It's Summer,it's time to travel.Do you enjoy traveling by train?What are the advantages and disadvantages of

Question

long-distance rail travel?Tell me your memorable journey

Answer 1

My memorable train  journey was in Canada in 2002.

I was part of a group for the beginning of my journey which started in Vancouver where we caught the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff via an overnight stay at Kamloops.

The second day of the trip had some of the most amazing scenery I think I am ever likely to see.

After a day or so in Banff we transferred by bus to Jasper via the Icefield Parkway which has been described as one of the most scenic roads in the world.

At Jasper we climbed aboard a VIA Rail train to Toronto.The trip took three days/two nights and when you got tired of looking out the window you could go and catch a movie or have a coffee and read the paper or just talk to the other travellers.You would always sit next to someone different at mealtimes so it never got boring.The showers were hot as well.

We all went our different ways after a few days of sightseeing in Toronto (Niagara Falls etc.) but i stayed on to do some independent travelling and after a 3 day canoe trip in the Alonquin Park lakes I caught the train to Montreal where i spent some time and took a couple of day tours etc before getting back aboard and heading for Quebec City for a stop before heading to my final destination at Halifax.

After picking out my initial Globus tour from Vancouver to Toronto I thought it would be a good idea to see the rest of the country while I was there and after doing some research I found that it was very easy to continue onto to Halifax by train by myself afterwards and the notion of travelling coast to coast by train was very appealing.

With train travel you get to see the country you're travelling through,theres a lot more room to move around than if you were on a bus and you have time to meet people on the way

I would certainly do it again and i think you have just rekindled the flame within.

Thank you

Answer 2

Yes, I do like taking the train. For long distance, I like using the night trains. From here in northern Italy, I can sleep through the night and wake up just before arriving in places like Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Rome, ... One advantage is that the train stations are conveniently located for sightseeing. Most of the stations are in or near the city centers. Another advantage is that there isn't all the inconvenience of dealing with the airport protocols. One disadvantage is that the travel times can be a lot longer.

One year when I wanted to go to the Eurochocolate Festival in Perugia on Sunday, I went to Bologna after work on Friday and caught the night train to Munich and transferred to a train to Fussen and spent a very nice day at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. Then I took the train back to Munich and had dinner at the Augustiner before catching the night train back to Italy and arrived in Perugia early Sunday morning. The choice would have been to go to Perugia on Friday or Saturday and stay in a hotel overnight. Even though the night train from Munich went through the town where I live it didn't stop here. The Sunday schedules wouldn't have left me with much time in Perugia on Sunday and I specifically wanted to be there for the sculpture contest. With the discounted fares available at that time, the whole trip was cheaper than a night in a hotel during the festival.