Hey everyone, I'm backpacking through Europe (hostels galore for this budgeted student traveler) for the first time ever (by myself, even!). Im traveling to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, and Greece, spending about a month visiting all five countries. I am quite confused by the Eurail passes. Especially since they apparently don't cover the UK? I was wondering if someone could help me plan my trip (like what order to see the countries in order to make transportation easier) and which Eurail pass I should get? I'm not even sure how to get from Ireland/France/Greece to the UK, and how the trains in the UK tie to the rest of Europe. Any help, advice, and thoughts would greatly be appreciated!!! Thank you!
Hannah :)
Posted by
Manhattan, KS, USA
18 posts
I'll be a first time backpacker as well! I leave in 2 weeks! :)
I've been doing a lot of "homework" on all of this stuff. I'll offer my two cents based on what I've learned, but I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback on here! Lots of experienced travelers on here!
Do you know what cities you'll be visiting in each country? That would definitely help when planning for a pass. There are country specific passes and UK specific ones. Some offer ferry crossings as a bonus (like England to Ireland) - and if you have the time, I think they could be cheaper than a flight between the two.
As for the best way to travel...I'd either start or end with Ireland/UK and then take the chunnel down to Paris. The Eurostar requires a separate reservation. From France, I'd look into budget airlines (ryanair, easyjet, etc) for cheap flights to Greece.
Also, look into round trip ticket costs vs one way. It may be wise to start and end in the same place. That's what we're doing - beginning & ending in London.
Send me a private message if you'd like! When are you going?! Good luck with everything!!!
-Also a budgeted student traveler (er, graduate, hehe)
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
Skip the Eurail pass, Hannah. Even with the student discount, you'd be fairly hard pressed to save any money. Doesn't cover the UK, Greece is an Island, Ireland has very few train routes. Crunch the numbers, and routes, but I think you'll save money going point to point.
From the OC, it's pretty easy to fly into London. I might suggest that first. Then you have access to 3 airports, and many different discount airlines.
It's pretty cheap to fly London to Dublin on Ryanair, etc. Though the bus/ferry trip is nice. And using the discount airlines you'd have two big hubs - London and Dublin (not to mention, Shannon, etc) to fly out of.
Getting to from London-Scotland-Ireland-France is pretty easy with the discount airlines.
Geographically speaking, Greece is pretty far out of the way, though you may be able to find a good deal to get there. Long train ride from France! Hope that helps!
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
PS - just seeing that you're going for a month. Getting to Greece and back will take at least two full days of travel. Something to think about.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
For passes, you should compare prices with point-to-point tickets and individual country passes. I suspect a Eurail pass will not be a good deal, you are only planning to visit one Eurail country.
There are two general theories about itineraries. One is to start with the destinations that are most familiar culturally, in this case either Ireland or the U.K. The idea is you learn your basic travel moves in a place where language and custom is, at least in theory, familiar.
Another approach is to visit the warmest destination in the coolest part of your trip. So if you were going in April you would start with Greece; in September you would end there.
You might also want to think about minimizing trip time and costs. If you are ending in Greece, fly home from Athens, and choose a penultimate destination where you can get a cheap flight to Greece.