Drive, Fly, or Train Europe?????

Question

Wife and I are going to London, Paris, Rome, Venice and possibly Madrid (if we fly or train). Which form of transportation is cheapest, convienent, reliable, etc. Any horror stories. If we fly looking at using Ryanair, any stories?

Answer 1

They all cost about the same, its a matter of preference.
Flying - Fastest, but most hassle.
Driving - Longest, but you control when and where
Train - Least Hassle

Even if you get lucky with deep discounts on Ryan Air getting cheapest ticket possible (1 Cent plus taxes = 30 Euros) ($40 per ticket per person per flight plus $20 per person per shuttle from airport to city center because Ryain Air airports are no where near the city $120 * 5 = $600) I don't expect you to be that lucky and will spend ~ $1000.

Driving is about the same price when you factor in the cost of renting, gas (GAS is very expensive $6-$7 per gallon), tolls in France and Italy (you will probably spend $150 in Tolls round trip), and expensive parking. Again I expect you to spend around $1,000.

I higly suggest using the Euro Rail Select Pass Saver 1st Class for 5 country (5 or 6 day). It takes more time than flying, but less hassle, and occasional nice view.

You will need 5 countries (UK, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland) (Switzerland why Switzerland? because when you travel from Paris to Venice, if you want to be quick, you will have to go through Switzerland)

Make sure none of the routes go through Austria or Germany and only the countries on your list. Some routes require reservation and will cost an extra $5-$15 dollars each. Make reservations at the train station. There will probably be an extra cost of $50 each to cross from the UK into France.

(5 days if you don't stop anywhere)
UK -> Madrid
Madrid -> Paris
Paris -> Venice/Rome
Venice/Rome -> Venice/Rome
Venice/Rome -> UK

Once in the major city use the public transportation there. It is good and cheap (much cheaper than parking).

For 2 adults = 365 + 365 = $730 + Reservations and water crossing ~ $1,000 for the both of you.

Answer 2

There is a lower age limit that no car hire company that will go under, so you might be a bit young for that here. Also, petrol is currently about €1.50 per litre and going up (multiply by 3.5 to get the € price per gallon, then go to a currency converter to get the rate in your currency). And lastly, parking is extortionate, and parking illegally even more so. And I would not advise driving in some of the bigger cities along the way, like Paris. And you do realise that Madrid to Cologne will take the best part of 24 hours even without stopping, and you have to pay tolls driving through France? I strongly suggest opting for the train. It's comfortable, you can schedule to stop for two nights along the way comfortably, and can enjoy the countryside as you pass through it.

Answer 3

Eurorail is the best option, provided you are not in a rush. It is also cheap, considering you don't have to worry about parking, fuel etc...

By train, it's flexible, because you decide when you want to hop on to your next destination. And you can get good rest as most train travel overnight with bunks. Plus, you actually will have quality time to spend with your wife while enjoying the view from the train...

But as with any train travel, beware of your belongings. Don't give them opportunities to make your vacation into a nightmare.

Answer 4

NUWPINUT Iis mostly right. Forget about Ryanair. You can also flight quite cheap with EasyJet. If you buy tickets well in advance, and they are very reliable. www.easyjet.com.

If you are from USA, you can buy the tickets from the US, no problem. i've done that, since they do not give you any e-ticket, just a confirmation and bring this confirmation to the gate with a passport. that's it. I call them the European Southwest.

Answer 5

There's a rather long list of budget airlines you can fly in Europe and generally, most of them are very good with well maintained aircraft. You can find a compehensive listing and routing through www.whichbudget.com.

Answer 6

ryan air is cheap but can be cancelled - so dont be sad if you sit and wait for a new flight (can happen).

train is the most relaxed and in the day there was a Euro rail train pass which was cheap (relatively)

enjoy!

PS. personally I think driving is a bad idea, but maybe nowadays with GPS it could be alright

Answer 7

train.

even though driving by car from lithuania to italy was an adventure, it was also quite stressful at times...getting lost in germany, conflicts in slovenia, as well as sleeping on the side of the road cuz we couldnt find out hotel in italy.

going by train is not as risky and you still get to see the sights(which u cant on airplane)...

Answer 8

personally I prefer train, inter rail enables to you to make changes in schedule as you wish