Itinerary as of....now

[morgan23]

Still working on my itinerary....suggestions?

Whole month of August. I'm avoiding overnight trains since I'm a woman travelling alone. My plan is to leave for the next town in the morning each time.

Fly into Paris - 1 full day
Paris- 3 full days, 4 nights
Paris to Interlaken, Interlaken to Gimmelwald- 1 full day
Gimmelwald- 2 full days, 3 nights
Gimmelwald to Interlaken, Interlaken to Munich - 1 full day
Munich (w/ day biketrip to Fussen) - 2 full days, 3 nights
Munich to Venice - 1 full day
Venice - 2 full days, 3 nights
Venice to Florence - 1/2 day
Florence 3 1/2 days, 4 nights
Florence to Pisa, Pisa to Cinque Terre - 1 full day (travel and sightseeing in Pisa)
Cinque Terre (Vernazza) - 2 full days, 3 nights
Cinque Terre to Pisa, Pisa to Rome - 1 full day
Rome 4 full days, 5 nights
Fly from Rome to Barcelona - 1/2 day
Barcelona 3 1/2 full days, 3 nights (leave in evening of last day)
Fly from Barcelona to Home

[me]

first thing that strikes me: i know there's a night train from Munich to Venice. you could save a day from transit there. better to spend it in Venice, rather than on the train to Venice.

also, a word of warning: italy removed the lockers at train stations. two years ago, i'd planned a day stop in Pisa, too. there was no place to leave my bag, so i couldn't explore. [the pack was too heavy to get to Leanin' Tower & the cathedral with it on. i'd worn myself out exploring in Florence]

[morgan23]

Hmmm... any ideas about where else I could lock up my bag? Is it all of Italy that is like that? Because that would be sad if I didn't get to go there.

About the night train. A few people I have talked to and guide books I have read have discouraged travelling on the overnight trains as a solo woman traveller. Do you think it's dangerous?

[stanncie]

hi morgan

i am also sure that you can't leave your bag anywhere in pisa, i tried this and there were no lockers although this nice man at the train station in the information desk offered to watch it for me. My friend was tired though so we just decided to keep going on to our next destination.

As far as night trains, i never felt threatened. I always made sure there was nothing valuable in my big bag and i used my day bag as a pillow. Obviously whatever money I had and passports, etc were in my money belt which I wore.

[Jules80]

i would agree with stanncie. also there are frequently women only cars so its a lot safer.

jules

[me]

same thing in San Gimignano. got off the train, no place to store my pack, so i bought some post cards at the station, and got back on the next train to Florence.

many people did Pisa as a day trip from Florence because of the bag problem. some also did San Gimignano as a day trip from there for the same reason.

morgan23 said:

Hmmm... any ideas about where else I could lock up my bag? Is it all of Italy that is like that? Because that would be sad if I didn't get to go there.

[morgan23]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, a little day trip.
That's too bad though, because I have to go through Pisa anyways to get to Cinque Terre. It would have been convenient to just see it then.

[me]

might i suggest a day stop in a really beautiful town, Innsbruck? [this could work, as you're not taking the night train]

if you can catch the 7.30 departure from Munich's main station, [buy a cold breakfast to eat on the train, or you could buy a hot breakfast at the train's BordRestaurant] you could get to Innsbruck by 9.20, sightsee Innsbruck for 4 hours, having bought a lunch to eat on a train, get on the train departing Innsbruck at 13.26, and be at Venezia S.Lucia at 18.31.

back in 2004, May, when i was last at Innsbruck station, i know for a fact they had lock boxes at the station; i used one! they were big ones, fit a full pack with room to spare.

- d

morgan23 said:

Munich to Venice - 1 full day
Venice - 2 full days, 3 nights

[morgan23]

Cool. I'll check it out!

[dakkie8]

Hey, I have the same qualms as you. I'm an 18 year old girl going solo this July, and even though night trains sound like a great way to maximize sightseeing and such, I'm still a little creeped out about them. I wonder how much extra getting a couchette would be? I hear a lot of them are single sex and generally creep-free, but I don't know how they work with eurail passes/fit into a tight budget.

[me]

dakkie8,

reserving a couchette cost little more than a bed in a hostel. if the train leaves after 8 <20.00>, and you don't change trains before midnight, only the next day is marked on your flexipass.

didn't encounter creeps on the night trains i rode <maybe i'm the creep and don't know it?> but, there were certainly some creepy people at some of those train stations!

of course, you could also encounter creeps at hostels, no?

- d

[Eagle]

dakkie8,

I hear a lot of them are single sex and generally creep-free

Couchettes are often co-ed, so don't count on a "single sex" compartment; be prepared to sleep in your street clothes. The top bunk can be a bit warm in hot weather, so keep this is mind as you'll probably have to choose your bunk when you make the reservation. As far as the cost, as David pointed out this is close to what you would pay in a Hostel.

While Couchettes are "generally creep free", I did see one post on a travel message board recently (can't remember which one?), where a couple staying in a Couchette went to the dining car, leaving their bags in the Couchette. When they returned some valuables were missing from their packs, and the others staying in the compartment denied taking these. Of course, logic would dictate that the items didn't "walk off" by themselves and if no one else was in the Couchette then how could the theft have occurred. No way to prove it though.

Happy travels!!!

[kena]

I did have one creepy experience when travelling night trains (we were five in a 6-bed couchette: two teachers accompanying a group of middle schoolers, my sister and I, and an Asian man who took a rather unhealthy interest in the young male middleschoolers who would come to our compartment to speak to their teachers... It might have been a cultural misunderstanding, but the vibe was kind of creepy) but I've never felt threatened myself. I suppose I could have asked the train manager for a change of couchette otherwise (I suspect that's the kind of thing that would justify getting upgraded to an upper class. In general, I've found people to be sensitive to these sort of things when you're travelling as a solo woman, and they'll go out of their way to make you safe. It taps into the "she could be my own daughter" feeling. You just have to voice your concerns, ideally to an older woman.)

As for valuables, I'm always very careful with leaving valuable stuff unattended, anywhere (including hostels). That's just asking for trouble. I'll just bring my daypack and money belt with me anywhere if they can't be secured, and I'll put them far away from the door while I'm sleeping (typically, daypack is by my head, on the wall side, and money belt is in my pillowcase)... and if your valuables don't fit in your daypack, that means you have too much of them

Short answer: I'll still be taking night trains as a solo woman, but I'll try to stick to single-sex compartments (I know that the international night trains from Spain offer single-sex couchettes by default), be smart with my valuables, and trust my guts for the rest.