Travelling Via Train through Europe

Lmintin9 on 30/04/2015 - 09:14

Hello Ozbargain community!

First time travelling to Europe in August with partner, and i was hoping to call on your expertise.

I am intending to travel via train to a few different cities and am aware most will have reserved seating options opening about 3 months prior to the travel date.

These are the trips i intend to make via train:
London-Paris
Paris-Nice

Also was considering an overnight coach from Copenhagen to Stockholm.

Do you guys have any recommendations about the most convenient and/or cheapest options with these trips?
Good or bad experiences with any particular train or bus companies?
Or any general advice when booking or considering them?

Much appreciated! :)

Travel

Comments

  • battler on 30/04/2015 - 09:47

    some recent similar posts worth a read:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/train+europe

  • Davo1111 on 30/04/2015 - 10:21
    +3

    seat61.com

    • frondono on 30/04/2015 - 12:42
      +1

      I just booked a bit of trip and this helped me immensely. Heaps cheaper than getting a eurail pass. Most trips are around 29 euro if you book it early enough. bahn.de isn't always the cheapest. I got some tickets on the czech and austrian sites that were 10 euro cheaper.

      • oldrocker on 01/05/2015 - 10:34

        Agree. booking in advance before you leave is very cheap. Rail passes are way over=priced. Also, I'd avoid re-sellers if they're no cheaper than the train company's official site.

  • sajidmib on 30/04/2015 - 15:23
    +1

    I travelled via train from Geneva to Interlaken ( Swiss) stayed for 2 days and from there to Munich with 1-2Hrs stops in BERN and ZURICH, it was through out very comfy and great travel scenery on the way..

    Then from Munich to Paris via coach overnight best and cheap with a mild stopovers for stretch although they have toilets on board, they stopped at Stuttgart and Strasbourg.

    70EURO ticket for the whole coach trip.. Europe is the best all over and friendly people from around the world.

    had time of my life through out the trip.

    I bought all the tickets locally and worked out cheaper many will give you websites from here but if you have internet access in the city you stay at, you can find cheaper at the time as well, makes it clearer where you heading at, and then planning ahead and saves you time if things dont go according to the plan, mostly whatever I plan is always not according to the plan one or the other thing is missing like train, bus cab etc. so I do it AS I GO way.

    So do it AS YOU GO.

    • UncommonName on 30/04/2015 - 18:38

      So you are saying its better to buy tickets for bus/train prior to departure? But would not it be expensive as last minute? Also, how did you pay, cash or card?

      • ThirdRonnie on 01/05/2015 - 12:33
        +1

        There's plenty of information on OB about money for overseas but in a nutshell, your best overseas money kit is a 28 Degree MasterCard for purchases and a Citibank Plus Visa debit card for local currency from ATMs. Both cards, no fees, correct exchange rate. For up to the minute rates, install the XE Currency app on your smartphone or tablet.

        London-Paris, book with Eurostar at eurostar.com Use the currency app to work out whether it's better to pay in pounds or euros as the relativity between the two can change. Book online around 90 days before travel. Pay with 28Deg mastercard. You will get an e-ticket with QR barcode, which is your gate pass at St Pancras station (a tourist attraction in itself - worth making time for). The trip is 2.25 hours.

        Paris-Nice, you can book with Rail Europe but you might want to weigh up their fees against booking directly with SNCF (French Railway) at http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/train-ticket Hint: there appear to be cheap fares available 18-20 August at the moment. The trip is 5h 36m.

        You can take the train from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Check Danish Rail's tutorial on buying a ticket online (in English) Alternatively, check Swedish Rail at https://www.sj.se/sj/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=21415&l=en

        The trip is between 5 and 5.5 hours.

        August is still tourist season, so book as early as you can. Expect Moderate to heavy crowding everywhere, so allow lots of lead time for each trip.

        Bon Voyage!

  • sajidmib on 30/04/2015 - 18:46

    cash …Foreign cards are expensive to use.

    Last minute cheaps are also there…

    • UncommonName on 30/04/2015 - 18:58

      Any websites for cheap last minute tickets?

    • Davo1111 on 01/05/2015 - 01:46

      Foreign cards are expensive to use.

      28deg allows free international CC purcahses, just no cash withdrawal

  • mosquito on 01/05/2015 - 07:42
    +1

    My only recommendation is do not buy an EURail pass, they often cost more than the cost of the trips, and it makes it very difficult to book in advance.
    For example in France, you can only book online if you do not use an EUrail pass, I had to visit 2 different train stations to book with EURail passes in France just to book a Paris to Madrid train.
    Furthermore, from Brussels to Paris the reservation fee for using an Eurail pass was $43 euros, the class 1 ticket was $44 euros, so I didn't use EURail for that at all!

    Germany was very easy, but it has a DB Bahn card which was probably cheaper.

    Class 1 provides more space on most trains, and often leather seats, sometimes food, although German trains have food as just a packet of lollies (and only 2 sweets in it). Class 1 often has free wifi.
    Class 2 sometimes has free wifi so it is worth checking if you want to spend the extra money on it.

  • moar bargains on 01/05/2015 - 10:13
    +1

    I just got back from traveling for 7 weeks all through central Europe mainly via train. Trains are awesome over there! All the companies are pretty good over there, so don't worry about that.

    If they're the only trips you're going to do on trains, it's not worth getting a eurail pass. Class 2 is cheaper but we had no problems-if you're happy enough flying economy class, class 2 on trains will be fine. Bigger seats than planes, more legroom etc.
    Check the different train websites (i.e. of the departure country as well as the arrival country) because quite often they will have different prices for the same trip.
    Some trains (especially busy/long trips) it's necessary (and worthwhile) reserving a seat.

    Also, another tip: don't let anyone help you with your bags in train stations-they will expect to be paid for it even if you were managing fine! And they can be quite pushy about 'helping' too, so just be aware.

    Hope that helps and have a great time!

  • smalltime0 on 01/05/2015 - 14:28
    +1

    I have travelled by train quite a bit on my European holidays.
    Unless you are planning on high frequency travel by train in a set group of countries - definitely do not get the EURail pass.
    DB (in Germany and some cities on the border) has the sparpreis for city to city tickets which can see some journeys cost ~15 EUR. I pretty much always use the sparpreis tickets to travel around Germany though be aware that you cannot rebook the ticket on the sparpreis.

    France has the TGV which connects major cities together, as others have said it is usually cheaper to book at the train station than it is online. I didn't travel to Nice specifically, but the TGV is relatively inexpensive to use. I have only used it once though, and in that situation I booked ahead.

    I flew between London and Paris, only because the train service isn't too reliable between those cities. However I know plenty of people who have used it without dramas. It isn't as price competitive as other inter-city train but it is probably a better experience than flying as CDG and Heathrow are awful.

    I've done overnight services on trains in a few places. The swedish rail one was pretty good, however DB between Hamburg and Zurich was a nightmare. Personally I find an overnight coach is more comfortable - but obviously the train can cover a greater distance in one night.

  • kimba88 on 18/05/2015 - 21:22

    This thread is an interesting read and exactly the advice i'm needing!

    Basically i'll be going to Europe for 6 weeks. I have booked all flights and accommodation, i'll just need to organise transfers. Are there any websites that are recommended to book transfer or are we best off booking straight through the hotel? We will need transfers for:
    Dubai
    Malta
    Venice
    Rome
    Dubrovnik
    Split
    Paris
    London
    Berlin
    Munich

    However, i have also not booked my train trips yet.
    I will be needing a train from:
    Venice to Rome on the 27th of August
    Paris to London on the 10th of September
    AND there are possible plans to go from Munich to Innsbruck/Salzburg between the 20th of September and 22nd of September (day trip only)

    If anybody can help with my plans, that would be great. I don't know whether it would be worth me getting a EURail pass as i have a couple more places i want to go. Plus i'll probably use trains around the cities i'm travelling in.

    Sorry to hijack your thread mintin9! Maybe we could have an Ozbargain meet up in Europe! :-)

    • zappy32 on 19/05/2015 - 09:17

      I was going to list my suggestions for cheapest to get to the hotel in all the destinations or you're just after the cheapest/best transfers from the airport?

      Regarding the train tickets, don't get a EURail tickets just buy the tickets as soon as they're available and you'll be able to travel on fast trains for less.

      You can already but the Venice-Rome ticket now for 25-27 Euro depending which company you choose.

      Here is some information about the different trains
      http://seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Venice.ht…

      And the booking sites:
      http://www.italotreno.it/
      https://www.lefrecce.it

      • kimba88 on 19/05/2015 - 18:15

        Thanks for your reply zappy_32 :-)

        I am after a transfer from the airport to the hotel return in Dubai, Malta, Berlin and Munich.
        Transfer to the hotel from the airport in Venice, then transfer to the train station when departing
        Transfer from train station to hotel in Rome, then transfer to airport when departing
        Transfer from airport to port in Dubrovnik
        Transfer from Port to airport in Split
        Transfer from airport to hotel in Paris, then transfer to train station when departing
        Transfer from train station to hotel in London, then transfer to airport when departing

        I'm after the cheapest/most reliable i guess for transfers.

        I'm not sure which company to use for the Italian trains. Has anyone used the private company trains before? How reliable are they? I'm pretty much just after the cheapest fare at a decent time.

        • zappy32 on 19/05/2015 - 19:31

          The private train is fine, probably even better quality than TrenItalia but it does arrive at a different station in Rome so maybe just check which station is closer to your hotel and take that option. Just make sure you're booked on a fast train and not a regional one!

          In Dubai I'd recommend just grabbing a Taxi either from the airport or catching the metro which is at the airport to the closest stop to your hotel and then getting a taxi from there. Taxis are plentiful and pretty reliable as long as you don't get in an unmarked one. You could try and organise a transfer through your hotel but I'm not sure it would be any easier than just jumping in a cab with a printed map with your location obvious on it, you're taxi driver will likely speak English anyway but it's always handy to have a map of every hotel you've booked just in case!

          The taxis in Malta are very reliable and cheap but you can perhaps pre-book a transfer with your hotel if you like but Malta is so small and cheap to get around it might be better just to take the map again and jump in a taxi, I don't think I had one driver that didn't speak English and loved to chat.

          Public transport in Berlin is very easy to use but you're probably best checking with the hotel what they suggest as I've never caught a taxi or transfer in Berlin of felt a need to, you'l need to check which airport you fly in/out of also. Berliners on the most part are very courteous and helpful if you're not sure just ask anyone and they should point you in the right way.

          I haven't been to Munich so can't offer any advice there sorry.

          For Venice it really depends where you're staying. As there's no roads once you get to the cruise ship port you'd have to get a water taxi to go straight to your hotel and it will be 100-150 Euro - ask your hotel for the public transport instructions and see if you think you can manage it. Venice public transport is very tourist friendly unlike most of Italy so you should be okay, you'll certainly be fine to catch the public transport to St Lucia train station as I believe all the public ferries go to their so you can just find the nearest stop to your hotel and hope on and then a quick walk up the stairs and you're at your train.

          I can't really help much with Croatia as I only used public transport and found it rather easy but I dare say a taxi at the airport will probably be the best way as long as you know which port you are going to. If it's the same port as the ferry I caught to Bari, Italy it's just next to the bus stations so you can just catch the airport shuttle there and walk 200m(and there's a big supermarket on the way so you can grab supplies!)
          http://www.atlas-croatia.com/arrangement/airport-transporati…
          https://goo.gl/maps/P7IE2

          I've never been to Split so can't help there sorry.

          In Paris it depends if you are confident using the train/metro as you're hotel is unlikely to be a few hundred metres from a stop assuming you're arriving at CDG or ORY airports. The metro can be quite crowded though so you might feel easier arranging a transfer with your hotel or catching a taxi although it's unlikely to be cheap.

          From St Pancras station it will likely be easiest to just catch the tube to your hotel unless it's near the station a black cab will cost an arm and a leg and I'm not sure how easy it would be to find a minicab(cabs that you have to prebook but are cheaper than black cabs).

          From your hotel to the airport(I'm guessing Heathrow?) you can either tube/train/minicab depending on how much you want to pay and how quick you want it - cab isn't necessarily fastest!

          I'd just worry about booking transfers to your hotels if you're really wanting to prebook them, you'll most likely be able to find a cheaper and easier way back to a major transport hub than to a hotel!

          If you haven't visited already go to this website and look up all your destinations it generally offers sound advice:
          https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page

          Also book your train tickets already ;) Try not to leave or arrive during peak hour would be my one suggestion. I hope I didn't bore you by writing so much.

        • kimba88 on 20/05/2015 - 10:25

          @zappy_32:
          My hotel in Rome is walking distance to the termini train station.. Which is very handy.. But I think ticket prices are a lot more expensive. How far away is the other train station that the private train arrives at? I think there is a huge price difference in ticket prices.

          Is there only one option for the Paris to London train or Munich to Innsbruck train, or is there a private company like Italy?

          Thanks for your extensive research. Sounds like taxi's are the way to go in most places?

        • zappy32 on 20/05/2015 - 11:12

          @kimba88:

          There's still some of the cheaper tickets left on Le Frecce but I've already noticed that some times are more expensive so get in now if you can! Venezia S. Lucia - Roma Termini can still be had for 27 euro on the 17/8.
          http://lefrecce.it

          Paris to London is only on eurostar although you can book on other sites. For example it seems booking through the Frech SCNF is cheaper than Eurostar in pounds by about 10 AUD. Tickets for your dates are 51 euro.
          http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/train-ticket/result?hid=MWE

          If you really want to save money there's always coaches but a LOT less convenient!

          Munich to Innsbruck there will be only DB however it's only a short journey so by coach is would only be another half an hour and could be a lot cheaper.

          http://meinfernbus.de/ Both meinfernbus and DB have offers so keep an eye out!

          EDIT: Also, if you're under 26 expect to get discounts also!

        • kimba88 on 20/05/2015 - 12:10

          @zappy_32: unfortunately I need Venice to Rome tickets for the 27th of August. I think the cheaper option was the private train. We are both 27,so no dis outs for us. Wish we did the trip last year. Just not sure how inconvenient the private train is to the station in Rome :-/

          Paris to London I need for the 10th September.

          I'll have to keep looking

        • zappy32 on 20/05/2015 - 14:44

          @kimba88:
          Still 27 Euro tickets on the 27th from Venice - Rome via Trenitalia.

          From:Venezia S. Lucia (14:25)
          To:Roma Termini (18:10)
          Date: 27.08.2015
          FRECCIARGENTO 9435
          1 Adult
          Super Economy - 2ª Classe 27.00 €

          10th of September Paris-London is 51 Euro, just make sure you choose that you are buying from Australia.

        • kimba88 on 20/05/2015 - 23:01

          @zappy_32: I had a look into the Italy train and we decided to book with Italo rather than Trenitalia. Reason being is, we wanted to arrive in Rome in daylight, we wanted a few extra hours in Venice (compared to the earlier departures), and it was cheaper. 25 euro each. We'll probably have to spend 15 euro for a taxi to the hotel though from Tiburtina station.. Which isn't a bad thing because we would have been walking >1km with heavy luggage from Termini station to the hotel.

          The Paris to London train I'm a little nervous about booking as I need to somehow make sure that the trains line up with each other. It seems all confusing.

        • kimba88 on 23/05/2015 - 23:31

          @zappy_32: I just booked the Paris to London train now. Do you know if you just buy the other train tickets on the day e.g. Reaumur Sebastopol station to Gare du Nord Station and St Pancras Station to Vauxhall?

          Not sure if i should book a day trip train ticket from Rome to Florence now.. or wait till the day so we can decide if it'll be good weather.. or even Munich to Innsbruck (i haven't looked into the coach transfer you suggested yet fro Austria).

        • zappy32 on 24/05/2015 - 03:13

          @kimba88:

          Those two trips are just on the metro so you'll be able to buy them at the station and there's no difference in cost. I haven't been in Paris for 3/4 years but it's a pretty simple system.

          The London on is even simpler… you don't even need to buy a ticket if you have a contactless(paywave) card you just tap it at the barrier when you enter and when you leave and it will charge you the cheapest ticket! If only Myki were that simple here in Melbourne.

          I'm not too sure what you meant by the trains matching up but those metro trains will run quite often, not sure with the Parisian Metro but the Tube in London is every 3 minutes or so.

          http://www.tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

          The underground station at St Pancras is Kings Cross station(just to be confusing), and Vauxhall is on the same line so you won't need to change trains.

        • kimba88 on 24/05/2015 - 07:57

          @zappy_32: Thanks heaps for your reply. Sounds easy enough.

          Your myki system is waaaay better than our system in Sydney. Do you think it might be worth me signing up for one of those debit cards that don't have international transaction fees so I can use pay pass overseas as well? I only have those prepaid visa travel cards that you load money onto.. I dont think it is paypass though.

        • zappy32 on 24/05/2015 - 22:49

          @kimba88:

          The transaction fees are usually only 3% or so - I don't even bother getting the prepaid card for the hassle it's worth. I'm with Westpac so can get free withdrawals in most countries in Europe.

        • kimba88 on 24/05/2015 - 23:48

          @zappy_32: I'm with westpac too! I'll look into that :-)

        • kimba88 on 25/05/2015 - 06:56

          @zappy_32: thank you. Doesn't include all the countries I'm visiting though. Still probably need to consider another option I reckon

        • moar bargains on 25/05/2015 - 08:31

          @kimba88: if you want another option, have a look at a Citibank plus account: Citibank plus

          I just got back from 7 weeks in Europe a month ago and used that card all over. No fees anywhere for payments or withdrawals. You can also set up alerts to let you know if there's been a large sum withdrawn. Good for peace of mind if you're worried about pick pocketing or fraud.

          The website is clunky, and it needs SMS/app generated codes for a lot of things, but it would save you a few bucks if you can be bothered.

          Or if you're after more of a pre paid option, the membership card from either Qantas or Virgin doubles as a pre paid cash card. Better rates than other options in my opinion.

          Hope that helps

        • moar bargains on 25/05/2015 - 08:44

          @kimba88:

          i haven't looked into the coach transfer you suggested yet fro Austria

          Do check it out. We took a train from Dresden to Berlin and it cost us ~€22 each from memory. We found out later that the bus would've taken a similar time but for ~€9 each. If you're looking to save money, it's worth a look.

        • kimba88 on 25/05/2015 - 21:39

          @therog1: Thanks therog1! I a definitely looking more into that card. We did receive a prepaid travel visa card with $100 preloaded onto it from STA travel when booking our flights.. i'm just not 100% sure on what fees there are for that one.. i know there is a fee every time you want to load money onto it.. which could become quite a pain!

        • kimba88 on 25/05/2015 - 21:40

          @therog1: I'm not 100% sure on where to look for the buses.. is there a particular company that does Munich to Innsbruck or Munich to Salzburg?

        • moar bargains on 26/05/2015 - 07:49

          @kimba88:

          i know there is a fee every time you want to load money onto it

          Yeah there will be loads of fees on that one. By all means, use it up while you're there, but then just bin it. Citibank is just another bank account. Keep your money in another savings account and transfer chunks to Citi when you need. That's what I did :)

          In terms of buses, this is probably what you're after: http://meinfernbus.de/en.
          Looks like about 5-10 euro each for Munich to Insbruck or Salzburg. I don't know if you know any German, but Munchen ZOB is the central bus station (just by the main train station - known as 'HBF'). And Flughafen is airport. So if you see those, that's what they mean. You'd probably want to go from ZOB because the airport is out a bit.

        • kimba88 on 26/05/2015 - 08:08

          @therog1: well I probably am better off just opening up the bank account temporarily.. Seems to be the more viable option.

          Wow 5-10 euro is cheap as chips. Just gota make sure I can get a return trip for that same day and spend enough time in the place :-)

        • moar bargains on 26/05/2015 - 08:22
          +1

          @kimba88:
          Yeah bank account worked well for us. No hassles. :-)

          Apparently it's about 1hr 50 with the train, and 2:10 with the bus so not that much longer either. And I think there were early morning and late night options, so you could probably get a good 8 hours or so in the other cities, but it would be a long day!

        • kimba88 on 26/05/2015 - 10:23
          +1

          @therog1: long days are good days if it's a beautiful city :-) Thanks for your tips :-)

  • zappy32 on 19/05/2015 - 09:01

    For the CPH-STO train you can just book it on sj.se in English pretty easily… Avoid the Danish DSB website at all costs! I would consider if you really want to do the overnight train though as you'll need to change trains so will only be able to get 5 hours sleep in a bed and you'll arrive quite early. It's looking like it will cost you 2.5-3x as much as a day fare also.

    I haven't lived in London for a while but it still seems to be that the best prices are as soon as tickets are released so you can book early knowing it's extremely unlikely they'll offer cheaper prices and most likely will just go up every week you leave it.

    As someone else mentioned seat61 is the bible for European train travel!

  • phoenixx on 26/05/2015 - 10:25

    If it happens to work in with your travels the sleeper train from Prague to Zurich is AMAZING! We woke up to the a sunrise over the alps, just magical.

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