europe holiday by train
- Thread starter Delta
- Start date
Delta give a bit more info. When you say escorted, do you mean some kind of package deal? What type of websites are you referring to? You can arrange a very nice package yourself and the fun can be in the planning as well as the travelling.
One suggestion: fly Ryanair/Aer Lingus to Berlin, spend a couple of days there,(DB/OBB) train to Vienna, optional travel to Salzburg/Budapest. Bratisalva is 40 mins from Vienna Sudbahnhof. From Vienna travel (tranitalia or OBB* ) to florence, you can catch a bus from here to Sienna if you feel up to it, then to Rome & fly back Aer Lingus.
DB: Deutsche Bahn (Die Bahn) http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml
Osterreich (Austrian) Bahn (OBB) http://www.oebb.at/en/
Italy: TrenItalia :[broken link removed]
If you opt for this, get a sleeper from Vienna to florence, it's a longish but nice journey. You don't usually need to prebook, but you might in high summer.
A nice central hotel in Vienna is the Hotel Regina near Schottenkirche & Schottentor. (train station/underground). Can highly recommend Vienna, I lived there for a while, it is a stunning city and should not be missed. Bratislava is ok for a short visit, but I would give it a miss if your pushed for time and visit Budapest or Saltzburg instead.
One suggestion: fly Ryanair/Aer Lingus to Berlin, spend a couple of days there,(DB/OBB) train to Vienna, optional travel to Salzburg/Budapest. Bratisalva is 40 mins from Vienna Sudbahnhof. From Vienna travel (tranitalia or OBB* ) to florence, you can catch a bus from here to Sienna if you feel up to it, then to Rome & fly back Aer Lingus.
DB: Deutsche Bahn (Die Bahn) http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml
Osterreich (Austrian) Bahn (OBB) http://www.oebb.at/en/
Italy: TrenItalia :[broken link removed]
If you opt for this, get a sleeper from Vienna to florence, it's a longish but nice journey. You don't usually need to prebook, but you might in high summer.
A nice central hotel in Vienna is the Hotel Regina near Schottenkirche & Schottentor. (train station/underground). Can highly recommend Vienna, I lived there for a while, it is a stunning city and should not be missed. Bratislava is ok for a short visit, but I would give it a miss if your pushed for time and visit Budapest or Saltzburg instead.
Hi Horsud, was thinking of all organised for us. Saw a couple of websites in Uk. This is a present for a special birthday, so dont want any hassle. Would have loved Canada but prices too high for me, so now thinking of Europe. Germany/Austria very appealing and maybe France.
Sorry I can't help you on Germany or Austria, but I can highly recommend Switzerland. The cheapest way is to simply buy a [broken link removed] and make your own hotel arrangements, but if you really need a package then here are a few suggestions:
- [broken link removed]: see this [broken link removed]
- : see this package deal
- [broken link removed]: I could not find any offers on this one I'm afraid.
Of course if you are a real train buff, then you might want to ride the [broken link removed]!
Like I said, independent travel is the cheapest way to go and in this respect you'll normally find good cheap hotels within walking distance of most train stations, so lugging baggage around is not really an issue. Almost everyone speaks English, so language should not be much of a problem either.
If I can be of any help, just PM me.
Jim (Switzerland)
You could start out in Munich the surrounding countryside there is very scenic and then go on to Switzerland through to Italy. I don't know about the other two but relatives of mine did the Glacier Express (just the train ride though not a package) and they were very impressed with it as well as some of the lakes in Switzerland that they visited.
Yes the Glacier Express is one of the best train trips in Europe, I usually it a couple of times a year
My favourite time is the autumn for two reasons: the autumn colours and the fact that there are a lot less tourists out and about then, so there is no rush for the good seats and all that stuff. Hotels also tend to be much cheaper at that time of the year as the summer season is over and the winter season has not begun....
One thing to remember about travelling on the Swiss trains is that nobody ever pays the full price of tickets - there is always some kind of discount or special ticket to be had, so don't let the published prices put you off.
If I can be of any help just send me a PM.
Jim.