Best transportation method for Germany, France, Spain?

Stephanie, This may not work for you and others will chime in to let you know too. this is how i do it and it works for me. Not saying in any way its your style. But if i dont know where i want to go its difficult to make plans for that. so, i commit myself where i want to go and then i can do some googling and number crunching. If i know where i want to go, then i use Skyscanner, Kayak or whatever i want to use to see: 1. If any flights go from A to B. 2. Price 3. time. 4. any direct flights or layovers. Then if those numbers dont appeal to me, i will look for alternative transportation. for trains. I will do the same. i will use Raileurope (others will tell you NO) but again, i will use it to see if ANY train will go from "A to B" and also the other particulars. You can try Dbahn also. Sometimes that will have answers sometimes not. its just to get an idea on what is possible, the cost, duration and how many stops i have to deal with. Im not buying any tickts at this time, its figuring out the hows. then i will look at what suits MY needs/requirements/$$$$ and go from there. i like to experimenent and see what I come up with and am not afraid to try some things as long as it doesnt cost me a weeks paycheck. afterall, im trying to do what you want to do also. just a comment. Depending on where you want to go, the train system in Europe is waaaaaaaay better than the USA. I just love using the train system over in eruope,but i dont let it interfere with my sight seeing since i want more time sight seeing than warming a seat on a plane or train. that will be up to you and what you like or dont and your pocketbook. Also, since youre traveling thru/in adjacent countries, trains could be 1 possible solution. happy trails.

Ask the locals. Depending on the points A, B, C etc the best (price, convenience etc) may be planes, trains, coaches or cars, or a combination.

For Spain to Paris and perhaps Paris to Berlin, discount airlines would probably be your cheapest option, although note that most of them only fly into the "vicinity" of your destination city, not the city itself. I assume that you're in Spain under a study abroad program and thus you have a valid student ID? For the Paris to Berlin stretch, you may be able to purchase a train ticket at a reduced student rate. Check the French (SNCF) and German (Deutsche Bahn) rail sites for more information.

Hi Stephanie,
try this web site - http://www.rome2rio.com/ - just enter your from and to destinations and check the results - it gives you lots of options, train, plane, car, etc etc and the prices and times. By clicking on a choice you can drill down deeper for more info and pricing and options - it's great site well worth hanging on to and playing with

Like Ray, I use skyscanner.com. It's a search engine that lists both budget airlines and national carriers. I'm one of those people who recommends steering clear of the Rail Europe site. Its timetables are incomplete and it only shows timetables for trains for which it sells tickets. And it doesn't offer discount fare tickets. The best detailed timetable site for virtually all trains in Europe is the German Rail site. The next semi-annual European timetable revisions will take effect on 15 December. Until each national rail company uploads those timetables, the German Rail site won't show timetables beyond 14 December and you won't be able to book tickets on any national rail site beyond that date. The Eurostar from London to Paris is an exception. Booking is open for 21 December. In fact, the cheapest discount fare tickets ($66) for that date are sold out. The lowest fare this morning is $123 - and that's not available for all departure times. If you're going to take the Eurostar to Paris, book ASAP at eurostar.com. The longer you wait, the higher the fare. If you tell us what your specific travel routes are, we can better advise you as to whether trains or planes will work better. If you can commit well in advance to specific departure dates and times, you can get discount fare point-to-point train tickets that probably will be cheaper than a youth rail pass.

Your desired travel time is a bit of a problem. The European rail schedule for the winter season, 2nd weekend in December to 2nd weekend in June, hasn't been posted yet. I seem to remember it shows up sometime after the first of November. Meanwhile, pick a date (same day of the week) in early December; the schedule shouldn't change much from that. As for RailEuorpe. Understand that RailEurope is a travel agency that sells tickets for a small subset of the trains in Europe, usually the fastest, most expensive trains, and not anywhere near all of them, and their prices, for the most part, are somewhat higher than the counter prices over there and much higher than the discount tickets you can get directly from the national rail companies, like Deutsche Bahn. The Bahn has prices for the tickets they sell online - all connections in Germany, except for travel within a transit district, as well as most direct connections that start or end in Germany. For other prices, you will have to see the national rail websites of the other country rail websites.

I'm guessing your first or only stop in France will be Paris? Confer with your friend about the best way to get from Oxford to Paris. As Tim mentioned, fares on the Eurostar from London are likely to get increasingly expensive as the date approaches. In terms of flying I believe the Birmingham airport is actually closer to Oxford than the London airports in terms of public transport travel time. As others mentioned, skyscanner.com is your friend for checking out budget airline routes and prices. From most anywhere in France to Berlin, a budget flight will be your best option. (A train from Paris to Berlin takes at least 8 hours). Finally, there should be a number of options for flights from Berlin to southern Spain. The holiday period is a peak travel time- transport costs may be quite a splurge, but it will be worth it. You're not likely to have this kind of opportunity for extended, jet lag-free travel in Europe again.

For getting around Spain cheaply, you can't go wrong with buses. The trains are limited; if your leg fits their routes, it's best to buy tickets early to take advantage of discount fares. For any long leg, you're best choice is going to be an inexpensive flight from one of several competing budget Europe-based airlines. In Germany, I love their Lander and Schoenes Wochende passes for touring.