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Trains in europe
Lankysean
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Over the summer I want to do a road trip across Europe, I had planned to drive but a lot of people are saying that Trains are the way to go. As of right now the trip will consist of me and my cousin. My list of destinations are Frankfurt to Zurich to Paris to Bayeux to Brussels and back to Frankfurt. If I was to drive it would take between 4 and 6 hours to drive to each place, not counting Paris to Bayeux which is only 2 hours.
The first thing I'm concerned about with the train is I'm not sure it's even possible to get a direct train to each place and if we need to catch a bunch of connections then it won't save us any time. The other big concern is price, how much are train tickets? A rent-a-car will run between $500-700USD depending on size/options, plus gas also... so kinda expensive but if each train ticket is $100 each then it'll break even split across 2 people.
Help a dumb American explore Europe! Any and all advice would be amazing! Thanks!
The first thing I'm concerned about with the train is I'm not sure it's even possible to get a direct train to each place and if we need to catch a bunch of connections then it won't save us any time. The other big concern is price, how much are train tickets? A rent-a-car will run between $500-700USD depending on size/options, plus gas also... so kinda expensive but if each train ticket is $100 each then it'll break even split across 2 people.
Help a dumb American explore Europe! Any and all advice would be amazing! Thanks!
Lankysean on
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When I was in Europe 11 years ago (Netherlands and Germany), I decided that I would never want to drive in Europe. Of course, this is mainly my impression from being in the cities, where being in a car felt much different to someone like me who is only used to suburban roads.
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Google maps estimates gas to cost about $300usd which will be split across 2 people. But I get what you are saying, trains can have some real benefits. Is there a website that I can use to plot out a train schedule? Something like expedia for trains would be awesome. Another question, are trains in Europe like the commuter trains in the states, as in do they have a restaurant, tables and power adapters to plug in my laptop?
Bayeux to Brussels won't be direct, but everything else should be. Try http://www.deutschebahn.com/site/bahn/en/start.html for timetables.
Since you're sticking to 4 countries, a limited rail pass might work out decently, especially if you're under 26. Another option is RyanAir. I did the train thing and really enjoyed it, but it was fairly expensive and I had a pass that allowed me a flexible schedule. If you don't have a pass, definitely book in advance as day of prices are often much higher.
That site should help you plan any train routes and the cost. They have several options for tickets from #days or number of uses to monthly unlimited passes.
You should also check out flying.. europe has lots of small airplane companies, it was cheaper for 2 of my friends to fly from somewhere in germany to paris then it was to take the train.
http://www.eurail.com/home
2. I think most of those routes will have pretty direct lines. You might have to get off in other major cities in between and change trains. However, at least in Germany and Switzerland you will find that train schedules are actually coordinated (socialism!) so that you won't have two-hour layovers on some railroad siding somewhere.
3. Depending on exactly when you are going, you might find yourself in one of the huge traffic jams caused by school vacations in Germany. All schools in a state get off at the same time, resulting in huge numbers of Germans headed south on the roads with their entire families on particular days. Your Frankfurt-Zurich leg might be more like a day if you get caught in one of those. For instance, you will be going through Baden-Wurttemberg and their school vacation starts June 14; you do not want to be driving there around that date.
German vacation schedule: http://www.schulferien.org/
4. Like JAEF said. Trains are generally nice, relaxing, allow you to see the countryside. Driving is work, especially on the Autobahn where people will overhaul you if you dare to go as slow as 80 mph. Also remember that gas in Europe is more expensive than it is here (even with the recent price hikes).
This would also be the easiest way to directly compare prices with a rental car (make sure to add a few hundred $ for gas to the car, though). Also keep in mind that parking in European cities is limited at best (and expensive). Also, if you drive, keep in mind that European road signs are significantly different than American ones - I got a 150 Swiss Franc ticket for driving a rented scooter where I wasn't supposed to. :P
If you want to do it yourself, I recommend getting a Eurail pass. Where it says "x days in 2 months", the x days are travel days only, so you could get the 5 or 6 day pass (assuming you don't make any day trips on the train system while you're there). I'd really recommend this over buying point-to-point tickets because it's somewhat cheaper and allows you to just get on and off as you please. The 4 countries you need to select are Germany, Switzerland, France, and Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).
For time tables, maps, and other information, use this link.
As far as connections, everywhere you're going is a major city (except Bayeux, but there are direct trains from Paris) so you should be able to get there with a fairly low number of connections (except your Bayeux to Brussels leg - that'll probably take a decent number if you don't book a TGV seat from Paris -> Brussels).
One thing that has seemingly gotten worse since I was there is that most high-speed trains (notably the German/Swiss ICE and French TGV) now require you to pay for a seat reservation even with a pass. You can either choose to pay or take slower trains with more connections.
Frankfurt isn't too exciting (but the airport is pretty nice...also when looking at schedules, look at Frankfurt Flugahafen (or FGH, or Flug, etc) as this will get you train schedules starting at the airport and not at the main station downtown (Hauptbahnhoff or HBf)).
Bayeux is cool for a couple days, but once you finish the D-Day stuff, there isn't anything else there.
Brussels is also cool (get some motherfucking fries and waffles (not at the same time) there...good lord that's some good stuff), but it's mostly a business city. It can be done in 2 days as well.
@a5ehren: We have a free plane ticket to and from Frankfurt as well as a free 2 night hotel so we figured it was worth it to start and end there. We tried to pick places that didn't need a full week to explore because we only have about 2 weeks vacation time and that includes the day flying to and from Germany. I figured as long as I'm going to go to Europe we may as well go to as many countries as we can because this will probably be my last international jaunt for a few years.
Anyway, I'm heading out to work so I'll leave you guys here to discuss until I return. Good info so far guys, thanks!!!
Edit: thinking I might add Berlin to the list of destinations, thoughts?
IC = Intercity (fewer stops). Don't cross nation borders (i think)
TGV= Train Grande Vitesse = high speed train. Really fast.
i suggest taking the train over driving since the european road network isn't as long-distance-friendly as in the us.
you guys have very straight and very simple highways where everyone more or less drives at a moderate pace.
Over here highways are more chaotic, and so are the ramps.
Your us road network was just built for a bigger country, while ours are built for smaller countries, and then patched together.
Berlin is a very cool place. Both historically and simply as a place to hang out.
An added bonus to the train think no one has mentioned is that it's a great way to meet people. On the other hand not driving your self means not getting to drive on the autobahn with it's no speed limit thing :P
ICE: Intercity Express, basically the German equivalent to the TGV.
Intercity: Long distance trains, they do cross nation borders AFAIK (EDIT: I might be wrong here, I think the ones that do cross borders go by EuroCity, but are otherwise identical), not as fast as going by ICE/TGV etc but usually (quite) a bit cheaper.
The key is that while the base rental fee is low, your rental period also has a mileage limit past which you start paying some absurd price per mile, probably around 400~500 miles. If you make a massive trip out of it, it'll end up way too expensive.
The train isn't much cheaper, but BOOK IN ADVANCE. If you know where you're going and when, the Eurail pass isn't really a bargain.
In absolute terms though, flying is the cheapest option. You don't get to see things as you pass by, but you have the shortest trips and cheapest tickets. Search around, I really like ryanair, but take note of which airport you fly into/out of and note where it is in actual terms to the city, because you could have to plan for a cab/another train to get where you want to go.
Yeah I have no beef with starting in Frankfurt, but don't expect it to be a whole lot of fun
If you want stereotypical Germany (bierhalls and all that), you should go to Munich, but Berlin is pretty rad too.
For only a 2 week trip, this is a pretty ambitious itinerary - you could go to just Paris for 2 weeks and not do everything there :P. For that amount of time, I would consider just hitting some big cities (Berlin/Munich/Paris) and use one of the discount airlines like Ryanair to get around (and this is how most Europeans do their intercity travel as well). I was in Europe for 3 months for a study abroad program and I still didn't have time to do everything I wanted to do.
But if you were willing to fly, that also opens up some other nice destinations like Rome/Venice/etc...
Not that public transport is much cheaper and any less chaotic in the big cities. If you decide to choosse that route, beware of Paris transit locations as there are frequently pickpockets prowling around looking for a quick steal. They may work in teams, so be mindful when random strangers ask for directions, help with your luggage or whatever.
Fearmongering aside, Europe is an awesome place. More people should come over! We have European booze, bratwurst, baguettes and a history!
I know it's ambitious but that's kinda the point, to the an insane vacation and hit as many places as we can as fast as we can. We really aren't into hanging around and tend to get bored hanging out in one place for too long. As for flying I don't have any problems flying but that Ryanair website is confusing because I have no idea where any of those air fields are in relation to anything else. As for Rome and Venice, my fiancé would kill me if I i went without her, she's Italian and Japanese and he dream is to see both places so those are out for now.
To be honest, I don't really care about seeing Paris, the choice to add it was more of it "it's on the way so we may as well" decision. As for pick pockets, thanks for the tip I'll keep an eye out. I'm pretty use to being a target to pickpocketing due to my world travels. I generally carry a dummy wallet in an obvious place with a note in the local language that says "Americas aren't as stupid as you think". As for the luggage, they'd have a fight on their hands to get it from me. But I will keep my guard up.
It's kind of UK-centric in terms of it's journey planning but tons of good information.
I can not think of a worse company and they do all sorts of tricks to make their prices look cheap. For example their credit card fee is not per purchase but per travel x per person meaning return tickets for two persons equals 4 credit card fees!
PS. The tool for finding airline tickets: http://en.momondo.com/
Booking ryanair is admitting that you're willing to get fucked just a little bit. Especially if you do WACKY things like booking e-tickets or taking *gasp* non-carry-on luggage.
But at the end of the day, they're still one of the cheapest airlines with a large amount of flights, so we just bend over, pick up the soap, and think happy thoughts.
Note that with trains, there is a regular network and a speedy network. I'd say that in the regions specified, the fast trains are TGV, ICE and Thalys. (I don't know if Switzerland runs it's own service) Those will mostly require reservations with probably additional fees. Look closely at the Eurail website for this.
Berlin is a great city in almost any aspect (Big dance scene, big art scene, a lot of old and new architecture), and well worth a visit. But note that it probably adds 1 full travel day, because it's relatively far from all the cities you mentioned. (350 miles from Frankfurt google tells me)
Flying may well be cheaper if you work for the cheapest flights, but it's not going to be significantly faster over these distances. Mostly because flying involves a lot of waiting around. Train stations are mostly fine with arriving within a few minutes of departure, and are usually located near the city centre too. A 300mile distance is 45mins in pure flying, but it's going to add hours in checking-ing, boarding, waiting, and travelling to and from the airport.
Yeah, if you're going to like 6 places then I wouldn't bother flying.