I am traveling with a friend to Europe in May. Which is summer so it will be peak season, I understand. I have never been to Europe and am from the US. I live in Australia and am budget traveling and am wondering what my cheapest way to travel in Europe would be. The tentative plan is to fly into Paris. Our flights are booked Return to Paris. We will stay for a week and then take a train to Brussels. From there we will fly to Kiev and work our way back towards Paris. Places we hope to travel from Kiev are (not exactly in this order) Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Munich, Croatia, Milan (and a few other cities in Italy), and Barcelona. We have 60 days to do this and are not on a specific schedule. We are planning on staying with friends in a few places and couch surfing the rest. Any advice would be much appreciated in regards to buying the Global flexi pass or to just buy tickets individually. Thank you!!! Also, what a great website! Thanks for everyone's educated advice topics.
Posted by
Miami, Florida, USA
3 posts
I would recommend buying the individual tickets but that does limit you to different possibilities. If you and your friend decide to leave early, stay later or visit a different city all together it will cost you more money. Either way have a great time!
Posted by
Reston, Virginia
403 posts
Candice: I think the only honest answer that anyone can give re p to p tickets versus railpass is that you have to do the homework yourself of plotting an itinerary and checking the prices of 2nd class tickets, adding them up, then comparing to the cost of a railpass. You don't mention your age, so I don't know whether you would be eligible for a student/youth railpass. Keep in mind that Eurailpass doesn't cover every country (like Russia) nor every train in full (like the Thalys & TGVs) nor does it provide reservations on trains which require them. From your post, it would appear that most of your destinations lie in East and Central Europe; thus Italy south of Milan and Barcelona are outliers, taking significantly longer to reach and thus cutting down your actual time for enjoyment as opposed to mere transport. By "couch surfing", do you mean sleeping on regular 2nd class seats on trains? If so, you won't get much sleep, if any. Day trains coupled with hostels will let you sleep in at least minimal comfort and safety.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8075 posts
Yes, you will need to develop your itinerary better to really get a sense of worth, but there are some things to point out with what you have. The Global Flexipass costs you about $76 US for a day of travel, OK for a long haul, not so great in some areas. Italy for instance could easily be done for less than that for just about any travel, Croatia has limited trains, so you probably will be paying for a bus anyway, and I suspect train travel in the eastern countries is pretty cheap as well. In France you may get stuck with additional fees, so in all, you have some challenges. Maybe you can find ten days that pay for the pass, but I sense that you will probably be buying some point to point tickets anyway.
Posted by
OP
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
2 posts
You all are so much help! Thank you and initially I was set on buying the eurail pass because I tend to be a bit of a "planner" instead of an "on the whim" type of traveler. I am now pretty sure I will NOT buy the eurail pass and buy point to point tickets. Keep the advice and personal experiences coming in regards to the passes if you have them! Thank you, Candice