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Europe, Travel Tips
How To Travel Europe By Train
Oct
Europe is such an amazing continent to explore – the countries are close enough together that you can see a lot of it in a short amount of time, but each country is so different. A fantastic way to explore Europe is by train, as you can see the scenery change before your eyes and be somewhere entirely different in just a few hours. With 25% of travelers admitting to missing their flights, perhaps using public transport to get around is the best idea after all! Here is how to travel Europe by train, nothing but the cheapest way to travel around Europe.
Table of Contents
Top Tips For Traveling Around Europe By Train
Decide Where To Go
Europe has so many places to offer, so the first step to traveling around the continent is to decide where you want to cover. Some places are cheaper than others if you are on a budget, or you could decide to base your choices on the weather, culture, food or tourist attractions. It’s also important to look at where the countries are in relation to each other to plan out the best route.
Consider Interrailing
You could set up your trip by yourself and book individual train tickets; however, for something more comfortable, Interrail can do a lot of the hard work for you. Decide how long you want to travel for, put together your itinerary and off you go!
Just with one ticket, you can travel on any train in Europe for up to one month, although you must be a European citizen to take advantage of this, so this is important to note before you set off. If you can’t Interrail, then you can still save money by being smart about when you book train tickets for Europe.
Look Out For Discounts
Many countries will offer discounts if you are a certain age or a full-time student, so make sure you check what is on offer before you book your international train tickets. It might be cheaper to split up your trip into several single tickets or pay for an unlimited pass in each country to get around their public transport – to really get some best deals and make the most of your trip you need to do some research and decide what is going to be the best for you.
Decide What You Want To See And Do In Each Place
You will be doing a lot of traveling during your trip, so it’s important to give yourself time to recover and recuperate – don’t fill your daily itinerary too much! A night train is an excellent way to make sure you don’t waste a full day of your trip, and you can get these between Amsterdam and Zurich, and Paris to Venice via Milan.
However, to really make the most of each destination, highlight a few places that you really want to tick off your list. Make sure you try a few new local foods in each place as that is one of the best ways to experience the new culture of a country.
Pack Well
As you will see so many different countries, you are going to have to prepare for several different types of climate and terrain. Not only that but if you travel via train you might not want to take as much luggage as you would on an airplane, so you will need items that can be doubled up, dressed up or down and layered – plus spare change for laundry facilities!
Instead of making your bag heavy with guides, download them onto your phone, tablet or e-reader to save space but keep all the information on you. Apps that will help you translate things and communicate with others are going to be useful too. Make sure you have packed the various currencies you will need and adaptors for your electronics – this type of planning is a little more complicated when you are visiting several countries at once, but as long as you are organized, it will be worth it.
So what are you waiting for? Get those train tickets booked and your backpack packed for the European trip of a lifetime. See the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, Buckingham Palace and the Berlin Wall in one trip – be sure to take lots of pictures!
You might like to book Europe tours, attractions, and activities online or check out some of the options below.
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Do you have any top tips for traveling around Europe by train? Let me know in the comments.
Author Bio
Codie is a blogger living in a seaside town in England with her husband, cat, and far too many scented candles. She loves visiting new places, staying in quirky hotels and eating her body weight in new foods.
Disclaimer: The opinions or views expressed in any guest post featured on this site are those of the guest author, do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of My Own Way To Travel. Also, all photos used in the post provided by the author and used with permission.
Great tips! I love traveling Europe by train, it’s the best way!
Great to know!
Thanks for the tips, and I always have fears traveling by train – in Europe or in Japan because of the timetable and platforms… however, it’s also a convenient way to travel across countries.
Yes, I do have the same fear. I more often lost platforms when I was in India. I always used to take help from other passengers or coolies.
I prefer the eurail the best. It’s so comfortable.
Good to know!
Very helpful guide with good advice 🙂 So true about packing well! People really don’t realise how different European countries are climate wise!
Exactly, packing well matters 🙂
Useful article, traveling by train helps in planning your trip to the tee, assuming there are no delays. 🙂
🙂
I’m heading to Europe this winter, and plan on taking a few train journeys – none long enough for an overnight option, but I’m excited as it’s such a stress-free way to travel, as opposed to flying and all the stress that comes with that!
Totally agree!
I am super into roadtrips, so I have yet resisted traveling Europe by train, but I know that my husband would love this! We might have to put your guide to good use the next time we are able to travel to Europe!
I also love road trips. My mom enjoys train journey a lot 🙂
These are amazing tips! I love Europe’s train system. I have pinned this to my Travel Tip board. Great job Codie! ~Elizabeth
Thank you and good to know!
I always like taking the train in Europe. I have found the less luggage I have the better. I also download any guides on my phone or tablet. Nobody needs to carry all that weight around. Great guide.
Exactly!
I love travelling by train. When I lived in Paris, it was so easy to hop on the train and with hours I was either in Belgium, Spain or Italy.
That’s cool!
Great tips. I especially agree with the need for traveling light. Instead of downloading guides I even take photos on my camera roll!
Yes, taking photos also works, sometimes I do the same 🙂
Love travelling by train in Europe. Makes me wish that Australia had a better train network!
Yes, a better train network is so crucial as rail travel is a comfortable one for all ages. Undoubtedly, a budget transportation system for all time.
Glad you mentioned that sometimes point-to-point tickets can be cheaper than interrailing (or Eurailing, for us U.S. citizens). Eurail is so often sold as the dream solution but depending on where you are, it can be WAY more expensive. Like in Italy where a one-way ticket between major cities can be as little as 7 euro. Researching in advance (as well as knowing the rules to avoid fines) is so important.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Carrie!
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