I want to treat my old man (85 years old) to a train trip to parts of Europe he has not seen before. I am from South Africa so apologies if my questions are ignorant.
1) Yes
2) Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia are not part of the Schengen system. US passport holders don't need visas, but at least Serbia seems to indicate that South Africans must apply for a tourist visa and you should confirm the other two, also.
3) Buses may be faster or more frequent than trains in some areas, particularly in Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Regular rail tickets are also cheap once you get past Germany. See our "Balkans" rail page for a start. An actual value comparison of rail passes depends on your specific plans for destinations and number of travel days.
Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.
I am struggling myself with the public transport options in that part of the world. They are less convenient than in Germany, France, Italy, Austria.
Generally, the Eurorail option is not considered as good of a value as it once was. We used it on one trip. On other trips, we have purchased tickets as we went along. One tip: Write down dates in the European manner YYYY-MM-DD. We bought tickets, and the agent misunderstood the date. We paid more for the final ticket.
One issue: How flexible and able is your dad? 85 YO persons vary from "pretty fit" to "wheelchair-bound". If he's in a wheelchair, busses are out. So, we need a bit more info.
Great feedback guys. Your certainly provided the information I was asking for. My old man is healthy'sh, but I know he will not appreciate struggling through 3rd world dirty stations and uncomfortable trains. He certainly wouldn't take a commuter train in South Africa. Many years ago he travelled by train in Germany and loved it, but it seems like some of the eastern Europe countries need a few years to reach such standards.
I'll change my plans and research other European train rides. Another option I came across today, is training East to West(or West to East) across Canada with Via Rail. Reviews on forums rave about it. It's a bit further and more costly to get there etc. but then, how does one put a price on an enjoyable travel experience? :)
I cant comment that much on the trains i eastern Europe, but it seems like you are mainly interested in doing a great train journey amd not necesarrily going to Eastern Europe? In that case have a look at the site www.seat61.com. It’s the bible for train geeks everywhere.
None of the countries you mentioned will have "third world" train stations or conditions (in spite of the graffiti). But, after Communist times, it's not a surprise to see some underinvestment in the rolling stock and other infrastructure in the poorer countries of the ones you mentioned (Bulgaria and Serbia). Poland has gotten tons of investment from the EU and their major cities are connected by modern Pendolino trains that are fairly new.
Train stations in Poland, Czechia and Budapest are those I have experienced other than Germany based on your list. All these train stations are modern with the latest tech aids, facilities, etc in Czechia, Hungary and Poland.
My most recent experience outside of Germany was in Brno and Prague,...absolutely no problems, very satisfactory, signs are in three languages as are announcements. The Mrs did a solo trip to Poland last year, was in Lublin, Warsaw, and Krakow, which has a brand new and expanded station.
