eljive
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hi,
I am planning on doing a 22 day rail trip this July with my wife and 2 kids, aged 12 and 10. The kids view swimming in the sun as being on holiday, so this may be a little different. My draft route coming from Brussels is this:
Koln (starting point) - Zurich - Milan - Florence - Venice - Slovenia - Budapest - Vienna - Prague - Berlin - back to Koln, with 2 or 3 days in each place
My questions are as follows:
1. Accomodation in Zurich looks very very expensive. Is there anywhere nearby that people would recommend? We are looking predominantly at family (quadruple) hotel rooms as this seems to work out cheapest. Or should we just suck it up and take the hit in Zurich as it will be worth it?
2. Is there a different route to Northern Italy (not too bothered about Milan, but want to go to Florence and Venice) from Belgium that is more interesting/rewarding than this one? This part of the route seems the hardest to decide.
3. Is there anything about this proposed schedule that appears unrealistic/illogical in your more experienced opinions?
We are trying to balance cost, entertaining the kids, chilling out a bit and seeing lots of Europe without having to drive. I have no idea how the kids will enjoy the rail travel although, when I was that age, this would be my dream holiday.
Many thanks
eljive
Traveller
1 comments
I have possibly solved my first problem by considering the night train, CNL, 4 person couchette, to Basel and changing there. It seems to have reservation fees of 37.5 x 4 = 150 euros. Is this a comfortable solution?
Downside may be that this would be essentially >12hrs travelling in one go?
JoySeeker
Traveller
77 comments
Regarding 1) and 2):
When crossing the alps I would definitely take this amazing route over the Bernina Pass: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u]
With Interrail it is completely free of reservations and the scenery is stunning!
So, while the 4-bed couchette is a perfect solution for you, it would make more sense to stay on the CNL until Zurich, which also gives you a little bit of extra sleeping time :) . From there you continue as described in the blog post.
Accommodation in Zurich really is pricey, yes. When taking the alpine route I suggested, you could do the following: after arriving with the night train in the morning you spend a few hours in Zurich before continuing onwards to Pontresina for example, where there is a comparatively cheap youth hostel located near the train station. Another option would be to stay at Ospizio Bernina, which is also mentioned in the blog post. While it is not the cheapest option, it is certainly one of the most beautiful places to spend the night.
Jaycho
Traveller
27 comments
Zurich will be very expensive however Slovenia - Budapest - Vienna - Prague - Berlin will be a lot cheaper, Berlin is quite a cheap capital, Vienna is slightly pricey but nowhere near as expensive as cologne/amsterdam from what I found.
This sounds like an amazing trip for your children, i hope my parents were as cool as you haha