My husband and I will be spending 5 weeks in Europe, commencing 1 May 13 in Amsterdam and leaving 4 June 13 from Milan. We have debated car vs railpass and are leaning towards railpass. Any opinions on this? Our original plan was to do a 2 week river cruise (Amsterdam to Budapest), but the cost was too prohibitive for us. We are still thinking about focusing on the Rhine River area, but our itinerary is completely flexible and open. I'm looking for suggestions on must see places (and amount of time to spend there) in Benelux, Germany, Austria (we've done Salzburg), Slovenia (Rick has me convinced to visit Split) Northern Italy (we've done Venice, Rome, & Naples), and Switzerland? Any suggestions on the best way to travel to these places and/or places to stay? Any suggestions on base cities from which to do day trips? Thanks for any help and suggestions! Debbi :-)
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Debbi this is a tricky one, do not assume railpasses are a good deal, they often are not anymore, plus there are often additional reservation fees you have to pay on top of the pass for certian routes. It really is important that you sit down and rough out an itinerary , then you can compare the cost of point to point rail tickets to getting a pass. Other issus is there is no pass that is good in all the countries,, so it would end up a combo of pass and tickets, a bit messy. Switzerland is super expensive in every way, so I would opt for just a quick taste if budget is an issue. Its also one place I think a train ride would really be fun though, both of you can enjoy the amazing scenery instead of one looking at maps and the other the roads all day!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Most "must sees" are well cover in all guide books. If you do not want to buy go to your public library and check our the guidebooks, DVDs, etc. so that you can get an idea of what "must sees" appear to you. You must establish some type of a plan before you can determine if a railpass is worthwhile or not. Often not with the extra fees for reservations and some restrictions in some countries as to when a railpass can be used. On some trains the reservation fee with a railpass is more than a discounted fare on the same train.
Posted by
Whittington
984 posts
You may need this for clarity on rail passes, see the bold type - http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#Should
Posted by
Cincinnati, OH, USA
768 posts
Debbi:
Have you considered traveling by car and train? You could visit over a week without changing your lodging in Amsterdam. Four or five days in Amsterdam (great city), and additional day-trips to Saanse Schans, Haarlem and Utrecht (all by train). Then travel by train to Brugge for a few days. A train again to Cologne visiting there a few days. For the next week or so, rent a car in Cologne and drive along the Rhine with special attention to the castles between Koblenz and Rudesheim, turning the car in at Wiesbaden. Take the train again through Switzerland, perhaps making a couple stops in Switzerland, once to see the Rhine Falls, another to visit the Rhine Canyon. Continue on the train to the south to begin a 15+ day's visit to places that are quite beautiful and "authentic" (not over-run with tourists). The southernmost visit is in Siena. Spend at least a day there, and then on up to Florence (okay a lot of tourists here) for several more days. Florence is one of my wife and my favorite cities; we spent the largest part of one day in and around the Duomo and Baptistry taking time to ponder the importance of being in the place where the Renaissance began. Then another full day for the Uffizi and Academia. Then a train to Bologna (sadly, rarely visited by Americans) for a few days, then take the train to Verona (maybe Vicenza too), then back to Milanreserving a few days to visit there. The roof-top tour of the Duomo is quite interesting and you get great views of the city. By all means visit Teatro Alla Scala. In addition to being one of the finest opera houses in Europe, it has a history museum; I believe a book store and even a bar. If you're fortunate you might attend a performanceeven if you're not big fans of opera, it would be a remarkable experience.