Europe Trains

leigh, As you're "new and looking for advice", my first suggestion would be to read Europe Through The Back Door as that will answer a lot of your questions not only about trains, but also other aspects of travelling in Europe. How long to stay in each place will depend to some extent on your interests and what you want to see. Trains are usually the most efficient method of getting from one place to another, however that depends to some extent on the time and distance involved. Without a more specific list of cities, it's impossible to provide more specific information. In some cases, travel by budget airlines is a better option. With only three weeks, I'd suggest not trying to fit too many cities into the Itinerary, as you won't have time. Keep in mind that you'll lose the first and last days of the trip in travel times, so that will only leave 19-days for actual touring. Each time you move to a different city, at least half a day will be required (and in some cases the better part of a full day). Which cities are you planning to visit in Germany and Italy? If you have a PBS TV station in your area, you might get some good ideas about places to visit by having a look at Travels in Europe. Good luck with your planning!

What Ken said! Bobbie

All you want to know about train travel is at www.seat61.com. We use it extensively and book all of our trains and ferrys using their advice and tips. You will get the inexpensive tickets, the best seats, and learn how to get around with ease. We usually fly to London, stay two nights, then Eurostar to Paris and take trains everywhere else. Trains are so relaxing and easy to navigate. We have arrived in London then spent 2 nights in Portsmouth (I'm a British naval history buff) then took the ferry across to Caen where we had a rental care for 5 nights in Normandy, then a train back into Paris. Last fall we took a high speed train from Paris to Monte Carlo for two nights which was delightful. Others promote flying but it's always such a dreadful hassle that trains are how we travel. If you go deep into Italy, and it's right next door in Monte Carlo, you may need to fly to save time. The train is 6 hours down the Loire Valley with great sights in all the towns you pass through.
We love Paris and London and 5-6 nights in each would be good. We fly home from London so we do 2-3 nights there on the return leg then hop the plane for home. Amsterdam, 2 nights, don't know about where you like in Germany or Italy. Monte Carlo/Nice is worth 2-3 nights, tops. Do your homework well in advance. Don't try to do too much because you'll be back, trust me.

Leigh, I think it is technically possible but not optimal by a long shot. And Normandy is really impractical, unless that's all you want to see in France. Cramming it in is a typically newbie error. A little time with a map and a train schedule should wise you up. You can have a fabulous trip in 3 weeks, have fun!

leigh, It would be more efficient to travel London - Paris (possibly with Normandy) - Amsterdam - Berlin - Italy. Using a flight from Berlin to Rome would be preferable to travel by train, as that's a LONG trip. It would also be advisable to use open-jaw flights, inbound London and outbound Rome. That will save the time and cost of returning to your starting point. Good luck with your planning!

Might need to cut Italy from this trip. If it is just Rome, you could go: - Fly into London, 4 days - Eurostar to Paris, 4 days - Train to Amsterdam, 3 days - Train to Germany (limit to one or two places), 6 days - Fly to Rome, 4 days
- Fly home from Rome

How about.......... FLY Toronto To London, England. EUROTRAIN London To Paris 341km TRAIN Paris to Amsterdam 429km TRAIN Amsterdam to Berlin 574km FLY Berlin to Rome 1186km FLY Rome to Toronto What about overnight train from Berlin to Rome? 4 days in england 4 days in paris 2 days in amsterdam 3 days in germany
4 days in italy Thats 17 out of 21 days. Which allows for getting there and going home +24 hours of travel.

If you want to travel by train from Berlin to Rome, you can take a direct ICE train from Berlin to Munich, departing at 14:39 and arriving at 20:46. Then take a direct CNL night train to Rome, departing at 21:02 and arriving at 09:15. That's a total travel time of 18hr36min. Or you could leave Berlin as early as 05:48 and arrive in Munich at 12:44. Spend the afternoon and early evening seeing a bit of the city before taking the night train to Rome. While I love trains and can sleep well on them, I think flying Berlin-Rome would be a better use of your vacation time (unless stopping over in Munich for a few hours appeals to you).

Looks like Flying Berlin to Rome would be better suited for our trip.

The problem with flying is the amount of time it eats up. I'm guessing it's likely to be upwards of an hour to get from your hotel to the Berlin airport . . . 3 hours before the flight. It's close to an hour on the train from the airport to Rome, and you may end up waiting for half an hour for the train, after you have gone through passport control, collected your checked bags and customs, then navigated the airport to find the train station. So add 5-6 hours to the flight time, a whole day gone. With Rome so much further than your other destinations, I'd recommend leaving it for your NEXT trip, and seeing more of Italy at the same time. You could add a day to each of your other cities for a day trip to see some of the charming small towns in Europe.

If you decide to go in the summer, there are better departure times and choices on the long rides, such as Amsterdam to Berlin. For your trip, I suggest doing that on the night train, CNL. Greater chance of a direct connection. Berlin to Rome is good too for that with a transfer in Munich.

Whats the best way to book an open jaw flight>?