Transportation-Western Europe

Sarah, you need to do some research and reflection in order to come up with a proposed itinerary. You should absolutely buy Rick's Best of Europe 2011 right away, and read the general information and the trip planning info carefully. Figure out what you really want to see and do and get a general itinerary. Then come back here and ask for comments on it. in general, the problem with railpasses is that they do not permit you to ride some high speed trains without paying an extra fee, some trains have limited seats available for passholders, the pass may well cost more than tickets bought in advance, and the passes do not include reservations. On the other hand, buying tickets at the time of travel is expensive. Plus, for some long trips such as Barcelona to Rome or Paris to Vienna, you would be better off flying a discount airline. It all depends...that's why we can give you better advice if we have a clearer idea of your plans.

Sarah, I'd suggest pre-reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door to begin with, paying special attention to the "Rail Skills" chapter. That will provide lots of information on getting around Europe. You'll probably find that the best method is a combination of rail travel along with budget airlines. Which method to choose will depend on your route, so it will be somewhat necessary to have an Itinerary "roughed out" first. One important consideration is the fact that the cheapest fares on budget airlines are for those that book long in advance. Also, the airlines often have numerous extra fees so that has to be factored into the budget as well. Railpasses can be a benefit, but again this will depend on the route so an approximate Itinerary would be helpful. As the previous reply mentioned, the Passes do not include the reservation fees that are compulsory on the "fast" trains such as the TGV in France. You'll have to pay those separately. You'll probably find that a combination of Railpass for longer trips and P-P tickets for shorter trips will work well. IMHO, you won't have time to visit more countries than the eight you mentioned. Even that will be "pushing it" in a two month trip. I've taken a few two month trips and on the first one I found that Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France was quite sufficient. On the trip this year, I visited Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France and Germany, and that easily kept me busy for two months. It's important to allow for adequate transportation time between locations. You may wish to download the Free PDF Rail Guide from this website. Click Railpasses, and then the "Go Green" link. Good luck with your planning!

Wow, a new country every week or less. Now that's what I call ambitious. So a day each in Naples, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terra, Milano, the Venato, Paris, Nice, Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy, Alsace, Provence, London, Edinburgh, Cotswolds, Bath, York, the Highlands, Lake District, Berlin, Fussen, Munich, Nuremburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Bacharach, etc. My goodness I wish I had that much energy. Don't forget to calculate in the travel time and checking in / checking out and getting to your transport. Question, do you prefer to see something in depth or do you prefer to check them off and move on? My very serious advice, unless you really prefer to check them off and move on, is to select 3 or 4 bases and see all there is around them and plan to return another year.

Sarah, you could do all the countries you list and a few more if all you want to do is hit one city in each and get a slight taste of the country/culture. I'd do as many have already suggessted and read some good guides, look at lots of websites (the various geographic sections on this one and others like TripAdvisor, Lonley Planet, etc.). Then talk with sister and try to generate a list of things you are interested in. Having a focus to your trip can help you plan. Maybe you want to use art,a particular period of history, etc. as a starting point. Also think geographically. You could spend 2 months just in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and both N. Ireland and the Irish Republic) and only see a bit of it. Same goes for Germany, and Austria, or Italy, or France. Budget is another thing you need to think about. It can actually be the determining factor- the UK, Scandinavia and many other countries can be very expensive- especially in the big cities. Though there are ways to limit expenses. Other, less discoverd, places may be less expensive. And overnight trains can be time and money effecient, but some don't sleep well on trains. Finally you need to think about your travel style. Some people love to be constantly on the go- changing locations every day or 2. Others like to get a base and do day trips- moving locations only 2 or 3 times during a big trip. Also, how do you want to mix country and city?

I'll add a few more things to ponder. Britain is not on the Eurorail Pass system and neither is the Eurostar from London to the mainland. Other than that however, it sounds like you will be on the go constantly and may wish for some schedule flexibility and will have some longer trips. That scenario is perfect for a railpass. Just do your homework on the various types of passes to pick which one is right for you.