Hi, I will be travelling Europe for a about 2months and visiting a few countries. Can anyone help me suggest what is the best & cheap way to travel in between these cities & countries? Should I get the global pass or just a point-to-point tickets? Is global pass good for this case as I read that some countries (eg Spain) is not advice to get a pass Spain: Madrid-Seville-Granada-Valencia-Barcelona France: Paris Belgium: Brussels Netherlands: Amsterdam Germany: Hamburg-Berlin-Dresden-Cologne-Frankfurt-Munich
Switzerland: Zurich-Lucerne-Interlaken-Zermatt Italy: Turin-Milan-Venice-Bologna-Florence-Naples-Rome
Posted by
Whittington
984 posts
All forms of transport may have a place. Only you can do the maths. comparison based on your style of travelling, when and whether you will fix your travel dates to find advance purchase discounts or have a 'loose' itinerary. Here is a website with a wealth of information on train travel - http://www.seat61.com/index.html and I strongly suggest you read the section - http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#Should you buy a railpass or pay-as-you-go And yes, no rail pass will compare to advance discounting with a fixed itinerary in Spain - again see the section in seat61 on the subject.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I'll comment on the stretches I know. Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam all lie along the route of the highspeed Thalys service. This is a rather expensive option, but discounts are available with advanced purchase. For Amsterdam-Hamburg-Berlin- etc. check the Deutsche Bahn website. You will be able to book tickets for a substantial discount if you can commit to a specific train well in advanced.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33848 posts
It will depend on what you see as important, money or convenience. My big concern is you expect to visit 25 cities, and one would expect side trips from those in only 2 months. 60/25 is only 2.4 days per world class city, not counting any travel. Each relocation is likely to take around half a day plus transport. Checking in / checking out / packing / unpacking / getting oriented / getting lost / local transport to and from your hotel/hostel/park bench will all take large chunks out of your trip. Have you considered narrowing your trip and giving quality time to fewer destinations?
Posted by
Here
12 posts
Brussels is über expensive to get out of... And they like to classify parts of their metros as "trains" so they can charge you each way and won't allow a pass like their main line. It was ridiculous... I will NEVER return to Belgium unless someone pays me. Don't get a euro train pass- its money down the drain (or at least that's what happened to some of my friends who were staying in France)... Bring a student ID and some countries will discount your train ticket (if you are a student).
Look up flights online due to the recession flights may be equal to or cheaper than the train