anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Greetings.
I have a business conference for the first week of Feb next year in Amsterdam. I'm taking off the remainder of the month to travel through neighboring countries. I feel like i need to zero in on where and what to experience during that time.
A bit of a background:
Relaxed solo traveler--I tend to go with the flow
Prefer to avoid countries experiencing major conflicts
Love local scenes
Not afraid of the cold as long as there are pubs nearby
Love trains but I am willing to take a flight here or there depending on the experience
My initial (basic) route:
After the conference wraps up, I was going to make my way down to Germany, around the Black Forest region. I'd like to be able to see a few castles. Maybe spend some time in smaller towns. Was then going to head on to Switzerland but I have no idea where to go. I love chocolate and skiing though so I'm wide open there. From there, I was going to head to Venice for the Carnival festival and then on to Florence.
I'm looking for any ideas to refine this thinking or include some other cities--I'm trying to combine a bit of small and big city experiences.
Thanks in advance!
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Hi!
I think you are going to be fine using different kinds of single tickets bought in advance and on the spot while you are travelling:
Amsterdam - Black Forest: Have a look at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] where you can get Europa Spezial fare tickets.
Before booking, ask here for some tips and tricks on booking. ;)
Freiburg im Breisgau could be a good base camp for day trips around Black Forest; you should also consider going to nearby France (Strasbourg - Colmar - Mulhouse). :)
There are several tickets for travel around Black Forest available which might be interesting depending on how long you want to travel each day - otherwise a simple single/return ticket might do just as fine.
If you stick to train travel you could make a round trip Freiburg - Höllentalbahn - Titisee - Seebrugg - Donaueschingen - Schwarzwaldbahn - Offenburg - Freiburg...also interesting might be Singen and near Bodensee and Schaffhausen/Rheinfall.
How long are you planning to stay in Switzerland? If you are staying longer you might think about a Swiss Pass, otherwise regular tickets would be better/cheaper:
Europa Spezial from the Black Forest to the first destination in Switzerland plus an extra ticket for Switzerland - Milano...again, the Europa Spezial ticket can be optimized, ask for help if needed. ;)
In Italy, train tickets are rather cheap, so you could just pay as you go (regional trains are especially cheap and are of a decent standard on the routes you are about to travel). High speed trains are also rather cheap as you are not travelling long distances; if bought in advance you can get some routes for as low as 9€ in 2nd class...
Flo 8)