Europe Explore Europe Like Never Before!

Europe by Train

Visiting Europe by train is a great way to see a lot of the country relatively cheaply and without having many of the difficulties involved in travelling different ways. The other options when it comes to visiting Europe involve hitchhiking which of course is fairly dangerous and unreliable, flying which is very expensive, going by boat which will only give you access to the coastal European countries, or driving which has many difficulties. Doing Europe by car instead of Europe by train may be more suited to families who have children and lots of cases which could make using the train slightly more difficult and less practical. However families are unlikely to want to travel between European countries and are more likely to want to stay in one country anyway. For individuals wanting to travel between countries, going by car would involve too much hassle with the various different laws in different countries, getting insured to drive and finding a car rental that lets you cross over the borders or buying or transporting a car to Europe.

As such then Europe by train is perfect for backpackers and those who want to see lots of Europe cheaply. It’s even more convenient thanks to the fact that there are so many different passes and deals available for those who do want to experience Europe by train. For example Rail Europe offer a range of different passes for visiting a country that allow you to visit anywhere within that country by train within a set time frame. Alternatively they also do offers such as the Eurail Pass which allows you to select the number of countries you want to visit and you can expect to pay around $500 for a ticket that lets you visit five different European countries by train. This is far cheaper than travelling across these countries with individual tickets and a great way to see more of Europe more cheaply. What would have been far too expensive to achieve previously then, will suddenly become a very affordable trip.

Doing Europe by train doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on England either – and thanks to the Eurostar tunnel it’s now possible to cross the channel by train with or without a car on board too. This makes it possible to do all of Europe by train and means you don’t have to leave anything out of your travels.

On top of all this, seeing Europe by train will mean that you can sleep while you travel or read rather than having to keep your concentration up. At the same time it can feel very romantic and exciting and creates a much more authentic experience of each country.

Posted under Europe, Travel

Eurail vs Eurostar

If you are looking for a European rail service then there is more than one option available. Here we will look at Eurail vs Eurostar so that you can choose your European rail service with some understanding when travelling within Europe.

Eurail

Eurail, also known as Eurorail, is a company that sells tickets and passes for various European rail services. This allows you to buy Eurail passes or Interrail passes which gives the user the ability to travel on almost any railroads within Europe as well as some shipping lines at a single fixed price – normally much cheaper than paying individually for multiple journeys. This then provides a great way for anyone to travel between lots of European countries relatively cheaply. Using Eurail it is possible for anyone to experience multiple cultures and countries.

These tickets and passes vary in several ways and you can choose to get passes for two to five bordering European countries, and get those that allow you unlimited travel within a set period, or a fixed number of days of travel valid for a longer time. Alternatively you can get discount group passes for groups of up to five people, or for people under 26.

As such, it is not usual to think of choosing your European rail service as a matter of ‘Eurail vs Eurostar’ as it is actually possible to purchase Eurostar tickets from Eurail at a cheaper price. Eurail covers more than 20 countries including Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Croatia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Romania, Finland, Slovenia, France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Italy and Luxemboug.

Eurostar

Eurostar meanwhile is a very high-speed rail service that connects London to Paris and Brussels. This means that all its trains cross the Channel Tunnel that connects Britain and France and that is operated separately by Eurotunnel. It is possible to take cars on the Eurostar and it thus offers one of the best way for those travelling between these countries to do so quickly and relatively cheaply.

When purchasing a Eurail discounted fair using a Eurail pass you will need to head to one of the Eurostar terminals with your Eurail pass, or to call Eurostar and order from them directly. If you are travelling through Europe and wish to cross the channel then, it is not a matter of Eurail vs Eurostar but rather whether you need to include Eurostar in your Eurail pass.

Posted under Europe, Travel

Eurail Pass

Using a Eurail pass is it possible to travel within or between European countries for a single discounted price. Like any rail pass, the purpose of the Eurail pass is to save the individual money by giving them a one off payment for a certain amount of use rather than their having to buy train tickets each time they want to make a journey.

This then means that a Eurail pass provides a perfect way to visit multiple different European countries on a budget on a single trip, and this means that an individual can experience the vast range of cultures and scenery offered by different European countries without having to spend too much at all. This then also gives a great feeling for backpackers and the idea of crossing borders in foreign lands on a train is a highly romantic one and one that is very appealing to a lo of people.

Using a Eurail pass, not only do you get the journey more cheaply, but it also has many other advantages. As the trains will make lots of stops and run all through the day you can make as many stops as you like and admire the scenery as you go. Meanwhile, as you will be looking out the window as you travel you will be able to soak in the scenery and decide easily which places you want to stop at and which ones you want to pass through – you might find some beautiful areas around Europe that you wouldn’t otherwise have known.

Eurail

Compared to using a car – which is the only other affordable option for visiting so many countries – a Eurail pass is far easy to organise and won’t require insurance or parking etc. If you were to travel by car a lot of difficulty would come from the fact that you cannot rent a car from most companies as they would not allow you to cross the borders. You would also have to learn to drive no the left or right sides and adapt to the roads of many different places which is highly stressful.

When using a Eurail pass however there is nothing to organise and you will be able to sleep on the train and travel after drinking. You can watch the scenery, reflect on your day’s events, or read and get some rest between travels. The only downside to a Eurail pass is of course the fact that you need to lug your luggage with your everywhere. Thus the kind of people who will benefit from doing Europe by train are those who are able to travel with limited supplies and items  – ‘backpackers’. If you’re using a Eurail pass, then be sure to use this technique and take a very small travel case, or a medium sized backpack and limit yourself to taking only items that will fit into that space.

To look into the countries you want to visit head onto the website, or another website that offers the Eurail passes. You will then be asked to select the country or countries you wish to travel in and between, and to select a duration for your Eurail pass to lat. This will give you a rough estimate of the price and you can then go ahead and buy, or make changes to suit you. You can expect to pay between 500-2,000 EUR depending on your selection.

Posted under Europe, Travel

Europe Train

Europe train travel can be an exciting adventure, especially for those who want to enjoy the country-side. The most dramatic thing about in Europe is that there is a whole range of trains in Europe to choose from. From the TGV, which is one of the fastest trains in the world to those using standard and narrow rail gauges, you can get a taste of modernity, encapsulated in medieval serenity while traveling through trains in Europe. Trains in Europe are mostly electrified and use both AC and DC sources for deriving energy.

To ease rail travel between various European countries, the Euro-rail system was implemented, which later came to be known as the Eurail. The Eurail group is Netherlands based and operates mostly from Luxembourg. It is basically a conglomeration of various European rail and shipping companies and provides passes to the residents of carious countries for rail travel in Europe. The Eurail passes and the Inter-rail passes give the traveler an almost unlimited scope of traveling in Europe at a fixed fee per day, which is generally very nominal. Passes have various rules and laws associated with them. For example, there are passes that would provide unlimited travel per day for a particular charge, and there are others that would limit the travel to a certain number of days. Eurail passes provide you for free travel on all ordinary trains that are in association with the organization. There are some special trains which might be needing reservation before you could travel on them. The Eurostar, the TGV, Thalys and some night trains having sleeping compartments would require a small reservation fee before you could travel by them. Trains like EuroCity trains do not require any additional charges if you have the Eurail pass. Only non-residents of Europe can avail Eurail passes.

Train directions should be taken care of before traveling. It might be possible that the train you took for going in a particular direction might not be the same way back. Make sure that you have the time table with you and that you have counter-checked the train direction with fellow passengers. There are some historic rail routes such as trans-Manchurian and Trans-Mongolian, which can be checked out if you have enough time on your hands.

Posted under Europe, Travel