Getting Around Europe

With our flights officially booked, our plans getting TO and FROM Europe are finally set! The next step is figuring out how we are going to get AROUND Europe once we’re actually there.

There are quite a few airlines in Europe that offer low-cost flights to many European destinations. Two that I know of are Easy Jet and Ryanair. I flew Ryanair twice last summer, to Dublin and Pisa. My travels on Ryanair were interesting to say the least, but you really can’t beat the prices. I booked my flight to Pisa a couple of weeks in advance and I remember it costing only about $50 round trip. However, as the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for!” For those of us that are not citizens of the European Union (EU), boarding a Ryan Air flight is quite a hassle. I saw plenty of EU citizens breeze by, but non-EU citizens must get their passport checked and boarding pass stamped before getting on the plane and the line is usually extremely long. Our group traveling to Pisa actually spent the night at the airport (London’s Stansted and that night is a story in itself) before our early morning flight and we still almost missed our plane because of the long passport line! On board, there are no assigned seats (think Southwest Airlines in the U.S.) and everything costs money (no free drinks). I have even heard that Ryan Air is proposing selling standing tickets! Cheap air travel definitely has its disadvantages but these cheap airlines get you from point A to point B for ridiculously low prices! I even know someone who found a free flight on Ryanair’s website and only had to pay tax! For those doing weekend traveling or looking to quickly get across the continent, budget airlines are a great option.

We’ve decided that our best option would be to travel Europe by train. We plan on visiting about 15 different places, so rail would be the easiest and cheapest for us. Eurail offers many different options. You can buy a pass for a particular country (if you are only traveling to one), to a few countries that border each other or a global pass that includes 21 European nations. Travelers should do some research on Raileurope.com to find the best option for themselves. The website allows you to input how long you will be traveling for, how many places you will be visiting and your age to determine the best deal for you. Based on my trip (2 months, visiting about 15 places, under the age of 26) I will be buying a “Global Youth Flexi Pass” which will allow me 15 days of travel in any of the 21 countries within 2 months. Flexi passes allow you to choose your travel days within the time frame (two months in my case) but consecutive day passes are cheaper. Eurail also offers discounts for seniors (60 and up) and a saver option for groups of 2 or more traveling together at all times. In addition, the youth option will save travelers under the age of 26 a good amount of money. I was initially expecting to pay about $1,000 for my rail pass but I will only be spending $674.

It should be mentioned that you cannot use your Eurail pass in Great Britain (you can only use your pass in the 21 participating nations). Great Britain uses its own train system called BritRail, which is completely independent of Eurail. Also separate from Eurail is the Eurostar, the high speed train that connects London to Paris and Brussels through the underground “Chunnel.”