Travel
Want to criss-cross France, Poland and Portugal by rail? Here are seven key points to keep in mind…
PASS OR NOT TO PASS Decide in advance if you want to book an allencompassing rail pass – called the Eurail – or individual ‘destination-to-destination’ tickets. Both have pros and cons.
Passes can be pan-European or just single-country and range in duration from five days to one month. There’s also an option of ‘Continuous’ passes, which cover a set number of successive days, or ‘Flexi’, whereby you pick and choose days.
If you’re going to rack up some serious mileage, then passes are better value. But for trips totalling, say, ten train rides, destination-to-destination fares usually end up costing less in total if booked in advance.
Bear in mind, you may be charged numerous other costs. In France, Italy and Spain, most long-distance trips require passholders to pay additional reservation fees of up to $70. Also, check your pass covers travelling on the Eurostar – the train that travels through the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris. It is also recommended to reserve seats two months in advance during the
peak travel periods of April to August and during December.
OVERNIGHTING? Sleeping on a train saves you the price of a hotel; it is also a rare, thrilling experience. You could drift off in Dresden but wake up in Warsaw.
Cabins – both sleeper (private) and couchette (shared) – offer flat beds, while many trains have recliner seats.
Note: A nice bonus is that a direct overnight train uses up only one Flexi pass travel day (not two), as long as you board after 7pm and don’t change trains before 4am.
TRAVEL LIGHT Cumbersome trunks and train carriages are not good friends – baggage racks inevitably fill up quickly and aisles always seem too narrow.
The trick is to have as little luggage as possible. Aim for a rucksack and/or wheelie suitcase that is slim enough to fit every gangway or overhead rack.
KNOW YOUR STATIONS Getting off at Genoa (Genova in Italian)? So is that Genova Piazza Principe or Genova Brignole? Or maybe Genova Quarto dei Mille? How about Genova Quinto? Perhaps Genova Nervi?
Most European cities are like this. Double check your station’s exact name and – as lots of platforms lack signs – those of the two preceding stations.
FOOD TACTICS Dining in restaurant cars is a classic experience, especially if that sirloin steak and glass of claret coincide with soaring Alpine vistas or a run along the Danube. It can also be costly, as can marked-up café cars. So think about taking a packed lunch or two.
LEARN KEY LINGO On top of the usual vital vocab like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, train travellers should always know a few glossary terms for emergencies. ‘Platform’ is a good one, as are ‘station’, ‘stop’ and ‘ticket’.
TRAIN LAG You’re sitting down the whole time, so train travel can hardly be tiring, right? Wrong: air pressure and momentum exert their own energy, causing a jet lag-like effect. Mitigate this by allowing for ample time between journeys to rest up.