My husband and I will be taking trains to get from city to city on our France/Italy trip. This is my first trip to Europe and his second. My husband has pointed out that taking an afternoon/evening train to a new city would get the traveling over with at a time of the day where we would probably be relaxing and otherwise not doing much. I was thinking about traveling during the day because at least we would arrive in a new and completely unfamiliar city while it was still light outside. What do you prefer to do when you train it from place to place? I hope this question makes sense.
Posted by
Piedmont, nc, usa
316 posts
I do just the opposite. I take a late afternoon/early evening train depending on the length of the trip. That way I get to my destination in time for dinner (if it's going to be too late for dinner I pick up something in the train station to eat on the train. Italy has really good food in some of its train stations.) and get a good nights sleep. If I travel in the morning I feel like I've wasted half a day. After several hours of sightseeing, train travel gives me a good excuse to sit for awhile. One exception was going from London to Edinburgh. It just happened to work out that I had to travel in the morning and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Unless your hotel is within walking distance, you're going to take a taxi anyway. If the hotel is nearby, know the route to your hotel before you get to your next city. If you're not sure, ask at the train station.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Unlike in the US, small family run accommodations in Europe (the kind often recommended in Rick's books) sometimes have a requirement that you check in not later than a certain time in the evening; in some cases this time is surprisingly early.
After that time, they're likely to lock up and go upstairs or home for the night.
If this is the case, they will let you know, usually in the e-mail confirming your reservation; and it will limit how late a train you take to arrive there, allow time to get from the train station to any accommodations that have a set time limit for check-in.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2026 posts
We like to travel to our destinations in the morning, when light and time are on our side. After a month of train travel in Italy we did learn to avoid train travel when school let out, maybe 2 to 3 PM or so. The kids were nice enough, but man, the platforms and the cars could be packed.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
I almost always start my travel right after 9 AM. This gives me time for a leisurely morning, with time at breakfast for a second Kännchen of coffee, look at my day's itinerary, organize yesterdays photos, etc. And I often use Länder tickets, which don't become valid until 9.
This way, if I get delayed in traveling (it's never happened) I have plenty of time to get to my destination before it gets to late. I also like to check in, sink-rinse my clothes from the day and put on fresh clothes before I go out to see the town and find dinner.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
We always depart a city between 6-9 am. Upon arrival in a city we either purchase our point-to-point ticket (if it is cheaper than using a Rail Pass day) and seat reservations if necessary. After that we go directly to our hostel/B&B or hotel.
The we have the rest of the day to site see.
Prior to leaving home, I print out the train schedules/timetables with the train stops for each travel day. That way we could decide which train we wanted to take. Works perfect for us.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
If you travel late in the day you have to worry about what to do with your luggage before you catch the train. If you have to go the train station to store it for the day you might as well get on the train.
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
I'm a vote for days/mornings too. Helps you skip the traffic/rush our times on the trains.