Intercity car transfers by daytrip
Feb 21, 2017, 6:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
Intercity car transfers by Daytrip
I just stumbled across the website for this service called Daytrip. It's sort of like Uber/Lyft for intercity European transfers. Essentially it's door to door car transfers by a local driver/guide and you can add sightseeing stops along the way if you want.
Obviously more expensive than a train or bus, but the advantages seem worthwhile for the way I like to travel. And I would guess it can be much quicker for places without direct fast train service. They seem to mainly be based in central Europe - Austria, Germany, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary...
I am in the process of planning a trip that starts in Vienna and ends in Berlin. I will probably spend a few days in Prague in the middle. Since my flights were booked with miles I feel like indulging in this service is not going to break my bank.
Anyone used them or know of anything similar?
https://ondaytrip.com/
Obviously more expensive than a train or bus, but the advantages seem worthwhile for the way I like to travel. And I would guess it can be much quicker for places without direct fast train service. They seem to mainly be based in central Europe - Austria, Germany, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary...
I am in the process of planning a trip that starts in Vienna and ends in Berlin. I will probably spend a few days in Prague in the middle. Since my flights were booked with miles I feel like indulging in this service is not going to break my bank.
Anyone used them or know of anything similar?
https://ondaytrip.com/
Last edited by glennaa11; Sep 17, 2017 at 4:17 pm
Feb 21, 2017, 5:19 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
I spent a little time on the website. Tried a Vienna to Prague trip and it seemed like the suggested stopovers were fairly short. Is there a way to customize to your desired stops and times?
A little too expensive for my taste, but I do think it's an interesting option.
A little too expensive for my taste, but I do think it's an interesting option.
Feb 21, 2017, 5:32 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
I think you can spend as long as you want at the intermediate places and those are suggested times. I'm a little unclear on whether or not you can create your own custom options. But they have an email address so it might be worth asking. Some of the media links to various blog posts have good reports of the service and trips.
Sep 16, 2017, 3:31 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
So I am just back from my trip and thought I would report back.
I used Daytrip for two transfers. Vienna to Prague with stops in Lednice and Kutna Hora. And Prague to Berlin with a stop in Meissen.
First of all, I was generally pleased overall. I think if you have 2 or 3 people it makes more sense economically. But since I'd booked the flights with miles and was saving elsewhere I decided to splurge.
The stop in Lednice was OK, but there were a couple of big tour buses and the parking lot was full when we got there. The next available tour time for the castle was in an hour and we didn't feel like waiting that long. Kutna Hora was quite nice. The ossuary church was interesting but maybe not a place for those easily creeped out. The cathedral and old town are very nice though. We left Vienna at 9:30 and arrived in Prague around 5.
Their website does engage in a bit of puffery by suggesting luxury car transfers (I think they mention A6's). I doubt many of their drivers have an A6. My first driver had a Seat (I think) 4 door hatchback and the other drove a Ford minivan sort of thing. Both were perfectly fine but not luxury cars. In a lot of ways I consider their business similar to Uber or Lyft with drivers who are basically private contractors. The company puts out a list of trips they need drivers for and the drivers claim whichever trip they want to do. The company keeps 15% and the rest goes to the driver to cover costs. My first driver mentioned that they have 250 drivers and a lot more people who have applied to drive for them. I guess they've done something like 20K trips this year so far. As you might expect they are busiest in summer and dead in the winters. And it sometimes works out that they get back to back trips - one day Prague to Berlin and the next day the reverse, for example, but not always.
Both of my drivers had been with the company for 1.5+ years. The first had been with them since the beginning. And both were careful drivers. Especially Radek who took me to Berlin. I think maybe the cops target foreign drivers or something because he always stuck to the speed limit. They were both nice guys, but I felt like I had a better rapport with the second.
The door to door aspect is the main selling point for me.
I used Daytrip for two transfers. Vienna to Prague with stops in Lednice and Kutna Hora. And Prague to Berlin with a stop in Meissen.
First of all, I was generally pleased overall. I think if you have 2 or 3 people it makes more sense economically. But since I'd booked the flights with miles and was saving elsewhere I decided to splurge.
The stop in Lednice was OK, but there were a couple of big tour buses and the parking lot was full when we got there. The next available tour time for the castle was in an hour and we didn't feel like waiting that long. Kutna Hora was quite nice. The ossuary church was interesting but maybe not a place for those easily creeped out. The cathedral and old town are very nice though. We left Vienna at 9:30 and arrived in Prague around 5.
Their website does engage in a bit of puffery by suggesting luxury car transfers (I think they mention A6's). I doubt many of their drivers have an A6. My first driver had a Seat (I think) 4 door hatchback and the other drove a Ford minivan sort of thing. Both were perfectly fine but not luxury cars. In a lot of ways I consider their business similar to Uber or Lyft with drivers who are basically private contractors. The company puts out a list of trips they need drivers for and the drivers claim whichever trip they want to do. The company keeps 15% and the rest goes to the driver to cover costs. My first driver mentioned that they have 250 drivers and a lot more people who have applied to drive for them. I guess they've done something like 20K trips this year so far. As you might expect they are busiest in summer and dead in the winters. And it sometimes works out that they get back to back trips - one day Prague to Berlin and the next day the reverse, for example, but not always.
Both of my drivers had been with the company for 1.5+ years. The first had been with them since the beginning. And both were careful drivers. Especially Radek who took me to Berlin. I think maybe the cops target foreign drivers or something because he always stuck to the speed limit. They were both nice guys, but I felt like I had a better rapport with the second.
The door to door aspect is the main selling point for me.
