Photos courtesy hidden europe magazine

At ten o’clock this morning, as on most days during the summer, one of the sleek white Ålandstrafiken ships edges out of Galtby harbour in southwest Finland for an eleven hour cruise around the Åland Islands. This is one of Europe’s most deliciously beautiful boat journeys, as the ship picks a route through the dense island archipelago that lies between Finland and Sweden, stopping off along the way at some of Europe’s remotest communities. Places like wild and windswept Kökar.

Free ferries for all!

Scandinavia may be famously pricey, but Cheapos who stray off the well-trodden tourist trails will still find some bargain deals. Take the Åland Islands where passengers using the local inter-island ferry services travel entirely for free. You can put together multiple-stop itineraries that cruise from southwest Finland out through the islands and back again. That eleven-hour cruise from Galtby is free. Not a cent!

Of course, canny travellers stop off in the Ålands. If you ask us, the two best islands are Brändö and Kökar, both worth a day or two for their quiet beauty.

Photos courtesy hidden europe magazine

Cheap snuff too!

The Åland Islands are Swedish-speaking, politically linked to Finland, but have a high level of local autonomy. Once nominally part of Russia, the islanders resisted being fully assimilated into the Tsarist Empire.

Today it is that same spirit of independence that guides their relationship with Finland and the European Union. Åland plays the great game of integration but on its own terms. So the canny islanders have negotiated a smart series of tax breaks, which means that Swedes flock to the islands for cheap spirits, ciggies, and snuff. Yes, snuff (locally called snus), for which Swedes have a particular affection.

The Ålands are a place to linger. The archipelago is beguilingly beautiful, and a quirky geo-political oddity. The Ålands have their own postage stamps and many other marks of autonomy. Plus those free ferries. A rare combination! You can read more about the Åland Islands on the hidden europe website.

This is the fourth in a summer series of postings by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries. The Berlin-based duo are the editors of hidden europe magazine. Cheapos can see the contents of the July 2008 issue of hidden europe by clicking here.

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A few thoughts on great travel deals from the editors of hidden europe magazine.

BERLIN — We are often amazed at how much money North American visitors to Europe pay for rail passes, especially when, with a little advance planning, travelers can often reap great savings through pre-purchase of point-to-point tickets. These are not tickets marketed with hefty surcharges by overseas agents, but rather the promotional fares available directly from the various rail operators in Europe, usually through online sales.

But the question is not simply one of rail pass vs. individual tickets. It is also always worth looking at local rail pass offerings.

For Example, Czech Out This Deal

Eurail offers a pass that affords eight days unlimited first class travel in the Czech Republic for $359. Better to wait till you arrive in the Czech Republic, and for less money you can buy a pass that affords an entire month’s travel.

And for those who think an entire month in the Czech Republic is a bit much, the Czech Railways sell a one-week pass, too. Try $80 for second class travel for a week, and a small premium of about $16 more will secure first-class comfort, if that’s important to you. You can check those prices here (in Czech crowns).

Slow Travel Dividends

Canny Cheapos search around for bargain local passes, and they are to be found in most parts of Europe.

Hats off to five friends who visited us in Berlin yesterday evening, having traveled all the way from Vienna by local trains. Vienna to Passau on Saturday, stopping off overnight in the Danube town, then continuing from Passau up to Berlin on Sunday. Yes, it took a while, about 16 hours traveling in all, compared with 10 hours on the fast train. But fun they said, and a journey full of those happy insights into rural life that makes slow trains so appealing.

What did they pay? Just €63 in all. That’s not per person, but for all of them! Less than €13 a head for a big leap across Europe. This was easily done with a smart combination of the Austrian Einfach-Raus Ticket and the German Schönes-Wochenende Ticket (Happy Weekend Ticket), both one-day rail passes sold in the countries concerned. Totally flexible. No need to pre-book, and you can travel at will on all trains except the fast express services.

British Bargains

Regional passes are available for travel in many parts of Britain and, for visitors focusing on just one region of the country, they are a fine deal, knocking spots off BritRail prices.

For example, if Wales is your focus, and you plan on having a week in the principality, why pay $329 for a four-day BritRail pass, when you can pick up a Freedom of Wales ticket for just $140 – four days travel within Wales and the nearby border areas of England within an eight-day period. What’s more, the locally-purchased pass is valid on almost all bus services in Wales, too. That’s not the case with BritRail.

Similar passes, usually priced between $100 and $150 are available for most other UK regions (eg. SW England, the North), typically offering four days of travel in any eight-day period or sometimes travel on seven consecutive days.

Get on board

Why not research local rail passses by checking out the national websites of the following European rail operators? Do check that that you really are using the “official” national rail websites and not a site developed by a third-party vendor or agency.

Each of the companies mentioned below has good local railpasses that can all offer much better deals that Eurail prices:

www.oebb.at (ÖBB, Austria)

www.cd.cz (CD, Czech Rep)

www.vr.f (VR, Finland)

www.bahn.de (Die Bahn, Germany)

www.nationalrail.co.uk (all rail operators in Great Britain)

www.mav.hu (MAV, Hungary)

www.irishrail.ie (Iarnród Éireann, Ireland)

www.ns.nl (Dutch Railways)

www.pkp.pl (PKP, Poland)

www.sbb.ch (Switzerland)

This is the latest in a summer series of postings by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries. The Berlin-based duo are the editors of hidden europe magazine. Cheapos can preview the contents of the July 2008 issue of hidden europe by clicking here.

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