My London itinerary in detail & explanation – Part 2

Getting into more detailed parts of organizing a good trip, let’s discuss public transportation, tickets, benefits that you can use…

How to get from the airport to hotel and back not using a taxi? Big European cities have connected their airports and cities with tube/metro/train. To the city center also almost as a rule. It’s quick and cheap. You can use the services of airport buses that drive on a regular basis or other public transport. Or, most of the cities have private companies that provide you with that service. In our itinerary, I booked easyBus. They drive regularly, even in the early morning and late at night, they have stations and the ticket is affordable. Great thing, you book it online.

More and more cities have tourist cards for public transportation. You buy it online and pick it up upon your arrival (usually it’s done at the airport). They are priced by the number of days and valid for all types of transportation. Don’t forget to touch your card every time on the reader because they are electronic. Remember this tip; it’s a time saver and a money saver for sure! As an example, here is Oyster card used in London.

Tickets! Same as cards for transportation, you can order cards that include large number of places you can visit. That means that you don’t have to stand on line everywhere to buy a ticket. you just show this one at the entrance and you’re in! They can be priced by the number of places they include, but more common are universal ones. Have in mind that it maybe isn’t the best solution for you. Plan what you want to visit and see if it matches the places on the card. I personally found that London pass didn’t suit me. More and more you can find museums and other attractions providing online booking to avoid rush and have certain hour for everybody to get to see what they want.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor

Eurail Passes – train travel

This is for all non-European residents travelling across Europe by train. Eurail passes are basically the same as InterRail passes. The company cooperates with 30 European railways and shipping lines which makes Europe accessible for everyone.

There are 4 types of passes you can purchase:

- Global Pass is valid in 20 countries

- Select Pass is valid in 3, 4 or 5 countries (which ever you decide)

- Regional Pass is valid for one or more countries situated in the geographical area (ex. Scandinavia – includes Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden)

- One Country Pass

Prices depend on the type of the pass; you can choose between continuous passes (valid throughout a certain number of days) or a regular, decide how many days you’re going to travel/use train transportation during your vacation and find the best option.

Youth passes are valid for people under 26 and are cheaper but available only for 2nd class. Adults can buy 1st or 2nd class tickets. What I like about Eurail is that they provide Saver passes – if you are travelling with one or more people, you can get a discount.

You order your passes online and they send it to you by FedEx. Eurail website also provides you with timetables, maps, you can make reservations and a lot of good detailed information. Eurail includes travel with high-speed, scenic and hotel trains. Find out what your options are and take advantage of all the benefits.

Research alternative routes or use domestic trains if you need to save some money. They are slower but cheaper.

If you are planning to travel with a European friend that has to use InterRail pass you can. You are both allowed on most trains. InterRail and Eurail don’t have the same product range so sometimes you can find yourself in a silly situation. Make sure you plan your trip and check all the railroad companies.

For more information about train travel and passes go here.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor

InterRail review – travel by train

Maybe not the first idea that pops on your mind when travelling through Europe but let me change your mind. Europe has over 40,000 railway stations. Yes, you heard right…

Before I go into reviewing a website that I chose to show you today, let me state a few benefits of travelling by train. Train stations are usually situated in the centers of large cities because most of the railways are old and a few hundred years ago, cities were a lot smaller. Newer parts grew around stations. Central stations were and still are railway stations. That knocks out additional transportation from airport, sometimes bus stations etc. When travelling by train you have the possibility to see a lot more of the scenery of the countries you travel through. Imagine that, to actually be able to get to know a lot more places and get a certain feeling; than to just read a paragraph from a paperback guide about it. They are a lot more comfortable that buses and if you take a long distance train or a night train at some point of your trip, you can relax and sleep in couchettes (mixed compartments usually with bunk beds). You can, almost always, take as much baggage as you want; but also think of it in a way…how much can I carry around with me? Trains are not necessarily slow, you can choose high-speed trains, where possible. And, don’t forget, trains are a green choice!

InterRail is a company and a really great website that has all the necessary information about European train travel and provides you with InterRail passes. Passes connect 27+ countries and come as two types: Global and One Country. Global pass is a kind of a general pass; where ever you want to go in Europe, while the pass is valid, you can. And One Country pass is available only for foreigners travelling through one country.

The pass concept is that you buy a number of days during your vacation you want to spend travelling. That means, if you choose 5 in 10 days, 10 days is the period you’ll spend in Europe and 5 of those days you can hop on and off trains with your pass. Or you can just buy a 22 days/ 1 month continuous pass if you want to be more adventurous. For prices go here. Students and generally young people under 26 can get a cheaper pass but it has to be 2nd class. You must order a pass 3 months before your first day of travel and it will be sent to you by mail.

Reservations are not required, but I still would recommend to do so for busy times and routes. They are only required for TGV (high-speed trains) and long distance trains. Baggage is not limited, only by Eurostar and some other hotel trains; always search for that information to make sure.

Your InterRail pass includes even ferry/boat passes where possible. Children under age of 12 get 50% off. Their website also provides all timetables and maps of all railways in Europe. That’s why I love it. They provide all information so you can easily plan your trip. Enjoy InterRail!

*InterRail passes can only be used by European residents. You must have been staying in Europe for more than 6 months on your first day of InterRail pass validity. But, don’t worry, I have found the same train pass for all of you travelling from outside of Europe. I will cover it in my next post.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor