madmazy
Traveller
7 comments
Posted 12 years ago
Hey all,
Going around Europe for a few weeks in August. I'm not doing too bad so far at organising it ...however can't book much yet due to them not being available (hopefully it's not just me not understanding the sites properly!!)
So far the plan pretty much is get from London to Amsterdam then after a couple of nights in Amsterdam get the night train to Copenhagen after a couple of nights there onto the night train to Prague. A couple of nights in Prague then onto Vienna for the night then to Budapest for two perhaps a daytrip to Bratsilava for the day. Then we're getting the night train to Split. A ferry over to Ancona and the train up the coast to Venice for a couple of nights...
Now I think i'm kinda of sorted so far up to here I'm getting an Interail pass but might pay upfront for some of the journeys as I was only planning on getting a 10 days from 22 pass. I'll figure this out after as I was struggling figuring out how I was meant to book the sleeper cabins for the nighttrains so thought might be easier to pay upfront for these???? But as i'm so new to this I am open to suggestions from anyone!!
The part I am so stuck on is getting from Venice to Monaco. Where is best to go from? I wanted to stop over for a few hours or a day in Verona is this possible? Or would I have to go someone else after Venice to get to Monaco.
From what i've see it's the Monte Carlo station that i'm supposed to travel to but I am at a loss here. Has anyone done this before and what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance!!
Maz
Flo
Traveller
10725 comments
Hi Maz!
Some questions:
How many of you are going on this trip? Or are you travelling alone? What sites are you referring to?
# London - Amsterdam: How do you want to travel? Eurostar? Ferry?
# Amsterdam - Copenhagen: Best way to do this would be the direct night train :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/amsterdam-copenhagen-cnl40457/10[/u] however it tends to fill up quickly. You might want to get a reservation online before you go, however this is only possible if either departure or arrival station is in Germany, so you could only get a reservation Amsterdam - Flensburg and then ask the conductor to let you stay in your compartment (as the price for a reservation is not dependant on distance this usually is no problem). After arriving in Copenhagen you could use your travel day to make a day trip over to Malmö in Sweden.
# Copenhagen - Prague: Same applies here - get a reservation until Dresden (which is a nice city itself, worth a stop). Problem is that the night train leaves at 1846, so you cant use the 1900 rule. It might be better for you if you\'d get a regular ticket to Roskilde, first stop after 1900 and join the night train there to save a travel day.
# Prague - Vienna would be possible by night train although it is just a short ride, just more than six hours.
# Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest: If you want to make a day trip to Bratislava, do it while in Vienna. You might also visit Bratislava on the way from Vienna to Budapest; or take the night train there from Prague, then go Vienna - Budapest.
# Budapest - Split: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/budapest-to-split[/u]
# Ancona - Venice is no big deal, first to Bologna, then on to Venice. Using regional trains you wont need a reservation.
# Venice - Monaco: Via Milano - Genoa - Ventimiglia, for instance :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/venice-to-marseille[/u]
The train station for Monaco is Monaco - Monte Carlo, all trains stop there. You could also easily stop in Verona as it is on the line from Venice to Milan.
Flo 8)
[b]Please support railcc:[/b]
- buy your rail passes and tickets here on the recommended website: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
- add locations of your home-town (bars, nice places, ...)
Thank you! :)
madmazy
Traveller
7 comments
Hey Flow,
Thanks so much for the reply and so full of info!! You really know your stuff!!
I've been looking at the DB Bahn site for the City Night line trains and it took me a while to figure out why it wasn't working to do a dummy run on just reserving some trains and not booking the tickets....then when I read about having to book a either the arrival or departure in Germany it made sense!!
There's two of us going and i've already booked the first leg from London to Harwich onto the ferry to Hook then train to Amsterdam. Not planning on using the interail for this as it was rail and sail so is included with the price.
I've changed the plan a lot now and taken Copenhagen out as I think i'll do a DFDS cruise there another time as it means I get a bit longer in some other places!! So now from Amsterdam we're getting the night train to Prague but I think instead of including this in the interail i'm going to book this on it's own as it's awkward with reservations and I want to splash out a bit lol... and go for the delux 2 sleeper carriage and my ticket when I get it will be the 2nd class railpass. Two reasons for doing this mainly are that it frees me up a day on the pass and I can start the pass later as I want to be able to use it until the 31st August.
Thanks very much for the other ideas i'll have a look at those too!! I've also changed the order slightly now to include Florence (with the stopover in Pisa you guys rec) to Florence and a night in Florence then onto Monte Carlo from there.
My main problem now is finding the nice train from Nice to Paris. I've seen the time on here but I can't find it and an example of the train (like the info on DB Bahn) anywhere to decide whether or not it's worth getting a Couchette for that night.
The other thing i'm debating doing is getting a train from Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovina to a place called Mostar as it looks beautiful and to not waste two train days on just one journey as the Budapest to Split effectively will take up two ...grrrr so will use that travel day to go somewhere in or near to Croatia, Split.
I've not brought the pass yet but I will buy it via your site when I do so as to support you and i'll update my info page to include some good places bars etc here!!!
Thanks so much again
Maz
Flo
Traveller
10725 comments
Hej,
just a short answer now as it is quite late now. ;)
Glad we can help - and thank you for helping us and purchasing your IR pass in our partner. Free delivery to the UK.
Oh, and dont forget to book your Amsterdam - Prague train also at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] - we are official online partners of DB as well which means: Same price for you and a small commission for us. :)
Will be back tomorrow with some more suggestions.
Flo 8)
Peter
Traveller
9339 comments
Hi.
[b]London-Harwich-Hoek-Amsterdam[/b]: I love this trip including the ferry like you do. Just relaxing and comfortable! :)
If you book the [b]Amsterdam-Prague[/b] night train early, you can get good prices. As earlier, as better they are! :)
Pre-booking time is 92 days (3 months) in advance of departure date. Direct booking here as e-ticket (and supporting railcc, like Flow already explained. Thank you!):
[u]https://rail.shop/bahn?d=Amsterdam-Centraal&e=Prague&d=1830&l=en[/u]
[b]Nice - Paris[/b]: the schedules are often published at short notice for the French night trains. But it will run - maybe some minutes earlier or later, but it will. Pre-booking depends, usually one month: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/nice-paris-icn-5774/60[/u]
To travel to Mostar, you could first travel [b]Zagreb - Sarajevo[/b] by day train ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/zagreb-to-sarajevo[/u]) - the night train was cancelled last winter.
And then by point to point ticket to [b]Mostar[/b] ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/sarajevo-to-ploce[/u]) which was around EUR 6 (if I remember right), then go on to Ploče from where you can continue to Split.
So you loose only one travel day for Budapest-Zagreb ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/budapest-to-zagreb[/u]).
Peter :)
madmazy
Traveller
7 comments
Hi Peter,
Thanks so much for the fantastic answer again.
I feel a bit better now about the Nice -Paris part as I thought it was just me not being able to find it properly.
That's a fantastic idea to go to Zagreb to be able to see Mostar. I'll check out the schedules as this might also mean I won't to work to a tight schedule to be able to get the Tues or Sat train that I was having to get to Split from Budapest.
Now to find some funky places to stay!! Ekk am excited!!
Maz : )
Peter
Traveller
9339 comments
Just some extra notes... :)
[b]Mostar to Ploče[/b] is as well less than EUR 10. So no need to spent a travel day for it.
If you want to go by bus, you can either travel Mostar to [b]Split[/b] or Ploče to Split, both routes daily and less than EUR 20. Tickets available directly at the bus stations. Easy and the usual way to buy them.
[b]Budapest - Split[/b]: no need to use the direct night train (okay, it is the most comfortable way). You can go daily with a change in Zagreb.
Peter :)