Europe Trip Planning-1 - Transport

Half the fun of any Europe trip is in it's planning. I have tried to list down the tips and tricks as I remember. We picked up these things by doing it ourselves twice and learning from it. This post is about finalizing the transport options

1. Decide on the countries and cities that you want to visit. Select countries that are in the same part of Europe. Avoid Hop Scotching across distant countries.
2. Decide on your Airline.
   1. Take a look at the deals offered.
   2. Check what are the hub cities for the airline. If the hub city is in your list, breaking journey at that city and then catching the joining flight after say 3 -4 days works out cheaper, even if the ticket is a bit costlier. To give an example, we wanted to see Paris and then go into Germany. Delta has a hub in Paris. We did a break journey there for 5 days and then caught a flight to Stuttgart. This worked cheaper than getting a separate flight.
   3. The airlines will charge you same if the entry and exit are in the same circuit ie spokes of the same hub. So plan the journey such that it starts from one spoke and ends in another. We started our journey from Oslo, Norway and ended it in Innsbruck, Austria. Again the same point ticket may be a bit cheaper but considering all the travel to get back to it, this option turns out to be cheaper.
3. Now plan your inter-country hops.
   1. In our opinion,Local No frill airlines work best for inter-country hops . This works out cheaper than taking Eurail Ticket or Eurail Pass for multiple countries.
   2. Do your research well on the No frills airlines. These airlines have their territories, so the one with best deals for Germany and Italy may not have them for Norway and Swedan.
   3. Look out for the "best day" deals from the airline. E.g. Hapang Lloyd in Germany used to open the cheapest deals every Wednesday. Or certain routes are cheaper on week days / Week ends. Since you are planning these hops first, you would have flexibility to change dates or even interchange cities accordingly.
   
   
4. If you are planning to go to more than 2 cities in a country, the Eurail passes are the best option. Eg. We travelled from Oslo to Flam in Norway by train and then from Flam to Bergen on a cruize. In this case buying a single ticket works better than buying a pass. We went to Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria. In this case Austria pass worked out best. Also check for the special trains. They are not included in the Eurail Pass. You need to pay extra for them.
5. If you are visiting Switzerland, Swiss rail pass is the best. It gives lots of options and many other transports (like ferries, buses, funicular rails) are also covered in that.
6. Finally plan your intercity traveling.
   1. Your Eurail passes do not work on the city transport. The metro transport is a separate entity.
   2. The cities have Metro passes that give you access to all the transport for 24 - 48 - 72 hrs etc. Go for these passes. These cover all the transportation modes like tube, buses, trams . This pass gives you flexibility to adjust your program and roam around the city freely. We have gone on many a tram rides in cities like Vienna, Oslo , Innsbruck to get a feel of the real city.
   3. Information about the cards is available on the metro page for the city. They may have special deals for kids, weekends etc. Do not go for Museum cards, there are too many museums loaded on the card to complete in one visit. This increases the cost unnecessarily. Paris has an "orange Card" which is valid for a calendar week as in Monday to Saturday. It works out way cheaper than any tourist card. You need to have a passport size photo with you. This card is meant for daily commuters and they do not publicize it for tourists. Innsbruck card is also very cost effective.
   4. You should also finalize your transport from the airport to your hotel. In the big cities, the airport is situated far away from the city center. In European cities, there is always good transport option available from the airport to city center. You should be ready to lug your luggage yourself. Do not fall for the "express trains" that cost more. There is always a cheaper option available. Here are the ones that we found -
      1. Paris - Metro card will cover it if you include the zone where the airport is situated in your card. The card becomes a bit expensive but is cheaper than the alternative. Also selecting all the zones allows you to take RER to Versailles and Paris Disney.
      2. Rome - You need to book a special train
         
      3. Venice - Local bus service is available
         
      4. Stuttgart - You take the metro
         
      5. Oslo - There is special train with more frequency but there is also a common train every half an hour. The ticket is available on the airport
         
      6. Bergen - Bus service is available
         
      7. Vienna - Special train
         
      8. Brussels - Special train