Train/Car questions

My husband has driven in Italy and Rome before. He was there on business, plus he is someone who never gets flustered and adapts well. We will be using the car to get out of Rome and to explore the country side. Is it better to take a train to a smaller town and rent a car?

As for the number of travel days and number of cities, we probably won't do this again. It took 12 years to actually buy the tickets for this trip.

Tim -- Where did you find those fares? I know most train schedules are available until February for April, can I buy the tickets now?

You could pick up the rental car in Rome, I wouldn't do it but it sounds like your husband could handle it. However, even he might enjoy the experience more if you did one of the following options instead: take the train to a smaller town like Orvieto (or wherever you're headed) and pick up the rental car there; or get out to the Rome airport and pick up the rental car at the airport rental facility, which is easier to deal with (in my experience) than picking it up in the middle of Rome.

Greetings

Are you sure you need a car in Edinburgh? You can get to most places around Edinburgh by car or train, and factoring in the petrol, traffic and rental car fees, public transportation is usually far cheaper. Especially if you are only renting for a day or two.

Also, parking in Edinburgh is a nightmare - that is if you've even gotten through all the traffic. There are extra road works these days because they are starting to build the tram network, plus the region for which on-street parking metered has been considerably expanded in the last year. Edinburgh traffic wardens are known for being uber-strict, so even a few minutes over the limit (2 hours in some places) will land you a £60 ticket.

Unless you are in a hotel with assured parking, or are willing to pay $$$ for parking in one of the NCP lots, you might want to consider either going for public transport or at least parking the car in one of the free park & ride lots, and taking the bus into town.

I'm excited for you myself, but I have some questions.

Are you planning some day trips outside Edinburgh and Rome? If not, a car will be a burden rather than an asset in either city.

After you take the Eurostar from London to Paris, will you immediately go to Caen or will you spend one night in Paris? Will you drive or take the train to Caen? Will you drive or take the train back to Paris?

If you book well in advance online on the various national rail sites (NOT RailEurope), you can get discount fares Edinburgh-London, London-Paris, and Paris-Milan, making point-to-point tickets cheaper than railpasses. Book your rental cars separately.

Yes we are planning day trips outside of both cities.

We will probably go straight to Caen and stop in Paris on our way to Milan. France is still up in the air. If we stay in Paris we will most likely take the train from Paris to Caen and back(depending on the train schedule).

Thanks.

My first comment is that it is too many cities in too few days. You are losing 4 to 6 days to travel. Nearly half your time. You will see the inside of many train cars and train stations.

My need to do some point to point fare calculations but I am not sure a rail pass would be cheaper. Second, I am not sure why you would want a car in Rome -- impossible to drive and impossible to park. If you are day triping around Rome then pick a town outside of Rome for your base. Why pay Rome prices for lodging if you are not seeing Rome?

Here are some examples of discount train fares:

£19 Bargain Berths on the Edinburgh-London ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper. £35 (or less) seats on GNER Edinburgh-London day trains.

$94 for London-Paris on the Eurostar.

€15 for Paris-Caen.

€35 (six-bunk couchette), €55 (four-bunk couchette), and €105 (double sleeper) on the Paris-Milan night train.

€33.60 (EuroCity train) and €40.80 (EuroStar Italia train) for Milan-Rome.

Except for Paris-Caen and Milan-Rome, standard fares are MUCH HIGHER (sometimes triple), particularly in the UK.

London-Edinburgh Caledonian Sleeper: http://tinyurl.com/g9ehd. Book up to eleven weeks in advance.

London-Edinburgh day trains: www.gner.co.uk. Book 30-60 days in advance.

London-Paris: www.eurostar.com. Book up to nine months in advance.

Paris-Caen and Paris-Milan: www.voyages-sncf.com. Book up to three months in advance. If you can get a PREM'S fare for Paris-Caen, leave France as the default country, do NOT choose cancellation insurance, and print your own ticket. For Paris-Milan you may be able to pick up your tickets at the station or you may be required to have them sent to an address in France (like your Paris hotel).

Milan-Rome: www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html. Unless you want to try to get an Amica fare, wait and buy your tickets in Milan. Registering on the Trenitalia site often gives people fits.