Is traveling Europe by rail and backpack a good experience?

Answer 1

Yes it is! However, with the trains being so expensive and depending on how much time you have, a good alternative is to travel by plane. Ryanair has such cheap flights that it beats most train ticket prices, and you get to see much more in a shorter time period. E.g. tickets from London to Rome are as cheap as 0.01 Euro!

Answer 2

Yes, very much so, but do not carry any kind of drugs.
It would have been super to have backpacked there but I haven't done it yet.
Going through Switzerland in April by bus (I'd rather take a bus than a train or drive my own car), at a rest stop going from one tunnel to another (I believe there were 25 tunnels but I'm not sure) three Swiss police officers came on, took two seventeen year old boy off, brought one back on and picked up two more.
The bus left without the four boys and from what I was told, those boys will spend hard time in a Swiss jail.
No country in Europe is a haven for persons with drugs.

Answer 3

traveling my rail is cheap. there are different classes to pick from. if you dont care how you sleep at night you can pick the cheapest. but be carefull, there are lots of poor people who go by trane and will pick your pockets or backpacks. so watch your stuff and sleep on your backpack so that you can feel if someone touches it while your sleeping.
my bosses travel Europe by backpack every year. one of my boss goes alone a lot. you just have to be strong and to know your way around. have lots of fun.

Answer 4

Absolutely; if you're nice to the people you come across, you'll nearly always get the same treatment.
I did it for 4 months last year, and stayed with locals in various countries through a free site, couchsurfing.com
One tip: use a pack that converts from a backpack to a rolling duffel unless you're going to be toting sleeping bags and pots and pans. It saves a lot of pain in airports and train stations.

Answer 5

Yes, it is a great experience. It really depends on the type of person you are. Any time no matter how you spend it in Europe is a great experience.

Answer 6

My husband and I took a two week tour of Europe called "The Great Trains of Europe". It was a wonderful trip!! We flew into Rome, Italy and spent a few days doing the usual sightseeing (Collieseum, Fountains, Churches and Cathedrals, Spanish Steps, the Forum, the Baths of Caracalla, St. Peter's Basillica & the Sistene Chapel at Vatican City); we actually were within 10 feet of the Pope. Bus transportation within the city was cheap and easy to use; don't forget to try the gelato near the Tivoli Fountain!!! MMMMM!!!! We then bussed to Florence which is a wonderful city. Very walkable town, great art and architecture and wonderful people. We had dinner at a local home of a Tuscan family which was delicious and the people were charming. The Statue of David was the highlight of Florence for me; such a magnificant work of art. Photos do not do it justice. Do try the pizza in Florence and other areas of Italy. It's light, delicate and succulent; much different from here in the states. We continued on to Venice which was fascinating. So much fun, boating from place to place. Ferries are very easily traveled and cheap; gondolas were fun. Churches and architecture were beautiful. Loved wandering through the little streets and over the bridges; lots of wonderful shops. Great scenery and food.

From Venice, we took the Orient Express to Innsbruck, Austria. It was a fabulous trip on a wonderful railway. Just like in the movies. Food was wonderful and the accomodations were luxurious. Scenery was beautiful too. Innsbruck was a wonderful town. Down comforters in large, comfortable rooms, beautiful scenery...mountains, cobbled streets, beautiful architecture, fabulous churches. Don't miss St. James Church. We took a day trip through Germany to Salzburg which is a beautiful city.

We left Austria by bus to Chur, Switzerland and took the Swiss Glacier Express (train) from Chur to Zermatt. What a glorious trip. Traveled through the snow covered alps, through isolated christmas villages and wonderful vistas. The train had huge windows which went from waist high to half way across the ceiling, affording us wonderful views. This was a six hour trip and when we arrived in Zermatt, we found a quaint village at the top of the mountains, near the Mattehorn, with no vehicular travel. Our Hotel was wonderful and we took the Cornergratt Cog Railway to 10,000 mile altitude and looked across the valley directly at the Mattehorn. The weather was delightful, the scenery outstanding and we hated to leave. We left Zermatt by bus and stopped at the Chillon Castle in Montreux, Switzerland. What a beautiful place. A real treat. We then continued on to Lausanne, Switzerland. Very different from the alpine country, you could still see the French Alps from the town. This is wine country and vineyards were scattered over the hills in a delightful pattern, overlooking Lake Geneva. There was a metro that took you into town which was very accessible. Lovely people and lots of school children; visited the old town and later visited Geneva which is also a beautiful city. Switzerland is very clean, very bright and beautiful.

We took the TGV train from Geneva to Paris, a 3.5 hour trip. This is an extremely fast train; very comfortable and fun, but so fast that you really didn't get to enjoy the countryside scenery as much as on the other trains. Paris was a true delight. The people were very friendly, the city was fascinating and our guide was excellent. Of course we did the routine tours such as the Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Musee D'Orsay, the Louvre, and the Hermitage. We had a farewell dinner at a local Bistro with entertainment which was a lot of fun.

Our last train ride was the Chunnel train from Paris to London, which was a 3 hour trip and lots of fun. Our accomodations in London were wonderful, and quite convenient for sightseeing which included the Winchester Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, the Royal Albert Hall, Picadilly Circus, Shakespear's Globe Theater and of course, Harrod's Department store. We celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary by attending a showing of Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theater and took an evening "Jack the Ripper" tour which was a lot of fun. We then took a side trip across the Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge. We arrived early in the day when the Plain was clouded in mist, with the stones peeping through quite eerily; it was a wonderful experience. We also visited Bath, which is England at it's best. It's wonderful Roman foundations are evocative of it's past...very poetic. Also delightful was the Bath Abbey and the many small shops that lined the intersecting streets and lanes. A wonderful experience.

Finally, we had to return home again, but we took back many wonderful memories of delightful times, warm and generous people, and beautiful European countries. The trains were a wonderful way to experience this trip and added to our enjoyment immensely.

Answer 7

Yes! I did that last year and it was the experience of a lifetime! I definitely recommend it, it was great!