So I'm going to Europe in mid May with my younger brother and I'm trying to figure out transportation. I usually am good at figuring out all the logistics but I'm just so overwhelmed right now with everything else to plan! So any suggestions would be great! I'm debating getting a rail pass but I'm not sure if it'll be worth it. We'll be flying into Berlin, then going to Krakow, Prague, Paris, Normandy, Tours and then on to London. I know the eurail pass does not cover the Eurostar so we're going to fly to London from Tours. So anyways, what is the best option of getting from one city to the next? Would a rail pass be worth it or just buying point to point tickets? And I'd like to do an overnight train to Prague if possible. Thanks for your help!!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Can you commit to specific departure dates and times? If so, booking train and/or plane tickets ASAP can get you discount fares.
There is one direct Berlin-Krakow day train with a standard fare of €55.20 and a discount fare of €29.00 which you can book at www.bahn.de. There is also a direct night train, but it's not bookable online. Book by phoning the German Rail call centre. The same is true for the direct Krakow-Prague night train. For Prague-Paris you can get discount fares by booking two legs separately at www.bahn.de, a Prague-Mannheim night train and a Mannheim-Paris TGV. Or fly Prague-Paris Orly on SkyEurope, a budget airline. Again, if you book ASAP through either voyages-sncf.com or tgv-europe.com, you may be able to get discount fares for Paris to Normandy (Caen, for example) and for Caen to Tours. Whether or not you get a discount fare for Caen-Tours, you'll have to travel via Paris.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Years ago, buying a rail pass was a no-brainer, but these days, it depends on the individual itinerary if a rail pass will save you money. Really, the only way to figure this out is to go on-line and compare the point-to-point ticket prices with a rail pass that would cover your trip. Somewhat labour intensive, yes, but at least these days you can find all the information you need from the various national rail company websites.
By the way- you mentioned that you want to go to "Normandy". If by "Normandy" you refer to the sites of the D-Day invasion (the term refers to a large region of France, not just the invasion beaches), plan to either rent a car temporarily or take guided bus tour. The various Operation Overlord sites are spread out over a very large area that is not well served by public transportation.
Posted by
dallas, tx, usa
1358 posts
You will get some good advice on this page, but if it doesn't meet your needs, I would visit a travel agent for expert advice. You have so many questions. If he charges a fee, it will be worth it to you.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
If I'm not mistaken, Rick Steve's travel company has staff who help travelers with exactly these sorts of questions. But like Carl said, I think you have to pay a fee.
Posted by
Foley, MN, USA
26 posts
Try using EurAide for help - they are experts (and recommended by Rick Steves' team). It will cost you $50 up frontbut it's worth every cent! They can get you passes, tickets, reservations and help you figure out routes.
have a great trip!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Corrin, if you have a fairly good idea on exactly which cities you'll be visiting and in which order, you might try entering this information into www.railsaver.com. The site will "suggest" the best combination of Rail Pass and P-P tickets for those specific cities. I've found that it's not perfect, but provides a very good approximation.
One thing to keep in mind is that even with a Rail Pass, you'll need to pay reservation fees on some trains (usually the "fast" trains such as the TGV). Those fees and Couchette or Sleeper charges are NOT included with Railpasses.
You might check the "Rail" section on this website as there's a lot of good information there. Rick's rail department can also help.
Unfortunately, there isn't much time left until your departure, so you'll have to get this sorted quickly! It may be worthwhile to contact Rick's staff for help, even if there's a fee involved.
You can also order the Rail Pass from this site, as I believe Rick is the largest vendor of Eurail passes in the U.S.
Good luck and happy travels!