Traveling by train in Europe

During our Europe 2008 holiday, we used just about every form of transportation available — plane, train, and automobile.

We always travel by plane and automobile, but wanted to do something different this holiday, so we used the trains system to travel from city to city and country to country.  While it had been over 20 years since I last traveled by train in Europe, I expected this mode of travel to be as reliable as air travel, and it was.  Of course, there were delays and problems, but this happens when traveling by airplane too.

So, when considering air travel and train, there are definitely factors to consider.

Air travel

• pros:  fast.
• cons:  expensive; security (lines, liquids, …); arrival times (1-2 hours); retreiving luggage; scenary (sky and clouds).

Trains

• pros:  inexpensive; spacious seating; no security; arrive times (early enough to take train); no baggage checking; scenary.
• cons:  can be slow; no complementary snacks (not even pretzels or beverages); buying food from dining car can be expensive; frequent stops.

I know a lot of people think that the trains are exclusively used by backpackers and young travelers and they are, but they are also used by travelers who don’t want to fly everywhere or want a different experience.  We had a couple of adventures … missed on train and another train was malfunctioning, but we eventually made it to our destination, several hours late, but we made it.  (More about this later though.)

Like air travel trains give you a couple of options, you can travel first or economy class.  I recommend this option, the first class option, because the coaches a nicer and more spacious.  You also have the option to reserve a seat or not.  We reserved a seat for all our rail travel, but there we many many unreserved seats.  Some European trains sell tickets and passes to board the train, but do not require to purchase or reserve a seat, so you may be able to board the train and not have a seat.  As a precaution, I will continue to purchase reserved seats.

I highly recomment rail travel, especially if you want to different travel experience and want to see the countryside.  Word of caution when traveling by trains.  Don’t be late.  When the trains run on time, they run on time.  We missed our train from Vienna to Prague by minutes!