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11
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Georgia - Armenia Transit Question
« Last post by tUt on January 10, 2019, 10:56:57 pm »
I did some research and found out the train between Yerevan and Tbilisi is not only long, uncomfortable and just highly not recommended, so was curious about other options if they exists trying to get between Yerevan and Tbilisi and spending a night.
Armenia & Georgia are both very marshrutkas based countries, Ukraine is the "railway heaven" compared to those two :) In Armenia and Georgia train is an ok option only on very few connections (like Tbilisi-Batumi), so in this context overnighter from Yerevan to Tbilisi is actually not that bad in terms of travel time/comfort, especially taking into consideration its curvy route on the Armenian side
So just wondering if you had any input on this idea at all?
An alternative to marshrutka in that part of the world is actually a taxi (on popular routes, like Tbilisi-Yerevan, it can be even in form of car sharing --> used it myself). Using a taxi won't be much faster, however way more comfortable. A few years ago it was about 200-250 lari (or 75-100 USD) per car for the entire 6 or so hour ride from Tbilisi to Yerevan, so if it was 4 passengers, then the price per person was not that much higher than marshrutka actually ;)   
It seems there is a that same train from Yerevan that goes to the station in Alaverdi, but it seems like it's once a day.
Yep, it's the same Yerevan-Tbilisi train, but it doesn't even run every day, only once in two days - http://www.ukzhd.am/raspisanie/en/raspisanie.html . And the schedule for journeys to Alaverdi is horrible, so don't think it makes sense to use it. The train is only for direct passengers between the capitals

But didn't know if there was another option.  Getting to Alaverdi, I can't seem to find any train for some reason. Also can't find any buses either.
Well, if I were you and wanted more or less comfortable trip, would probably do it this way: a) take a local bus/car shared taxi from Yerevan to Alaverdi (=will be rather cheap); b) next day with a help of your hotel/B&B personal rent a local taxi for yourself and just go around to those places you are interested; c) on the third day either get a local taxi to take you all the way to Tbilisi (with the sightseeing stops along the way) or, if it's too expensive (like >40-50 usd or so), then just take it across the ARM-GEO border to Sadakhlo and then use local marshrutka/shared taxi to Tbilisi (=again a very cheap option). NB: dealing with taxis should be done only when you already in Armenia/Georgia (won't be a problem, locals will gladly help), because pre-booking it from abroad is a bad idea, since you'll overpay a lot.
Totally different approach might be to try to find some travel agency with the organized tour (like Tbilisi to Northern Armenia), it's more like an option for lazy ones and those who don't want to deal with local transport, but it can work and save you time.   

It's another option before I get a flight in Feb.
You want to go to Georgia/Armenia in February? Though the winter scenery will be rather nice, but the weather might not be perfect for those long journeys through the mountains with many sightseeing stops. Think that recently many people these days do go to Georgia during the winter season, but it's mostly for skiing (Kazbegi or Svaneti region) and staying in bigger cities (like Tbilisi/Batumi) with the nightlife, food, etc.
12
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Georgia - Armenia Transit Question
« Last post by warlord on January 09, 2019, 06:52:24 pm »
  I am trying to figure out if there is any good way to get between Yerevan to Tbilisi via a night or two in either Alaverdi or Odzun.  The main thing there is to hike to Haghpat and also somehow try and get to Debed Canyon.

  Figure I'd ask here being it's more "Europe" rail, but figure maybe Georgia kind of counts.

  I did some research and found out the train between Yerevan and Tbilisi is not only long, uncomfortable and just highly not recommended, so was curious about other options if they exists trying to get between Yerevan and Tbilisi and spending a night.

  I know they have the mini buses (Marshrutka's or whatever they call them there), but I don't like being in those for long extended periods of time (did the one between Chisinau and Odesa and 5 hours on those was way too cramped with no toilet breaks).  So just wondering if you had any input on this idea at all?

  Another option would be actually just flying into Tbilisi and flying out of Batumi.  That way I would just need to find a way from Tbilisi to Alaverdi/Odzun and back.  It seems there is a that same train from Yerevan that goes to the station in Alaverdi, but it seems like it's once a day.  I could manage that as it's only a few hours.  But didn't know if there was another option.  Getting to Alaverdi, I can't seem to find any train for some reason.  Also can't find any buses either.  (The train from Tbilisi to Batumi though seems very straight forward and easy).

  Haven't committed yet to this at all 100%.  It's another option before I get a flight in Feb.  The others we talked about in the past being Serbia and Montenegro which you helped me with already and have all the notes to easily do that if flights are good.  The other was Kosovo/Macedonia which you also helped me out and that is also ready to go.

  But just curious if you had an input on this possible trip at all?

Thanks
13
All other train travel questions / Re: OeBB Nightjet seats compartment?
« Last post by tUt on December 12, 2018, 06:57:25 pm »
But the photos of the nightjet.com website show armrests between the seats. Are these armrests movable?
Yes, from the photos and train scheme it seems that those NJ carriages are old OeBB bmz type seating carriages (used to be very common for OeBB and other railway companies in the region), thus armrests definitely can be folded up and won't be a problem   
In the 1970's in compartments on some trains had opposing seats that could be pulled together or nearly together. This made a makeshift bed that one could lie on. Is this possible on present day OeBB Nightjet trains?
No, the seats in these bmz carriages can be pulled toward the center a bit, but not as nearly together as it used to be possible in older carriages with similar 6 seats compartment design (AFAIR, in this region of Europe the last carriages with the chance to have the proper "makeshift bed" in the seating compartment were used by Serbian Railways (e.g. overnighter Belgrade-Budapest)
14
All other train travel questions / OeBB Nightjet seats compartment?
« Last post by JT on December 10, 2018, 03:44:58 am »
OeBB's Nightjets offer sleepers, couchettes, and seats compartments as accommodation choices. It seems I can book a whole seats compartment for myself (Hamburg-Zurich) if I want. But the photos of the nightjet.com website show armrests between the seats. Are these armrests movable? My interest is being able to lie down across one row of seats if I can -- cheaper than a couchette with more privacy.

In the 1970's in compartments on some trains had opposing seats that could be pulled together or nearly together. This made a makeshift bed that one could lie on. Is this possible on present day OeBB Nightjet trains?
15
Thank you for your response, it is appreciated.
16
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Lille (France) to Brussels Airport (Belgium)
« Last post by tUt on October 13, 2018, 11:56:19 am »
Getting from Lille to Brussels airport is relatively easy, since Lille is connected to Brussels by numerous high-speed trains (TGV, Thalys, EuroStar), so it actually takes <40 minutes to get to Brussels. Those trains arrive to the so-called Brussels-Midi train station, so you'll need to make a quick train change there for the local train that will take you (ride will be about 20 min.) directly to the airport. At the end your whole journey will be slightly more than an hour of time in total.

It's still too early to book train tickets for next September, but you can check app. timetables & fares on Belgium railways website - b-europe.com, while when the time will come you will be able to book your ticket there as well
17
New to this forum. Will be travelling next September by train from Lille in France to Brussels Airport in Belgium. How would I undertake this journey?
18
General Discussion / Re: EuropeTrainsGuide.com forum&website
« Last post by Username: on October 01, 2018, 12:08:03 pm »
When it will be GDPR Compliant?
19
Train fares and tariffs / Re: Cheper Ticket? (Austria - Czech Republic)
« Last post by Username: on October 01, 2018, 12:06:55 pm »
If you travel Vienna -> CZ (Brno,... ,... Praha) I can recommend Regiojet.at
That Company have 100x better Service onboard there Trains and better Food!
(The use mostly the "old" comfortable ÖBB Cars)
20
Train fares and tariffs / Re: Cheper Ticket?
« Last post by AlfonsoFinley on October 01, 2018, 08:49:39 am »
Well, 1214 CZK for Vienna-Prague-Chomutov-Plzen-Rybnik is pretty decent price for the 1st class train ticket (especially taking into consideration that only Vienna-Prague cost 34 euro in this case), however with Rybnik-Linz-Vienna it seems latest reviews of phenq to be better to go with OeBB sparschiene ticket Summerau-Vienna (if bought in advance via OeBB website it costs only 14 euro + 10 euro for 1st class extra), while for the short cross-border 15 min. Rybnik-Summerau leg you can simply purchase a separate ticket for 2 euro

Thanks for recommending OeBB sparschiene ticket. It is quite cheaper. Will go for it and buy it in advance.
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