Eurail passes

[justginger]

Has anyone had experience using them? I''m just starting to make honeymoon plans and there seem to be two very different paths I can go down:

1) Eurail passes, unlimited countries, probably spending time in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. Maybe Hungary. I''ve been to all of these places before, however my partner has not -- and I''ll be making a conscious effort to go to new areas within each country, so I can get the thrill of going to a new destination as well.

2) A week in Paris, train down to Venice, and a two week long Mediterranean cruise (Venice, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, roughly).

I like the idea of not having to sort out arrangements for a cruise - you just get on, and not worry about anything. No transport, no different hotels, no finding good restaurants, no getting lost in undesirable neighborhoods.

HOWEVER, half of those things I''ve mentioned above are integral parts of "real" traveling to me. You have to get out there and really interact with residents, or what''s the point of visiting? Being on a cruise in Europe seems to me like it''ll be just the same as being on a cruise in the Caribbean, or SE Asia, or Scandanavia, etc. You''re on a boat, everything is done for you, and you only spend a few hours actually IN a foreign country.

Just wondering exactly how difficult the train route will actually be -- what the stations are like, if the trains are comfortable, if the schedules are regular enough to prevent "dead time" of waiting around for the next transfer, etc.

TIA for any experience or advice.

 

[noelwr]

I have never used the Eurorail pass (think it''s only for non-Europeans, anyway), but I can comment on trains in Europe. overall trains are nice, but definitely not if you have to spend HOURS in them. can get uncomfortable. we took the ski-train from Holland to Austria and it cost a lot of money to get a sleeper cabin which we shared with another couple or it would have been doubly expensive. the beds were uncomfortable, the husband of the other couple snored and DH didn''t fit in the bed (he''s tall).

I agree if you want to really experience Europe then you shouldn''t take a cruise. how about charter flights?

regarding train stations, I wouldn''t expect to really want to spend a lot of layover time in any of them. lack of places to sit seems to be a general problem (in Western Europe). and if they''re in major cities then they will be chocabloc during rush hours and weekends. trains are frequent and often in Western Europe and have timely connections. but I am thinking more about Holland, Germany & France.

 

[iheartscience]

I've used Eurail passes several times before with no problems. Trains in Europe are nice enough-some are older than others, and the high speed trains are nicer than the slow trains. I wouldn't want to hang out at a train station for extended periods of time. In my experience, many train stations are in the more run down parts of town so they can feel a little sketchy, especially at night. ETA I've never had a long layover in a train station-the schedules are reliable and most of the routes between major cities don't even have stops.

I agree with noelwr that sleeping on trains is not that fun, so if it's going to be a super long trip between countries I would think about doing a flight or even renting a car for a road trip. My husband and I booked a private sleeper room on an overnight train once (I think it was Madrid to Barcelona?) and even that wasn't great because I'm a light sleeper and the movement and noise of the train kept me up.

I personally would never take a cruise anywhere. Not really my thing-I like to stay in the cities and experience them. Everything is on the internet these days-it's not that hard to look on TripAdvisor and find out what hotels and restaurants are rated highly, or get a guidebook to each city you want to stay in (most of the time my local library has the latest ones) and find out which restaurants are the best.

 

[Octavia]

I''m generally not a fan of cruises, but consider what you want your honeymoon to be like. If you want relaxation, not having to do too much, and just seeing sights as they pass by, a cruise might be better. If you think you will have the energy to do trains and trekking around, and prefer to take that route, good for you.

It really depends on what you and your SO envision for a honeymoon -- "real" traveling or a chance for some R&R. Does your partner have a preference?

I''ve taken trains in Europe before but didn''t use the unlimited pass -- we just bought tickets as needed. The trains were good, reliable transportation but definitely not luxurious.

 

[elrohwen]

My family and I used Eurorail when we visited Europe in 1998 and it was fantastic! So nice to be able to go anywhere for once flat price (and we went all over).

DH and I visited Germany last year and didn't get the pass, because we would have a car. However, we did end up taking the train to Prague (not a good idea to drive there) and it was very expensive (I think it was $90 round trip per person for a 1hr train ride). So unless you're only planning to take one or two train trips, I would recommend getting the pass.

eta: I'm not a fan of cruises and I agree with you that you spend more time on a boat, having things done for you, than actually visiting a country. I like wandering around and ending up in the not so nice areas, etc. That's what traveling is all about!