Ok so i tried looking at other peoples posts and discussion about advice and other things for going backpacking in europe, well its hard to piece all of it together so hopefully i get some good feedback on my post. But heres basically what a friend and i want to do
Flight to Germany
England
Spain
Italy
So far its simple lol once i have a good understanding about all the railways and hostels ill start looking into detail about where exactly i want to go.
I just need help about the railways how they work and if its possible to spend a couple of nights in all those places, and about hostels. Websites for place i could get tickets and so on and so forth would be great as well.....kind of last minute we decided to do this so all the advice and help we could get would be great. Or if you could point me to a website that could help me that would be great as well. Thank you guys and gals!
Reply to this http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml <------ Germany
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/travel_europe.html <-------- Britain and Europe links
One word of warning, travel by rail in the UK is VERY VERY expensive to travel ( I live here I know) If you plan on arriving and buying a ticket in Britain be prepared for the cost. Bok in advance or look at bus networks ( loads of em)
Am walking from Scotland to Austria in a weeks time so mite bump into u! 😊
Reply to this Hello Stev 😊
There are extensive train networks in Europe so getting around by train should be easy. Some all night trains might be an idea for you, since you will likely be covering long distances to take in 3 countries. Every country has its own train company and you can usually buy tickets in advance on the internet or else at the train stations. You could also get a train pass. They are expensive but save the hassle of buying a lot of individual tickets.
For hostels Google Hostles and the name of the place you want to stay and a list will come up. You can check out the facilities of each on the list and even book them there.
A useful purchase for you might be 'Europe on a Shoestring' by Lonely Planet. There is just about all the practical information a backpacker could need in it.
No reason why you wouldnt be able to stay a couple of nights in the various parts of these countries. I would however recommend that you spend at least 3 nights at everyplace you stop(unless it is a place you know well). Otherwise you will be doing too much rushing around.
Here is the website for the Germany train company. I have it handy because I live in Germany.
www.db.de
By the way, there are some very cheap train tickets to be had when you buy in advance. You can take an all night trains for as little as 39 Euros including all taxes. Or if the all night train doesnt leave Germany you could pay as little as 29 Euros.
Mel
Reply to this Hey,
I would not reccommend doing this trip on train buying single tickets. If you plan on doing Germany - straight to England - straight to Spain it will almost certainly be cheaper to fly all of that than get trains - those are long distances that require passing through a whole other country (France, or maybe Belgium from Germany - England) and because England hasn't really got the hang of international trains yet, the only places you can get them are from London to Paris and Brussels, and they are expensive (although cheapo tickets bought online in advance can go at £29 one way - see http://www.eurostar.com).
Germany to England in one go might be worth it if you were in the west of Germany close to Belgium, like in the Rhine area or something, but even then, make sure you buy both tickets in advance (trains in Germany are very expensive too). For England to Spain you will have to go right across France, you might be able to get a night train from Paris to Madrid or Barcelona but I doubt it would be cheap. Trains in France are the worst of all - not only are they expensive, they also fill up very quickly and you won't be let on without booking a seat reservation. Basically if you plan to do this trip by train you will need to plan it way in advance.
You get a train pass as Mell said (http://www.eurail.com) and considering how expensive trains in Germany/France/UK are it may even work out cheaper, but for every move in Germany and France, or crossing borders, you will still need to make seat reservations. It really depends how many different places you plan to see and therefore how much travelling you'll actually be doing.
You'll have no problems finding hostels in big cities at all - often there are accomodation offices at train stations or airports, so even if you arrive without something booked you'll be fine. If you want to arrange it all in advance best thing is just to look on Google.
Reply to this im having the same problem with narrowing down my trip plan and figuring it all out, so i know how you feel. i would maybe suggest that you start at one end of your trip and work towards the other though, because as mentioned above what you have listed can incorporate a lot of crossover and backtracking. a guidebook may be really helpful in this case because the often have sample iteneraries and information of transportation services. you could also look at travel agencies and see where they take tours through and then copy that travel plan into your own terms. those are things that have worked for me, although granted i am not leaving for another month and a half still. ill be around sept through oct, so if you and your friend would ever like to meet up let me know, my travel buddy got a job and can't come anymore, sad.
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