Big yellow X, wheelchair ramp, hmmmm….
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Trains are a convenient, low-stress, and often fun way to get around Europe. However, they can often be a relatively expensive way to explore the continent. Waiting to buy your tickets until you’re at the station will quickly empty your pocketbook. With a little foresight though, you can take advantage of some pretty good deals and ride the rails for less.
Option 1 is investing in a rail pass. Websites like Rail Europe and Eurail offer non-European residents rail passes for various periods of unlimited travel. Most of the time you get a minimum of three days unlimited train travel within a short period of time (10-15 days). You can choose from remaining in one country or extending your travels to include several countries or the entire continent. The more countries you decide to visit, the higher the price of your pass will be. Both websites also offer discounts per person when traveling in groups of two or more. For residents of Europe, InterRail offers the same type of passes. What you’re paying for mostly is convenience. You typically have an entire calendar day to travel as much as you can or want with whatever type of train suites your schedule (including high-speed ICE or TGV trains for example). If you’re traveling in Germany, Deutsche Bahn offers their own German Rail pass for about €60 less than Rail Europe.
Option 2 is planning your travel and buying ahead. France’s SNCF and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn typically offer heavily discounted fares when buying well ahead of time with prices often starting at €19 one way. For example, using DB’s website and buying tickets at least 60 days in advance, a ten-day trip from Frankfurt to Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Munich and back to Frankfurt will probably cost around €250. That’s five trips for almost the same price as Rail Europe’s 3 day German rail pass. However, you are restricted to whatever scheduled train you buy tickets for and would have to pay a penalty for changing trains (often including missed connections).
Option 3 is using heavily discounted rail services. Deutsche Bahn’s Quer Durchs Land Ticket gives you a day of unlimited travel throughout Germany for €42 the first traveler and €6 for each additional person during the week. The Schönes Wochenende Ticket costs €40 and is good for up to five travelers on Saturday or Sunday. The drawback is that you are limited to regional trains and may have to change trains several times to reach your destination. Travel times will also be very long. A late summer trip from Frankfurt to Berlin took about eight hours (the ICE route takes under five). Where you really start to see your savings is when you travel in a group. Three weekend days of travel with five friends only costs €24 each!
A little planning and flexibility and you can take advantage of low-cost rail travel and soak up Europe as it zooms by right outside your window instead of 30,000 feet below. And I didn’t even mention the ample leg room and on board restaurant.
Being inside those fences made ol’ Wally very sad. 
jknitt
