I'll be in Europe for a month, any train travel tips please?

Question

What are the "things to know" for train travel....my concerns are:

Paying supplements- what is the actual fee for,

where do i pay them and when,

Can you take bicycles on the train or have them transported some how on the train

Where is there access to internet in Europe for the public...I plan to travel as i go...book train seats like a week or two in advance

Luggage storage and pick up........

So basically i'm gonna be there for a month long vacation and i need to know the ins and outs of train travel to avoid any problems and get the best deals. Any advice??

Answer 1

Supplements vary according to the train type and the route.  no actual set fee.

you pay supplements at the ticket window, you have to stand in line with everyone else.  Sort of negates the whole train pass thing.

Bicycles?   I'm sure you can load them, but you'd have to check directly with the train folks....try raileurope.com.

access for the internet, pretty much anywhere, is at internet cafés, they use the work Internet on the signs, and they cost around a Euro per hour, but that, too, may vary.  My experience was in Spain.  I never paid more than 1€.  

Storage will vary according to the policies of the trian station.  Most used to have lockers, but that may be less in use with more terrorism.

For the best deal, compare the prices of the tickets and passes.  If you're pretty sure you know where you are going, and in what order, you can do this.  If you want to just wing it, it's harder to compare.  I'm not sure if you can buy those supplements online, and then just show up with a code number and use the quick kiosks...that might be possible.

Answer 2

On many trains in Europe you can bring your bike, if only a limited amount of bikes per train.

On most high speed trains the number is limited to 2 per train or non at all.

Sending your bikes is not advised.

If you do, insure your bikes for damage as well as loss, and be prepared to say goodbye to them every time you hand them in. In my experience it is a chance of one in six that you will not see them again.

(I am sure the official numbers are not that bad, but everybody who used the system mentioned some damage at least.)

The German rail planner will be able to tell you about bikes in the trains all over Europe, it is a nice and user friendly site anyhow:

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/...

But do not believe the site if it says you can not travel a direct route with a bike, as some countries do not allow bikes in the system, but do in fact. Like Belgium.

If you are not bike crazy, consider not bringing your own bikes but rent them in the towns you will want to use them.

Bicycles and train travel to not mix easily.

Luggage storage you can find in many countries in all big stations and even some smaller ones.

Only in the UK you will have great difficulties finding places to leave your luggage. Only London has still some left luggage facilities, if they still work.

Your best bet there is leaving your luggage in your hotel till you leave town or go to your hotel as soon as you arrive, even when you can not check in till lunch.

Internet cafes are readily available, and some hotels and hostels offer access too. Prices range from free to at least 6 Euro per hour. In all of Paris I have not found any cheaper than that, not even when asking for directions. But free WiFi access is available.

If you do not travel in the summer holiday period and just want seats on the trains you can often wait with buying a reservation till the day you travel, basically you will be given a 'ticket' showing you paid the surcharge and you are free to find your seat among those reserved for people holding a reservation with a seat number.

When you are in Europe you can often book a whole lot of reservations at the same time in one of the travel centers of a main railway station, but depending on which country you do it, you might have to pay a handling fee too.

The fee sometimes is to reserve a seat, sometimes to pay for a more expensive system. (Like when you have to pay for a high speed train, they call it seat reservation but it is a hidden surcharge.)

And in the case of an overnight train it may also be to pay for a place to lay down, so you can get some sleep.

If you travel in the hight of summer and when you arrive after lunch in a town, make a room booking (or bed booking in a dorm in a hostel) a few days before or phone the evening or morning before you want to arrive, and be prepared to change your plans if everything is booked solid. This is easier when you travel in September till June. In July and August you need to make reservations, well before, if possible.

Read in the resolved questions, as this is a topic often asked about, and to give a full answer I should write a book, rather than just what fits in this site.

Talking about books, a good travel guide is worth the money it costs, I like the lonely Planet series, but there are others too.

If you have never traveled before, look into Europe through the Back Door, by Rick Steves.

Both have a website too:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

http://www.ricksteves.com/