car rental vs public transportation

I used train in Holland and thought it was great but alittle pricey.. Parking can be difficult. Ck rail fares ahead from www.raileurope.com to see if it works for you. no question for France but no need in Paris for the vehicle. I assumed you are only 2 persons when I wrote this.

?

It will be far less expensive to use public
transportation than renting a car. Parking is
very costly and hard to find. Petrol is costly.

Don’t even consider driving a car for 4 days
in Amsterdam.

You can use the bus to get you to those
places you mention. Take the tour bus to
Keukenhof Gardens.

Picking up your car in Leiden will be best. It is
a small town and easily navigated.

We were in Holland at the end of April. We used public transportion exclusively and found it to be convenient, economical, and fun. I got the nerves just walking in Amsterdam!I think Kamikazes trained on Dutch bicycles. By all means, visit Haarlem for the floats; it's only a 15 minute train or bus from Central Station and a lovely town in its own right. We also went to Keukenhof--absolutely amazing. The Tourist office in the train station sold the package including admission and transportation. I believe we picked up the bus at Leidseplein and transferred to another bus at the airport, following the same route back. Easy as pie and hassle free.

Dorsey,

it's 4 days later and you still haven't provided the most important piece of information for anybody to be able to tell you if it's less expensive to rent a car or use public transit. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR GROUP?

If you're a group of 4 or more it will be cheaper to rent a car to travel outside Amsterdam. If you're a group of 3 you may have to calculate more carefully to make that decision, don't rent a care if you're just a couple.

I definitely would avoid to drive in the city. We payed a fortune to park next to the Van Gogh museum. Though in that particular case that was meant as a stop going from the airport to rural northern Germany - a trip I do by train when I'm alone but that is definitely easier and cheaper by car when travelling as a family of four.

It's much cheaper to use the public transportation. Driving in busy European cities is always a problem. Amsterdam is not as bad as Paris or Rome, but it's still crowded. Finding a parking lot might be challenging and as others said it's expensive.

There will be my wife and I on this trip. Thanks for the feedback, Dorsey

The only segments of your trip where a car would help would be Normandy, Loire Valley, and maybe Bollenstreek. Don't even think of using a car in Amsterdam or Paris.

It depends a lot on the number of travelers. For one or two, public transport is cheaper. When you get to four or more, a car is cheaper.

You are going three weeks around France. You should NOT rent a car. Rather look into leasing a Peugeot or Renault (17 days minimum). It's much cheaper and the price includes collision waiver insurance instead of paying extra for it on a rental.

If you pick up and drop off in France there is no additional charge. I picked up and dropped off outside of France and it was still a great deal.

Take a GPS from home that you have learned how to use. TomToms and Garmins have models that include European maps and work well. It will save you enough time and hassle to be more than worth its price.

You won't want to drive in Amsterdam or Paris. Pick up something when you are leaving the city and drop it off when you get to Paris. Cars are only an expensive hassle in the big cities. Smaller cities and towns are easier to drive and park in.

When you are in the country, a car is the best option. Public transportation may be available but usually has limited service and can include long waits for connections or traveling at inconvenient times. A car lets you travel on your schedule.

For one or two, public transport is cheaper. When you get to four or more, a car is cheaper.

That might be true in Dorsey's case, but it is not always true. I am currently planning a two week trip with my daughter, her husband, and old friend, and her husband (5 people) through Germany. I plan to base in Munich (day in Salzburg), Oberammergau (Linderhof & Neuschwanstein), Rothenburg, and around Koblenz (Rhein castles, Köln, and Mosel). I have accounted for all travel including local travel, and the total comes to €400 (about $520 currently). Try renting a car big enough for five adults and luggage, and pay for fuel, for $520 for two weeks.

In this case I plan to use exclusively Länder-Tickets and Gruppentageskarten for local travel. They are the same price for five people as for two people, but a car for five adults would definitely be more than a car big enough for only two.

Lee,

great for you to be able to do detailled calculations. You can really save a lot of money by using local and regional trains.

However, be aware that on longer stretches that can add a lot of time to your journey. If I take a car from Frankfurt airport to my father's place in NW Germany, just over 300 km, it takes about 3.5 hours (I do account for some traffic jams in this). About the same time with IC/ICE but 6 hours by regional trains!

About a year ago, I spent a weekend in Hamburg visiting a friend. I paid extra for the IC because it shaved more than two hours from the travel time on a distance of only 300 km!

Bea, after 14 week in Germany (this century), I am fully aware that longer stretches can add more time. Of course, for the most part, I recommend that people explore an area more in depth rather than jumping from place to place. And, you have to admit, your situation, having a father in NW Germany, and only wanting to go directly there, is somewhat unique.

Although Länder tickets save a lot of money for local travel, they do take more time. I don't generally recommend them for travel across a lot of German Länder. On the other hand, what is the cost of renting a car for a day, and fuel, divided by the time saved (2½ hrs)? It probably more than most Americans make per hour.

And, unlike most people, you are not a tourist. Last November, I wanted to spend a week in the Harz. But my trip was for two weeks. I also wanted to spend a few days on the Mosel, something I had not done before. So, I landed in Frankfurt and went immediately to Treis-Karden for four nignts, using a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket. Then I traveled to the Harz via Köln and Hannover using a Dauer-Spezial Ticket for €29.

Lee,

my father's place is a base for me. If I want to see other friends and family I have to travel. When I'm on my own I do almost everything by train even though I could get my father's car for free! Because I do factor in cost for fuel and parking - and the stress of getting stuck in a traffic jam. But when my kids and husband are along, we are more like tourists and then the train does become way more expensive. Either, because we end up leaving the boundaries of cheap Laendertickets. Or we do day trips and then the time factor is important! If Cologne is 2 hours away by IC it's a nice day trip. But if it's 3-4 hours by regional train that doesn't work as well anymore.

All I want to say is that train travel is certainly a great way to travel in Germany but it does have its drawbacks and you need to be aware of them.

Great information, thanks. We managed to get a good price from autoeurope which has us pick up car rental in Leiden, Holland and dropping it off at the Paris Gare de Lyon. We will be returning from Chartres following a 14 day rental to Gare de Lyon train station. It is my understanding that the wise counse is to not drive into downtown Paris. How much trouble will we actually have; we will not be parking until we actually return the car at the Hertz rental place. Or, should we change our drop off location to Orly Airport and take public transportation to our hotel in downtown Paris. Thanks, Dorsey

Another question for all of you helpful folks. We plan on renting a car in Leiden after taking a train from Amsterdam. How easy is it to drive to the Keukenhof Gardens, Gouda, Delft and then onto Beligum for driving to Gent and Brugges, then onto Lilli and Caen? Thank you, Dorsey