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Trains, help!

wandering_becca

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Posts: 16
Joined: February 7th, 2007

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Tags: Europe, trains, eurail
  • Added on: September 24th, 2007
I've been trying to work out what i should do about train tickets in Europe for a while now. i've searched "man in seat 61" and tried my best to get my head around the rail systems of the different countries. Now I must ask for help.
This is where I'm going via train:
London - Liverpool
Liverpool - London
London - Paris
Paris - Barcelona
(fly from Barcelona -Rome)
Rome - Florence
Florence - Pisa

Amsterdam - Rotterdam (or The Hague)
Rotterdam (or the Hague) - Antwerp
Antwerp - Bruges
Bruges - BERTHEGON (France)
Berthegon - LE GUEDENIAU Loire valle
LE GUEDENIAU Loire valle - London

Please help me. I'll be in Europe for just over 5 months. 4 in France, the rest I'll be traveling around.
Do I just buy point to point? Or is it better to get a eurorail pass? What about sleeper trains (Paris - Barcelona) even if I do get a pass I still have to pay extra, right? I'm under 26, but not a student.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm so confused.

JessieS

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Posts: 4119
Joined: February 23rd, 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon

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  • Added on: September 24th, 2007
Hey, Becca - I'd recommend that you check out our Eurail section - you can plug your itinerary into the system and it'll tell you which pass would be best for you. Or, if you want more personal attention, you can send an email to our Eurail expert, Dave - he's at dave (at) bootsnall (dot) com - and he can tell you whether a pass is right for you and which one he'd recommend.

In general, think of a Eurail Pass as your train ticket. For any journeys which require a ticket and a reservation, you'll still need to pay for the reservation. These kinds of journeys are generally the longer ones, or overnight trains, or high-speed trains.
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2wanderers

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Joined: August 20th, 2003
Location: Edmonton, Canada

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  • Added on: September 24th, 2007
With that amount of time, you're probably going to want point-to-point. Eurail passes are at most useful for 2 month trips, unless you're buying multiple passes. Additionally, Britain has it's own pass (not part of Eurail), and no pass covers the channel tunnel, though I believe passholders can get a discount.

You may want to book the eurostar trips (between Britain and France) in advance, though, as it's an expensive trip, and you might be able to get a deal if you poke around in advance.

Continental Op

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Joined: June 30th, 2005

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  • Added on: September 24th, 2007
I agree with Neil. Your trip simply spans too many months, and with a prolonged stay in a single country, to warrant a rail pass. Buying tickets as you go will make life far more flexible, and will probably end up saving you a bit of cash.
Please note: the above member, who is the very model of a modern major-general, with information vegetable, animal, and mineral, has retired from BnA and won't be able to answer any follow-up questions. To speak with him, use the PM function.

ChrisH

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Joined: May 25th, 2003

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  • Added on: September 25th, 2007
I would also not get a pass. Be aware also that you can book up to 3 months in advance for most of those tickets and save lots of money doing so - handy if your itinerary is certain in advance!
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Suzanne_B

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Joined: January 16th, 2006

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  • Added on: September 26th, 2007
we found some cheap train tickets for UK here:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/

they might have some decent fares for your London to Liverpool part.

as for the Eurostar, i did check around and found the following site to have the best fares, but also check Eurorail:
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/



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