Train Travel

I would say most people travel by rail. 80% to 90% I'll guess. I have not been away that long, but for a 3-week trip, exclusively by rail.

Of course you can travel Europe by rail, many do and many prefer it. https://www.seat61.com/ covers all the possible questions you might have on the topic.

I've done a 1 month trip primarily by rail and currently planning a 5 week trip with trains as primary transportation. I wouldn't think it would be easy to do it exclusively by rail if you want to go off the main lines but there is generally other public transportation available.

Hi daughteroflily, Welcome to the forum. In Europe, train travel is the way to go and some of us always travel by train. It's much better than Amtrak and, even the buses in Europe, are far more comfortable, cleaner and more modern than what we have in the U.S.
And yes--I've traveled for ten weeks by train throughout Europe in addition to many more trips not quite as lengthy.
One of the best things about trains is that you'll be sitting by the local people who live in the country you're traveling through.

I will never forget a train journey in Italy when I could hear an Italian song being played. It wasn't long before one person began humming the song. Then another passenger started singing the song. And-- in no time at all--most of my fellow passengers in the train carriage were all singing the song!

If you really want to enjoy your trip to Europe--take the trains!

If i spend a few thousand $$$ crossing the Atlantic, my goal is to get to the places that interest me, and I dont want that limited by "it must be a train." For up to a 4 hour trip, sure, the first choice. But 4 hours won't get you terribly far on most train routes. Since you are asking the question, maybe you dont know you can fly halfway across Europe in 2 hours or lass for often as little as $50 if you pack light. The people on that flight are just as likely to be "local" as the ones on the train.

Trains are great. But trains are late, just like planes. Maybe more often. Figuring out how to buy train tickets can be more confusing than plane tickets. Train schedules do change, there are more strikes shutting down service, and the equipment can vary a lot. Just read some of the train issue posts on this forum.

The view out the window that one would expect is rarely worth the time ... when there is a view as it is generally obstructed by walls and vegetation to control noise.

But a train can be the ideal short haul transportation tool, and prices are hard to beat. My train trip today, for instance, is 3 hours, and it's free because I am an old-fart. But I dont have some romanticized concept of what will happen today. It will probably be late, it will probably be a bit warm, no drink service, lots of stops, possibly people standing cause they sold more tickets than seats. But the best option this time.

The next question is, "Do i want a EurRail pass or something similar?" You should ask the question.

Also keep in mind, there are countries with few or poor rail connections, so you will eliminate them from your month. For me they are some of the most interesting countries too. I guess the point is the best trips for me have been the ones with no rules and no preconceived notions of the way to do things in Europe. .

My wife and I spent three months using unlimited 1st class Eurail passes last summer. It was terrific. We took Eurostar from London to Brussels, then national trains in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Czechia, Austria and Italy. Even eight-hour rail trips are usually a time wash with air if one factors in travel from city centers to airports and the time to clear airport security (the standard "two hours before your flight"), and IME they're far more comfortable in transit.

The only intra-European flight we took was from Bergen to Gdansk, a good decision. If we had it to do over again, we likely would've also flown from Munich to Lecce, as the train trip was over 15 hours. Otherwise things worked extremely well. We did need to pay extra for seat assignments on Freccia trains in Italy, and the passes didn't cover the local trains in Puglia, but otherwise everything was included in the Eurail passes. Very relaxed, comfortable and economical way to see Europe if you're there for an extended time. Using the passes for day trips in Belgium and Netherlands was especially convenient, as well as our day trips from Bologna.

I'll add that many RS posters say that first class rail travel in Europe is a waste of money, and at single-trip pricing I'd agree; the cost difference can be staggering. But the premium on Eurail to move up to first class is relatively small, and the added comfort and luggage storage space in first class carriages is IMO well worth it.

I may not share jphbucks' views on modern and contemporary art, but he's pretty spot on with his views on train travel :)

Mr E, four hours is quite a short self-imposed limit on the duration of your train journeys. I'd reckon the majority of people are bit more flexible than that.

When I'm travelling up to Scotland, the presence of a railway station right in the city is probably the major factor in deciding to use the train. It does away with that trek out to the airport and all the palaver with security. The four hours twenty minute journey is much quicker than | could do it trekking out to the airport and doing the security screening.

The Eurostar to Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam is closer to the time it would take to fly, but stepping off the train in the centre of those cities having got exit and entry security over with makes it a more appealing prospect to me.

I have absolutely no problem with trains. I am gettin on one in about 3 hours. But for some the Romance of the Rails clouds the function of the tool. And thats fine, because holidays are all about enjoyment.

I agree with jphbucks that first class can be a nice thing. The last few trains I was on were sell outs with standing room only. They got warm and there was the occasional backpack banging my head and getting to the head is not happening. There was a food car, but you couldn’t get to that either because of all the standing people.

With a little shopping, sometimes you can get a good rate on first class. If you are crossing a border, you can usually buy from 2 or 3 different national rail companies. And the prices for the same train and same seat will be different. Then someone will try and convince you to use a third-party seller. Always a no-no …. except that some national rail sites are so messed up that you end up using a third-party seller anyway. Then there is NightJet tickets …. Never mind.

I will disagree on the time when a flight becomes faster. There is no hard rule because it depends on the distance from the airports and train stations to your destination in the city. I do agree when you figure it out, it must be figured door to door.

My classic example because its a popular route is Prague to Budapest; and because I have done the math a dozen times. Take a train and door to door will be about 8.5 hours. Leave on the 9:30 am train and you will get to your hotel in Budapest at about 6:00 pm. The entire day is gone to travel and I would be too pooped to do much if anything that evening. Remember still got to check in, unpack, clean up ..... naaaa, eat at hotel and go to bed. The flight, door to door will be about 5 hours. Leave on the 10:20 am flight and the you will be at your hotel at 3:20. Neither is right, just different.

But it’s about more than travel time. It can be about arrival time or the time you have to wake or ??? or also about what you enjoy (one post above thinks their enjoyment threshold is correct and mine is not correct ... seriously?). Some just absolutely hate airports and a 15-hour train trip is better for them. I have no issue with that. Me? I begin to squirm at 4 or maybe 5 hours of sitting, so I start looking for a flight. All good.

I have done two 80 day trips to Europe. I have used a combination of train and car rental depending on where I wanted to go. For example, in the Dordogne I had a car and in Alsace I had a car. It made touring those areas so much easier because public transportation takes too much time because the schedules are not frequent and sometimes not real close to sights or places I wanted to see. Plus, I don't care for buses and avoid them when I can. I would say 90% of my trip was by train.

My advice to you is to plan where you want to go and either loop your trip if you are planning on a round trip airfare or work your way from your entry point to your exit point if they are different. Whenever possible, do not backtrack.

A two month trip will take a lot of planning. Enjoy.

It all depends on where you want to go, and where your start and end points are. Is it possible to do a lengthy trip only by train? Certainly, as long as every place you want to go has a train station. But don't let that limit you. If you want to explore rural areas with more limited public transportation, there is nothing wrong with renting a car for a few days before returning it and moving on. Just make sure you have an International Driver's Permit before leaving home. Hopefully your planning will be in a logical linear or circular progression and you won't need to take an intraEuropean flight; but that might also be an option.

All of my trrips are "months" at a time. I use a combination of trains, planes, ferries and buses.

How I decide which mode of transportatation depends on a few things:

--length of journey;

--scenery involved;

--changes necessary to reach my destination;

--location of airports, ferry terminals, train stations and bus stations;

--size of airport;

--cost

--convenience

Lately, I've been flying more than taking the train. Ferries can be fine and buses are the last form of transportation for me. (Personal preference.)

As Mr. E pointed out many trains are overcrowded, late or even canceled. Then they can get very noisy and disruptive. (I never travel without my noise canceling ear buds.)

As I get older, I turn more towards convenience and ease of travel over whether or not I'm saving a few Euros or Pounds or Zloty or whatever.

My goal is to have an enjoyable journey.

An hour in transit looking at unfamiliar and often beautiful landscapes is not the same as an hour looking at clouds or, if one is unlucky, the elbows of the obese passengers seated on either side of you in the window and aisle seats of a 737 or A321. Or time waiting in a queue awaiting security checks.

These differences haven't been mentioned in this discussion, and for me, one of the great joys of travel is experiencing and enjoying the unfamiliar. Unfortunately, neither security queues nor obese elbows are unfamiliar to me.

July / August travel.

Train stations are not air-conditioned. Trains often have minimal air conditioning. Airports and aircraft win for simmer comfort almost every time.

Trains often have minimal air conditioning

Maybe in Hungary - can't generalize because "Europe" is a large diverse collection of nations, not one ...

Something I have heard previous posters saying many times - it applies to trains too.

Most modern British trains are air conditioned, same with many Italian, French, Dutch, German, as well as Luxembourgish and some Belgian.

So is the generalization about eastern Europe?

The word "often" is generalizing? Okay, "More frequently than with air travel." Probaby by a large margin.

The AC was minimal on my last OBB train as well. Hard not be with big windows, doors opening every hour and 98F outside.

And airport departure halls have AC. Train platforms? Its freeking hot today.

And if you are doing the train for the views. The bus on the same trip will "often" have better views. So for views a bus might be superior to a train. The bus was better on my trip today. Train / Bus / Train

Forgot. Drink service is better on Wizz tand OBB or MAV.

Again, i love trains when they are the best solution for me, I am on one today and i had options. I just dont romanticize them when they aren't the best option for me, and I dont carry some ideological bent that "smart" or experienced tourists always ride trains.

We have traveled in Europe by personal car (lived in Germany from 87-91), rental car, train or group tour bus.

We are in our late 70s now and mostly take group tours. We did take a great Danube River cruise last summer.
If you plan to visit large European cities, take the train. Cars are a liability in a big city, parking is hard to find and expensive. Also, traffic is usually terrible.

If you wish to visit smaller towns and the countryside, rental cars are great, but depending on where you go, there is usually a train station as well.
One thing, taking the train from major city to major city, you will usually find a high speed train that moves fast and don't stop much at all. Example, we were in Italy a few weeks ago and had to get to Siena, a smaller city in Tuscany from Rome.
We took the high speed train from Rome to Florence that took 1.5 hours. Then we transferred to a regional train from Florence to Siena, which also took about 1.5 hours. That train stopped many times and was slower. The distance covered by the high speed train was about 4 or 5 times more than the regional train.

Regional trains are cheap, but frequently crowded. On a trip to Germany for the river cruise, we took regional trains in Bavaria and every time, we had to stand for about half the time.

Ok, Mr.Ë, give up. Lol.

Train stations are not air-conditioned.

Some are, some are not. Some stations are amazingly comfy. Some are not.

The point for the OP should be that yes, you certainly can do a 2 month trip by train. But if you have specific destinations in mind, broaden your thought process to compare all forms of transportation. Train is not always better, nor always worse. If you are in Switzerland, it’s pretty fantastic. If in Croatia, not really possible. But if you want to just ride trains and are willing to pick destinations based on where they go, then a 2 month trip by train is certainly possible and can be very comfortable. It’s all about personal priorities, as long as you know other options are available and could be considered.

I agree with TexasTravelMom and the others. The best method of transport will vary from country to country.

In recent years, I've used trains extensively in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands as it's so easy and relatively inexpensive. But when I spent a little under 6 weeks in England, I split it up. About half the time I used trains or buses, and the other half I rented a car (twice - in 2 different places). During my 3 weeks in Scotland, I mostly rented a car, as public transport is not that good on the islands.

Many eastern European countries do not have the fast trains you will find in western Europe, so you need to look and see what's available. Some have trains but they may be very slow. A train that takes 4 hours in Germany might take 12 hours in Bulgaria for the same distance.

I would also look at buses, too. In many cases (I'm thinking of Turkey) they are the primary method of transport unless you want to rent a car or fly from place to place. FWIW, I loved the buses! I met so many locals on them, and had great experiences. One Turkish mother passed over her baby for me to hold while she went into the rest stop to use the bathroom and buy some food. So I got to play with a gorgeous 6 month old baby for 15 minutes. I was in heaven. :-)

Oh no. Now its planes versus trains? Is this taking the place of Eurail Pass versus point to point? Carryon versus checked bags?

The OP asked if you could travel for two months by train. The answer is YES. It just takes some careful planning so you do not have 7-8 hour train trips.

My classic example because its a popular route is Prague to Budapest; and because I have done the math a dozen times. Take a train and door to door will be about 8.5 hours.

Or you could train from Prague to Bratislava and spend a day or two and breakup the trip.

I have never met one person who has traveled to Europe who did not come home and rave about the train system in Europe. We have air travel in the US, but train travel, by and large, is almost non-existent.

When you return home after your trip you will say to yourself, "I wish trains were more available in the US". Trains are easy on-easy off. Don't be discouraged that travel by train is uncomfortable. It isn't the vast majority of the time.

Train stations are not air-conditioned. Trains often have minimal air conditioning.

This has not been my experience. On a few local trains sometimes AC is minimal, but generally most trains are comfortable. Also, I found most train stations are fairly cool in the summer because of the shade, open areas and breezes coming through the platforms.

If you need to travel from Paris to Rome in a day, fly. If you have two months...all aboard!

Thanks for all of the replies.

geovagriffith, is correct. I am going to Paris in a few weeks. I'll be on the train. Only s couple of changes and 14 hours.

Nick, Good thing I have 4 days off. And Nord has AC at most of the platforms.

Problem is that it only runs three days a week and it really dosent work with my plans; and the ticket is $683 each way for a single guy that wants a shower (plus the cost of the Budapest connection), which is way beyond what this poor old guy can spend. I guess I can never return to Paris. Not enough time for a day train and can't afford a night train. This is the cost of working my way up through the ranks to becoming a wise and smart European traveler. I refuse to be tempted by the $80 WizzAir ticket that gets me there in 2:15 hours cause I know it will really be like a hundred hours because of early checkin and late planes.

Keleti station has public showers (took me 10 seconds to check that), whether or not the Business Lounge also has them.
And I've not been to Budapest in decades.
I would be very surprised if they didnt also exist somewhere at Vienna HbF, maybe in the OBB lounge.
Sleeper passengers can use both lounges.

The day train can cost as little as 90 Euro Budapest to Paris if booked sufficiently ahead of time. £174 as soon as next Wednesday.

I refuse to be tempted by the $80 WizzAir ticket that gets me there in 2:15 hours cause I know it will really be like a hundred hours because of early checkin and late planes.

:) :) :) :)

isn31c, thanks. No shower knocks the ticket price down to about $600. The other issue with the Nightjet is that its pretty well sold out. You have to select each possible date, go through a few screens to reach what sort of accommodations are available. For instance a great many only had shared womens compartments. Last sleeper I was on was co-ed so this nice (by the way, I didnt sleep at all on that trip). I could get the price down to about $250 if i shared a room with some strangers. But I dont do hostels so why would i do that? Sure the day train. 14 hours best case, both directions.

You are correct, I could do the day train. The only trains I saw that were under 15 hours and 2 changes or less were over 200 euro a seat (late August, early September) but there are a number of train companies to check to know for sure. There is no google flights for trains. But lets say I could do 90 euro. and 15 hours? Getting to Keleti with some advance time = and hour. Then Paris Gare de l’Est (which doesnt have ac at the platforms and it will be 104F) according to Google Maps is 30 minutes by public transport to my accommodations. So 16.5 hours. We will also assume I can find a train at about 8am which should get me to my hotel by midnight.

Like I said, I may never get to see Paris again.......

Somehow this post went off "the rails". (Pun intended).

Its a train wreck.
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38433/m1/1/high_res/

Hard to keep "track" of every post.