Looking for 17 days Europe trip advice

M
Rank
Badge +1

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

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

It doesn't take 9 hours. There will be engineering works between June and September so part of the journey is on a bus (pass valid). Timetable hasn't been published yet. It won't take more than 3h, don't worry

- Tirano - Sondrio bus

- Sondrio - Milano train

M
Rank
Badge +1

Hi thanks for the information about tirano/milan bus. I still  have some doubt about  the train connections and information  provided by eurail planner.  

1. Earlier  I saw a route from milano to brusells have a direct from milan to Mannheim, so we sbout want to confirm  this itenially,  but now I check again it changed and need to transit ? (picture attached ). 

2. Some itenially  need to go for few transit and every transit  time is very short like few minutes,  is it work? We can catch up the following  train? (Picture attached)

3. One of my destination is Brussels,  but the app planer offer us few stations for Brussels,  which one should  book? Because we also need to tally our hotel location. 

Tq

 

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9
  1. There is a direct Milan to Mannheim (EC54) but punctuality is so bad that you probably won't make the connection in Mannheim. I believe that's why German railways don't offer it anymore.
  2. The changes look fine.
  3. There are over 30 stations in Brussels. The ICE from Frankfurt stops at Brussel-Noord / Bruxelles-Nord and Brussel-Zuid / Bruxelles-Midi (stations have a Dutch and a French name). Which one is the best depends on what you're looking for: close to the city centre, close to the departure station on the next day or something else?
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.
M
Rank
Badge +1

Hi sorry I still not really  get your meaning of my no 2 question above,  we should no problem  to catch up the next train transit in few minutes with the itenially above? We only need to show our pass and enter the next train? Or we need to do some booking online to make sure the train will wait for us? 

Tq

 

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

You can enter connecting trains without any formalities. In Germany, use the DB Navigator app to check the platform where you arrive and where the next train departs.

Booking seat reservations is possible but that does not do anything to make a connecting train wait.

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
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Reservations are optional in Germany so you do not need to book online. On the other hand it is quite recommended for ICE trains to Belgium as they are always busy + it ensures that you'll sit together.

- 3€ per train on tickets.oebb.at (add Eurail as a discount and select one-way tickets)

- 4,50€ no matter how many trains on bahn.de

Sometimes trains wait a few minutes for incoming delayed passengers but not always. A booking does not guarantee that the connecting train will wait. Trains are very often delayed in Germany, you'll always be able to take the next one, don't worry, but as seat reservations are tied to a specific train, you do not have the guarantee to sit together. For that you'll need to make last-minute seat reservations on bahn.de.

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

I believe you've looked at these trains :

- RE Milano Centrale - Lugano 09:43 - 10:58

- IC2 Lugano - Arth-Goldau 11:02 - 12:11

- IR26 Arth-Goldau - Basel SBB 12:15 - 13:56

- ICE Basel SBB - Mannheim Hbf 14:13 - 16:24

- ICE Mannheim Hbf - Köln Hbf 16:36 - 18:04

- Thalys Köln Hbf - Bruxelles-Midi 18:43 - 20:35
It's not the best connection as Thalys have expensive seat reservation fees (27€ per person for that short leg if I'm correct) that can sell out weeks in advance.

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Here is a much better connection :

- RE Milano Centrale - Lugano 08:43 - 09:58

- EC Lugano - Basel SBB 10:02 - 12:56

- ICE Basel SBB - Köln Hbf 13:13 - 17:04

- ICE Köln Hbf - Bruxelles-Midi 17:41 - 19:35

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

You could also leave Milan earlier with one less connection :

- EC Milano Centrale - Basel SBB 08:10 - 12:56 11€ reservation fee though

The last 2 options are definitely much better in case of delays. Basel - Köln - Bruxelles should be bought on bahn.de for 4,50€, there is even a seating map.

(I wasn't able to post everything in one post)

M
Rank
Badge +1

Thanks for everything 

Reply


Terms and Conditions & Privacy PolicyCookie settings