Help/advice for a trip to Western Europe

[AHiltz]

Thinking about taking the wife to England and then maybe some mainland countries like France/Netherlands/Germany in the spring or early summer.

What options are there besides planes to get from England to France without renting a car and driving? Do they have high speed trains that travel back and forth?

What's the train system around England like? Say from London to Manchester?

[biondino]

The train system in the UK is efficient (stop sniggering at the back) but expensive. Why do you want to go to Manchester? There is a high speed train (the Eurostar) that goes from London to Brussels, Lille, Paris and various other destinations. The European train network is cheaper and pretty efficient, and should certainly get you to and from the big cities without too much trouble.

[AHiltz]

I was thinking Manchester in order to watch some football.

[Warpe]

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/pa...pass_index.htm

[BigPapi]

Eurostar is definitely great. high speed trains are the way to travel if you want to visit these countries. If you need some info about Netherlands just pm me...

[biondino]

Unless you're a massive United or City fan, I'd just find a match to watch in London - if you're lucky they'll be away at a London club while you're here. Also, don't just assume you'll be able to buy tickets easily if you're a United fan - they sell out every game.

You'd definitely be able to see a Fulham home game, if you're not so fussed about teams - they're my local team, in a nice part of London, right on the river, and they never sell out

[snowboard_31]

Not sure if its the direction your thinking, but I went on a trip with the girlfriend throughout europe (england, nethlerlands, switz, germany, austria, italy, france) through Contiki tours. www.contiki.com They are basically a bus tour company for people looking to have a good time and see alot of stuff.

It was completely worth the money, and the side adventures they offer were all well worth the money. Saved alot of time for preparing, especially since it was my first time overseas. Everyone on the tour was friendly and sociable and the price was definately worth it. You obviously dont get as much freedom as planning it yourself with via rail or w.e, but they know their shiz

[XTR1000]

pm me for info´s about germany

[BennyLaRue]

Eurail is excellent. But if you want to see a bunch of countries for cheap and don't mind taking extra time, ie. a backpacking style trip, another option is the Euro Bus.

http://www.eurolines-pass.com

15 days unlimited travel mid-season throughout Europe is 199 euros if you're under 26 years old, 229 euros for 26 or older.

[AHiltz]

This is all great info guys. I appreciate it.

[Deanglow]

I notice there is a limit with the train of 5 countries. Is the eurobus the best way to travel to like 10-12 countries cheaply in a month or so?

[BennyLaRue]

I notice there is a limit with the train of 5 countries. Is the eurobus the best way to travel to like 10-12 countries cheaply in a month or so?

I'm pretty sure the Eurail Global Pass is good for all countries but I've never used that particular pass (they revamped them recently).

I once flew into Paris and used Euro Bus to get to 9 different cities in a big loop back to Paris over 5 weeks. Like anything, it's well suited for particular travel plans. It was excellent for what I wanted...flexible transportation without having to pick in advance when I wanted to be in what city or even what city I wanted to go to next. I didn't care about it taking a couple extra hours to get to the next city and I didn't care about being on a bus with other, equally dirty backpackers.

Where I did take the train, I found it more comfortable and quicker, but again, less flexible (roads offer more destination options than rail, of course) and more expensive.

Comparing the two in one statement, let me put it this way: it's Jack Kerouac vs. Ernest Hemingway.

[BennyLaRue]

Oh, and to add Contiki to that analogy, Contiki is a Jackie Collins novel.

[biondino]

You gotta ask though, how many wives and girlfriends would rather Hunter S Thompson than the Orient Express?