Comments on: 5 new rules of European rail travel

By: Euro trains UK

Euro trains UK — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:24:11 +0000

EuroStar in Italy is not the same as Eurostar in the UK. Eurostar UK trains travel between St Pancras or Ebbsfleet to France. EuroStar italia travels between Milan, Venice, Rome, Bologna & Naples.

By: New Ways of Rail Travel - Train Travel in Europe | Top Trips

New Ways of Rail Travel - Train Travel in Europe | Top Trips — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:32:23 +0000

[...] off trains at will and the biggest decision was whether to buy a 1st-class or 2nd-class pass. Read More… Do you like this? Not Yet Rated Related Tags: [...]

By: MC

MC — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:17:11 +0000

I found out about reservations the hard way, traveling from Venden Austria to Frankfurt, with a stop in Salzburg. Had no idea about the reservation issue when I bought the Vendel –> Salzburg leg, and there was only a machine at the station to consult, anyway. The conductor took pity on me and let me sit in a compartment with no additional charge.

When I got to Salzburg I went to the window to buy the Salzburg –> Frankfurt leg. I asked several times whether we had covered everything, that I would have a stea on Sunday when I left, and was assured we had covered everything. Apparently, I forgot to say the magic word “reservation” when I said seat. When I boarded the train to Frankfurt, indeed, I had no seat.

I’ve decided to forget trains in Europe except for short hops (like a subway or surburban trip) and fly or drive the rest of the time. I just can’t figure out the secret code.

By: Sponteniety squashed? | Eurail Stories | Stories about train travel in Europe and advice on the Eurail pass and other European rail passes

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:06:15 +0000

[...] Tripso came out with this shocker: Eurail passes these days aren’t what we baby boomers remember from back in the ’60s and ’70s and even the ’80s. I fondly remember when travelers could get on and off trains at will and the biggest decision was whether to buy a 1st-class or 2nd-class pass. Not any more. The world of rail travel in Europe has become much more complicated. Spontaneity has been squashed. Tripso [...]

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:43:52 +0000

Before our recent trip to Italy, I researched all available rail passes, supplements and reservations. In the end, it was pretty apparent that rail passes were nice, but really didn’t save us very much money. Instead, we bought point-to-point tickets. In general, we bought tickets a day or so in advance, to avoid having to wait in line while rushing for a train. The Italians were pretty good about switching reservations once we had a ticket in hand. On EuroStar and InterCity trains we were able to take advantage of some pretty cool family discounts.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:47:37 +0000

I spent 8 months traveling around Europe. The first trips started with airline reservations made months in advance, and (obviously) set times in each city/country. By the time I was wrapping up my exploration of the continent, I was booking plane tickets to Milan or Rome or Budapest with no return ticket and only a hostel for the first night.

I found that this style of travel was MUCH cheaper. If you have the time to spend in a place and no agenda, I feel that traveling with a bit of spontaneity is not only cheaper, but better as you can come and, more importantly, go as you please.

There is no way I would ever limit myself or deal with the hassle of buying a Eurail pass. With all of the low-cost airlines in Europe and the ease of buying point-to-point tickets, it just seems like buying a train pass would constrict the traveler and end up being more expensive anyway.

By: Marion

Marion — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:35:51 +0000

Thanks for the tips Charlie!

If you’re traveling in Italy by train and need more travel tips, take a look at this article : http://www.venere.com/blog/italy-train-tips/

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:43:54 +0000

Hi Charlie, I’m glad your Swissrail pass worked, but I’m surprised your niece had so many problems on a Eurail. I’ve never found that.

We had to book on some busy international trains and whenever we wanted a couchette. There were also times I wish I had made a reservation since I needed to really fight for a seat.

I have to agree with Dianne’s comment on spontaneity though; it’s not cheap in most cases.

(Perhaps you’d be willing to drop by Eurail Stories and add your wisdom to our fledgling site?)

By: Diane Gauvin

Diane Gauvin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:51:55 +0000

I also tend to favor a mix of point-to-point rail and cheap regional flights in Europe. The advantage of rail for short hauls is the city centre to city centre service. Cheap flights can easily cost you 3-4 times the initial purchase price because of the cost of getting to/from the city centre and additional fees, such as baggage, etc..

Today, “spontaneity” is for the money-is-no-object travelers. Cheap and “promo” air fares need to be booked in advance and carry restrictions. Most western Europe rail services offer good deals on tickets when bought in advance – for example: 29 euros from Venice to Budapest.

Eastern Europe seems to be the only spontaneously cheap place to travel by rail and where a rail pass is not economically advantageous.

By: MichelleD

MichelleD — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:29:50 +0000

Your observations are spot on – especially with respect to the Italian train system. Such a huge change from when I was inter-railing with my sister in 1991.

But, even though spontaneity is somewhat compromised today, it’s still possible to (a) travel mostly by train pretty easily in Europe – which is a nice change from the U.S.; and (b) plan-as-you-go without breaking the bank.

There’s a brief summary of our trip here: http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wandermom/2008/07/06/travel-kids-and-blogging/

Michelle