FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Europe by Plane or Train??
View Single Post
Old Mar 15, 2011, 11:21 am
  #6  
pretender_2002
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by DownTheRappitHole
I'd think flying superior for a number of those sectors simply based on time saved.
This what I was thinking, but not only this the flying may even be cheaper when you factor in all the other costs (i.e. reservation fees for night trains)...

Originally Posted by baby_tux
Rail passes are often not worth it because of high reservation fees for main international routes or night trains. Within a country, no reservation needed or low fees for main lines (e.g. Germany no reservation needed, France €3 off-peak...). You can get the information about the fees on the Internet.

Really depends of the city. Sometimes it is better to take day/2-day/3-day passes (like in Berlin, maybe €15 for 3 days, just a guess), or often 10 tickets/T-10 (Paris (€12), Barcelona (€9)) when passes are expensive. Some museum passes include public transport (Zurich (CHF 18-19)), and even the train to the airport (Zurich too, else CHF 6-7). Check at the ticket machine for the prices.

One advice: book in advance, you will save. There is some competition

In Berlin, paid €10 per night because I booked in advance.
In Zurich, paid CHF 35, but there was only 2 hostels, so if they are full, you're stuck. No savings here.
In Rome, no difference booked or not but I was is a more comfortable place (€28). I think €20-25 is possible there.
In Barcelona, didn't have a reservation and after wandering around I ended up in an expensive and poor hostel (€25). Something like €18-20 is possible if you book.

There are lockers in the train stations, but hostels will often keep your luggage for free.
Great information thanks a ton... Sounds like I can save a lot on hostels, I am definitely gonna be doing some heavy planning... It sounds like the trains within the city are definitely affordable and if a rail pass isn't going to cover all the local trains either it gives me more reason to chose to fly and just pay the local train fees.

Originally Posted by railways
The supplement for the Paris-Berlin sleeper (or any operated by City Night Line) with a railpass is fixed at €65 if sharing a compartment, or €105 for a single-use compartment, and can be booked easily on-line on the DB (German railways) website.

For getting around within cities, remember a railpass will generally only cover the train services provided by the national operator (for example, S-Bahn trains in German cities), and not other forms of transport (trams, metro or U-bahn). Consequently, it is of limited use. You will find this especially in Rome - you would be unlikely to use the local train service (except if you did fly instead - to go to/from the airport).
Good to know... I think I have pretty much decided to fly, it works within the same budget as the rail pass but it saves alot of time... plus as you said I an use any local train regardless of the carrier once I am there, provided the fees are minimal.
pretender_2002 is offline