Getting around Europe - train or car?

[cyseitz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cyseitz]

I started doing research on prices and mode of transportation in Europe. I was shocked at the price of the train. Would any of you suggest a rental car?

Any other advice on traveling Europe "on a shoe sting"?

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Where in Europe are you going, Cost of cars are not cheap nor is the gas or parking

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I use both. Rail passes are usually a bad deal for most people. Point to point tickets bought in Europe work out much better unless you plan to be constantly on the train. Do NOT buy point to point tickets from Rail Europe, which has a big markup, really huge for some countries. If you buy ahead of time, try to buy from the railroads themselves in Europe. A few countries, the UK in particular, you can save alot by buying in advance, but in most it is the same price the day of travel.

If you are mainly visiting cities, trains work out better to avoid parking, which can be expensive, but cars can help you reach castles and other sites to which there is no train.

For car rentals, I have found economycarrentals.com to have the best deals lately, but in the past have done well with Europe By Car and Auto Europe Discount Car Rentals, Airfare, and Hotels as well.

Check out the TS4MS Links Directory for clickable links to European railroads, and other useful sites.

[cyseitz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cyseitz]

Where in Europe are you going, Cost of cars are not cheap nor is the gas or parking

Well, we we thinking about Paris, England, and Italy. I'm tying to count the cost before I book anything. I know my husband is going to want to know $ figures I'm researchng.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Where in England? Some sites like some castles and Stonehenge do not have rail transport. Otherwise, they have a good rail system. Tickets need to be bought in advance from a UK-based (not American) source.

Italy also has a good rail system to most tourist destinations. The countryside in Tuscany would be an exception. And trains are cheap in Italy.

For London to Paris I would look at air tickets on an LCC or perhaps a train.

You do not want to be using a car for in-city transportation in any major European city.

Again, check the Links Directory.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

We had a car for Italy but we went all the way from the south to the north and stopped every where. I am going to London this week and Paris next week, We are flying and taking trains to Brussels and Amsterdam as well.

[cyseitz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cyseitz]

We had a car for Italy but we went all the way from the south to the north and stopped every where. I am going to London this week and Paris next week, We are flying and taking trains to Brussels and Amsterdam as well.

Lucky you! Hummm...Maybe we should narrow our trip to one country just to get our feet wet.

I wanted to make a "girls only" and take my 18 yr. old, 15 yr. old and my adult cousin. Then my 10 year old son started crying because we were leving him out. By that time I may as well bring my huband too.

I'd really love France because I've been there before and I speak the language, but the others prefer Italy.

We'll see

This won't be until next summer.

[dbwill Member Find all posts View Profile Close dbwill]

We have found that trains are best going from major point to major point and renting as necessary to visit rural areas. We have had excellent results using
US rental companies and either reserving cars before we depart the states or using internet to make the reservation from the other side.

Our experience is that the rentals are cheaper when made with a us company using internet.

In addition If you know exactly what you intend to have for an itinerary a multi country rail pass might be a viable course of action

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

For us, the cheapest way has always been to fly from city to city using low cost airlines. You can check prices on Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com. One time I decided we should drive from London to Glasgow because we'd need a car in Glasgow anyway, so that would be a saving. WRONG! Before we arrived in Glasgow, we had already spent in gas what it would have cost for both round trip airfares london/Glasgow/London--and of course, we had to drive back to London. The airfares at the time were even less than usual, but on that occasion I was definitely penny wise and pound foolish.

However, you will have a lot of people, so the economics change. You will have the additional problem, though, of finding a car large enough for all the people and all the luggage--not easy in Europe, and not in-expensive either.

Should you decide to fly, be aware that you will be charged a substantial sum for any bag weighing over 45 pounds or so, and you will be allowed only one bag plus one small carryon (purse size essentially) per ticket. Any additional bags are very expensive.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

We have found that trains are best going from major point to major point and renting as necessary to visit rural areas. We have had excellent results using
US rental companies and either reserving cars before we depart the states or using internet to make the reservation from the other side.

Our experience is that the rentals are cheaper when made with a us company using internet.

In addition If you know exactly what you intend to have for an itinerary a multi country rail pass might be a viable course of action

The key is not so much where the rentla company is located, but whether they are a third party discounter or not. The best rates are from the third party discounters. The worst rates are walking up to the rental counter at the airport.

[dbwill Member Find all posts View Profile Close dbwill]

I guess I didn't express myself as clearly as I could have.

I did many searches for car rentals on the internet. I looked both at "European" and " U.S." companies. I found theat the weekly rental prices were the best at Avis, and they were availble in many cities in Europe.

This is not intended to push a particular company but an indication of our experience