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Buying European Rail Tickets in the US

My upcoming trip to Benelux and France will be my first experience with purchasing European rail tickets while stateside. In the past I've used a rail pass (BritRail) for rail travel in the UK and loved it. However, this trip only has two very short rail links and will not warrant the cost or intricacies associated with using a rail pass. Purchasing European tickets requires several considerations, how to purchase and when to purchase.

There are to options to consider when determining how to purchase, directly through the rail service provider or through an outside purchaser. When it comes to purchasing with the rail provider, I have read about some people experiencing a disconnect in the payment system for US based credit cards. Evidently, there have been mixed reviews regarding acceptance of credit cards and US based addresses for purchase of Thayls (http://www.thalys.com/nl/en) trains. The one sure workaround is to call the provider directly, which most likely requires a morning call using Skype and payment in Euros. Otherwise, it is possible to buy from an agency such as RailEurope (http://www.raileurope.com/index.html). The downside of this option is you will pay a service charge, but you will have support from the purchaser and and the ability to pay in USD.

The other consideration is when to make your purchase. Some like to be fluid with their travel, I probably do not fall into this category. I prefer the important details to be locked down and put to rest. Those who are flexible have the option to purchase their tickets at the station, but risk not getting a seat at their preferred travel time. For those who are like me, the best time to buy is 90 days in advance of the trip, when specials are offered and demand is low. Rail providers like Thalys base the ticket price directly off of demand. In this scenario the potential does exist for some great last minute deals if your travelling in the shoulder season or at an off-peak time. But as you know (if you've read my other entries) I am a planner and like to know my major details ahead of time, which includes a fixed price for my transportation. I'm sure others have had very different experiences with rail, if so please post in my comments how you go about dealing with foreign rail travel. Look for my next update in the coming weeks as I prepare to take part in a travel writer workshop.

For some more information regarding purchasing European rail tickets see the following sites:

http://travel.usatoday.com/deals/inside/2010-07-22-europe-train-tickets_N.htm

http://www.frommers.com/articles/1722.html

http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/comparetickets.htm

Back to it, planning again!

After a long hiatus I'm finally back, with an update to my blog. This time I will be detailing the plans for a trip my wife Mary and I will be taking to Europe in August. As with my previous blog entries, I have spent innumerable hours scouring other writer's blogs, guidebooks, and websites looking for anything relating to the cities on our itinerary.
 
First, we will flying up to NY to depart for Europe. For some reason, it was significantly cheaper to buy one-way tickets to NY, open jaw our trip from JFK to Amsterdam (AMS), and then return from Paris (CDG) to our home in Orlando (MCO), FL. While this might not be convenient for most others, it gives is a great opportunity to visit with family and friends before we depart on our adventure. For our trip we will be spending 3 nights in NY, 2 nights in Amsterdam, 2 nights in Brussels, and 4 nights in Paris (see graphic).




 While in Amsterdam we plan on visiting several different attractions and museums covered by the I Amsterdam card. Purchasing this card will give us flexibility and also provide 48 hour coverage on Amsterdam's public transportation (Trams, metro, etc..). It even includes a canal boat tour, an activity I am looking forward to. In addition, we also plan on visiting the Anne Frank House, the Heineken Experience, and partaking in a free city tour (http://www.newamsterdamtours.com/daily-tours/new-amsterdam-free-tour.html).


Midday on our third day, we will be departing Amsterdam on a high-speed train to Brussels (Bruxelles). In Brussels we be visiting several local sites, the Grand Place, the Cantillon Brewery, and the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. We will be spending a lot of time looking at the local architecture and sampling local delicacies. I'm really looking forward to trying some of the local Lambic and Wheat beers.


Midday on our fifth day, we will be departing Brussels for Paris. Now I was fortunate to have visited Paris, last summer while overseas for work. But as Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world, I sorely missed having my travel partner (Mary) with me. I knew she would love the architecture and planning that went into the grand boulevards, so I vowed to make sure to bring her the next time I went. Fortunately that time has arrived. While in Paris we plan on focusing on visiting specific areas (Arrondissements), such as Rue Cler, St Michel/Notre Dame (Latin Quarter), Ile de Cite, Montmartre, and Champs Elysees, to name a few. We will be taking two novel bike tours of down town Paris and Versailles (http://fattirebiketours.com), in addition to a walking tour of Montmartre. I have also dedicated four hours to the Louvre. While this may not be very much time, it does give us a chance to see some of the important works and familiarize ourselves for a future visit, where we will be able to dedicate more time.

A return to the blog

After a long hiatus working on my PhD comprehensive exams (which I passed), I am back just in time to report on my upcoming two week trip to England and Scotland. All the hard work researching and planning the trip are about to come to fruition this Monday. Yet despite all my work I still have several loose ends to wrap up such as calling bank/credit card companies to establish travel notifications, complete packing and inventorying items (i.e., gadgets), and preparing my pre-trip budgeting/reporting.

I have decided for this trip to leave the net book behind, which means lots of SD cards for pictures and video. The good news is these are pretty affordable and if I need more I should be able to buy them at Tesco and Asda. I have also purchased an SD card reader from zoomMediaPro for my iPad that should allow me to post pictures/videos directly to facebook.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Activities for UK Trip

I have finally reached the next milestone on my trip to the UK, I purchased all of our prepaid items. While these items do not encompass all of the activities we have planned, they are the ones that are 1) in high demand and require reservations/advanced purchase, 2) provide a distinct cost savings by purchasing out of country, or 3) provide significant time savings by eliminating the need to stand in a queue (aka line to us Yanks).

The remaining activities, while already placed in the itinerary, allow an increased flexibility since they have not yet been reserved or paid for. If for some reason we find we cannot catch a train, we will be able to skip one of these unpaid for activities. That however, does not mean they are any more or less important in the end.

For our trip we have already purchased:
-City sight seeing bus tour of Bath Spa
-Paid a deposit for a walking tour in Scotland
-Cruise of Loch Ness
-Tour of the vaults below Edinburgh
-Tour of the secrets of Edinburgh
-City sight seeing bus tour of Edinburgh
-Edinburgh Castle admission
-Nighttime city sight seeing bus tour of London
-Watch a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre
-London Tower admission
-Hampton Court admission

The following represent the activities we plan to pay for or attend (i.e. free) when we get there:
-Bath Roman Bath and Spa
-Tea at the Royal Pumphouse
-Inverness Museum (free)
-Culloden Battlefield
-Clava Cairns (free)
-Edinburgh Camera Obscura
-The Scotch Whisky Experience
-Edinburgh Museum (free)
-Edinburgh Writer's Museum (free)
-Brass Rubbing Center (free)
-Arbeia Roman Fort
-Bede's World
-South Shield Museum
-Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths, and Museum
-Greenwich Royal Observatory
-Victoria & Albert Musuem (free)
-British Museum (free)

Since we have some flexibility, if we find we are too tired or there is not enough time we will have the option of cutting some of these activities since they haven't been paid for or reserved.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Preparing for UK Trip - Part 3

After Scotland we will be returning to merry 'ole England. Since my wife's grandfather is from the Newcastle area we figured that would be a great area to visit. So we are planning on staying two nights in the neighborhood he grew up in, South Shields. We will be staying in another B&B right on the main ocean access street. While in the area we hope to visit Bede's World, an open air museum based on the life and times of the Venerable Bede, a Catholic saint who documented early life in Britain. In addition we would like to see Arbeia, a recreation of a Roman fort, and the local history museum.

After Newcastle we will be jumping back on a train and returning to London. For the first three nights we've decided to splurge on our accommodations and will be staying in a 4 star hotel within visual range of Buckingham Palace. During our stay in our royal accommodations we plan on taking in Henry VIII at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, riding a London at night tour bus, seeing the prime meridian in Greenwich, and exploring the Tower London, Hampton Court, the Victoria & Albert, and the British Museum. Our final night will be spent at a hotel at the airport that will afford us time to sleep in before our flight home.


-- Post From My iPad

Preparing for UK Trip - Part 2

As I previously blogged, my wife and I started our work on a travel plan. The first thing we had to do was figure out where we wanted to go, then how we would get around, the level of lodgings we wanted, and where did we want to fly into, would it be better to fly open jaw or round trip into the same city. Eventually we settled on flying into and out of London Gatwick, since we could get direct flights on Virgin Atlantic or British Airways out of our home town. This gave us our first stepping stone. Now how to get around, this one was easy. Since neither of us wanted to drive we would plan to use the extensive train and public transportation systems.

Now we needed to figure out our destinations. This step took some time, in fact it was somewhat fluid up until yesterday when we decided to eliminate one of our cities and allocate the time to focus on Inverness instead. Always plan to go back if you missed it the first time. Since we've purchased all our prepaid items (see Budgeting for Travel: Creating a Travel Budget post), our rail pass, and made seat reservations for our longest trip, our plan has solidified.

As for our list of cities, we then took Rick Steves recommendation to try to spend two days in each stop when possible and to recover from the first couple days of jet lag in historic Bath. There seem to be a number of things to do in Bath that shouldn't be too overwhelming for us, especially considering we will be traveling with a 10 year old. We will be trying to keep it relaxed. Yet it will be important to see some of the major sites, roman spa, Royal Circle/Crescent, and nearby Stonehenge. While in Bath we will be staying in our first B&B, where we will get to try an authentic English breakfast.

After Bath we plan to head into London to catch our longest train ride, 8 hours to the gateway of the Scottish highlands, Inverness. I'm really looking forward to our time in Scotland as it is the land of my maternal forebearers (Carlisle, sept clan of Bruce Clan). On a side note, this will be one of the few opportunities I will have to wear my kilt (Black Watch tartan) outside of the Highland Games setting. While in Inverness we plan to see Culloden Battlefield (where the Jacobite rebellion was brutally put down), the Highland Museum, Loch Ness, and Urquart Castle. I also plan on trying locally distilled whisky (no "e"). Our lodgings will be another B&B, but this one will serve a traditional Scottish breakfast.

After two nights in Inverness we will be heading back down into the lowlands of Scotland to the crown jewel, Edinburgh. We will be staying in Edinburgh for 3 nights before returning to England. While in Edinburgh we plan on seeing most of the major sites (Castle, monuments, Parliament, etc...), some of the creepier tours (the Real Mary King's Close), and architectural features (old towne/new town). We will be staying right on the Royal Mile, however, this time it will be a four-star hotel. That means breakfast will be on our own since I wasn't willing to spring 15GBP extra per person. This shouldn't be a problem since there plenty of cafe's and pubs in the immediate area.

Next up, the return to England.



-- Post From My iPad