Help me get to Europe and back
August 16, 2010 9:30 PM Subscribe
I'm planning a trip to Europe and could use some suggestions about plane/rail logistics.
I'm traveling with my sister. I live in Seattle and she lives in Columbus, OH. Ideally, I'd like to travel to Columbus first so I can fly with her, but if it's way more expensive, that's not a requirement.
The basic plan is US → Spain → France → Germany → US. In Germany we'd like to spend some time with friends in the countryside south of Munich, but otherwise our locations aren't predetermined. She's been to France and Germany before but never Spain. I've never been to Europe at all.
So, the questions are:
I'm traveling with my sister. I live in Seattle and she lives in Columbus, OH. Ideally, I'd like to travel to Columbus first so I can fly with her, but if it's way more expensive, that's not a requirement.
The basic plan is US → Spain → France → Germany → US. In Germany we'd like to spend some time with friends in the countryside south of Munich, but otherwise our locations aren't predetermined. She's been to France and Germany before but never Spain. I've never been to Europe at all.
So, the questions are:
- What airport in Spain should we fly in to?
- Should we fly within Europe, or travel Spain → France → Germany via rail?
- What airport in Germany should we fly out of?
# Should we fly within Europe, or travel Spain → France → Germany via rail?
Rail is fairly cheap but heeeeeeella flexible. Anything that allows me to bag up my bike and take practically anywhere is so 5 stars in my book. Better deals when you book ahead, but if you only have a day or two to reserve, it's still OK.
Flying can be cheaper than using the train, provided that there's space and you only have a carry-on. For 'mericans, it's almost untrustably cheap. Look at Aer Lingus and Easyjet, etc. Book weeks ahead, though.
posted by alex_skazat at 9:42 PM on August 16, 2010
Rail is fairly cheap but heeeeeeella flexible. Anything that allows me to bag up my bike and take practically anywhere is so 5 stars in my book. Better deals when you book ahead, but if you only have a day or two to reserve, it's still OK.
Flying can be cheaper than using the train, provided that there's space and you only have a carry-on. For 'mericans, it's almost untrustably cheap. Look at Aer Lingus and Easyjet, etc. Book weeks ahead, though.
posted by alex_skazat at 9:42 PM on August 16, 2010
To answer 1. and 3., Madrid usually gives you the most flexibility when flying into Spain, both in terms of flight choices and onward travel. Barcelona is also a possibility; Frankfurt is the obvious choice to depart for the US -- unless you can arrange a low-cost flight back to Spain, as it might be cheaper to do that and book a standard round-trip than fly into one city and out of another.
posted by holgate at 9:45 PM on August 16, 2010
posted by holgate at 9:45 PM on August 16, 2010
The Eurail three-country pass is a useful option if you want to stick with railway travel, though you'd either have to be careful with your routes getting from France to Germany or bump up (or pay cash) to go via Switzerland.
Whether you have time to go by rail is heavily contingent on your itinerary: You're talking about three big countries (well, big by European standards) with lots to see. But the advantage of the rail passes is that you have much more room to wander than flying between cities.
posted by holgate at 9:55 PM on August 16, 2010
Whether you have time to go by rail is heavily contingent on your itinerary: You're talking about three big countries (well, big by European standards) with lots to see. But the advantage of the rail passes is that you have much more room to wander than flying between cities.
posted by holgate at 9:55 PM on August 16, 2010
Should we fly within Europe, or travel Spain → France → Germany via rail?
How much time do you have? If you're pressed for time, Ryan Air or Easy Jet are cheap and fly everywhere. Otherwise, riding the train is a good experience, and the trains are really nice and comfortable -- although more expensive than flying these airlines.
posted by canadia at 9:58 PM on August 16, 2010
How much time do you have? If you're pressed for time, Ryan Air or Easy Jet are cheap and fly everywhere. Otherwise, riding the train is a good experience, and the trains are really nice and comfortable -- although more expensive than flying these airlines.
posted by canadia at 9:58 PM on August 16, 2010
Response by poster:
About 10 days. Leaving on September 8th, returning the 18th.
posted by Cogito at 11:28 PM on August 16, 2010
How long were you planning on spending abroad?
About 10 days. Leaving on September 8th, returning the 18th.
posted by Cogito at 11:28 PM on August 16, 2010
Best answer: Another option for rail is to travel at night in a sleeper car. It saves you from having to use up half a day (or longer) for travel, and that's your "hotel stay" for the night.
posted by zerbinetta at 11:56 PM on August 16, 2010
posted by zerbinetta at 11:56 PM on August 16, 2010
In this comment, Happy Dave introduced me to an awesome site about rail travel, especially (but not only) in Europe (thanks, HD!). I've spent many happy hours browsing the site and taking trips in my mind. The Man in Seat 61 really explains all the advantages and disadvantages very entertainingly, but above all accurately. I'd really recommend you try it. Have fun.
posted by aqsakal at 12:06 AM on August 17, 2010
posted by aqsakal at 12:06 AM on August 17, 2010
Best answer: I live in Seattle and she lives in Columbus, OH. Ideally, I'd like to travel to Columbus first so I can fly with her, but if it's way more expensive, that's not a requirement.
Why not met up at Chicago O'Hare and fly onward together from there? Both of your flight itineraries will likely route you through there anyhow, so it wouldn't be more expensive.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 1:11 AM on August 17, 2010
Why not met up at Chicago O'Hare and fly onward together from there? Both of your flight itineraries will likely route you through there anyhow, so it wouldn't be more expensive.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 1:11 AM on August 17, 2010
Best answer: With ten days, I'd do night trains (Barcelona-Paris and Paris-Munich are both direct sleepers with no changes). You will not have time to do much else, you save on accommodations, you arrive in the city centers, and three countries in ten days is a lot to deal with - do you want to spend what will amount to a whole day tooling around airports? (Perhaps you do, so forgive me if you're an aviation fan!)
Assuming that you've never been to Europe before, and that she's never been to Spain, here's a possible itinerary...
Day 0-1: Fly to Madrid, Madrid
Day 2: Madrid, evening train to Barcelona (it's only about three hours from city center to city center!)
Day 3: Barcelona
Day 4: Barcelona, flight/night train to Paris
Day 5: Paris
Day 6: Paris (daytrip to Versailles?), flight/night train to Munich
Day 7-9: Munich/friends near Munich
Day 10: fly home (Munich-Madrid-home, or just Munich-home)
The best way to book trains is to go to the operating network's website, because they offer special deals that are not offered on sites like RailEurope; it doesn't matter that you aren't in that country. A rail pass, for three train trips like this, would probably be *terrible* value - Seat 61 explains here, as you're only taking three trains for the whole journey.
For Spain, that's RENFE, and for France, that's Voyages-SNCF. There are tricks to using each site in English - Seat 61 has guides to each here and here respectively.
Both guides walk you through the process, which is actually quite simple - you can pick up your tickets at the station at kiosks or a ticket window with a confirmation number, and of course you can just pop in anytime you like and pick them up, not just in the few hours before you depart, which is a lot more convenient than flying. Easy!
Flying is another matter. I wouldn't fly between Madrid and Barcelona given how easy and inexpensive the train is in comparison; even a €1 fare - rare these days! - is going to have €15 worth of metro tickets and possibly more in baggage fees if you've got a lot of stuff. Madrid's airport is also some distance outside of town. And you can't bring a bottle of wine with you like you can on the train!
To compare prices on flights and trains, I used Skyscanner to find the info below. It searches low-cost and normal airlines, and shows you multi-ticket bookings as well (so for a trip from Warsaw to Lisbon, for example, it will give you the option of direct/one-stop flights, but also, say, Warsaw to Copenhagen on a low-cost airline, then also display a totally different ticket to Lisbon from Copenhagen on SAS or TAP or something.)
From Barcelona to Paris, it's about the same price to take the night train as it is to fly if you grab a good deal. A random day I chose in October, the 6th, had a number of low-cost-airline flights in the $30-$60 range, including taxes but *not* including fees; assume you will have pay to check any luggage, for anything you buy on board, and for transport to/from the airport. One of the flights was to Paris-Beauvais (BVA), which is over 50 miles outside of Paris in the middle of nowhere! (For flights to Paris, you want either "CDG" or "ORY"). You also need to look at the times of connecting transport - connections late at night on the RER (the train from Paris CDG to the center) are not that nice, and you may end up waiting for half an hour for a train to Paris proper if you come in late enough.
Also on the 6th, though, there are two night trains where both of you can go in second class for about €70 each in second class (a four-person compartment - new friends!), or first class (just the two of you) for €65, with a 90-minute change in Cerbere, on the border, on the Voyages-SNCF site (the same deal doesn't show up when I searched RENFE). Here, there's no need to pay for transport to the airport, extra luggage fees, or deal with a lack of wine bottles! So even though ticket prices are similar, the train seems like a far better deal and you're not paying for accommodation that evening!
From Paris to Munich, flights were more expensive on the date I looked at (October 8th); the lowest-cost flight was $115, on Air Berlin, with a stop in Dusseldorf and in the middle of the afternoon, making you waste half a day in the air (total trip time was about 5 hours, plus getting out to the airport, plus all the airport folderol). Direct flights on Air France and Lufthansa were absurd, like $550 and up.
The train here is the clear winner - first, because tickets on the TGV range from FREE (perhaps it's an error, perhaps my search was some sort of weird lucky winner, but it displayed a price of ZERO euros for an afternoon trip in second-class seats) - to €230 for both of you in an "economy double cabin" with beds, found on bahn.de, the German rail site (the site is really easy to use and if you create a profile, I think you can do printable PDF tickets!). Again, no accommodation that night needed.
Have a great trip!
PS: An alternate, probably warmer, less hassle-filled itinerary would be:
Day 0-1: fly to Barcelona
Day 2: Barcelona
Day 3: Barcelona, fly to Lyon (a direct flight on EasyJet in midweek early October for $25 each - assume that this will be more like $50 each when you add in baggage and transport to/from airports, but still, a great deal)
Day 4: Lyon
Day 5: Lyon, night train to Munich as mentioned above, which you get to via a 2h15m TGV to Paris (depart Lyon around 1545, get to Paris around 1800, have dinner, night train to Munich from 2015-0700).
Day 6-9: Munich and environs
Day 10: fly home
posted by mdonley at 2:11 AM on August 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
Assuming that you've never been to Europe before, and that she's never been to Spain, here's a possible itinerary...
Day 0-1: Fly to Madrid, Madrid
Day 2: Madrid, evening train to Barcelona (it's only about three hours from city center to city center!)
Day 3: Barcelona
Day 4: Barcelona, flight/night train to Paris
Day 5: Paris
Day 6: Paris (daytrip to Versailles?), flight/night train to Munich
Day 7-9: Munich/friends near Munich
Day 10: fly home (Munich-Madrid-home, or just Munich-home)
The best way to book trains is to go to the operating network's website, because they offer special deals that are not offered on sites like RailEurope; it doesn't matter that you aren't in that country. A rail pass, for three train trips like this, would probably be *terrible* value - Seat 61 explains here, as you're only taking three trains for the whole journey.
For Spain, that's RENFE, and for France, that's Voyages-SNCF. There are tricks to using each site in English - Seat 61 has guides to each here and here respectively.
Both guides walk you through the process, which is actually quite simple - you can pick up your tickets at the station at kiosks or a ticket window with a confirmation number, and of course you can just pop in anytime you like and pick them up, not just in the few hours before you depart, which is a lot more convenient than flying. Easy!
Flying is another matter. I wouldn't fly between Madrid and Barcelona given how easy and inexpensive the train is in comparison; even a €1 fare - rare these days! - is going to have €15 worth of metro tickets and possibly more in baggage fees if you've got a lot of stuff. Madrid's airport is also some distance outside of town. And you can't bring a bottle of wine with you like you can on the train!
To compare prices on flights and trains, I used Skyscanner to find the info below. It searches low-cost and normal airlines, and shows you multi-ticket bookings as well (so for a trip from Warsaw to Lisbon, for example, it will give you the option of direct/one-stop flights, but also, say, Warsaw to Copenhagen on a low-cost airline, then also display a totally different ticket to Lisbon from Copenhagen on SAS or TAP or something.)
From Barcelona to Paris, it's about the same price to take the night train as it is to fly if you grab a good deal. A random day I chose in October, the 6th, had a number of low-cost-airline flights in the $30-$60 range, including taxes but *not* including fees; assume you will have pay to check any luggage, for anything you buy on board, and for transport to/from the airport. One of the flights was to Paris-Beauvais (BVA), which is over 50 miles outside of Paris in the middle of nowhere! (For flights to Paris, you want either "CDG" or "ORY"). You also need to look at the times of connecting transport - connections late at night on the RER (the train from Paris CDG to the center) are not that nice, and you may end up waiting for half an hour for a train to Paris proper if you come in late enough.
Also on the 6th, though, there are two night trains where both of you can go in second class for about €70 each in second class (a four-person compartment - new friends!), or first class (just the two of you) for €65, with a 90-minute change in Cerbere, on the border, on the Voyages-SNCF site (the same deal doesn't show up when I searched RENFE). Here, there's no need to pay for transport to the airport, extra luggage fees, or deal with a lack of wine bottles! So even though ticket prices are similar, the train seems like a far better deal and you're not paying for accommodation that evening!
From Paris to Munich, flights were more expensive on the date I looked at (October 8th); the lowest-cost flight was $115, on Air Berlin, with a stop in Dusseldorf and in the middle of the afternoon, making you waste half a day in the air (total trip time was about 5 hours, plus getting out to the airport, plus all the airport folderol). Direct flights on Air France and Lufthansa were absurd, like $550 and up.
The train here is the clear winner - first, because tickets on the TGV range from FREE (perhaps it's an error, perhaps my search was some sort of weird lucky winner, but it displayed a price of ZERO euros for an afternoon trip in second-class seats) - to €230 for both of you in an "economy double cabin" with beds, found on bahn.de, the German rail site (the site is really easy to use and if you create a profile, I think you can do printable PDF tickets!). Again, no accommodation that night needed.
Have a great trip!
PS: An alternate, probably warmer, less hassle-filled itinerary would be:
Day 0-1: fly to Barcelona
Day 2: Barcelona
Day 3: Barcelona, fly to Lyon (a direct flight on EasyJet in midweek early October for $25 each - assume that this will be more like $50 each when you add in baggage and transport to/from airports, but still, a great deal)
Day 4: Lyon
Day 5: Lyon, night train to Munich as mentioned above, which you get to via a 2h15m TGV to Paris (depart Lyon around 1545, get to Paris around 1800, have dinner, night train to Munich from 2015-0700).
Day 6-9: Munich and environs
Day 10: fly home
posted by mdonley at 2:11 AM on August 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
Fly from BCN or MAD to Paris or MUC unless you have some romance with train travel. It's a long train trip and its at night - why bother. Paris to Munich is not as cut and dried - it is about a 6 hour train ride so I would guess flying would only save you 90minutes/2 hours.
Flying within Europe is much less of a hassle then flying within the US. Munich is a great airport. If you've never taken a modern high speed train it might be fun to do MAD-BCN or Paris-Munich.
Personally I think you've got too many countries on your list - I'd skip France given your sister has already been there.
posted by JPD at 5:16 AM on August 17, 2010
Flying within Europe is much less of a hassle then flying within the US. Munich is a great airport. If you've never taken a modern high speed train it might be fun to do MAD-BCN or Paris-Munich.
Personally I think you've got too many countries on your list - I'd skip France given your sister has already been there.
posted by JPD at 5:16 AM on August 17, 2010
Assuming both you and your sister are over 18, I would not first travel to Ohio so that you can fly together. You're both grownups and, I assume, know how air travel works. And assuming that you both have the same hotel reservations, you will inevitably meet up with each other on the other end.
Re your 10 day comment - you really want to travel from Seattle to Europe and back and see three relatively large and spread out countries in ten days? I know this isn't an answer to your question, but if I were you I would cut out at least one of the three countries you've mentioned. Preferably Germany.
Your questions, answered:
1. Where in Spain are you going? The main airports are Madrid and Barcelona. From New York, I've seen slightly cheaper airfares to fly into Madrid, but if your plan is to visit Barcelona and then travel on to France, the $50 difference in cost is moot.
2. I keep hearing about all the fabulously cheap European budget airline deals out there. However, you should check it out for yourself and compare to a Eurail pass or whatever (especially since your countries seem relatively contained). Remember, too, that the budget airlines keep costs low by flying into relatively random airports. I'm trying to plan a not-dissimilar trip to what you describe and am finding that it's hard to get a terribly cheap flight from Britain to anywhere in Italy, for instance - it's definitely expensive enough that I'm also looking at train tickets or rethinking my Italy plans.
3. Again this will depend on where in Germany you're going. Frankfurt is the big hub, I think. But if your trip will wind down in Munich, it might be worth flying out of somewhere else. We don't know enough about your itinerary to make a good recommendation.
posted by Sara C. at 6:08 AM on August 17, 2010
Re your 10 day comment - you really want to travel from Seattle to Europe and back and see three relatively large and spread out countries in ten days? I know this isn't an answer to your question, but if I were you I would cut out at least one of the three countries you've mentioned. Preferably Germany.
Your questions, answered:
1. Where in Spain are you going? The main airports are Madrid and Barcelona. From New York, I've seen slightly cheaper airfares to fly into Madrid, but if your plan is to visit Barcelona and then travel on to France, the $50 difference in cost is moot.
2. I keep hearing about all the fabulously cheap European budget airline deals out there. However, you should check it out for yourself and compare to a Eurail pass or whatever (especially since your countries seem relatively contained). Remember, too, that the budget airlines keep costs low by flying into relatively random airports. I'm trying to plan a not-dissimilar trip to what you describe and am finding that it's hard to get a terribly cheap flight from Britain to anywhere in Italy, for instance - it's definitely expensive enough that I'm also looking at train tickets or rethinking my Italy plans.
3. Again this will depend on where in Germany you're going. Frankfurt is the big hub, I think. But if your trip will wind down in Munich, it might be worth flying out of somewhere else. We don't know enough about your itinerary to make a good recommendation.
posted by Sara C. at 6:08 AM on August 17, 2010
Munich is a pretty big hub as well especially intra-europe. US to MUC you've got Lufthansa and Continental vs Frankfurt having Delta in addition.
I keep hearing about all the fabulously cheap European budget airline deals out there Yes the days of insane airfares are pretty much over, now they basically price against rail fares so the two are pretty similar price wise. You tend to pay more of a premium for flying when time differentials really spread out. For example on the CDG-MUC train vs rail it is basically the same price per Dbahn. 140ish Euros vs 160ish to fly
posted by JPD at 6:24 AM on August 17, 2010
I keep hearing about all the fabulously cheap European budget airline deals out there Yes the days of insane airfares are pretty much over, now they basically price against rail fares so the two are pretty similar price wise. You tend to pay more of a premium for flying when time differentials really spread out. For example on the CDG-MUC train vs rail it is basically the same price per Dbahn. 140ish Euros vs 160ish to fly
posted by JPD at 6:24 AM on August 17, 2010
If you had more time I would say train everywhere. Between Paris and Barcelona you could visit the French Riviera, and between Madrid and Paris you could visit the Basque Country, both of which are great places to see (I recommend the latter though). However, both Barcelona and Madrid are actually quite far from Paris and would necessitate a long train ride, and that would eat up a lot of your trip.
I would suggest you fly into Barcelona, simply because it is an amazing city and the highlight of my Euro backpacking trip. Spend 3 days there and then hop a flight somewhere. Actually, mdonley's second itinerary looks like what I would recommend.
posted by PercussivePaul at 8:30 AM on August 17, 2010
I would suggest you fly into Barcelona, simply because it is an amazing city and the highlight of my Euro backpacking trip. Spend 3 days there and then hop a flight somewhere. Actually, mdonley's second itinerary looks like what I would recommend.
posted by PercussivePaul at 8:30 AM on August 17, 2010
Yeah, ten days means that "room to wander" goes out out of the window somewhat. Sleeper trains vs discount flights pretty much even themselves out, though I'd be inclined to follow mdonley's second itinerary, or skip France in favour of seeing both Madrid and Barcelona before flying to Bavaria.
posted by holgate at 8:49 AM on August 17, 2010
posted by holgate at 8:49 AM on August 17, 2010
Best answer: I'd have to disagree with the posters advising you to skip the train because you won't see anything; you'll have enough time on the trains in the evening and the morning to see yourself pull out into the countryside from your starting point and arrive at your destination in the morning - if you flew, you'd see the same thing, just from above. :) Additionally, both the Barcelona-Paris and Paris-Munich trains have full, sit-down restaurant cars, with meals included if you book into first class (you simply pay the bill at the end if you're in second class). It's a great way to wind down in the evening.
On rail passes, I don't have any personal experience, but I went to the RailEurope site, which is the group that sells passes in the US. You're looking at (minimum - I looked for roughly the same dates I looked for above):
• $504 for a two-person pass to Spain and France (four days of travel; there is no "three days of travel" pass that I could find
• $28 to reserve seats from Madrid to Barcelona (obligatory)
• $202 to reserve two places in couchettes (four-person) from Barcelona to Paris - and you have to separate, as couchettes are single-sex only
• $190 to reserve two places in couchettes (six-person) from Paris to Munich, again single-sex, so again you'd have to separate.
So that's $926 for two, or $463/person. If that fits your budget, go for it! If not, point-to-point tickets, as above, or consider flying.
Many railways in Europe are now yield-managed like airlines are - meaning that there may be a certain quota of passholder spots. So rarely, on extremely busy routes, you will arrive at the ticket desk (and yes, in Spain, France, and Germany pretty much all international trains are reservation-only, so it's probably a good idea to make two trips to the station - one to queue up, reserve, and pay for your place, the other when your train departs) and find that there are "no seats" available for passholders, when actually, there are seats - just for cash-paying customers right behind you in line. More here.
Also - if you're traveling on Day X, and on Day X-1 or X-2 there's a railway strike (it happens frequently enough to be a small but significant factor in your choice), getting a reserved place on a night train if you haven't booked one in advance can be hellish, with insane lines - and remember the Icelandic volcano? You did not want to be a rail pass holder then.
With a paid-up ticket/reservation (it's included when you buy it online!), you're all set and can stroll onto the train instead of fighting to get to the pay-for-your-reservation-here office.
Overall, you have a simple, two-to-three train journey. If you know the days you're going to travel between cities, don't plan to get off anywhere in between, and are OK with knowing that you'll have limited flexibility or refund possibilities, *and* want to be guaranteed a seat/bed, by all means get the point-to-point tickets, especially if you aren't traveling for quite a while and can take advantage of lower fares than the pass would avail you of. Even if you change your plans, you will have spent so little on the tickets that tossing them won't be such a bad thing.
Good luck!
posted by mdonley at 9:35 AM on August 17, 2010
On rail passes, I don't have any personal experience, but I went to the RailEurope site, which is the group that sells passes in the US. You're looking at (minimum - I looked for roughly the same dates I looked for above):
• $504 for a two-person pass to Spain and France (four days of travel; there is no "three days of travel" pass that I could find
• $28 to reserve seats from Madrid to Barcelona (obligatory)
• $202 to reserve two places in couchettes (four-person) from Barcelona to Paris - and you have to separate, as couchettes are single-sex only
• $190 to reserve two places in couchettes (six-person) from Paris to Munich, again single-sex, so again you'd have to separate.
So that's $926 for two, or $463/person. If that fits your budget, go for it! If not, point-to-point tickets, as above, or consider flying.
Many railways in Europe are now yield-managed like airlines are - meaning that there may be a certain quota of passholder spots. So rarely, on extremely busy routes, you will arrive at the ticket desk (and yes, in Spain, France, and Germany pretty much all international trains are reservation-only, so it's probably a good idea to make two trips to the station - one to queue up, reserve, and pay for your place, the other when your train departs) and find that there are "no seats" available for passholders, when actually, there are seats - just for cash-paying customers right behind you in line. More here.
Also - if you're traveling on Day X, and on Day X-1 or X-2 there's a railway strike (it happens frequently enough to be a small but significant factor in your choice), getting a reserved place on a night train if you haven't booked one in advance can be hellish, with insane lines - and remember the Icelandic volcano? You did not want to be a rail pass holder then.
With a paid-up ticket/reservation (it's included when you buy it online!), you're all set and can stroll onto the train instead of fighting to get to the pay-for-your-reservation-here office.
Overall, you have a simple, two-to-three train journey. If you know the days you're going to travel between cities, don't plan to get off anywhere in between, and are OK with knowing that you'll have limited flexibility or refund possibilities, *and* want to be guaranteed a seat/bed, by all means get the point-to-point tickets, especially if you aren't traveling for quite a while and can take advantage of lower fares than the pass would avail you of. Even if you change your plans, you will have spent so little on the tickets that tossing them won't be such a bad thing.
Good luck!
posted by mdonley at 9:35 AM on August 17, 2010
Her first trip to Europe and you have her spending 30% of it on a train...
posted by JPD at 12:36 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by JPD at 12:36 PM on August 17, 2010
The alternative is spending a big chunk in airports, with a recommended 2hr check-in for shorthaul flights, or heading between airports and city centres.
The daytime trains give you a sense of the landscape between A and B; the sleepers get you there when you'd otherwise be in a hotel. Given the time constraints, it's a fair trade-off: a classic "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" coach tour gives you much less sightseeing time.
posted by holgate at 3:34 PM on August 17, 2010
The daytime trains give you a sense of the landscape between A and B; the sleepers get you there when you'd otherwise be in a hotel. Given the time constraints, it's a fair trade-off: a classic "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" coach tour gives you much less sightseeing time.
posted by holgate at 3:34 PM on August 17, 2010
I think the bottom line is that any intercontinental 10 day trip that involves three countries of the size and depth OP mentions is going to involve spending half the trip dealing with modes of transportation.
posted by Sara C. at 4:51 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by Sara C. at 4:51 PM on August 17, 2010
Response by poster:
Actually, I'm the one who's never been to Europe. But you make a good point. We shall consider reducing the number of countries, I think.
posted by Cogito at 7:38 PM on August 17, 2010
Her first trip to Europe and you have her spending 30% of it on a train...
Actually, I'm the one who's never been to Europe. But you make a good point. We shall consider reducing the number of countries, I think.
posted by Cogito at 7:38 PM on August 17, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by holgate at 9:38 PM on August 16, 2010