Planning a 4-6 Week Trip to Europe Next Summer

[me]

i suggest you go to www.railsaver.com/railsaver.asp and plug in where/when you're planning to go. (and that 2 of you will travel together) it will likely give a better/cheaper option than buying the most expensive rail passes.

as there are two of you traveling together, that will save you. the 2nd person doesn't need a full priced pass.

travel agents often don't point out the cheaper options. this is especially true in they are getting a commission based on a percentage of what you spend.

also, there are some night train options in there. night trains can be a great way to travel! sleep your way between cities. great time saver.

- d

magnav0x said:

I think we've pretty much decided on a 5 week trip. Though I hate to have to buy 2 month Eurail Passes for 5 weeks. I'd much rather do a 6 week trip if we have to do that.

We may end up just doing a 4 week trip, just to save the $800 extra we'd need for 2 Month passes and $1400 for budgeting. That is the last thing holding us back on the airline front is deciding between a 4, 5, and 6 week trip. Realistically it will probably be 5 weeks at the longest, but who knows.

We told the travel agent we were going to wait until the end of September or October before we booked to ensure we know exactly what we want to do.

[herrbert]

I agree with David, use railsaver. (also I believe that the Czech republic will not be included in most passes)

Just one thing I would like to point out as far as the initerary you posted is concerned is that taking the train from Prague to Venice, takes a long while. And to prevent backtracking, it might be worthwhile to take a plane from Prague to Rome (Sky Europe or Smartwings). That might save you time and money.

After Rome, you can go north and see Venice then.

If you are worried about buying a second pass, then you could also decide just to buy point to point tickets for the last stops. (Paris - Brugge/Brussels - Amsterdam, are pretty close to eachother), And you might even want to consider taking a bus if the tickets on the Thalys might be expensive. (check Eurolines for busses.)

If you would drop Brugge/Brussels, you could even check out Vueling Airlines for a cheap flight from Paris to Amsterdam.

[magnav0x]

Well I finally went back to my travel agent to book those tickets on August 13th, which was the earliest she said I could book them. I walk in and she says the tickets are now $1,189 ($750 was the original quote). She checked with their consolidators and she was able to save a whopping $20. Told her I could find better online, so now I'm back to square one for the airline tickets.

[googleygoo]

I hope this isn't redundant but you should use kayak.com and play with the dates for flying into Paris or Amsterdam.

I absolutely love Paris but if you need to cut your trip short, you can also save Paris for another time, kind of the same idea with London. You can easily spend a week in London, or a week in Paris.

[magnav0x]

I haven't been around in a while, as I've been frequenting a different backpacker's forum. However I wanted to drop in and give you an update on what's going on with my trip. The CEO of my company used his frequent flyer miles to get my wife and I round trip airfare to Paris at no cost and gave me the "OK" for a 5 week vacation this summer.


5-Jun   Dallas            Plane - Departure
6-Jun   Paris             Plane - Arrival
7-Jun   Paris
8-Jun   Paris
9-Jun   Paris             Train - Departure @ 21:55
10-Jun  Amsterdam         Train - Arrival @ 08:22
11-Jun  Amsterdam
12-Jun  Amsterdam         Train - Departure @ 06:34 to Mannheim
13-Jun  Mannheim           Train - Departure @ 22:24
14-Jun  Prague            Train - Arrival @ 09:49
15-Jun  Prague
16-Jun  Prague
17-Jun  Prague            Train - Departure @ 20:06
18-Jun  Munich            Train - Arrival @ 6:21
19-Jun  Munich
20-Jun  Munich
21-Jun  Munich            Train - Departure @ 23:40
22-Jun  Venice            Train - Arrival @ 07:36
23-Jun  Venice            Train - Departure @ 23:59
24-Jun  Rome              Train - Arrival @ 06:56
25-Jun  Rome
26-Jun  Rome
27-Jun  Rome           Train - Departure @ 6:23
28-Jun  Pisa              Train - Arrival @ 10:15
       Pisa              Train - Departure @ 13:00
       Riomaggiore (Cinque Terra)   Train - Arrival @ 14:14
29-Jun  Riomaggiore (Cinque Terra)   Train - Departure @ 19:53
30-Jun  Interlaken        Train - Arrival @ 08:35
1-Jul   Interlaken
2-Jul Interlaken        Train - Departure @ 21:25
3-Jul
4-Jul
5-Jul
6-Jul
7-Jul
8-Jul
9-Jul Paris Plane - Departure


I am still in the process of finishing the itinerary, but I know where all we are going. It's just a matter of tweaking the length of stay in each location and also adding in a day at Chamonix, France and maybe a night in Hallstatt, Austria.

[herrbert]

Hey MagnavOx,

I think you should check the timetables for the nighttrains. If you check www.bahn.de, you can check the details. And see if there are no big breaks on this route (e.g. arriving at 2.00, and departure at 6.30) Paris - Amsterdam is a 4 hours ride in the daytime, the 'nighttrain' you choose in fact makes a stop in Liege (Luik) for over 4 hours in the middle of the night. (which means you have a stopover, and possibly you are kicked out of the trainstation (if it closes), and you won't get much sleep.

I would do the trip from Munich to Venice during the daytime, as there will be some great views, when you are crossing the Alps.