JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hia would like to say what a cracking forum ya have here, this is my first post so apologies for any confusion I may cause. Me and my partner are flying out to oz later this year to give life a go down under, we thought why not travel through Europe for a month maybe two (depending on funds) before flying out to oz. So here we go a bit of a rough itinerary we would love your thoughts/ideas/criticisms. We will be flying out of the UK around mid September to Berlin for 3 nights, on to Dresden for 2 nights, carry on to Prague for 2 nights. Onwards to Krakow for maybe 3 nights, tour of Auschwitz? Salt mines? Then to Budapest for another 2 nights, either direct or a stopover in slovakia somewhere? Kosice? Have a blank slate to work with here. From B.pest to Vienna 2 nights again. My partner says she doesn't care at all where we go along as we see Rome, so from Vienna onto Italy the best routes? Venice Florence and ending in Rome? Sorry if all of this is a larl bit vague, I appreciate any help I get. Also umming and arghing, about if its worth rail pass or just to wing it with point to point. We should between us have around £4000 sterling, hopefully lol. Thanks again good to hear back from you! Jim.
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
Point to point tickets are good if you know your exact travel route. Buy them in advance and you get good prices. But then you are fixed on date and train. In Eastern Europe you can buy them as well at short notice and you get fair prices. :)
For point to point tickets from Germany to Czech check [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
Czech to Poland: [u]https://rail.shop/cd[/ux]
Hungary to Austria: [ux]https://rail.shop/mav[/ux]
Italy: [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux]
And then make your calculation. :)
A nice route from Vienna to Italy could be either via Villach to Lake Bled - then border crossing like this: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/travel-lake-bled-train/[/u]
Or first to Zurich (also possible via Munich) - or use the direct night train Vienna-Zurich and then in the morning start his route - amazing!!! [u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u]
To support the free information and the forum on railcc, please be fair and buy your official Interrail pass via our railcc partner link: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Thank you! :)
Peter :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Thankyou very much for ur reply, helped me alot. If i choose to go the interrail pass route which i probably will il buy it off railcc no worries. Thanks again. Jim.
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Thank you. :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Hi another couple of ?, what are peoples thoughts on Budapest? A must see? Had in mind from Krakow onto either Bratislava or Kosice before heading to b.pest? Or missing b.pest out all together and heading from Krakow towards Vienna with maybe a night somewhere/where's a good place to stop? Would love to hear any thoughts again thank you. One last point I know this is rail dude but does anyone have any info about good hubs around Rome to fly out to oz, maybe working our way back up Italy be worth it? Or across to Greece sort of direction? Any help would be greatly appreciated, Jim.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hej Jim,
well I really like Budapest. There are nice bars in old houses, some with rooftop terraces (the ruin bars), thermal spas directly in the city, a nice old town/castle, good food...
Krakow - Kosice direct is a bit awkward, it would be better to go to Bratislava first IMO. Kosice is nice but not too big and can be done within a day. In general, Slovakia is a really nice country...you may have a look into the High Tatra area around Poprad which is especially nice if you are into hiking. You could also make a round trip Krakow - night train to Budapest - Kosice - Bratislava; dont forget to visit the Slovak/Polish/Hungarian/Czech restaurant cars... :)
Regarding flights to AUS, maybe contact ardeaay who is about to make a huge trip around Europe this year and already has done several similar trips and who might have some insight into possible options.
Flo 8)
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi Jim.
Like Flow wrote: I recommend as well to visit Budapest. Definitely worth. Good night life, not that expensive, cool old clubs (just join the ruin tours from your hostel). And yes... the restaurant cars are really nice!!! :)
Peter :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Thanks again, you have been great help. Having again looked at map Belgrade has jumped out at me, easy to reach from Budapest? Worth a detour before heading back up slovenia way? How's the train network around this area? Interrail? Apologies for all the ?s theres just so much out there. Jim.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Belgrade is easy to reach, one day and one night train; from Belgrade there would be one train to Ljubljana via Zagreb.
I really like Belgrade...so why not go there. Train tickets would be 15€ for Budapest - Belgrade (special fare, available even on the day at the station in Budapest and 25€ for Belgrade - Ljubljana (special day, only six tickets available per train/day, three days prebooking time), normal fare would be around 50€ probably.
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Brill cheers, we have decided once we hit rome we aint gonna travel back up the 'boot' of italy, but rather find a place to sail across in the general direction of athens or istanbul as these are the two hubs we have in mind to fly to oz from. Can you ferry from southern italy to greece? Or maybe a better option to sail further north ie to croatia then travel by train/bus to either athens or istanbul. Hope you understand all of this :) Thanks railcc :) .
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Main ferry hubs would be Ancona and Bari, from where you can get ferries to almost all places on the opposite shore of the Adriatic.
If you would go with InterRail, ferries from both ports to Patras are included in the ticket, only fuel and port taxes as well as a seasonal surchage would have to be paid.
You could then go to Patras - replacement bus to Kiato - train to Athens - Thessaloniki - Sofia - Istanbul (or head straight to Istanbul by bus from Thessaloniki since more construction works on the route to Istanbul have just been announced...).
There has been a Bari - Bar ferry service, I dont know now if this is sailing this year, an alternative would be to go Bari - Dubrovnik; then take the train from Bar/Podgorica (Dubrovnik - Bar/Podgorica would be bus again) to Belgrade - Thessaloniki/Sofia - Istanbul
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
:) cheers flow :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Hi what would be the best ticket to go with, here's a rough but likely route we will be taking. Berlin, Dresden, Prague, night train to Krakow, night train to Budapest, was thinking about a night in Bratislava but I think we are going to bypass it, from B.pest to Ljubljana (lake bled also), would you stay a night somewhere to split the long train journey? Or maybe another night train? then to Venice, Florence, Rome. How many days in each place recommended in this route? Would we be best with a 10 in 22? Also how long before can you buy a interrail ticket? Any time frames as to when to buy? Thanks JimboJr :)
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
I recommend to buy your Interrail pass two weeks in advance. Please book via our partner links which you find here: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Then you support the information here on railcc.
Berlin, Rome: 3 days
Budapest, Krakow, Prague: 2 days
Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Dresden, Venice, Florence: 1 day
The ticket depends on your final route - but in my eyes, the Interrail 10 in 22 will be a good choice.
Peter :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Ok thanks, is there a night train from Budapest to Ljubljana? Or any nice places to stop for the night enrout? Also if i wanted to get our interrail passes now would it be too early or is it the date you want it to start? We will be buying it from you guys as you have been alot of help :) JimboJr
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Pre-booking time of Interrail passes is possible up to three months in advance. What date you want to start exactly?
As there will be a PROMO offer for Interrail bought after the 1st August: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-global-pass[/u]
If you start mid of August or later, just wait until the 1st August and buy then, to save some money! :)
Budapest to Ljubljana: no night train... you could make a stop for example at Lake Balaton or as well in Zagreb.
Peter :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Ok great stuff, I'll be buying them then as you mention, we will be flying into Berlin around mid September or Paris (make our way Berlin after here) as that is a place my partner wanted to see if we missed out Rome. As we will be flying to Australia from either Athens/Istanbul or at least that side of Europe, I was wondering what peoples views are if we missed Italy entirely and headed down via Croatia and wherever else (will be deciding which way on route). Any thoughts would be good. Thanks JimboJr :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
IMO, you should not entirely miss out Italy...I mean, there are lots of great places to visit and if you can fit some of them in timewise you should do it (either classic touristy stuff such as Rome, Florence, Venice or maybe some smaller cities such as Lecce, Siena, Ravenna, Assisi).
The question is how you would then proceed with your trip - taking a ferry to Croatia/Montenegro would be easy but dont underestimate the travel times to get from there to Athens/Istanbul, especially if you want to make some stops in between... :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Brill thanks flow, apologies for the delayed reply. :) , after some talks with the other half we have decided to start in Paris and make our way towards Munich then onto Prague, thus missing out the original start in Berlin and Dresden. From Prague carry on the pre planned route Krakow etc. As we will be traveling through or near Munich whilst the Oktoberfest is on have you any suggestions as to where to stay nearby (cheaper) if we wanted to go to the festival? Sorry for any confusion I have caused with not knowing where we are starting etc etc! Not long now were both really excited/nervous as its our first trip away interrailing, thanks again great help :) :D . JimboJr.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Well...I could assume that even some cities around Munich could be quite full during Oktoberfest, but you could try Augsburg, Ingolstadt, Landshut, Rosenheim which are each about half an hour away by train. Nürnberg could also be an option.
To get from Munich to Prague, I would recommend to take one of the later direct trains that carry a Czech restaurant car. :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
We are going to get a sleeper train from Paris to Munich, any idea if you have to prebook? Or can you just turn up on the day? How many per day are they? Also could I use my interrail pass for this journey? If i buy my ticket after the 1st of august as Pete said there was a discount, how much roughly do I save? Brilliant info flow :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Yes, you have to prebook. If you turn up on the day the sleeper is likely to be full. Timings, fares and booking info: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/paris-munich-cnl40451/32[/u]
InterRail Promo Fares: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-global-pass[/u]
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
thanks :) , just waiting for august to come by so we can get sorted. we have already prebooked our accomodation in Augsburg for the 20th september for three nights, so the night train from Paris to Augsburg we will be taking will be the 19th september. had a quick look on on db website but all the trains i found had a few stops on the way. is there any direct trains with no stops? would rather prebook the sleeper if i can as soon as we buy our interrail tickets through this site if possible? Thanks agin brill info :) JimboJr
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
Yes, the direct night train is this one: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/paris-munich-cnl40451/32[/u]
Book like explained bellow the map.
Don't wait too long as you travel on a Friday evening, so the train easily fills up and might be full if you wait too long.
Peter :)
JimboJr
Traveller
19 comments
Hia as august the 1st is soon approaching i am asking you guys which would be the best ticket for us to buy. We are pretty much halfing our time through europe and spending some time over south east asia before dropping down into australia. So here goes our itinerary, a lot has changed since my first post so apologies for the mess!!! We fly into Paris on the 16th sept, from here make our way to Augsburg, (oktoberfest), then towards prague, krakow then budapest, then finally heading to venice to catch a flight to bangkok on the 8th oct. Which ticket would suit us the most? A shorter one then buy point to point over eastern europe? Or maybe just too interrail the whole way round to venice? thanks again :) JimboJr.