Find solution
How can I get around paying extra charges when traveling by train through Italy with a Eurail pass?

I need advice on traveling in Europe?

  • So I'm going to Germany in July to study abroad for one month. I don't really care too much about Germany because there are excursions associated with the study abroad class. My flight is to Dusseldorf. However, I am thinking about taking several excursions by myself with some friends. I want to visit France (mainly the beaches; Germany is too cold; at least the part where I will be going for school; I also know french). Next I would like to visit London in the UK and Paris (if not possible; its the least of my worries). I know I would need lots of time to actually get to know the cities, but I'll have to do with what whatever time I have. Also, getting a rail pass for 3 countries is way cheaper than just for two. And you also get an extra (free) day on your pass. So in total, I'm going to have a total of 8 days to travel on my own. 4 days are back to back. The other 4 are set in weekends. However, If I leave on Friday right after class, then I can save travel time. So my questions are: If I get a 3 country EuRail pass, and pick Germany, Italy, and France as my countries, when I get to Dusseldorf, will I be able to travel from Dusseldorf to Wilhelmshaven on the pass? So I won't need to buy a train ticket from Dusseldorf to Wilhelmshaven? Also, if I originate a trip from Germany to France overnight, does that count as two days on your pass? Would you guys recommend me to go to Paris on a weekend. Then go to London on another weekend. Then the 4 days, I used to relax on a French beach and travel down to Italy? Cost is important. However, if I do the rail pass, then all I have to find is a hostel to stay in. I have no problem staying in hostels. I'd rather cut money on a place to stay and have more money to spend on souvenirs. Btw, can't you tell Its my first time going to Europe?

  • Answer:

    Getting a railpass is not necessarily worth the money. It can often be cheaper to buy individual tickets - that is almost always true here in Italy. Note that you still have to make reservations for many high speed, international and night trains and pay an additional supplement. The night trains have a rule that if you take a direct night train (i.e., no train changes during the night) that departs after 7 pm, then it only counts as one day of travel. There is a huge amount of information on trains travel and railpasses here: http://www.seat61.com/ . The site includes links to the national train sites where you can find schedules. You would need to activate your railpass before using it, but you could go from the airport to Wilhelmshaven using the pass for much of the trip. Part will require a bus or a trip on the NordWestBahn which may not accept the pass: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml , http://www.nordwestbahn.de/de/regionen-fahrplaene/weser-ems/schienenersatzverkehr-oldenburg-wilhelmshaven.html . Dusseldorf to Wilhelmshaven is a long trip. If that's where you're staying, Copenhagen and Amsterdam would be great places to visit that are easier trips. Yes, I would highly recommend both Paris and London as destinations. It's hard to go wrong no matter where you choose to go though. There are interesting things to see and do virtually everywhere. These are useful sites for finding budget air connections: http://www.skyscanner.it/ , http://www.whichbudget.com/

Secretary of State - Hillary Cli... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

There are a lot of your "wishes & thoughts" that don´t fit together, as it seems to me !? Germany is too cold. In july ? Can be, when we gonna have a nasty summer. But if we gonna have a summer like 2003, YOU gonna pray for being on the north-pole ! July & august is main touristic season all over europe. Remember that concerning getting traffic connections, accomodation and prices. London & Paris are very expensive. In main season these cities are (eventually) less crowded because inhabitants are on the beaches. Sometimes stores & magasins sont fermé, shut, closed, finito la musica, aus die maus (Paris). You want to go to french beaches from düsseldorf, by train ? It´s a long distance, although you can go over night it will need a lot of time. Why do you want to go to wilhelmshaven ? It´s a "one-way-street" if I take a look to your journey goals (and yes, if you will have an EU rail ticket for three countries, germany included, you can go to wilhelmshaven). Eu rail pass ? And you just have about 8 days ? Try to figure out about costs and benefits !? The main provider of german railway services (Deutsche Bahn, DB) has a lot of special offers. If you know how to use it, you will not waste your money. These special offers are sometimes not published in english (or well hidden, I don´t know where they are) !!! EXAMPLE : two adults can cross the whole german republic from the north to the south by one day by paying up to 400 Euro in 6 hours, or 70 Euro in 12 hours. By using following page you can figure it out: http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.s%E2%80%A6 They are some tickets called regional-tickets ("NRW-ticket") depending on the region or federal state of germany. Only valid for use in a certain federal state, upon certain times (for example 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. within a week, or a whole weekend through). They´re dependend to the "Streckennetz" (lines of railways-system, area of public transport system) of each federal state. Such a ticket can be "SchönerTagTicket NRW. 5 Personen. 1 Tag. 37,50 Euro". Validity I do mentioned above, "up to five persons / adults, you can go as much as you can during it´s valid". You are only allowed to use trains like RE, RB, S-Bahn sowie in Bussen (busses), U- und Straßenbahnen (underground and tram) aller Verkehrsverbünde und Verkehrsgemeinschaften in NRW (of all traffic providers in north-rhine-westfalia). My suggestions to you: By using that kind of regional ticket you can go to venlo (netherlands) close to the border in about one hour. By using that ticket you can explore "The Ruhrgebiet", the former main industrial zone of germany. . Nowadays you´ll find there modern among old, some beautiful nature sites close to crowded, loud places etc. General overview: http://www.metropoleruhr.de/en/start/ Ruhrgebiet search for "Regionalverkehrsplan NRW (PDF, 1.59MB)" If that´s not enough to you, move on further. Visit Amsterdam. You can get there within two hours by train from düsseldorf. Search for special offers of DB (single persons & groups). French beaches. Don´t try to get there by train. Use "cheap" flight offers. Think of alternatives in spain, italy or greece ! And think of main season !!! Alternatives could be also (depends on summer) denmark, south norway, sweden, baltic sea (lettland, estland, litauen etc.) My favourite is bicycling. http://www.rheinradweg.eu/en/ http://www.ruhrtalradweg.de/

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.