Best way to get around Europe?

You may have put the cart before the horse in first deciding on all of the places you want to visit and then figuring out to get to them on the schedule you have. I would suggest that you arrange them in a logical sequence and then figure out the best way to get from one place to the next. In some cases it will be train, in others bus.

We actually do have an iternerary and a pathway for all of these places, I was just wondering if I could get to them all with one mode of transportation, but I think you just answered my question: that we'll have to do both bus and rail. Thanks!

Emily, bus, don't think so.. can you say slow and waste of time ??

Where are you flying into and out of?? Have you traced your route on a map?? Seems like some backtracking going on here.

Flying is a cheap option by the way, have you actually looked at some flights, the cheap airlines offer inter Europe flights that start at 24 euros,, and trains are not that cheap.

Emily, no one mode of transportation is going to cover all this ground, especially since your ambitious scope means you need to move quickly.

On your posted itinerary, I think that Prague-Paris. Switzerland-Tolouse, and St. Sebastian - Malta are at least candidates for flying, if there are good flights at prices you can afford.

You might also, the three of you, weigh how much money and effort some of these destinations add to your trip. Malta is going to be a bit of a deal to get to and return from. Your other destinations are all worthwhile (though in place of Tolouse I'd rent a car there and tour the Lot and Dordogne), but if you save the outliers for another trip you save both time and money.

Emily,

For the locations you mentioned, without a doubt train is the best method for getting around (especially if you choose high speed trains on routes these are available!). Coach (Bus) is useful on certain selected routes, but not overall.

Once you've worked out a logical sequence of cities, enter the details into www.railsaver.com and the site will select the best Railpass and P-P tickets for you.

For longer routes you might also consider budget flights, keeping in mind these often use out-of-the-way airports so travel time and costs to the airport have to be included. Also, there's the time for check-in, security, etc. Usually budget flights are non-refundable and non-changeable once booked, so choose carefully!

Happy travels!

Ok this is our path

5 days in Rome--> 3 days in Florence --> 2 days in Cinque Terre --> 3 days in Venice --> 4 days in Prague --> 3 days in Amsterdam --> 3 days in Paris -- > 3 days in Switzerland -- > 3 days in Toulouse -- > 4 days in St-Sebastian --> 3 weeks in Malta, Italy --> fly back to Rome -- > Rome to Toronto.

It seems like we backtracking since we're traveling with a friend who has seen Prague and Amsterdam, but hasn't seen Switzerland....so the way our schedule works out, we'll have to go back to see it with her when she arrives in Paris (she's joining us later).

Does this make sense?

Anyway...so in between Italian cities and in between Paris, Switzerland and Touslouse, I'm thinking bus. To hop over borders (like our trip from Venice to Prague) we'll need.....train? Or flights? What would be cheaper?

Emily , why are you so attached to the idea of buses, they do not run very often, and they take along time, I mean you can get a flight from Switzerland to Paris for really cheap if you look on the bargain airlines, have you even looked?? I mean a one hour flight is better then a whole day on a bus!
I had a choice of taking an overnight train from Paris to Rome, was going to cost me over three hundred dollars EACH( travelling with a child so we would get a couchette) , and I would be travelling for 12 hours, the flight I booked takes less then 2 hours and cost me 90 euros ( 140 dollars aprox),no contest .
Don't close your mind to some other choices, I know in Canada buses are a good cheap option for long travel, because flying here is such a rip off( costs me more to fly to Vancouver from Victoria then to fly Paris to Rome!!! , a 15 minute flight here is 200 dollars,, what a rip)

Thanks for all your insight guys!

We're deffinately hitting up Malta because
my friends have family there and we get 3 weeks free accomodation with them starting in mid-June (and I'm starting this trip in early May to attend a wedding there, hence the run-around). We'll deffinately fly from Spain to Malta.

After speaking today with one of my buds, we've decided we're not going to Prague because Eurorail doesn't go there.

So,thanks for the heads up on requiring a flight from Switzerland to Toulouse. I think that's a good idea, if we can get a deal. I'm wondering though;do these flights need to be booked ahead of time? Or can we just get them when we're ready to fly out?

Question: Is it better to fly between all these places, or to get a Eurorail pass? AND, if it's better to fly, must all your flights be booked in advanced? Doing that makes me nervous, I kinda like the idea of having some flexibility and not being tied down to a specific flight. Or risking a missed one.

Emily, you are getting a lot of good advice here.

I agree with the posters...busses only work in certain situations. And trains can sometimes be quite expensive.

Please consider using the cheap inter-EU airlines. Much of the time the cost is less than the train or bus! Our flight on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Nurnberg Germany only cost $63 total...cheaper than the train.....and flights left every half hour. Our trip from Frankfurt Hahn to Faro Portugal only cost $32 total each at XMass (please note that Ryan Air sometimes flys into and out of obscure airports. Also note that these airlines have tight restrictions on baggage size and weight)

Go to whichbudget.com to find many of these lo-cost airlines. Also check prices of Lufhansa and Air One.

We book these flights here (peace of mind).

Emily,

Sounds like the posters here have you covered. Me, I prefer Europe's high speed trains (especially since I dont have them at home.) From what you describe, a mix of trains and planes sounds like the best option. Combine a flight or two with a railpass that covers what you need and you should do well.

You should at least figure out the price of renting, or better yet leasing, a car. Train passes aren't as cheap as they once were, which is why so many people are flying from one city to the next. We traveled with 5 people and found renting a car to be cheaper than train passes. Leasing turned out to be a fraction of renting so we went with that.

Which one is more convenient? I'm not sure there is a perfect answer.

With a car, you don't have to wait for a train or a connection. You don't have to lug your stuff to the station. You start and stop when and where you want and you can visit places that are off the beaten path.

With a train, you don't have to navigate or find parking (especially in city centers). You can relax, nap or study your next destination while you are traveling. Sometimes you meet interesting people on the train.

Emily, Lots of good advice you're getting. On the airline front,check out Ryan Air, Jet 2, Air Berlin, Easy Jet, German Wings, and do a google search on cheap airlines in each country, you just never know who might fly where and be offering cheap tickets. Also, even the big airlines like Lufthansa, BA, etc. you might find an exorbitant price for a one way ticket but if you put in a return date for 7 days out the ticket price will be much lower and in often cases still less than the rail point to point price. You would just throw away your return portion but would still get the lower fare.