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Europe Trains Guide Forum  |  General discussion  |  Travel plans, routes and timetables  |  Need Help with Europe Itinerary Aug-Nov 2012 ... Train Route
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Author Topic: Need Help with Europe Itinerary Aug-Nov 2012 ... Train Route  (Read 14380 times)
dan94546
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« on: February 06, 2012, 01:41:22 pm »

Need Help with Europe Itinerary Aug-Nov 2012
I am 31 and from the USA. I need your help with my Itinerary. I am starting to get overwhelmed. I have watched massive Rick Steves Video and read a book on Europe Etc... IT seems daunting that I will be traveling to Europe August to Nov 2012. In July I will be taking a tour through Asia and making my way to the transiberian to goto Moscow where I will be August 3rd.

 I have included my google map http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=201291743441362385411.0004aa47ff0e8438f30cd&msa=0 with all sorts of castles I found online and some tourist locations. Can you help me with Itinerary amount of time needed and train route. I don't know what I should get rid of from the google map because it is not convenient to travel / other locations. Any tips you can give or help would be much appreciated!

Help me know the amount of time needed in each place and the route I should take using Eurail, possibly ryanair
AS you can see from the Google Map the castles are all over so I need to know which major cities I should stay in and take day trips to see them. Also should I get a Eurail pass since I will be doing this for 3 months? ITs hard for me to book the tickets ahead of time till I know the route I should take and how much time I need in each place.

Russia: Moscow {4 days} & Saint Petersburg {4 days}
Denmark: Copenhagen Trivolli Amusement Park{3 days}
Norway: Oslo, Visit Brother take rest {1 week}
Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Strasbourg, Lucerne {2.5 week}
Italy: Venice & Cinque Terre Rivera Italy & Rome {7 days}
Romania: Brasov Dracula's Castle {1 week}
Greece: Athens Ruins{5 days}
Austria: Salzburg, Vienna {1 week}
Switzerland Yungfroud (sp) cog railway {3 days}
France: Paris, Versailles, Tours {1.5 week}
Netherlands: Amsterdam and Rotterdam {1 week}
London: Bath {1 week}
Spain: Barcelona {4 days}

{Optional}
Hungary: Budapest
Croatia: Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes National Park {4 days}


{map with stuff on it around main sites to see}

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=201291743441362385411.0004aa47ff0e8438f30cd&msa=0




Thanks for all your help!
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tUt
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« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2012, 01:41:33 pm »

Ok, let's do it step by step. First of all, the destinations/countries you've listed above and those marked on google map not quite correspond to each other, so it will be good idea simple to decide which plan has a priority - more ambitious from the map or simplified version you have in the above post. Second, just for the sake of clarity - neither Strasbourg or Luzern are in Germany ;) First one is in France (close to German border), while second is in the middle of Switzerland (not far from Jungfraujoch)

If to stay with a map, then most obvious, at least in our opinion, way to proceed will be something like: Moscow-SPb by train (multiple departures during day and night, from roughly 4 hours to 10 depending on train, ticket fares start from 25 USD. Then it makes sense to go to Sweden, it can be done either by direct ferry (www.stpeterline.com) or also rather cheaply if you travel to Helsinki/Tallinn first by bus, while then either fly/ferry to Stockholm from there. Then makes sense to go Stockholm-Oslo. Direct train takes app. 6 hours and cost from 20 USD (if you purchase ticket in advance) or few time more if you do before departure. Also you might check flights, it might be cheaper than train ticket bought in advance. Next you enjoy you Norway experience, then it makes sense to travel to Denmark, again either by direct ferry (http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk , which is kind of expensive) or fly, or go by train via Gothenburg (app. 8 hour min.)
From Copenhagen you basically have, as we see it, two major options - first is to go by train to Germany (you can check timing and fare on German railways website) or go to Malme and catch cheap WizzAir flight to Gdansk in order to visit Malbork. If you choose first option and end up like in Berlin, then it's seems reasonable to simply travel further south by train, thus Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Vienna-Slovakia-Budapest-Romania, then Istanbul and Greece, journeys won't be long (maybe besides Romania-Istanbul and Istanbul to Greece) and not very expensive. Afterward it seems a good idea not to spend much time by traveling back from Greece by land, thus you can catch like RyanAir flight from Thessaloniki to Barcelona or WizzAir from Bulgaria to Spain etc. Then ferry/flight to Rome (RyanAir, Vueling etc.). Next just go up north via Pisa, Cinque Terre, Verona, Venice. Train rides will take just a few hours each leg, cost cheap even when purchasing before departure.
From Venice you'll have left the major array of Bavaria with Salzburg and then Switzerlad with Western Germany, travel segment are rather short (maybe besides Venice-Salzburg) and you can always enjoy think like group train tickets (for Austria or Germany) and SuperSaver for Switzerland. And last you'll have Strasbourg and Paris/Central France area, then just Paris-London (bus/train/flight), while from UK it's convenient and relatively cheap to fly back to US.

Regarding question about rail pass: it's a tricky thing, since in order to say whether you'll need it or not, first you need to clearly have in mind which and how many legs you'll want be doing by rail, then count travel days necessary to cover all the planned segments. And at the end pass price per day might be higher than local solutions arrangeable even before departure. For instance, what the point to use pass for just legs Salzburg-Munich-Fussen, when you can get group ticket and pay only 29 EUR for up to 5 people travelling whole day in Bavaria etc.

Regarding major cities I should stay: everything is rather easy, just go with nearest big city, like Gdansk with Malbork, Brasov with Bran/Peles, Fussen with Neuschwanstein, Stuttgart with Lichtenstein etc.
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dan94546
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« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2012, 11:50:19 am »

Thank you Tut for all your help...

Can you help me in a logical manner planner this trip. I have a bunch of sites and tourist spots to see. Should I next list all the major cities I'd like to see, investigate transportation to those areas of interest and rate how highly I want to see the location.
Then what would be the next steps to plan a logical rail trip since all my locations are all over the place and get to a point I finally can look into booking eurail passes 3 months before.

Can you give me some basic advice of steps to follow to do this. How would you go about planing a 3 month trip like this how would you go about doing it so everything was planned well. I am also trying to determine if I should get the 15 day flexi pass for eurail or the 3 month one.

Thanks for your help!
Dan
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tUt
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« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2012, 12:33:45 am »

Well, obviously first criteria should be your desire to actually see the place/castle/church etc. Next, at least for us, is to determine your starting/finish destinations. In your case, as far as we understand, you already have Moscow planned as starting destinations, so now you need to determine what(or at least which country) you'll like to be last. In this regard UK seems the most reasonable, since it's geographically on the 'outskirts', thus you wouldn't want to travel Continental Europe->UK just in order to do the reverse trip (UK-Continental Europe) again for catching your flight to US. Plus flights UK-US tend to be ok in terms of pricing, probably even cheaper than something like Eastern Europe-US.
Next step is carefully examine your 'detached' destinations. What we mean is place like Barcelona (comparing to other planned destinations) or Malbork (comparing by land route from Denmark south) etc. Thus those destinations, which are rather far from groups of other places you want to see. One solution here is choose air travel, for instance it perfectly works with Barcelona, since you can reach it cheaply from many places (Rome, Paris etc.), thus if you end up coming south to Rome, then you won't need to get back north, but simply fly from Rome to Barcelona or vice versa - finish with your French destinations, fly to Barcelona and then to Rome in order to continue north (towards central Europe) where most of your destinations are. Other solution is simply to drop destinations which are far enough and/or no easily/cheaply reachable by air. Next you simply organize exact itinerary by planning to visit close destinations first, like moving from the north to south (Norway-Denmark-Germany) or east to west (like Romania-Hungary-Austria-Germany) etc. Actually in the previous post we kind of gave you an idea how we see your itinerary done
Regarding 3 month pass vs. shorter one: we don't know how good deal you can get on such long lasting pass (what's the final cost per day will be), but you need to understand one simple thing - you basically 'burn' pass days when you aren't traveling, but staying in one place (for a few days or a week) for sightseeing/rest/etc., thus you don't travel, but still pay daily pass value. It might be ok if you'll travel a 1000km next day and you daily pass value pays off, but will you actually do it every time? We just don't want you to end with 3 month pass that you've used like 30 days max.
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dan94546
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« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2012, 03:13:45 am »

1) Hey tUt thanks so much for your help! I have included a rough itinerary with a starting date of August 3rd where I arrive by the Trans Siberian in Moscow for tour. The finishing destination will be London UK sometime in November.

2) Would it make most since (it gets a a bit crazy around Prauge to Croatia routing wise I am not sure if it makes the most since, also don't know whatever to use train or plane for some connections):
arrive Moscow > fly to Saint Petersburg > fly to Oslo >  train/regional train or fly? to Copenhagen > train to Colgne > train to Berlin > train to Warsaw > train to Prauge > train/regional train or fly? Budapest > train/regional train or fly? Vienna > train Salzburg > train Rust Germany  > Swiss Pass rail Lausanne > Swiss Pass rail Lucere > Fly Munich >   train/regional train or fly? Plitvice National Park Coratia > Bus Tour Eastern Europe Countries  -- Istanbul >  train/regional train or fly? Athens > fly Egypt > Fly Rome > train Pisa > train Cinque Terre > train Venice >  train/regional train or fly? Seville/ Andulacea >  train/regional train or fly? Barcelona >  train/regional train or fly? Loire Valley > train Paris >  train/regional train or fly? London

3) Should I get a Eurail 15 Day Select Pass for Amsterdam, Germany, Warsaw, Prauge, Vienna, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France  ?


[START: August 3rd 2012]

Moscow, Russia (3 days | Arrival Date: 08/03/2012 - Departure Date: 08/06/2012)
- City Tour
- Kremlin
- Red Square
- Lenin's Mausoleum
- Garden of Fallen Monuments
- Tagansky Protected Command Point
- Saint Basil's Cathedral
- Krasnaya ploshchad
- Day Trip: Kuskovo Estate & Palace Museum
- Day Trip: Ostankino Palace
- Museum of Soviet Arcade Games (Optional)
- Victory Park (optional)
- Gorky Park (optional)
- the Nikulin circus on Tsvetnoi Bulvar (metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar), and the new circus near the University (optional)
- Japanese garden in Botanichesky Sad (optional)
- Patriarshi ponds area (optional)
- Kolomenskoye (optional)
- Bunker-42 (optional)

Saint Petersburg, Russia (3 days | Arrival Date: 08/06/2012 - Departure Date: 08/09/2012)
- City Tour
- Saint Isaac's Cathedral
- Church of the Savior Blood
- The Hermitage
- Peter and Paul's Fortress
- Summer Palace Peter the Great
- Day Trip: Peterhof Palace
- Day Trip: Winter Palace Russia
- Field of Mars (optional)
- Battleship Aurora (optional)
- Smolny Cathedral (optional) 
- Norwegian air to Oslo Flight 

Oslo, Norway (8 days | Arrival Date: 08/09/2012 - Departure Date: 08/16/2012)
- Visit Borther
- City Tour
- Breheimsenteret
- Fjord Safari en Flam
- Fjord Tours, Bergen, norway
- Flåm, Norway
- Jostedal glacier
- sognefjord
- solvorn
- Geiranger Fjord Cruise, waterfalls and age-old mountains.
- Mo I Rana Svartisen Glacier, hike to Norway's second largest glacier
- Seige of Leningrad memorial
- Visit Frogner Park and the Vigeland sculptures
- Fløibanen
- Nærøyfjorden
- Glacier hikes on the Nigardsbreen Glacier, Jostedal / Luster
- The Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskipshuset)
- Eu-Trans Norway (museum of transportation)
- Jotunheimen National Park
- Day Trip: TusenFryd Amusement Park, Vinterbro, Norway (optional)

Copenhagen, Denmark (3 days | Arrival Date: 08/16/2012 - Departure Date: 08/19/2012)
- City Tour by local guide Jan
- Canal Tour
- Trivolli Amusement Park (Full Day)
- The Botanical Gardens Copenhagen
- The Museum of National History
- Christianborg Palace (optional)
- Amalienborg Palace (optional)
- the Resistance Museum (optional)
- Day Trip: Fredensborg Palace, Denmark

Amsterdam, Netherlands (4 days | Arrival Date: 08/19 [or] 8/20/2012 - Departure Date: 08/25/2012)
- City Tour
- Day Trip: Rotterdam, visit friends
- Boat Tour
- Joy Ride Tours
- Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments
- bike the Dutch countryside & city
- the Resistance Museum
- the Royal Palace
- Sex museum (optional)
- Anne Frank House ambsterdam
- Erotic Museum (optional)
- Red Light District
- Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden) Amsterdam
- Day Trip: Keukenhof Gardens, tulips,etc... Lisse, Netherlands (optional)
- Day Trip: Efteling Amusement Park, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands (optional)

Cologne, Germany (4 days | Arrival Date: 08/ /2012 - Departure Date: 08/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Cathedral
- Day Trip: Phantasialand Amusement Park (Brühl, Germany)
- Day Trip: Burg Eltz Castle, Münstermaifeld, Germany
- Day Trip: Heidelberg Castle, Heidelberg, Germany

Berlin, Germany (4 days | Arrival Date: 08/ /2012 - Departure Date: 08/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Boat Tour
- Gay museum
- Brandenburg Gate
- Reichstag (Parliament)
- Checkpiont Charlie
- Berlin Wall
- Potsdamer Platz Arkaden
- East-Side-Gallery
- Prater Garden
- Berlin holocaust museum (optional)
- The Jewish Museum (optional)
- Woerlitzer Landscape Park berlin (Erholungspark Marzahn)
- Day Trip: Schloss Charlottenburg berlin UBan west, Charlottenburg, Altes Schloss (Optional)
- Day Trip: Potsdam, using subway, castles:  Neues Palace, see Sony Center

Warsaw, Poland (1 day | Arrival Date: 08/ /2012 - Departure Date: 08/ /2012)
- Auschwitz & Krakow Salt Mine (Wieliczka Salt Mine)

Prauge, Czech Republic (3 days | Arrival Date: 08/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Charles bridge
- Prauge Castle
- Petrin Hill
- Prauge Gardens
- Nebozizek
- Žižkov Television Tower
- Prauge Museums
- Wallenstein Palace Gardens prauge
- Day Trip: Schloss Pillnitz, Castle, Dresden, Germany
- Day Trip: Residenzschloss, Castle, Dresden, Germany
- Day Trip: Bojnice Castle, Bojnice, Slovakia (Zamok Bijnice)
   
Budapest, Hungary (3 days | Arrival Date: 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012) -- Optional?
- City Tour
- Royal Palace
- Matthias Church
- Memento Park
- Heroes' Square
- Budavári palota
- Széchenyi Gyógyfürdo
- Széchenyi Lánchíd
- Great Market Hall
- Rudas Baths (optional -- best one?)
- Rácz Thermal Bath (optional -- best one?)
- House of Terror
- Széchenyi thermal bath (optional -- best one?)
- Fisherman's Bastion

Vienna, Austria (1 day | Arrival Date: 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Palace and Gardens Schönbrunn, Schönbrunner, Vienna
- Cathedral of Vienna
- Naschmarkt (market)
- Stiftsgymnasium Melk
- Hofburg Palace, Vienna
- Belvedere Palace, Vienna
- Liechtenstein Museum & Gardens, Vienna
- Haus Der Musik Museum (optional)
- Tandem Paragliding -See Austria from a totally different angle or white water rafting the tyrol  (optional)

Salzburg, Austria (1 day | Arrival Date: 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Hohensalzburg Fortress, Castle, Salzburg, on the hill
- Hellbrunn palace water garden
- Mirabell Palace & gardens

Rust, Germany(4 days | 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012 )
- Day Trip: Europa Amusement Park, Rust Germany
- Day Trip: Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Castle, Orschwiller, France
- Day Trip: Burg Hohenzollern Castle, Burg Hohenzollern, Deutschland
- Day Trip: Lichtenstein Castle, Lichtenstein, Germany

Lausanne, Switzerland, Lake Genva, couchsurf free room  (2 Day | 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- Swiss Pass Rail Pass discounted over Eurail prices offers free museums and attractions and Jungfrau discounts (get ticket counter isa student card)
- Blonay-Chamby Railroad
- Boat Ride lake Genva
- Lake Geneva and visit Chillon castle

Lucerne, Switzerland (3 days | Arrival Date: 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- Day Trip: Jungfrau Cog Railway, Glacier Express
   > Day Trip: Oberhofn Castle, Jungfrau, Lake Thun
   > Day Trip: Thun Chastle, Jungfrau, Lake Thun
- Day Trip: Kapellbrücke Castle, Lucerne, Switzerland

Munich, Germany (4 days | Arrival Date: 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012)
- City Tour
- bike ride, get bike train stations
- Munich Spa
- Schloss Nymphenburg
- Biergarten Viktualienmarkt
- Hofbräuhaus
- Deutsches Museum (science museum in park)
- Saint Peter's Church
- Nymphenburg, Castle, Munich, Germany
- Frauenkirche - Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady
- Marienplatz City Center
- Residenz Münich
- Englischer Garten
- Day Trip: Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany
   > Hohenschwangau, Castle, Schwangau, Germany
   > Side Trip: Tegelberg Summer luge Roller Coaster, Schwangau, Germany, near Neuschwanstein Castle
   > Tegelberg mountain cable car
- Day Trip: Linderhof Castle, Ettal, Germany

Plitvice National Park, Croatia (2 days | 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012 )
- National Park
- Day Trip: Predjama Castle, Predjama, Slovenia

Ottom Treck Tour(7 Days | 09/ /2012 - Departure Date: 09/ /2012 )
- Split, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Sofia, Plovdiv, Istanbul (optional)

Istanbul, Turkey (3 days | Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 10/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque)
- Galata Whirling Dervish Hall of Sufi Mevlevi
- Topkapi Palace
- Hagia Sophia
- Hagia Sophia Mosque
- Yildiz Park
- Suleymaniye Hammam, Thermal Bath (optional -- best one?)
- Sultanahmet Cami, Thermal Bath  (optional -- best one?)
- EYÜP SULTAN CAMII, Thermal Bath (optional -- best one?)
- Rüstem Pasha Mosque
- Miniaturk
- Spice Bazaar
- Gülhane Park
- Grand Bazaar
- Yerebatansarayi
- Dolmabahçe Palace
- old section constananopal roman square hippadrome
- old town fishwitch
- aiasophia museum

Athens, Greece (3 days | Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 10/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Lycabettus Hill
- Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Acropolis Museum
- Stoa of Attalos
- Parthenon
- Temple of Hephaestus
- national garden (optional)
- monataraki
- placa (optional)
- panopoleic
- Parnitha National Park (optional)
- The National Garden of Athens (optional)
- free bike tour of the old area of Athens --saturday/ Sunday (optional)

Egypt (5 days |Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 10/ /2012 )
- Precinct of Amun-Re
- Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Colossos of Memnon
- Mohammed Mosque, Berket an Nasr, Qism El-Salam, Cairo, Egypt
- Cairo, Ismailia, Qasr an Nile, Cairo, Egyptian Museum, Sound and Light Show, Citadel, Alabaster Mosque, and Sultan Husan Mosque
- Giza: Guided tour of the Great Pyramids and Sphinx
- Aswan: View the Unfinished Obelisk and High Dam; Felucca sailing; See the Botanical Gardens
- Nile Cruise: View Kom Ombo, the temple of two gods
- Edfu: Visit Temple to Horus; Horse and Buggy ride

Rome, Italy (5 days | Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 10/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Vatican City
- Sistine Chapel
- St Peter's Basilica
- Trevi foutain
- Spanish steps
- Piazza Venezia
- Relais Spanish Steps
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Roman Forum
- Roman ampateater
- Colosseum
- Pompeii (optional)
- Day Trip: Borgo di Castel Gandolfo, Castle, Castel Gandolfo, Italy (optional)
- Day Trip: Villa d'Este, Castle (optional)
- Day Trip: Frascati Cathedral & Town, Frascati Roma, Italy (optional)

Pisa, Italy (Half Day | Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 10/ /2012)
- Leaning Tower
- Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, Square on the Lungarno, river Arno, Pisa, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy (4 days | Arrival Date: 10/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Walk between two cities
   > Hikes
- Beach
   > Guvano Beach

Venice, Italy (4 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012)
- City Tour
- Ride Gondola
- Rialto market venice
- Piazza San Marco
- Bridge of Sighs
- Dojo secret passage way tour venice
- Vaparetto bus tour
- Villa Pisani, Stra Venezia, Italy (optional)
- Day Trip: Garland, Amusement Park, Verona, Italy (optional)

Barcelona, Spain (3 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012)
- City Tour
- La Sagrada Familia
- Casa milar
- Gaudis park quell
- Hotel Gargallo Gótico,
- Casa Batlló
- Laboquera Barcelona food market
- Montjuïc barcelona Bus 55 or bus Parc de Montjuïc/funicular de Montjuïc, then 10min walk. Follow signs to Mirador de Montjuïc
- Day Trip: North Figures, Dali museum, cool stuff in town

Loire Valley, Tours, France (3 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012 )
- Day Trip: Château de Villandry, Villandry, France
- Day Trip: Chenonceau Castle, Chenonceaux, France
- Day Trip: Chambord Castle, Chambord, France
- Day Trip: Futuroscope Amusement park, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, France

Paris, France (5 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012 )
- City Tour
   > Get Paris Pass to save $$
- Arc De Triomphe
- Champs-Élysées, Paris, France
- Cathédrale Notre Dame
- Paris sewers
- Louvre
- Le Grand Palais
- Les Catacombes
- Musée d'Orsay
- Tuileries Garden (Gardens Near Eiffiel- Like Central Park)
- Eiffiel Tower
- The Jardin des Plantes, in the west of the city, not far from the Roland Garros tennis stadium (optional)
- Les Buttes de Chaumont (gardens), Rue Laumière, (Secret view Paris, Metro's Line 5, get off at Laumière, Climb up the hill around lake, view point.(optional).
- Musée du quai Branly gardens paris (optional)
- Day Trip: Fontainebleau, Castle, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France
- Day Trip: Versailles, Castle, France

London, UK (5 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012 )
- City Tour
   > Get London Pass to save $$
- Big Ben
- Thams Cruise
- Tower of London
- Beckingham Palace
- London Eye
- Borough Market
- Highgate cemetary
- Leicester Square Box Office
   > Theater Show (optional)
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
- Kensington Palace
- Harrods
- Churchill War Rooms | Imperial War Museums
- Hyde Park
- Houses of Parliament
- St James's Square
- London Museum
- The National Gallery, Museum of London, Natural History, Design, Tate Modern Museums (optional)
- Day Trip: Leeds Castle (optional)
- Day Trip: Brighton Pier & Royal Pavilion (optional)
   - Museum of Penny Slot Machines
- Day Trip: Hampton Court Palace (optional)
- Day Trip: Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK (optional)
- Day Trip: Oxford, UK (optional)
- Day Trip: Pembroke Castle  (optional)
- Day Trip: Bath
   > The Roman bath
   > Bath City Center
   > bizare bath bath
   > bath museum of costume
   > Abbey
   > Boat/ Canal tour
   > Stonehenge tour, A344 Road, Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7DE
- Day Trip: Alton Towers Amusement Park, west of london, 7 Cross and Pillory Lane, Alton GU34 1HL (optional)
- Day Trip: thorpe-park, Amusement Park, Surrey
- Day Trip: Warwick Castle, North of London, Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 4QU (optional)
- Day Trip: Blenheim Palace, & Gardens Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (Half a Day | optional)

Iceland Air Stop Over to NYC (4 days | Arrival Date: 11/ /2012 - Departure Date: 11/ /2012)
- City Tour (grey bus tour, or 4x4 jeep tours)
- modern Hallgrimskirkja, the church of Hallgrímur
- Day Trip: Gullfoss & Godafoss Waterfalls
- Day Trip: Seljalandsfoss & Skógarfoss Waterfall
- Day Trip: Hraunfossar Waterfall
- Day Tour: Dynjandi (Fjallfoss) Waterfall
- Blue Lagoon Thermal Baths

[END: Novemember 2012]
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« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2012, 03:27:03 pm »

Ok, now (when you already have a particular route in mind) we can help, so:
Moscow > fly to Saint Petersburg: flights between Moscow and St.Peterburg (especially when tickets bought in advance) actually cheaper, then fancy overnight or high-speed daytime "Sapsan" trains. So it does make sense to choose flying.
Saint Petersburg > fly to Oslo: as a rule cheapest offers here is by AirBaltic airlines (with change in Riga) or sometime Estonia Air (via Tallinn). Or, in case you have time, you can catch bus from St.Peterburg to either Tallinn or Riga, while already from there fly either by companies mentioned above or low-cost RyanAir/WizzAir
Oslo > train or fly? to Copenhagen: actually Norwegian flights tend to be rather cheap, but also you can definitely use train. You can get Minipris offer ticket Oslo-Gothenburg for as low as 199 NOK on Norway railways website, while already from Gothenburg to Copenhagen it's not a problem to catch discounted ticket for as low as 200 SEK (this time via Swedish railways website). But also Oslo-Copenhagen route might a candidate for pass usage, since even with mentioned above discounted fare, the total sum is rather big, thus daily value of pass should be less.
Copenhagen > to Cologne: two option: a) either go to DB website and purchase in advance discounted Europa-Spezial ticket (from 39 EUR); b) if you don't want to bother, then this segment is another candidate for pass day
Cologne > train to Berlin: once again as above either DB discounted ticket purchased in advance (from 29 EUR) or pass
Berlin > train to Warsaw: same thing either Europa-Spezial discounted ticket (from 29 EUR) or pass
Warsaw > train to Prague: here it's a bit more complicated, since for the daytime train you can actually buy discounted 19 EUR ticket (unfortunately can be purchase only in Poland in advance, thus not really an option for you). While for the overnight train it's basically only about full fare, which is almost an 80 EUR (+potential sleeper reservation), thus it makes this segment another candidate for the pass day
Prague > train or fly? Budapest: direct flights are ridiculously expensive on this route, so train it is. With train it actually rather easy, since you can purchase discounted 19 EUR ticket online via Czech railways eShop
Budapest > train or fly? Vienna: they do have few flights here, but since it's <3 hours by train it doesn't seem like a good idea to fly. Train tickets bought in advance start from only 13 EUR (http://elvira.mav-start.hu)
Vienna > train Salzburg: in case of in advance purchase you can catch SparSchiene ticket for as low as 9 EUR (OeBB website), but if you don't have a chance to do that, then you can always travel for 23 EUR any time using WestBahn
Salzburg > train Rust: closest train station to Rust is Ringheim and discounted Sparpreis ticket Salzburg-Ringsheim can be bought on DB website for as low as 29 EUR. Or another candidate for pass day.
Rust > Lausanne: Sparpreis discounted ticket Ringsheim-Lausanne can be bought for as low as 29 EUR on DB website or again candidate for the pass day.
Lausanne > Lucern: full fare ticket here is rather expensive 61 CHF, but there might be SuperSaver discounted tickets available for your dates. If not also a candidate for a pass day.
Lucern > Fly Munich: there is no airport in Luzern, the closest one is in Zurich, but again doubt it actually makes sense to fly here, since train Zurich-Munich takes only 4-4:30 hours. Discounted ticket Luzern-Munich start from 39 EUR on DB website
Munich > Plitvice National Park Croatia: flights are a bit expensive here, while train ticket again can be bought for as low as 39 EUR (in case of in advance purchase on DB website). Also a candidate for a pass day.   
Bus Tour Eastern Europe Countries: have no idea what exactly you mean here, so can't really comment
Istanbul > train or fly? Athens: currently no international trains run to/from Greece, so it's either bus or flight, the later can be rather cheap (Olympic Air, Aegean, Turkish airlines etc.)
Athens > fly Egypt: not a big choice here, so either Olympic Air or EgyptAir for Athens-Cairo direct route
Rome > train Pisa: full fare ticket for regional train cost just 18,15 EUR and can be purchased any time, even before departure. Also there are discounted MINI tickets available for faster connections, but those require purchase in advance via TrenItalia website
Pisa > train Cinque Terre: don't know exactly were you plan to go, but route like Pisa- La Spezia cost just 6,4 EUR (regional train)
Cinque Terre > train Venice: again not sure from where exactly you plan to start, but pretty much same options - either regional train (with purchase of tickets already in Italy) or MINI discounted tickets bought in advance online. Also might be a candidate for a pass.
Venice > train or fly? Seville/ Andulacea: definitely by air, it will be much cheaper. For instance RyanAir has budget flights from Venice to Seville.
Seville/Andulacea > train or fly? Barcelona: again RyanAir is cheapest and fastest way in case of Seville-Barcelona segment
Barcelona > Loire Valley: probably best and cheapest will be just fly from Barcelona to Paris and already from there get by train to the destination you want. Budget Barcelona to Paris flight options are numerous (RyanAir, Vueling, EasyJet etc.)
Paris > train/regional train or fly? London: well, EuroStar train is really expensive here, so probably by bus (http://www.eurolines.fr/en/) or by air (EasyJet, CityJet and even British Airways) is much more preferable, unless you particularly want to experience a train ride under la Manche


Should I get a Eurail 15 Day Select Pass for Amsterdam, Germany, Warsaw, Prauge, Vienna, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France?
Above we tried to note where pass might be an option or at least should be considered as one. In most cases it either or option, thus if not purchase discounted tickets in advance, then pass makes sense.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2013, 09:06:05 pm by tUt » Logged
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