Europe group posting on GLOBOsapiens

Europass

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annabel Joined: Dec 07 Points: 8 Posts: 2 Posted: 2007-12-09 21:08:00    We are looking at getting the 5 country pass with 5 days over 2 months because flying from Preveza Greece to England is so expensive, and we might as well see some countryside. The question is, we will travel through our 5 countries getting to Britain, can we re cross those same 5 countries to return, or will that be the start of another 5 countries, ie if we leave a country can we re enter it and still be the same country, one of the 5. What a complicated question. Reply    Reply with quote    Contact annabel   rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2007-12-10 05:26:00    "Europass" is now the term used for job applications for Europeans within Europe. The new term for the rail deal is "Eurail Select Pass". One may zig-zag or backtrack within the pre-selected number of adjoining countries within the selected time. The deal includes some ferries which you might need to get to Italy and reduce the number of countries you travel through between Greece and the UK. http://www.eurail.com/countries_select_pass Please confirm the above by using the contact service at: http://www.eurail.com/contact_eurail NOTE: The UK is not part of the packages and an extra ticket will be needed to get across the English Channel and travel there! I find this much more expensive than flying (use a discount airline?) but yet as you say, rather enjoy the countryside and stop at some cities on the way for many inter-cultural experiences. --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan   annabel Joined: Dec 07 Points: 8 Posts: 2 Posted: 2007-12-12 10:01:00    Thank you, invaluable information and sites. Yes did find a pretty good price on plane, and lots more would be spent along the way on a train. Perhaps another time, seem to be some fish hooks in this rail pass thing. Reply    Reply with quote    Contact annabel   rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2008-04-10 08:09:00    I must adjust my negative view above. Checking rates for a group of students visiting Germany this summer, I see the "Eurail" deals have improved, specially for the younger generation. We also discussed the advantages: - night trains save hotel costs - travel not effected much by bad weather - fast and safe - stations are very near city centers, airports are way out - airports require reservation and checking in time. Just hop onto trains - no seatbelts required, one can 'party' :-) - connections between major cities in one-hour tact - with a pass, no hassle of getting tickets - meet other travellers and share plans/experiences The pass is restricted to travelling a certain amount of days. This is not problem in Germany, if you travel after 9am and exclude inter-regional express trains, a "Länder-ticket" costs a total of about €30 for a group of up to 5 passengers and valid till the 5am the next day. You can organise to join a group for free at the station by asking other travellers but negotiating ON the train is forbidden. You will need such a ticket for each individual state of Germany but for example Munich to Freilasing (near Salzburg) would be a saving. The main train stations ("Hauptbahnhof") are always situated a few walking minutes from the city center ("Zentrum" or "Fussgängerzone"). There are thus a lot of connections by city rail ("S-Bahn"), the underground network ("U-Bahn"), trams or busses. Every Bahnhof has an information centre ("Auskunft") for travellers. Get free maps and brochures of points of interest and ask about current events. Ask if your eurail pass includes city transportation, a lot of deals do. Otherwise ask what day-tickets for inner-city transportation, these are practicle, hop-on hop-off anywhere, sometimes include entrance fees to museums etc. Tip: asking for information is easy in English. Ask young adults under 40, they learnt English compulsory in school and love to practice it. English is an esential requirement these days for them to get a job. The older generation are usually sour-gherkins! To check schedules "DB" now has English web-pages at: http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml I am sure these advantages count in the other EU countries too? [ This Message was edited by: rangutan on 2008-04-10 08:12 ] --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan