen is private line) and some other areas in Switzerland, the Eurail pass won't work as they have some private train lines so you will need to purchase a point to point ticket anyway...
Hope thats some useful info for you Marie...
Posted by
OP
Arizona
16 posts
Thank you so much Gary!
We decided to land in Amsterdam, then train to Cologne, St. Goar, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Switzerland, Lake Como, Milan, home. Did a series of Air BNB, and will get point to point rail , except for Switzerland. Pass for that area, as it is so expensive.
Longest stays will be Munich, & Vienna. Seemed like we could day trip from those pretty realistically. 2-3 nights in the other spots.
Excited, nervous, already tired.
Thanks again,
Marie