Looking for 17 days Europe trip advice

M
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Hi,

I hope to get advise from the community on our 14 days Europe trip planned. 

We are family of 4 members and we

 start our bakjet Europe  journey  from

1.21/7-London  to paris by  eurostar ( we not intend to  stay because not confident of the safety of city)

2. 21/7 Paris to basel ( Switzerland) 

3. Basel to Andermatt l(ocal train )

4. Andermatt to St. moritz ( glacier express).

5. St. Moritz to tirano. (Bernina  express)

6. Tirano to Milan ( I couldn't find proper train, I hope someone can advice). 

7.milan to Florence (pisa)- train 

8. Florence  to rome.-train

9. Rome to Venice -train

10. Venice to Brussels (Belgium) -train 

11. Brussels  to amsterdam (train)

12. 14/8/23-Amsterdam back to Newcastle uk( ferry booked )

-I need information station name in each city.

- anyone can suggest me nice place to visit! 

It looks too packed and rush, can some one propose and advice  how to re- schedule  my journey,  tq

 

35 replies

C
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Can’t really help with your planning but you are trying to do a lot in a short time. You must book Eurostar asap. Passholder places for July can sell out months ahead. Read the reservation section on this site for how to reserve.

The direct train from Paris to Basel has a very expensive supplement. It can be reduced by changing in Strasbourg.

Trains between Tirano and Milan are partially replaced by buses this summer. Passes are valid.

In my view it is a waste of money to go on Glacier Express. Use the local trains. See timings on SBB app unless you have a lot of luggage or want a proper restaurant car. The Bernina Express had some non reserved seats last year.

All the fast trains in Italy need reservations.

M
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Thanks very much for Yr advice  on the eurostar, glacier  express,  basel, can I know the correct terminal  name of my itenially. 

Note: I back to uk from Amsterdam on 4/8/23. I wrote wrong in my first  email.!

C
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Not sure what you mean about name

seewulf
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Thanks very much for Yr advice  on the eurostar, glacier  express,  basel, can I know the correct terminal  name of my itenially. 

Note: I back to uk from Amsterdam on 4/8/23. I wrote wrong in my first  email.!

Basel SBB is the main station of Basel (to save some Euros i recommend to search for a Hotel in Saint Louis :) i found one just across the Border with a good tram connection that is included in Interrail (BLT are the yellow trams of Basel and they are included in Interrail) 

Andermatt have just one station you cant miss it :D 

I´ am not working for Eurail or Interrail i just share my knowledge here. Please ask in the Community and not via private message as this is the fastest way to get an answer. I prefer English/German/ Czech for my answers. In case of Reservationquestions please share some details like Route, Date, Trainnumber as otherwise we can just provide general advices or answers
T
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@seewulf do you have a source for included BLT trams ? As far as I know only the trams going far inland are included.

- Rodersdorf - Dornach (via the city center so I guess it's fine to use it even inside the city)

- Liestal - Waldenburg

 

As advised take a TGV to Strasbourg and then a 200 km/h TER train to Basel. It actually saves time and money because you don't need to cross Paris. Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est are 10 min apart.

- Andermatt - Disentis/Mustér - Reichenau-Tamins - St. Moritz (very easy connections, same platform)

- St. Moritz - Tirano : take regional trains with a AW symbol on the SBB app. It means that there are open-air wagons, it's very fun (but not comfortable on wooden benches) !

T
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You're packing too much yes. I'd skip Rome at least, you won't enjoy the city + in summer it's crowded and terribly hot…

- Basel (1 night) or are you planning to get to Andermatt the first day ?

- Andermatt (1 night)

- St. Moritz (1 night)

- Milan (2 nights)

- Florence (2 nights)

- Venice (2 nights)

- Innsbruck/Salzburg or Munich (1 night)

- night train to Brussels if there are seats left, otherwise daytime trains

- Brussels (1-2 nights) : do not take the Thalys to Amsterdam (expensive seat reservation) but take the direct IC train (reservation-free)

- Amsterdam (2 nights)

R
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@seewulf do you have a source for included BLT trams ? As far as I know only the trams going far inland are included.

- Rodersdorf - Dornach (via the city center so I guess it's fine to use it even inside the city)

- Liestal - Waldenburg

AFAIK all BLT lines are included:

https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/infrastruktur/trafimage/karten/karte-geltungsbereich-InterRail-EuRail.pdf

(Still no 2023 map.)

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
T
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Nice to know then ! Thanks for the answer @rvdborgt 

BrendanDB
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I agree with the people above, you’re stuffing way too much in a very short time and you’ll end up spending more time on trains, seeing more of the inside of the train than actually visiting stuff.

I would visit 3-4 places and go for a longer stay of 3-5 days in one place, possibly using it as a base for daytrips to other parts.

Before giving some tips to possibly reschedule: what do you like to do when on a holiday?

Are you looking for big cities, or small town charm or do you want to spend more time in nature? Looking for culture, art, architecture, history, gastronomy, or do you like more active, outdoor holidays?

 

M
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Not sure what you mean about name

Hi, thanks for Yr  information,  I confused of the trains station name of each destination  in my itenially. As it have different train station to drop off in same city. Good day 

M
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I agree with the people above, you’re stuffing way too much in a very short time and you’ll end up spending more time on trains, seeing more of the inside of the train than actually visiting stuff.

I would visit 3-4 places and go for a longer stay of 3-5 days in one place, possibly using it as a base for daytrips to other parts.

Before giving some tips to possibly reschedule: what do you like to do when on a holiday?

Are you looking for big cities, or small town charm or do you want to spend more time in nature? Looking for culture, art, architecture, history, gastronomy, or do you like more active, outdoor holidays?

 

Hi,

Thanks for remind me on WHAT is my intention on this trip,  I hope to delete 1 more City , I am bringing  my  daughters(20~) and wife to explore  Europe in their school  holidays. I will  be grateful if any good suggestion. 

M
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Hi,

Any one can propose what are the famous link to look for accommodation  or histel pass ? Tq

A
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I usually use booking.com to find accommodation. 

Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
BrendanDB
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I agree with the people above, you’re stuffing way too much in a very short time and you’ll end up spending more time on trains, seeing more of the inside of the train than actually visiting stuff.

I would visit 3-4 places and go for a longer stay of 3-5 days in one place, possibly using it as a base for daytrips to other parts.

Before giving some tips to possibly reschedule: what do you like to do when on a holiday?

Are you looking for big cities, or small town charm or do you want to spend more time in nature? Looking for culture, art, architecture, history, gastronomy, or do you like more active, outdoor holidays?

 

Hi,

Thanks for remind me on WHAT is my intention on this trip,  I hope to delete 1 more City , I am bringing  my  daughters(20~) and wife to explore  Europe in their school  holidays. I will  be grateful if any good suggestion. 

If you ask for suggestions, you get 20 different answers. ;)

I would cut the Italian leg of your trip. Italy deserves a proper two week trip on it’s own.

And if you really want to do it,keep it to the north of Italy (Torino, Milan, Venice, and everything between but nothing too far  south of that line). If you decide to do Italy, make sure that it’s in the middle of the trip, going e.g. from Venice to Brussels takes time. It’s much easier from Switzerland. London-Switzerland-(maybe N-Italy)-again Switzerland/Somewhere Germany - BeNeLux countries - back to the UK. Basically like @thibcabe Has made you a nice suggestion.

If you’lld consider Germany, I really like Freiburg (im Breisgau), or a smaller place in the Black Forest. But I also enjoyed Munich.

Brussels is a good base to visit practically anything in Belgium, as it’s right in the middle. (Bruges, Ghent, Namur, Dinant,… all easily accessible.) 

Utrecht in the NL the same, very convenient to discover the Netherlands from there and is also a very nice city.

I wouldn’t look for accomodation in St. Moritz, it’s very posh. Finding accomodation in Celerina, Samedan, Pontresina (all next to St. Moritz and with equally good train connections) will probably save you some money will enable you to have a bit of a more relaxed atmosphere in the middle of your trip.

M
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Hi thank for the information and suggestion given, 

We re- schedule my itenially,  we postponed  Venice/salzburg/freiburg to next trip! Now We have more time enjoying the holidays . BTW I hope someone  can share/tell me what are the trains and buses in the below cities are cover by eurail pass .

- London

- Paris

- basel/andermatt/St. Moritz 

-venice/milano 

- innsbruck. 

Tq

T
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Eurail Pass only covers railways so it never covers buses, trams or subways in those cities. The only exceptions I could think of are the Elizabeth and Overground Line in London. But it'll always be better to buy city passes or daily cards, whatever they offer.

 

Is the plan still on doing London - Basel in a day or are you planning to stay a few nights in Paris ? Otherwise it might feel a little bit tight…

- Paris (3 nights)

- Basel (1 night)

- Chur (1 night) -> cheaper than St. Moritz and shortens the travel days

- Milan (2 nights)

- Venice (2 nights)

- Innsbruck (2 nights)

- Amsterdam (2-3 nights) : long travel day from Innsbruck but doable. There's a night train between Innsbruck and Amsterdam which would be perfect. You need to check if it's not full yet though. On 31.07 there's availability on the night train : 174.80€ for a 4-people couchette. Surely the best option as it avoids a 10h+ travel day

Let me know

M
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Hi

Our itinerary reschedule as attached,  we stay paris for 1 day only and cancelled Venice so we have more time in each places. I still have few doubts,

1.do I need to book accommodation Switzerland in 3 places. Do I need to buy local train pass like London (I bought oyster pass). Any recommendations?

2. Train as shown in the Eurail planner need to confirm seat(attached)? Or just walk in train for journey?

3. On 31/7 Innsbruck to Brussels any night  train ?or suggestion. 

4. St Moritz to Milano- where is the bus terminal ? And which station terminal of Milano I should drop off.  I need buy local transport pass for my travel ?

I need to thanks to the community for given me so many good  suggestion and now my schedule almost done. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T
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Yes you need to book accomodation in advance.

For local passes it depends. If you want to take a bus or a tram in Basel, then buy a single ticket or a day pass on the SBB app. Do not buy them in advance, prices are set and tickets can’t sell out. Often hotels will give you a free transport card for the city.

Andermatt and Chur are pretty small towns so you can walk.

  • Strasbourg - Göschenen : there is an earlier train at 12:54 in Göschenen. It’s a guaranteed connection but Eurail thinks it is too short. Simply add the train in a second step.

Trains in Switzerland do not require seat reservations, simply add the journey to app (it’ll give you a QR-code) and board the train. On the other hand, reservations are mandatory between London and Paris (Eurostar), Paris and Strasbourg (TGV) + high-speed trains in Italy. It’s very recommended too for the train between Verona and Innsbruck.

St. Moritz - Milan isn’t entirely a bus journey :

  • St. Moritz - Tirano train (symbol AW on the SBB app means that there are open-air coaches)
  • Tirano - Sondrio rail replacement bus (Eurail pass valid)
  • Sondrio - Milano train

Don’t worry, there will be lots of people guiding you to the bus. A lot of people will do the same connection.

There are no direct night trains between Innsbruck and Brussels. There is one between Innsbruck - Amsterdam which stops in Cologne but you’ll need to use 2 travel days :

  • Innsbruck Hbf - Köln Hbf 20:12 - 06:55 175€ for a 4-people couchette
  • Köln Hbf - Bruxelles-Midi 07:42 - 09:35 (or a later train if you want to visit Cologne for a bit)
M
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Hi

I try to clarify that the internal train/ tram / train between tirano and St moritz  are include in eurail? Which mean we not need to buy additional ticket?

Tq

R
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I try to clarify that the internal train/ tram / train between tirano and St moritz  are include in eurail?

Those are trains and they're included.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
T
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Yes they're included and please do not pay extra for the panorama coaches (19 CHF per person). There are nice hourly regional trains (not taking longer) :)

You could stop in Alp Grüm for an hour on the way. It's a really beautiful location !

M
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Tqvm for Yr information!

M
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Hi depart from basel and decided to stay 3-4 night  in Switzerland for visit andematt ,chur, tirano,  and St.moritz ofterthat to milano,  anyone can advice  how is the sequence I go for this itenially to suit the sbb rail and the cheaper cost in accommodation. I been advised to stay  in chur as my base to go surrounding places, but I found tht it far away from andermatt. I hope get advise the below 

1. Base in chur 4 night and visit andermatt,  St moritz and tirano?

Or

2. andermatt (2night , hostel  expensive)to chur (2night) 

Or

3.Station next to andermatt 2 night), to chur(1) and tirano 1 night,  and from here go milano is nearer and convenient  as both city is Italy?

tq

 

T
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I'd say stay in Lucerne or Arth-Goldau for the first night and then 2 nights at least in Chur. You could add one in the Engadin Valley (anywhere else other than St. Moritz, Zernez is a good spot) or along the Bernina railway (Pontresina, Poschiavo).

Andermatt is extremely expensive yes and there's not many railways available. I wouldn't advise to stay there.

Lucerne to Chur is entirely doable in a day (hourly connection) :

- Lucerne/Arth-Goldau - Göschenen 1h30

- Göschenen - Andermatt 10 min

- visit Andermatt for 1-2 hours

- Andermatt - Disentis/Mustér 1h10

- Disentis/Mustér - Chur 1h20

In Chur : you can take the Arosa line or go to Liechtenstein (12 CHF bus from Sargans) for example

M
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Ok, thanks for the information,  anyone can tell me any bus/train from tirano to milan shown in eurail planner take about  9 hours travel?? Tq for information 

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