Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 15, 2002 19:55:35 GMT -5
Thanks, that's what I was hoping. nitsansh: I've got a cousin in Cambrai that has invited me to stay for a night, that's all. I don't know much about the actual town.  |
|
Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 16, 2002 16:54:04 GMT -5
Since you've all been so helpful I thought I might post my final itinerary : London (2 nights) Cambrai (1 night) Amsterdam (3 nights) Berlin (2 days) Prague (3 days) Back to London I guess the biggest thing I had to sacrafice is a rather pricey flight back from Prague ($170!!). It seems that there are cheap fares from everywhere except Prague! Now I can start making Hostel reservations!... Thanks everyone! Oh yeah, is www.bahn.de the best site for train schedules? Sometimes they seem to conflict  |
|
|
|
Post by LHR02 on Sept 16, 2002 18:28:47 GMT -5
You did buy a pass, right? Here, not waiting till there? If so, when your tickets arrive they will include a map and a fairly good schedule...at least for most bigger cities. That will be accurate. I used the schedule they supplied for most trips and always found it to be correct.
ging
|
|
|
|
Post by nitsansh on Sept 17, 2002 9:36:55 GMT -5
Since you've all been so helpful I thought I might post my final itinerary : London (2 nights) Cambrai (1 night) Amsterdam (3 nights) Berlin (2 days) Prague (3 days) Back to London I guess the biggest thing I had to sacrafice is a rather pricey flight back from Prague ($170!!). It seems that there are cheap fares from everywhere except Prague! Now I can start making Hostel reservations!... Thanks everyone! Oh yeah, is www.bahn.de the best site for train schedules? Sometimes they seem to conflict Don't book a flight from Prague with a pricy airline before you check this site: www.flybudget.com/You'll find that www.go-fly.co.uk/ flies from Prague to London-Stansted for much much less than 170$! And don't buy a railpass before you check www.railsaver.com/railsaver.aspYou only have 4 travel days, so you might not need a pass at all! If you have trouble with the German rail server, try others. I like the Swiss site: www.sbb.ch/pv/index_e.htmIt's faster and less complicated. Railsaver site (see above) has links to all national railways websites. |
|
Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 17, 2002 12:39:29 GMT -5
"You'll find that www.go-fly.co.uk/ flies from Prague to London-Stansted for much much less than 170$!" -That's actually where I got the quote from! 170! I haven't found an auction site. |
|
|
|
Post by nitsansh on Sept 17, 2002 13:52:59 GMT -5
I found flights Prague to London with Go-Fly at 2085 CZK, which is about 70$ (67 Euro). You should fly on mid-week days if you want low fares. Your 170$ flight is probably on a Friday. Sunday flights are even more expensive!
|
|
Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 17, 2002 13:59:33 GMT -5
That's so strange. The date I'm looking for is 10/24..
which is a Thursday..and the quote is the same for every day that week.
But then I checked the previous thursday and yes, it was much cheaper.
Fares usually go down the further off they are not up! What gives!
|
|
|
|
Post by nitsansh on Sept 17, 2002 14:01:08 GMT -5
What dates are you travelling?
If you reverse your itinerary, and fly London to Prague, flights are as cheap as 20 Pounds!!
If you want to fly cheap, you should be flexible!
|
|
|
|
Post by nitsansh on Sept 17, 2002 14:13:03 GMT -5
If that's not possible, check flights Prague to Bristol or East Midlands. On Oct 24, flights to both destination cost 2750 CZK, and on Oct 23 only 2250CZK.
In case you're not familiar with these places... Bristol is about 200KM west of London, East Midlands is near Derby and Nottingham, a similar distance north-west of London.
As I said... be flexible!
|
|
Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 24, 2002 18:27:38 GMT -5
I've got another question!
So I bought the railpass (youth flexi) for benelux, germany, france and I had intended to buy one of those cheap tickets to prague from the German border. BUT how will I go about buying these tickets? Do I buy them when I get off to switch trains at some point in the journey? I've checked the timetables for berlin-prague and picked a train - but it doesn't list a change!
Pls enlighten me...
|
|
|
|
Post by me on Sept 24, 2002 22:41:07 GMT -5
Civ,
you could buy the needed ticket from the german border to prague in berlin. don't know if that would be the best way to get a cheap ticket, though.
I took an overnight once from vienna to berlin (goes through prague) and just used a day on my eurrail east pass. i had a germanrail pass, i was ready to use a day on it, but they never checked me in germany!
perhaps if you ride in an overnight from berlin to prague, they won't check your ticket in czech rep?
- d
|
|
|
|
Post by LHR02 on Sept 25, 2002 6:34:20 GMT -5
Civ, The German train will stop at the border and everyone will have to get off and change trains there to a Czech one. And yes, just follow the crowd  to the ticket counter and buy your onward ticket there. Night train across this border? Read my details of my night train from Dresden to Warsaw! AARRGGHH!! Granted it might not be the norm, but I found passport/custom control on the former Eastern countries something better to be handled during the day  They are not the friendliest you will encounter by a long shot.  ging BTW.....when are you leaving? Can not remember ;D edited for spelling errors  |
|
Civ
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
|
Post by Civ on Sept 25, 2002 12:13:28 GMT -5
Cool... Well the train I'm planning on taking is during the day, so hopefully that will make it a little easier. Glad to hear it will be easy to follow the others...
I'm leaving in 2 1/2 weeks!!! Very very excited! I think I've got just about everything in order, tho I still can't find a room in AmDam, and I'm nervous about the train schedules...
Gathering all my last minute supplies and advice!!
|
|
|
|
Post by me on Sept 26, 2002 23:26:31 GMT -5
i took overnights crossing east euro-borders about 5 years ago. sure, they wake you up to check your passport, but it's no big deal. if you get a sleeper instead of a couchette, they won't even wake you up! (the train conductor keeps your passport overnight) but a sleeper is 1st class. costs more.
these trains went straight through to prague, from vienna, berlin, whereever. i don't know why giger needed to change trains at the border. the border cops just walked through checking passports, like they used to in the rest of europe.
|
|
|
|
Post by LHR02 on Sept 27, 2002 7:06:15 GMT -5
HA! I had a 'single sleeper' on the route Dresden to Warsaw. I 'splurged' in order to get some sleep I thought. Did not change trains on that route.....and had one hell of a night! At the border had passport control pounding on my door, rifling through my stuff, demanding to see my money, all in the middle of the night. The conductor did not keep my passport, the Polish came twice, the German's three times to my door while stopped at the border. In hindsight it is amusing, in it's way, at the time it was not funny at all. Almost frightening as no one 'seemed' to speak english and I did not know what was going on and why. On the trip from Poland to Czech, and Czech to Austria, all during the day, they did just check and no train changes. BTW....borded a Polish train in Dresden for that route....but if you are on a German train going to the border you will change trains as Deutschbahn does not run in Poland/Czech.
ging
|
|
to the ticket counter and buy your onward ticket there. Night train across this border? Read my details of my night train from Dresden to Warsaw! AARRGGHH!! Granted it might not be the norm, but I found passport/custom control on the former Eastern countries something better to be handled during the day 
They are not the friendliest you will encounter by a long shot. 
