Originally Posted by GUWonder
If two people or more, the train and LCCs don't work as well for me as of late. Trains and LCC flights seem increasingly more expensive than car rentals for many places -- especially when desiring to do expansive/extensive travel and hitting a bunch of different cities in multiple countries.
As I said in my previous post, LCC fares are low, but the airport and fuel taxes probably make it the most expensive way to travel.
If your travel is from city to city, there is simply no better way than going by train.
Car rentals enable staying at the cheaper hotels outside the city centers which provide significant savings and more often seem to include cheaper dining options at the hotel or off-site. And this is factoring in car rental and fuel prices.
There may be some truth in that, but since I rarely stay at these places, I can't say for certain. What you are leaving out, however, is that these hotels are often outside the ring road of cities in isolated areas along the side of a highway and are very inconvenient if your goal is to explore the city.
For three or four people, there is little doubt that a car rental is cheaper for visiting multiple European countries and city centers or is there some suggestion on how to get train costs down?
Yes there is. If you are non-European, you can buy Eurail passes with a special discount for two or more travelers. For example: a Euro Selectpass for eleven days of travel in four countries (which would probably suit the OP) costs $625. However, if two or more buy the same ticket, it costs $530.
The problem with the LCC's and airfare is that once you factor in the cost of getting between the LCC-utilized airports and the city centers and luggage costs, a lot of the savings is completely wiped out.
Not if you take the train! In my city, a train accessible inside the airline terminal to the central station costs about €3.50 (IIRC) and take about 12 minutes. A taxi costs about €40 and takes half an hour, assuming there is no traffic (i.e., the middle of the night
).