Ryan Air v.s. Eurail

I was looking at the RyanAir website after a response to a post in this forum that said that the flights between cities can be very very cheap. I looked at the website and it was quite a bit more expensive then I was led to believe on the post. Has anyone had any experience with RyanAir and Eurail, and which one would you recommend or say is better?

They used to be a lot cheaper than they are now. If you want to get cheap rates you have to wait for them to have specials and hope to get in on it. They are both very hit or miss.

Basically to get one of the SUPER cheap flights, you have to just go to one of the highlighted spots when they advertise it and hope it's available. I just went to the Ryan Air site and they advertise 45p flights from a bunch of different places and then when you try and book them, very little is available. I've found a few flights for the advertised 45p (such as London to Rome in October) but you really need to work at it to find em.

PC

I have used RyanAir quite a lot since they have flights from my city. As for the flights themselves they are fine, I have never had any major problems. It can be quite expensive, but they very often have some kind of sale, and you can often find a cheap flight if you plan well ahead. Wednesdays are usually quite cheap. But I think they are the best option only if you have time to plan, you don't need to connect too many places and you are able to go whenever they have the cheap flights. If you plan to cover a lot of ground it will probably be more expensive in the end than Eurail. Also, often the airports they fly to are somewhat remote, and getting to your actual destination will probably cost you quite a bit of money as well. Besides, you miss out on a lot of beautiful scenery if you go by plane.

EURAIL HANDS DOWN...unless you have to take a ferry then i would fly of course to save time. Ryanair is so cheap, and what makes it cheap is that its airports are in the middle of NO WHERE!! im not kidding. everything is about 2 hrs away from the big city it says its going to, and so to save time I would use the eurail...then you dont have to waste that travel time getting there and waiting in europe!
its just my opinion though, good luck!
beccajean

KanadianKid, I probably should have explained my previous post better. I was traveling europe in the off season of December and at that time Ryan Air was 5 euros if you made reservations at least a month in advance. Since it was cold I was interested in mostly southern Italy and Malta.

I landed in Frankfurt Main and then took the 2 hr bus to the Frankfurt-Ryan Air and got to Venice for 5 euros. I researched this in the USA on the internet and the Eurail pass would have cost me $400 from Frankfurt to Venice since it passes thru several countries. I would choose this method if you just want to get somewhere. But if you are interested in the scenic journey go for the eurail. I did Eurail in 1979 when I was 19 and saw 13 countries. I dont know if it was called Eurail then but I did a lot by train.

This last trip, I was into just Italy and their train system is lots cheaper than Eurail. BTW, southern Italy has few trains. When you get to Sicily, its more efficient to take the bus. On my way back, I took Volare Air from Palermo, Sicily to Venice and then Ryan Air to Frankfurt. Volare was 30 euros and Ryan Air was 20 euros.

The train is great when you are young and can sit on your bottom for loads of time. At my age, I just want to get to my destination and have a glass of wine and relax \...

Had not considered that the train could be cheaper than some of the budget airlines but I'm just in the middle of booking a trip to from one European city to another with my boyfriend.

The 'discount' airline seemed to be a decent price but then we checked the train -- overnight with reserved seats and bed. In this case, the second person is 50 % cheaper than the first ticket so the train option will be 80 euros less. Sure it will take a bit longer but train journeys can be so enjoyable.

KanadianKid, I just booked a flight from Rome to London for November 10th for 45 cents of a Euro (with taxes and airport fees it came to 18 Euros) Sure, I'll have to pay 12 pounds to get to London proper, but by train that would've been in the hundreds. Just make sure you buy them at least a month in advance, and ALWAYS on wednesdays

If you plan to hop long distances, ryanair and easyjet are the way to go, I take'em all the time. For semi-local wanderings, take the train, you'll enjoy the views and the relaxed time it affords.

I agree with globetrotter. I've taken Ryanair (which is still much cheaper than easyJet if you take a mid-week flight) at least a dozen times and can't complain about much. Easy booking, flights on time and they fly to small airports. Ok, they might be a bit further away than the main ones (like Stansted) but smaller airports mean less misplaced luggage (which is still my main phobia when travelling).
For comparison, for a flight from Graz (Austria) to London with Ryanair I paid €40. For a flight with a regular airline I'd pay about €400 (if taking a regular line, not a special offer). Adding the 15 GDP for a bus into central London compared to the huge price with the regular airline is still a very very good bargain.
For shorter distances I would definitely take the train (up to 6 hours or so). But for comparison, I would pay for a return ticket from London to Glasgow with Ryanair about GDP30 (incl. taxes) and about 50-60 GDP with a train.