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Messages - tUt

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46
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Moldova/Ukraine - Connections
« on: February 19, 2017, 03:05:17 pm »
The other day I was thinking if it was possible being that it's only 2 hours away going to Iaşi for the day.  Though I do remember last time I was in Romania, Moldova was still using the old Soviet train rails and taking a train between the two was long due to switching the trains, so not sure that is an issue anymore, or if a bus is more viable.
Well, change occurs only for the overnight Chisinau-Bucharest train, while daytime trains (i.e. Moldavian Chisinau-Iasi Socola 6:43-11:00 (runs only on Fridays and weekend) and Romanian Ungheni-Iasi (7:55-9:33 & 17:00-18:33) run without change. However most of the locals when traveling Chis.-Iasi would go for a (mini)bus option, there is even special day tours (morning from Chisinau to Iasi and afternoon/evening back to Moldova capital) or direct buses.
If not I could always just go see some of the underground wineries outside Chișinău
Definitely can be an option, good and cheap wine... why not :)

... I've narrowed it down to either the bus or flying (if I can get a good flight to IEV)
I think the company which offered cheapest flights here canceled the Odesa-Kyiv line, at least for low-season time, but, imho, bus option here is almost as fast (taking into consideration that you need to get to/from airports in both cities, security, check-in, etc.) and definitely cheaper
...and the over night train would mean me having to wait around until 11pm or so without a hotel room to go back to etc.
Odesa railway station has luggage storage rooms, so in case you change your mind, you can always drop your suitcase and spend those couple evening hours in a bar, theater, walking around, etc.
Now I looked at autolux.ua, but since I can only read limited Russian/Ukrainian, I was able to see there is a bus leaving at 6am and getting me there around 12:30pm in April (since they don't have May time tables up).  I would think these would be the same times for May.
True, even if there will be any minor change the early morning departure (and arrival around noon) would be there anyways. 
Now with that, I probably wouldn't need to buy my tickets in advance correct?
Yep, doubt that there will high demand for Sat. morning dep. 
I'm just having an issue trying to locate the bus station (Hear it's at Kolontayevskoi 58), but can't find it on a map.
Hmm... it seems like in Odesa autolux buses depart from a stop next to the main railway station. Kolontaevska 58 is where Odesa central bus station is located, but autolux neither in Odesa, nor in Kyiv uses the central bus stations

47
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Belgrade-Zagreb-Ljubliana
« on: February 16, 2017, 11:55:59 pm »
I've heard it's not a very interesting trip and did notice there is a night train between the two.
You can make it more interesting by stopping at Novi Sad, Osijek, etc. :) Regarding the overnight train... well, it seems that this year it ran only for the winter holidays time and will be running during the summer season (late June-early September) + it will be only seating carriages with arrival to Zagreb at 4am
Would that be better than the 6+ hour long bus ride do you think?  If I'm not really going to see much, than maybe the train would be a better option.
In most cases "by rail" option definitely wins when compared to bus alternative, however with overnight journey in seat and arrival at 4am...perhaps it's too much.
If I did get the night train, are they all going to be sleeper cars?  Or will there also be just regular seats as well (since I could do that if needed).
Nope, listed in the scheme are three seating carriages (one is mixed 1-2 class) only

And what about advanced booking for the sleeper cars?  Is this route in high demand that I would have to pre-purchase well in advance?  Or would a day or two in advance be ok (since I'd be in Belgrade maybe 4 nights)?
Serbian Railways doesn't sell tickets to Croatia online, but it's not really necessary to buy those in advance. You hardly would have any problems buying tickets before departure, especially since it's seat only option

48
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: CH Interrail?
« on: February 02, 2017, 10:22:12 pm »
haha like the Thurbo who have no WC?
Why not? )))
I dont know where are you from but I never drive on a TGV or ETR610. This will the first real Train ride in CH. (Just Wien - Zürich and arround the Bodensee.)
Ok, then obviously you should try TGV. What I meant when said "nothing extraordinary" is that there are huge number of TGV trains around and it's pretty usual and ordinary rolling-stock for the region (esp. if compared to rc used by some private railways in Switzerland). On the other hand 610 is relatively new, so some would like to try it just in order to compare with the older ones.
To me "interesting rolling-stock" is either something unique to this country or something not widely used (i.e. existing in very limited number). So with this logic I myself would prefer a ride in 50 year old trainset and not some new Alstom/Stadler emu produced in hundreds and running in dozen countries in Europe

49
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: CH Interrail?
« on: February 02, 2017, 07:52:22 pm »
Well, 610th indeed a kind of interesting, but TGV... nothing extraordinary, imho. At least for me way more fun was to try all the various stock from private railways (Rhaetian, Matterhorn Gotthard, SZU, FART and so on)

50
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Moldova/Ukraine - Connections
« on: February 02, 2017, 05:40:32 pm »
Do you need to book in advance for the overnight train as well?  Usually I always just take day trains/buses and have always followed TuT's suggestion about getting tickets at the station the day of or the day before as I've often seen trains or buses that haven't been listed showing up with better times to my destinations in the past.
Well, there is no unifying law here. Everything really depends on each particular country/connection. As far as I know, even in Ukraine alone for some domestic connections you would easily be able to buy good berth on the day of the journey, while on the other you won't be able to do it even a week in advance. Also a big factor is the potential presence of discounted tickets - UZ in this case isn't very progressive, so buying in advance is not essential in terms of money matters.
There's also the option of just flying too from Odessa to Kyiv as it seems very cheap, if there's not a lot to do in Uman' or Vinnytsia?
Uman' & Vinnytsia can be seen as stopover for couple hours-half a day, imho. I don't think it makes sense to stop there for longer time.
With my plans for 2 weeks then and not a lot to do in Chișinău (though I was thinking of taking a day trip to Transnistria from there), and Odessa and Kyiv, what other places then might be worth spending a night or two along the way instead of just those 3 cities then that's along the way?
Btw, besides excellent suggestions to visit Lviv, Kamyanets-Podilsky and Chernivtsi, you can always make a day trips from Kyiv or Odesa. E.g. with Kyiv it can be Chernobyl (if you up for this kind of things) or more usual places like Poltava or Chernihiv. From Odesa you can visit Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (and places around) and so on.
So that might even be an option as Chișinău seems by you and TuT that it might not be somewhere I want to spend a great deal of time in, so I could cut that down a bit and go elsewhere like you mentioned.
As was mentioned earlier, Chisinau might be good option for a day or max two, but it doesn't mean you can't spend more time in Moldova ;) Since besides the Transnistria there are also other places to visit (e.g. related to wine industry)
I'll get more info if I can get a good flight deal then
That's a smart way, because local journeys in Ukraine/Moldova are rather cheap, so you should first of all think about flight to/from cheapest airport. While then it won't be very difficult to built logistics from there

On other hand - there is one sad thing regarding overnight train - the abiity to sleep in overnight train is kinda skill.
I think that if you had a full & busy day before the journey, then 90% of all people won't have trouble sleeping on the train :)

51
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: CH Interrail?
« on: February 02, 2017, 05:11:15 pm »
What do you mean by interesting? Rolling-stock?

52
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: CH Interrail?
« on: January 27, 2017, 03:44:02 pm »
Well, with Switzerland it's always better to recheck directly with each railway company (e.g. http://www.interrail.eu/trains/railway-companies/swiss-railway-companies-discounted ), because with all those private companies rules keep changing depending pass type, period, etc. So when it's not SBB, then better to check directly in order to avoid misunderstanding

53
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Moldova/Ukraine - Connections
« on: January 27, 2017, 12:16:33 am »
I know there are buses from Chișinău via Palanca or Tudora to Odessa (http://terra.md/ro/timetable/gara_nord/default.aspx), but wasn't sure about the reverse route from Odessa to Chișinău via Palanca or Tudora.
There are plenty of buses from Odesa to Chisinau via Palanca (I think nowadays most of Odesa-Chisinau buses go via Palanca, thus avoiding Transnistria. You can check some schedules here - http://www.odessabus.com/en (it's half English/half Russian), but don't buy any tickets in advance. It will be cheaper and more reliable to purchase tickets at the bus station. 

Main reason is I want to avoid the train since it goes through Transnistria and though I have heard it's now easier to go through (no longer needed to get off the train and go to the police station), I still feel that bribery or harassment still happens at the border when going through the zone.
Besides Transnistria factor direct train also runs only couple days per week ;)

Also I'm only seeing buses leaving later in the day from Chișinău, is there any options of going to Odessa earlier?
Yes, sure. It's just better to check Moldova bus timetable here -  http://www.garanord.md/orarul_rutelor.cfm (it's in Romanian, but everything is pretty easy - just enter Odesa and you will see dozens of buses per day) or here - http://www.autogara.md/orar/ (other bus stations in Moldova), although take into consideration Maxy's post regarding the weather conditions.

Next Question is from Odessa to Kyiv.  Since it's a fairly long trip, I was thinking the train, though I believe it goes out of the way via Vinnytsia while the bus goes via Uman'.  Do they have night trains from Odessa to Kyiv with sleeper cars at all or would it make sense to just take a train to Vinnytsia, stay a night or two and then go to Kyiv?  Or would the bus be better taking an early morning bus to Uman' staying the night or two and then on?
Well, Maxy partly answered your questions, I'll just remind than Ukrainian Railways now have decent website in English for the ticket sale - http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/ (with most of the regular trains you can print your ticket at home). Among the overnighters most fancy one is the 106 branded train (22:25-7:10)

I'm trying to go from Chișinău - Odessa -Kyiv, but may end up doing it in the reverse order depending on flights so this is why I was asking about the reverse route from Odessa to Chișinău.
Yep, I guess flying to Kyiv might be a cheaper option. Anyhow, with those three cities in mind it doesn't really matter where you start. You can even go Kyiv-Chisinau-Odesa if you want ;)

So I was thinking of going from Chișinău to Odessa to Kyiv for my 2 week trip.
Imho, two weeks might be a bit too much for those three cities, in Kyiv & Odesa you definitely can find something to do for 3-4 days, but Chisinau... well I would say 1 day maximum, it's better just to spend extra time elsewhere in Moldova or Ukraine.

54
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Travel trouth CZ?
« on: January 25, 2017, 12:20:17 am »
Well, Elbe valley is definitely a must, but I guess many people see it when traveling Prague-Berlin route. If you plan to visit Cheb/Karlovy Vary region, then you can also try smaller lines heading towards German border. Or, as an alternative, go the opposite direction, i.e. EURONYSA region around Liberec (Frydlant, Szkliarska Poreba Gorna, etc.) or even more to the east - Jesenik-Glucholazy-Krnov and industrial scenery around Ostrava

55
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Travel trouth CZ?
« on: January 23, 2017, 11:53:24 pm »
You mean like spend the whole day on the road (i.e. sightseeing through the window) or more like visit couple small towns/villages? Are you interested more in history (architecture), nature or maybe rail related infrastructure?

56
Hmm, never actually wondered about it before... just made photos without any permissions or anything like that (e.g. last fall dozens of those around Sofia central). Afaik, these days one might get in trouble for taking photos of transport infrastructure in countries like Russia or Azerbaijan, but not in Europe.

57
Train fares and tariffs / Re: INTERRAIL,SWISSPASS OR SWISS HALF FARE CARD?
« on: November 19, 2016, 03:32:53 pm »
Buying tickets at every station I am is not the best way,that I know for sure.
Actually in some cases it does make sense to go with point-to-point tickets option - Swiss Railways have very good offer called SuperSaver tickets (--> basically 50% discount on regular ticket price). However in other cases indeed pass will be a cheaper option.
I am most interested in visiting Geneva,Lausanne,Bern,Zurich and Lucerne. Does Interrail connect them?
Yep, interrail works for all the major lines, it's not valid (or requires extra fee) only on certain private railways. Your itinerary doesn't seem to include those, thus you should be fine with Interrail pass.
Interrail for 8-days travel in 1 month is 141 euros for me, Swisspass for 8 days is 289 euros and Swiss half fare card 112 euros. Should anyone here knows something about these "long-term tickets" or has traveled using them, it would be extremely helpful.
Well, Half-Fare travelcard is mostly for locals, since it pays off over longer period of use (=big number of journeys), SwissPass mostly for non-europeans & those who want to enjoy extra perks it gives (free travel on public transport in cities/towns, entrance to museums, etc.), while interrail is indeed the cheapest option, especially if you eligible for youth pass or family pass.

p.s. if you do decided to go with interrail pass option, then make you sure you purchase it not from some reseller agency, but directly from interrail - www.interrail.eu or, judging by you ip, you can do it also at the international ticket counter in your country.

58
Sofia - Breclav,...
It's those Russian through carriages that go with "Varsovia" EC 130 & transit Czech Republic, CD doesn't send any carriages of their own to Bulgaria. There used to be Prague-Budapest-Burgas/Varna CD sleeper & couchette, but it was long ago and only during the high season

59
I saw there is also an CD Sleeping Car. I could not find any price online for. Sadly the run trout Serbia.
Hmm? To Sofia?

60
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Train route "Skopje - Pristina"
« on: November 09, 2016, 12:19:57 am »
Since passengers can't purchase one through international ticket, then indeed combination of the two tickets is the only option available

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