Originally Posted by
MareLuce
True and you made other good points for point A to point B train travel.
However, when traveling with luggage and family (or even alone and traveling with luggage) and when stopping at multiple intermediate destinations between where you leave and final destination, I think recommending train travel is horrible advice. It creates tons more hassle and takes a lot more time. Trying to see the same places we did last year between Vienna and Prague by train instead of by mini-van transport would have required the expense of lots of taxi rides between train station and destination, finding storage for all luggage at each destination, paying for that storage (which we did at Victoria Station - Left Luggage - totaled 45 british pounds, not cheap at all) a lot more research in advance, and an extra night's stay somewhere as well. Not to mention we would have missed a couple of the beautiful and romantic castles that simply would have been too much hassle to get to. Cabs don't want to wait around
http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/Ma...y%20car%20tour
Many thanks for the link to your wonderful photos. I did very much enjoy looking through them.
Travel is, to my thinking, a practical matter. Well, the planning should be practical and the experience should be enjoyable and affordable. As an example, I am leaving in mid June for two weeks roaming around the countryside of Bavaria. I am doing the entire trip using only trains and buses (and possibly also rent bikes and by foot). Even though I will be away from home for two weeks, I bring all my necessaries in a small back-pack. At some point, I will need to find a laundry, but once in the two weeks should be enough.
If you plan and pack for an auto, you will need an auto. If you plan and pack for public transport, you can travel by public transport. It really is that simple and convenient.
I expect that travelling from Munich to Bamberg to Passau and back to Munich (I'm leaving out the small villages we'll be stopping at) will cost me between €70-€100. I've already bought train tickets for the route above and they've cost around €56. The small villages will be visited by bus, which is very cheap, or on foot or rental bike (€10/day).
Personally, I like to leave the transport to local professionals. I don't want to bother with routing research that can only be done via Internet and is frequently not at all realistic (see Alsacienne post as an example). I could go on, but I think you can probably imagine all the other convenience of having your transport needs handled by professionals at minimal cost.