How to Get around Europe without Wasting Time or Money
Are you planning a European vacation and not sure about the best way to get around the continent? Here we discuss trains, planes, and more with public transportation and other options of getting the most out of your time traveling around Europe.
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When I went to Europe, I used all these modes of transportation. Lots of trains in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. I took the Thalys bullet train from Brussels to Paris, it was only an hour n half. From Paris into Germany I took the DB ICE bullet train. In southern France I took a few buses to connect train rides. The trains from southern France to Rome would have been about 15 hours or longer so i flew from MRS to da Vinci, the flight was cheap and only about an hour. In Amsterdam I rented a bike, in Paris and Rome i used the metro systems a lot, in other cities I walked a lot. The trains in Europe are great, and I wish north America had more trains like them.
I'm so brainwashed as a blue collar worker, tied to a job that allows most of us only few weeks of vacation per year, that I find it difficult to imagine there are people fortunate enough to not be tied to any particular location 46+ weeks a year. They get to see the world and enjoy being with people and learning so much. May you and your family continue being blessed with the life you lead, and congratulations on going over 1 million subscribers recently!
Couple weeks ago I made a day trip from London to York by the LNER high speed train. 2 hours each way. HIghly recommend it. I also feel like I would never want to drive in the UK because I feel like I'd keep driving on the wrong side
You had asked about travel tips I could share. I have a few. I grew up in a travel agency and these tips always help. I also am a female solo traveler. 1. Reconfirm all flights and hotels two or three nights in advance. So you don’t show up at hotel without a room. I don’t do it online. I talk to a person and write the name, date, and time down. 2. If I’m in a new city and I’m not on a tour and will be there a few days I take a short bus tour. It is a good way to get acclimated to the city. It also helps in the event you get lost. If you know your hotel is near Big Ben and you get lost it’s easy to get back to a major tourist sight like that. 3. As a solo female traveler I prefer small boutique hotels or B&Bs. You get to know the staff a bit and they see your comings and goings. As things get friendly they will give more of the inside tips of the city. As far as safety they may see people lurking about that people in a larger hotel wouldn’t see. In the event of an emergency if the staff may be better equipped to help. 4. The luggage trackers. 5. I’m disabled so I ask for the airlines to provide a wheelchair. If you have any health issue that may make it difficult to get through an airport, get a wheelchair or a golf cart. The people with the wheelchairs, in my experience, won’t make me check my suitcase so I don’t have to worry about having mobility issues and being forced to check my bag. If you have a disability like me with mobility issues don’t be afraid to pre board. As soon as I get to the gate I go straight to the agent. I tell her I have mobility issues and that I want to pre board. I will find a seat close to the gate door and I usually get a nod from the gate agent when to get up and board. I also have a Service Dog, that’s for another KZhead channel. If you’re getting tired of local cuisine find a chain hotel like Hilton or Marriott. Many of these hotels cater to Americans and frequently have burgers on the menu. Use the concierge in a 4 or 5 star hotel. My ex parked our rental car in a tow zone in front of the Uffizi. The Italian police forgot they spoke English and the consulate was closed. I went into the first five star hotel I could find, tipped the concierge handsomely and in half and hour we were driving back to Rome. Bring a basic ER bag. Bandaids, antibiotic spray, Benadryl in the event of an allergic reaction, especially eating foreign food. Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help. The worst is they’ll be rude. You can usually tell if someone is giving you the wrong directions. We all have our weather on our phone. Prior to going. Add the places you are going to on your weather app. That way you can get an idea of what the weather trend is there. As for packing. This is from an unhappy period in my life so bear with me. Pack your bag as if you have to leave immediately. A natural disaster or something. You only have a short amount of time to pack before having to leave. Do you really need those high heels? As that jacket that goes with one outfit needed. Pack a lot of solid colors they are easy to mix and match. For the ladies (like me) get a solid pair of white sneakers. Not jogging or specific athletic sneaker but more of a fashion sneaker. These shoes can go with everything. Dresses, skirts, jeans, shorts they are the go to show. Well those are my tips that I picked up from travel agency days and traveling myself
Blablacar is a viable alternative to public transport or car hire.
Renting a car to go all over Bavaria next week. Will probably be quite a bit more expensive than taking trains but basically saved us 1-2 hours per transit!
Definitely the easiest way to get to Rothenburg. If you’re in Munich, consider a day trip to Erding, my current hometown.
@barbarawissinger Erdinger bier ist so güt. Tschûß von Kanada.
@@tazman5722 My new hometown. Visitors to Munich should take a day trip there to see brewery (free samples & snacks included in ticket price) & the Therme Erding 🙂.
Interrail/Eurail is a great way to travel around Europe, I've been doing it for years
It depends: - in Poland, the best option is a car or train. - in France, it depends on how many places/regions you want to visit. For me, in Paris, the best option is public transport, but for Normandy, a car was great. - Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany - car. - Baltics - I was there 20 years ago, and buses were okay. I'll check all of them by car soon ;) - Malta - public transport :) If you want to stay in one country for more than 5 days and parking isn't an issue, you should take a car ;) You should read earlier about payments for highway because in every country it's different. You dont need nothing more than google maps for navigation in Europe.
Awesome advice yet again, Sir. Thank You.
Good advice. Brit here; UK trains expensive if not booked in advance. Don’t get a car if you’re just stopping in London or major cities due to access, parking etc sometimes local public transport will easily take you to nearby villages or attractions unless it’s whole family or doing most of the country. In Europe definitely trains, even when it’s a long train journey between countries you get the views along the way without having to arrive at airport 2hrs earlier and probably another hour to get there.
Thanks!
@@woltersworld in the UK, some routes are far more convenient by bus than by train like going from York to Whitby, or travelling between North, Mid and South Wales for example.
Good stuff & spot-on, thanks a bunch Mark! 🙌
Spain has excellent train service. Especially Iryo.
💯 as always Mark!!
Portugal and Italy are beautiful ❤
Although expensive, I dont regret renting a car and driving from Paris to Normandy and back. Got freedom you dont have with trains and tours.
If I remember correctly, the EuroStar Train costs more when you wait to buy tickets closer to the departure date. Buy your tickets as far in advance as you can. I’m wondering if other train lines have similar policies?
It is mostly the same on other train companies
Yes, it's very pricey. $150 one way. I just take the bus. It's not too long of a journey
Thanks for sharing things you should think about and why. Good tips!
Trains (and, even more so, ferries) can be part of the holiday experience in themselves.
Hey Mark, awesome video and great tips
While the fast TGV-trains definately can bring you to lots of sights in France, it also really depends on where you go and what you're gonna do and see. France is still a massive country and especially in the much more hillier southern parts of France you miss out on great, great nature if you plan to use trains/TGV only. I'd suggest to any American to plan carefully and consider doing both: train tickets + car rental. Say, travel to Avignon by TGV and rent a car to visit the gorgeous villages east of the city. Provence is awesome. Or: take the TGV to Bordeaux in the south west and get a car to visit the Dordogne-valley to the east. You will need a car to see the small fantastic villages and the many medieval castles. Also a thing to consider is that train travelling in France can get quite pricey easily. Compared to other countries in Western Europe I'd say French trains are on the expensive side, especially the TGV's.
The high speed trains are great but usually they are very expensive. You just can get a deal if you leave there, for us as visitors too difficult to establish a fixed date because itineraries.
Taking Euro Star from London to France is great and cheap. Only takes a couple hours. I was looking into taking the train from Rome back to the UK, but it takes 2 days. Sod that! I will be flying
If you plan it well, however, taking a train can be more fun in the sense that you see a lot more on the way and then, you have the added bonus of visiting many other cities along the way, such as Milan, Zurich or Geneva, and then Paris. It's a very scenic route going up via Switzerland, which you'd totally miss out on when flying.
@@AymanTravelTransport I would have loved taking the train. Sadly, I need to be back sooner then it would get me there. i would like at some point to get a Euro Pass and go all over Europe by train
We used EasyJet to fly from LGW to Salzburg last summer. Great experience!
How about your flight luggage for Easy Jet? Cuz I was always taken aback by its restriction on hand carried luggage and took the train instead.
been utilizing trains for big moves in UK with buses for the more remote areas while working my ways up the Pennines. Parts of Scotland (maybe the way NW) might be a little different, but i will cross that bridge next month.
If you know your plans book trains in advance, our fares can easily triple last minute.
Your title card preview image makes it seem like you are going to discuss how not to waste time travel opportunities in a sci-fi story. :)
Thanks for the tips Mark! My husband and I are flying off to Stockholm, Solleftea, Umea and back down to Krakow in a couple weeks! We’re debating how to get from Solleftea to Umea but most likely will train/bus as car rental prices look really expensive! If anyone has tips it’d be much appreciated 😊
I would say it depends on where you want to go. If you are sticking to populated cities and just sticking to the main sites in Europe than public transportation will be more than sufficient. If you want to go to those more remote places than get a car and rental cars in Europe are pleasantly very affordable. I'm on my way to Mexico as I write this comment but I am always reluctant getting a car there as there are scams galore in that county when it comes to vehicle renting. So it depends on where you go, how long you have to see so many places. Bottom line it comes to your personal trip, budget both time and money to determine if you really need a car or not.
Your video on German trains not being on time pushed me onto a bus next week 🤣
I love the trains in Spain, but the cheap flights make sense for multi country trips.
Thank you for these great tips, Mark. BTW, do you have specific advice on renting a car in France?
Hi wolter! Thanks for another great tip as always. How did you manage finances to be able to travel often? If you could share some insights
This is the dilemma we're facing for our Europe plans in '25. Trying to find the right transportation combo isnt easy!
Trains are not that cheap in France now. If you're a family and want the easy way to travel, a car is still best option. Bus can be the cheap option too, blabla car bus or flixbus (but only if you have a quick direct line between the two cities). For instance, from Brussels I can go to Amsterdam or Lille for only 10 euros (1h30).
Also, don't count on the punctuality of the Bundesbahn. German trains are notoriously late, sometimes hours. (This is coming from a German.)
Walking is best and cheapest
Another question: For us who have no experience in driving on the left side, is it easy to adapt? I feel I would be scared of creating an accident if I rented a car in England.
My brother crashed his motorbike travelling in Europe (used to uk roads) and he reckoned it was because of that.
Time travel is amazing who would waste that
Heh. My brain formed the title-card sentence as such: (Don't waste) (time traveling)
😂looking into booking flights to vieana from phoenix having trouble understanding how airlines are allowed to book flights with a one hour layover😮 seems like you would have to be really lucky to make that flight especially in summer with thunderstorms in the?south almost everyday in Charlotte
I see those itineraries too, and pass them right by. Just because they sell them doesn’t mean you have much chance of making the connection. Especially if you have to clear customs. I won’t purchase flights with less than a three hour connection coming back from another country, odds are you won’t make it, the stress just isn’t worth it!
❤❤❤
Flying EasyJet? Check their baggage-rules and measure-up.
Thank you for all this information! Question: do you have a web site address for the train service in France. I plan to visit Paris but would also like to travel to Thiaucourt France to visit the St Mihiel American Cemetery. I have a great uncle buried there from WWI. Trying to figure out the best way to get there. Any suggestions would also be great 😊
I wonder is there a fb group or Web page for the location might have tips. American Legion?
Rome to Rio app
Other than getting a international drivers license what other things should you have for transportation when going to Europe from US?
Most European rental car companies would not require you to present an international driver's licence if your licence from your home country is written in English. We are from Canada, and we have successfully rented cars in Iceland, Portugal, Germany and Spain with our Canadian driver's licences and our passports without an issue. Obviously, you need to check with the car rental company from which you are going to rent a car for its specific requirement. For example, Sixt in Spain wanted to see the credit card and the passport from the person who paid for the rental (I booked the rental car using my credit card but my spouse was the driver).
Flying is great, but the airports in Europe are so crowded. God forgive me I am not even talking about those big airports, but even those mid sized regional airports can be pretty crowded. Trains are broken, hot as hell in summer, delayed but still it is the best bet in Europe. Car is great too, but what are you going to do in those villages ?
Public transport in Ireland is atrocious 😅 so yeah, rent a car
Google Street Viewᵀᴹ
I would like to take a Christian tour/ other in the USA flying from Nova Scotia to Boston, then on to DC to Bible Museum, then to Noah’s ark, Kentucky, billy Graham Museum, NC, Lagrange Georgia, Bible times, maybe Nashville, Elvis in Memphis then off to Orlando than bright line to see family in WPB then Tampa , then fly back to Toronto, home to Nova Scotia
ThankZS Walter! ❤🥹