I'm planning a trip for this July through London, Dublin, Paris, Florence, Croatia (not sure what city), Berlin, and Prague. I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out if that is the best route (the order I listed the cities in), and what the cheapest mode of transport is. I've found some info on buses (Eurolines and Student Agency especially), but can't figure out the trains very well. I've considered flying through the first three then buying a Eurail pass for the last five, but I'm not sure that would end up actually being cheaper or more convenient. I also thought about getting a bus pass for some of them, but again, I don't know if that's a good deal. Ryanair and similar sites seem to offer supposedly cheap fares that get much more expensive with baggage and other fees, and don't fly into the direct airports, so I don't know how much the transport is into the city center. Has anyone planned a similar trip and have any tips? Are Eurail passes a good deal/convenient? And what is the best way to get to Croatia??? We were planning to go from Florence to Croatia but can't find a convenient/inexpensive way. We found ferries out of Ancona, but I don't know how to get to Ancona. Any tips would be hugely appreciated, thank you so much!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7575 posts
Dublin-London: As I mentioned, Ryanair would be cheapest It will look real cheap online (a few euros or pounds) but the price goes up as you book your ticket due to fees and charges. Baggage limits are very strict on this airline, I just plan on paying to check a bag, if you try to get by not checking, there is a good chance with the average travel load that you will be over the weight limit and have to pay hefty charges, check the bag. London-Paris: The Eurostar train gets you from downtown London to central Paris in a few hours. You can find info here on this website under rail passes or at http://www.eurostar.com/ This ticket would not be covered by a railpass. Flying is another option here, but by the time you figure in the cost and time to get to the airport in London, go through security, fly, get out of the airport, time and cost to get into Paris, Eurostar looks pretty good. I will hold off on the other rail connections, except to say that you can go to www.bahn.de, the German rail site and get schedules for any legs you might have. If the route is in Germany, or starts or ends in Germany, then you can get pricing as well. Be aware that schedules for July may not be loaded, but put in a date earlier, schedules do not change that much. For Croatia, buses are more effective than trains, for ferries just search for Italy-Croatia ferries and find several companies and routes. In Italy, go to www.trenitalia.com for train schedules.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7575 posts
You have lots of questions, I can answer a few now and maybe will chime in later as I have time... Given your cities, I would suggest Dublin, London, Paris, Florence, Croatia, Prague, and Berlin. As an alternate, you could do Berlin, Prague, Croatia, then Florence. One you would get an Open jaw ticket into Dublin, Out of Berlin, the other out of Florence. You do not mention the time length of your trip, I assume you are talking 3 weeks or more? If this is a two week trip, then you issue may be to cut out some stops. As for transportation, Dublin to London, flying would be best (Ryanair or other low cost carrier). London to Paris, the Eurostar train usually is best. From there, Train and Ferry with some buses tossed in would work. Are you by chance under 26? if so a pass would look better, otherwise a pass may not be the best option.
Posted by
OP
Riverside, CA, United States
3 posts
Thanks so much for this help! I'm flying into London, so getting to Dublin and then Dublin to Paris is a little inconvenient but I think doable. Do you know anything about if it is difficult to get from the Paris Beauvais airport to the city center and vice versa? As for Croatia, I can't find any way to cheaply get to a ferry from Florence. Do you know of any buses that travel relatively conveniently from Florence to coastal Croatian cities? Oh, and I'll be there for a month, and I am under 26. Thanks again so much for your responses!
Posted by
Sammamish, WA
403 posts
Croatia is a hassle to get to, but well worth the effort. We ended up flying from Rome to Dubrovnik, then working our way up the coast. Buses or ferries are probably your best bet up the coast, because the train system is not as well developed there.