A German train pulls into station. Photo by Francois Roche.
It is that time of year when many travellers start sketching out their plans for 2009 trips to Europe. And for travel within Europe, many of the continent’s budget airlines will unveil their summer 2009 schedules in the coming weeks. Book early for the best discounts.
Plan ahead: Rail travel for next year
Rail travelers can still take a while refining their travel plans for summer 2009, for although many of the schedules are now becoming available, tickets do not generally go on sale until two to four months prior to travel.
The extension of the Europa-Spezial scheme to encompass many more countries means that canny travellers can now plan long treks across Europe with rail fares that greatly undercut even the lowest air fares.
Europa-Spezial: Great value for money
Europa-Spezial fares can be booked online at the German Railways website. Tickets generally go on sale 90 days prior to travel, so bookings can already be made for January 2009.
Choose your trains carefully and you can travel from Budapest to Cologne for just €39 one way – and you can include stopovers on the way (each for a maximum of 48 hours). We chose a Budapest – Prague – Berlin – Cologne routing, with en route stops for two nights in both Prague and Berlin, and found plenty of availability for mid-January 2009 at the lead-in €39 fare.
Other gems there for the taking are €29 one-way from Hamburg to Vienna (via Prague), €39 from Paris or Copenhagen to any station in Germany, and a €39 fare that will take you from any station in Belgium or the Netherlands to Basel on the Swiss border or to Salzburg in Austria.
First class options: Worth considering, even for Cheapos
If the lowest fare for your selected route is already sold out, you can still buy a Europa-Spezial ticket, but it will be priced at a higher tariff tier (e.g. €49, €69, and up). Europa-Spezial fares are also available for first class, and these are really worth checking.
Berlin to Vienna (either direct or with a one or two night stopover in Dresden) for €49 first class sounds almost too good to be true. If you find little availability for Europa-Spezial fares in second class, just have a look to see if the cheapest first class option is still available. First class sells out less quickly, and we have found many examples of journeys where remaining first class availability is cheaper than heavily-booked second class.
The great thing about these Europa-Spezial fares is that, subject to availability at the time of booking, you really can use them on the fast express services. The only real snag is that you must commit yourself to date and time of travel, but at such rock bottom fares that is scarcely a burden.
The new Europa-Spezial fares, along with long-standing promotions like discounted TGV fares in France, might really tip the balance as you weigh up whether it is worth buying a rail pass for 2009.
Hi, Three of us have planned a trip to Europe from 27th June 2010 to the 10th July 2010. Our itenarary will take us from London to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Venice,Vienna, Berlin and back to Paris and London. We wish to travel extensively by rail. Please help us make a schedule that would enable us to touch all or most of the cities as planned above and at reasonably priced rates. We are all adults above 40 yrs of age and most likey do not qualify for any discounted fares. Please also inform us when and where rail bookings could be done in the UK. Thanks.
Hi, I am going to Italy in about a month and a half and I am trying to figure out the best way to travel by train. I am thinking of flying into Czech bc my girlfriend has family there, then either flying or taking the train to Italy (which ever is cheaper). I guess my question is… Is it cheaper/smarter to buy a pass that would allow me to travel from Czech to Italy and be able to train throughout Italy or should I buy one plane or train ticket from Czech to Italy then buy an Italy pass or just buy a 3 country pass even though I would only be coming from Czech and staying in Italy afterwards. Sorry I know this sounds confusing but I am really just going to be in italy for several months after leaving Czech and I don’t want to pay for something that I am not going to use! Thank you if you could help me solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it!
Help! i’m trying to figure out a specical ticket from Zurich up to Brussels, but despite your kind advice the only zurich station that appears is ‘ZRH zurich airport’. any tips?
Sorry – I’ve figured out the answer now, ignore me. Turns out its Zürich with an umlaut
Helen (above)
Zurich to Brussels is a very easy journey, straight through on one train which runs twice daily. This is a route on which there are rarely many discount options, and I fear you may need to resign yourself to paying the full one way fare of 153 Swiss francs (about €106). Travel time 7 hours. We would be very interested in hearing if you find anything cheaper on either of those twice daily direct trains.
There are some cheaper options, but they take longer. The first is SNCF-TGV to Paris then onward by Thalys. An awkward change of station in Paris.
The second is DB ICE to Frankfurt-Main (or another interchange point in Germany) then to Brussels. Book 3 months in advance, avoid the peak trains, and you can book this for €78 (using the Europa-Spezial Schweiz and the Europa-Spezial Belgian fares). Travel time 9 hours.
If cost is really of the esssence and you can book well in advance, an even cheaper variant would be to buy the Europa-Spezial Schweiz fare from Zurich to Aachen for €39, connect at Aachen onto Thalys and pre-purchase a Smoove Toutes Gares Belges ticket to Liege for €15. You can use Thalys from Aachen to Liege then continue from Liege to Brussels by local trains using that same ticket. Total fare Zurich to Brussels would be €54. Travel time 11 hours.
This is one of those case you, as the proverb says, ‘you pays your money and takes your choice’. We would say the full fare for the direct train is not bad. €106 for seven hours of sheer entertainment on one of the finest daytime trips that Europe has to offer. This is a really lovely journey that takes in Alsace vineyard aplenty plus the Ardennes hills.
Nicky and Susanne
Hello, I will be stay in Salzburg for three weeks during August and I would like to take a trip to Budapest and Prague. What is the cheapest train (regional or intercity) to these directions?
Thanks in advance,
Toni
Hi,
I plan to travel from Halberstadt in Germany to London using the London Spezial, if available in May 2011. Is is possible to take a break of 40 hours in Brussels or does this only apply to German stops?
Regards,
Kevin
Kevin (above)
As tickets for May 2011 will only be on sale in the upcoming weeks, we can only now venture to answer your question. The DB London Spezial technically excludes a Bruxelles stopover (in the relevant fare rule), but in practice the online booking system allows it. Tickets are on sale already for April 2011, and looking at a hypothetical journey from Halberstadt to London on a random date – we chose 9th April – the one way fare is €49. Leave Halberstadt around 1pm, change Hannover and Köln and arrive Bruxelles that same evening. 40 hour stop, just as you suggest. Continue two days later for a short afternoon hop top London. Tickets for your May 2011 journey will be on sale next month, but we judge it unlikely that the system will now change to preclude a Bruxelles stopover. On which date precisely will you travel?
Nicky and Susanne
Hi Nicky and Susanne,
Thank you for the information.
We plan to leave Halberstadt on 18th May but an invitation to Hamburg has meant we will not be able to stop in Brussels after all.
I appreciate all the work you do for people like me. Hopefully this information will be helpful to someone else.
Regards,
Kevin
You could probably use the Deutsche Bahn’s London-Spezial to travel from Halberstadt via Hamburg to Brussels and London. You may not need to buy a separate ticket from Halberstadt to Hamburg.
Dear Young Ladies,
We 70 year olds are ipressed with your data and the responses. Annette and I will visit Rome for a month in Sept/Oct. 2011. A quirk in our residence booking requires us to vacate for 4 days (/23- 9/25) and we’d like to visit Florence during that time. We’ve just begun to explore your web site(s) and were wondering if you have advise for two frisky oldies who want to travel from Rome to Florence and back by train…? We don’t need first class but aren’t cheapo(s) either. Any Advise?
Thanks, Ralph
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For Ralph and Annette
From Rome to Florence and back is such an easy journey. The fast AV trains are really too fast to catch more than a glimpse of the scenery, and the new fast line has too many tunnels for our taste. So why not take one of the older-style InterCity services, of which there are several departures each day? The journey from Rome to Florence by these IC trains takes 3 hours and costs €30 one way. (Compare the fast AV services which take 90 mins and cost €45 each way).
For a real Italian train experience, one which would be really good fun, take the direct slow train from Rome to Florence. These services run every two hours and take four hours. You will see much more of everyday Italy from these slower trains which stop off at many little local stations along the way.
Do hope this helps.
Nicky and Susanne
Which low cost airlines or train do I use from : London ->Amsterdam ->munich ->Praque ->Vienna ->Venice ->Rome ->Zurich -> Nice ->Paris ?
Thank you !
Hi friends,
I reside in asian country, and not familiar with european transport system. If anyone could help me find the cheapest way to go from Paris to Bern/Lucernce/Zurich, i’d really appreciate it =) thanks