Okay, I need help with transportation. Here's my itinerary:
I'm going to be in Florence from June 1 - June 23; then Vienna from June 23 - June 30; then Paris from June 30 - August 11.
I need help figuring out the best way to get from place to place and just general travel around Italy and France. I'm not sure how much travelling I want to do within each country, but I'm sure I'll do some (my weekends are available). At first I thought the Eurail Select Pass Youth for 3 countries would be a good bet. But I'm not really sure how the pass works (does it work for any train any time?), when I'll need reservations, and because I won't be spending a lot of time in Austria, if a three country pass is even wise. I'll keep searching around for more information, but if anyone can help me, I'd appreciate it! Thanks.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1003 posts
Have you considered flying from Vienna to Paris? check www.kayak.com and www.skyscanner.net for options, there are more sites like those too, but you might be able to fly for cheaper - and CERTAINLY much faster. Check out Rick's pages on here for info about the railpasses, he is really helpful (helped me decide not to get one). Also check http://www.b-rail.be/int/E/ for lots more information about the train stuff - plug in your cities and see what types of things come up. I checked and I see one direct night train from Florence to Vienna that takes a little over 10 hours - if you're up for a night train, that would be a good option for you because it's direct!
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Even weekend journeys probably won't justify a rail pass. Check out point to point train fares at trenitalia.com (Italy), sncf.com/indexe.htm (France) and bahn.de (Germany...for timetables just about everywhere)then compare them to what you'd spend on a rail pass. Don't forget, many of the fast trains require reservations these days, which means an additional expense....as would sleeping accommodations if you tried for an overnight train from, say, Vienna to Paris. Don't forget, too, that trains from Vienna to Paris will go thru Germany...a fourth country on your pass. But earlier posters are correct....Vienna to Paris would probably be best by plane. Check out www.whichbudget.com to check for discount airlines flying out of various cities.