Seriously though, doing some weekend day trips and felt inclined to make a PSA aimed at some of the itineraries seen here.

When your FOMO gets the better of you and you decide to charge all over Europe in two weeks, this is the reality of what a huge chunk of your trip will look like.

You’ll be staring at a railway station or the interior of a train carriage, when you could be really experiencing the one or two places that you should be focusing on.

I haven’t even shown you the huge luggage that you’re wheeling around, the packing, the checking out, the commute to the station, the whole process repeating itself at the other end. That’s just for people travelling along or maybe with another adult. What if you have kids or older relatives with you?

Is this your idea of a holiday? Because it certainly isn’t mine! Slow down, enjoy yourself, and have a *real* experience!

I’m looking at transport options for an upcoming trip to the Catalonian region at the end of May. I see nearly everyone recommend using the trains/buses to get around, however the tickets I’m seeing for trains are getting upwards of US$170 each… not including planning for buses to and from the train station. Then looking at what rental cars are available they’re about $270 for the entire extent of the trip.

For clarity, here’s where we’re going and in what order:
fly into Barcelona
Girona
Cadaques
Montpellier (France)
Barcelona

It seems significantly cheaper to just get a rental car, but this goes against almost everything I’ve read about traveling around Europe. Am I missing something? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

At the beginning of October, I will be flying from America to Berlin for a 23-day trip. During this time, I’ll be visiting friends I’ve met over the years while working seasonal jobs, which explains my route. I’ll land in Berlin early in the morning and stay near Berlin Central Station for one day. The next day, I’ll take a train to Szczecin, Poland, where I’ll stay for a couple of days (meeting a buddy that lives there). From there, we’ll go to Warsaw to visit another friend together. After Warsaw, I’ll travel to Vilnius, Lithuania, where I’ll spend a week with friends in Old Town. From Vilnius, I’ll go to Tallinn, Estonia, for three days, then take a ferry to Helsinki, Finland, where I’ll stay one night before catching a train to the airport for my flight home.

I don’t consider myself much of a planner, but I do have Airbnbs booked in Berlin, Vilnius, and Estonia, plus a hotel in Helsinki. Other than that, the only planning I’ve done is talking with the friends I’m visiting and letting them know when I’m coming. The biggest sources of anxiety for me are getting from Warsaw to Vilnius and from Vilnius to Tallinn. All I’m really finding are buses running between those cities, and I’m not sure whether I need to buy tickets in advance or at the station. If you have any advice around transportation along my route and/or have activities for a solo traveler in Vilnius or Tallinn I am open to your suggestions!

Had a pretty scary incident today and wanted to warn others.

We were traveling back from the Strasbourg Christmas market to our hotel in Basel. I was with my wife and our two young kids, carrying compact strollers. On the train, I was trying to figure out where to safely store the strollers when two women approached us. They seemed very friendly and helpful. One of them started assisting with the strollers while the other stood very close to me.

I was wearing a crossbody bag tightly strapped to my chest with our passports inside. While I was distracted, the second woman quietly opened the zip of my bag. Thankfully, my wife noticed someone’s hand inside my bag and yelled, which is when I realized the zip was open.

My immediate reaction was to check the passports. Thankfully, they were still there. By the time I looked up, both women had already exited the train.

What shocked me was how coordinated and confident they were. This happened on a train that wasn’t even crowded. It felt very deliberate. One distracts while the other pickpockets. They clearly seemed to be targeting families traveling with young kids, knowing you’re distracted and juggling a lot.

In hindsight, it was silly of me to assume that a zipped crossbody bag automatically makes things safe. I usually wear pants with zipped pockets when traveling for exactly this reason, but I let my guard down thinking the crossbody bag was secure enough.

I’ve heard plenty of stories about pickpocketing in France, but experiencing it firsthand was eye opening. Losing passports while traveling with kids would have been a nightmare.

Please be extra careful, especially if you’re traveling with kids, strollers, or luggage.

Hi everyone!

I’m planning a trip around Italy, and my flight arrives at Milan Malpensa Airport.

The arrival time is around 1:30 AM, and after going through security and everything, I’ll probably be done by about 2:30 AM. From what I’ve seen, there are no free hotel shuttles available at that hour.

There also doesn’t seem to be any public transportation at that time, and taxis are quite expensive (at least from my perspective, haha).

So, do you think it would be a problem to just stay at the airport overnight and then take the earliest bus in the morning?

Also, is there anything I might be missing? It would be really nice to get some tips that could help me with this and the rest of the trip too, haha!

Thanks in advance!

I meant US in the title. Lol. I am sick and have a bit of a fever, so my phone typing accuracy is debatable oops

We are flying into Rome, spending 5 nights there including a day trip to Pompeii, then two nights in Florence, 2 nights in Venice, then from there to Munich for 5 nights including a day trip to Nuremberg and a day trip to Salzburg, then five nights in Berlin including a day trip to Hamburg.

Do we just get a eurail pass and hope it covers most of our train travel? Is that just for major legs between cities, would it work for the day trips? What to know about seats/views on the trains?

My husband and I are from the US so know basically nothing about train systems 😅

Note: We are going in July—yes I know it will be hot, but it is literally the only time my husband can get off work. We are accustomed to high heat having lived in Louisiana and Arizona, both without AC. We are planning to walk as much as possible in Europe aside from trains and any taxis/FreeNow if needed.

Edit: So based on comments, I will likely be changing the Pompeii daytrip to a 2-night stay in Naples and the Hamburg daytrip will be replaced with Potsdam.

Flixbus is basically unavoidable if you're doing budget travel in Europe and the prices are genuinely hard to argue with, but the experience varies enough between routes and operators that it's difficult to know what you're actually getting before you book. Some routes are fine, some are a real test of patience, and the factors that determine which are not obvious from the booking interface.

For people who've done multiple routes, are there regions or specific route types where flixbus consistently delivers versus where it's a coin flip? And how does the punctuality track record actually compare to what the app shows?

Our family (husband and wife, 34 and 39, three kids, 7, 5, 3) are planning a trip to Europe and are going through potential itineraries. No matter what, we’re flying in and out of Zagreb and the trip is 3.5 weeks long. This is what we’re considering now:

*Zagreb for two nights *Bratislava/Vienna for 4-5 nights *Salzburg for 4-5 nights *Ljubljana area for 4 nights *Pula area for 4-5 nights *Back to Zagreb for one night

We enjoy exploring cities, outdoor activities, the beach, and taking in history, food, an natural beauty.

Debating on a rental car vs a train pass. We might land on some hybrid combination of the two but I’m looking for advice from folks with travel experience in/between these areas, especially with kids. Thanks!

After a few bottles of wine my girlfriend spent 380e on flights saturday to sunday from Dublin to Paris.

I can match her flight there and its booked but I cannot afford the flight back. I dont have to be back Sunday evening - I lost my job recentlgly.

What is the cheapest way sunday night/monday morning to get from Paris to Dublin..

Please help

UPDATE: Aer Lingus kindly dropped the return flight to 200e and its been purchased. Same airport and same time. She's just AirFrance.

Thanks for the advices - I was totally up for trains and buses but sadly got some blinkered viewed. For those that werent so blinkered, thank you

Any suggestions on where best to watxh the eurovision in Paris are well welcomed :)

Just a profile of me and my boyfriend: We are experienced travellers (though travelling to Europe for the first time). We are willing to do the ehavy travel. Will be spending 10 days in Europe. No heavy luggage, just our less than 7kg backpack (per person). We are fine with fast paced travel.

Rome Leg Day 1: Arrive at 10AM at Roma Termini from Napoli Centrale (30 mins journey). Then visit the Vatican Museum (tickets will be prebooked) after taking the 48 hour pass from the Metro. The entire day is spent in the museum and the sistine chapel.

Rome Leg day 2: The Colosseum opens at 8:30AM (tickets will be prebooked). So reach the colosseum as early as possible. Spend the day around the colosseum till 1 30 PM. Then take the metro to Roma Termini and from there, board the Leonardo Express to the Fiumucino Airport and reach by 3 30 PM to board the flight to Istanbul at 6 25PM.

Questions I have:

1. Do you think Day 1 and Day 2 are doable?
   
2. Do you think we should depart for the FMCU airport by 1 30 so that we can be on the safe side?
   
3. Any other tips you have for me?

Hi, does anyone have a zoomable German train map (including S‑Bahn and regional lines) that I can use for planning? I’ll be travelling with a Deutschlandticket and staying in Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, possibly with a stop near Heilbronn, but I’m struggling to visualise the best routes and where to base myself. Thanks!

My all-time favorite form of public transportation from my travels is the traditional Dghajsa boat in Malta. We used these 6-seater water taxis to take us back and forth from our base in Senglea in the Three Cities (featured in the first 2 photos) to Valletta on a daily basis - across Malta's very scenic Grand Harbour. The scenery on the ride was spectacular! The ride only cost a few Euros per person and we would hail them harbor side. The ride is motorized and takes less the 10 minutes. The oars are used to better position the boat when docking. Depending on the time of day, we were often the only riders. If you look closely in the final photo, you can see one transversing the harbor. We had the opportunity to talk to several of the drivers. Every single one of them was a second or third generation boatsman - learning the trade from their fathers. And each still happily and proudly carried on the tradition.

Hi,

I have planned 2 weeks travel and am trying to get some feedback:

1. If it is too crammed
2. I have 2 days in the end - how to use them wisely?

Hi all,

I’m arriving at Milan Malpensa (MXP Terminal 1) at 6:45 AM on 22 July 2026 (International flight). I’ll have checked luggage and need to clear immigration + baggage claim.

My next flight is a separate Ryanair booking from Bergamo (BGY) at 12:20 PM, also with checked luggage.

The only direct shuttle I can find leaves MXP at 9:15 AM and arrives BGY around 11:00 AM, giving me ~1h20 before departure.

Is this doable or too risky with Ryanair bag drop/security times at BGY in summer? Also, are there any earlier transport options I might be missing? I checked Flixbus etc. but could not find a bus between 8AM to 9AM.

Appreciate any real experience from people who’ve done MXP → BGY transfers. Thanks!

(Edit - revised some numbers thanks to some new information provided by people who replied)

Been doing a lot of reading about the Eurail pass and calculating the rough costs of everything. Most of the things I've read shows that it's not worth it a majority of the time. However, from my calculations, it seems like it might be for me and I just want to make sure I am not over looking possibly cheaper point to point tickets.

A short example is that I am traveling from London > Cologne > Zurich and then back the same way, all in late June / early July.

When I look at Eurostar tickets for June 29th/30th, the average price is ~$230 with the cheapest being $206 at one specific time between those two days. The tip I have seen here is to book the Eurostar ticket from London to Brussels and then a DB ticket from Brussels to Cologne. Which would give me a lower average price with more travel time options for around $200.

With the Eurail pass, for that same ticket, I would be paying $80 for seat registration still. So my net savings would be $120 at a minimum, after taking into consideration the seat reservation costs.

Going with the cheapest Eurail 4 day pass, which is $252. It would make the total come out to $412, so a savings of ~$150 dollars.

My trip is actually longer and more involved than this, but this is just a quick snippet. From what I've read, the rail is even better when traveling in Germany/Switzerland because train costs are more expensive there than other countries.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, maybe I am misunderstanding something but to me, the way Omio handled tickets seemed a bit scammy. I was in Spain and figuring out how to prebook longer distance public transport tickets seemed a bit complicated with all the different companies and dynamic pricing (railway and busses). So I found out Omio as an.app, able to compare travel time and fees for different options,.and booked 3 bus/train tickets through them. On the platform it said a price and a 3.95 platform Omio fee. I was in the assumption that the prices would be the same on the Omio website and through a direct purchase, we with Omio charging a 3.95 euro convenience fee on top. That meant like 12 euro convenience for 3 tickets to Omio, I was fine with that.

Now in the a fellow traveler pointed some stuff out to me when, and apparently the train ticket is 15 euros more expensive on Omio than direct purchase, on top of the "transparant platform fee". Where is that extra 15 euro going that I payed, that feels somewhat misleading to me, as the terms of the deal were different than seemingly advertised (not a 4 euro but 19 euro difference in booking platform).

Hello,

I’m (30f) planning a several week trip to Europe (I have a month available but think I’ll want to come back between 2-3 weeks) we (2 people) have flights into Lisbon and we hope to go to Slovenia and Hungary as well. Is the train/bus a crazy idea to take instead of flying to those countries (from Lisbon) We don’t necessarily want to make a scheduled day-to-day route as we prefer flexibility. I’ve never been to Europe so don’t understand what that travel will look like. The objective is to get both scenic country views with day trains and then hotels in major cities for a few day stay in each. Not attached to any major city in particular but making our way to Budapest. Any feedback is welcome!

I'm planning for a Euro trip with my wife in April for around 3 weeks and plan to visit the following places

• Netherlands(2 days) - mostly for tulips. Any other suggestions are welcome.
• Berlin(3 days) - visit a relative
• Prague(2 days) - heard the walking tour is really good. any must visit places?
• Austria(3 days) - Nature
• Croatia(3 days) - Again nature as its very different from other countries
• Italy(7 days) - History and architecture

I'll be landing in either Amsterdam or Italy and cover the rest of the places. Most probably the route will be Italy -> Croatia -> Austria - > Prague -> Berlin -> Amsterdam but this is not yet fixed. I'm planning to cover these places mostly by train or bus if needed so wanted route recommendations as Italy to Croatia or the other way is seeming a bit difficult.

What am I looking for?

• train route recommendation and which apps to book the trains from. Also do we need pre booking? Same goes for bus.
• Suggestions on some must visit places/activities which I need to cover?

Basically, me and my friend are in Germany for the next two weeks and we planned to visit many cities. We decided that the Deutschland-Ticket was the best option for the diversity of the available public transport and also the affordability. My research suggested that there was a way to buy it as a Canadian resident with third party apps, but I don’t know if they are trustworthy. Can anybody give me some information or possible solution? Thanks in advance!

Romania to Hungary then after a few days Hungary to Poland that goes through slovakia and then after a few more days Poland to Latvia going through Lithuania.

Hi everyone. For a certain reason, I have to travel on May 17th from Paris, stop in Bonn, Germany, for a few hours, and then end up in Berlin by the end of the day. I'm looking for the cheapest option to get there, but I'm having trouble organizing this.

For the two trains, it's over $500 per person (about $250 per route). I was expecting half of that price-- and have no idea why it's so expensive? Is this normal? I'm trying to get to Bonn, but I could just go to Cologne and figure it out from there.

The second option I was considering: booking a car one way. But the one-way fee is $800! Is there any way to avoid this?

Flights are expensive. Busses are too slow. Do y'all have any suggestions? Any help is really appreciated!

Hello!

I'm planning on travelling from the UK to Lviv with the train from Warsaw.

The day train (only option) has a c.60m transfer at Rava Ruska and I'm just wondering if it's realistic to make the connecting train because of the border checks that will take place?

Also, I'd love any recommendations on great local, down-to-earth restaurants and pubs in Lviv, as well as any must-see spots apart from the obvious historic city centre?

Thank you! 🇬🇧 🇺🇦

I'll be visiting Kraków for 2 full days later this year.

For Switzerland, we have the Swiss Travel Pass, which makes getting around quite straightforward. I'm trying to understand what the equivalent is in Kraków and how both locals and tourists typically travel around the city. What are the best transport options, and are there any passes or cards that make sightseeing and public transport easier?

A few questions:

1. What is the best way to explore Kraków for 2 days?
2. Is public transport the preferred option, or should I rely on Uber/taxi?
3. Are there any tourist passes that cover trams, buses, and attractions?
4. How do tickets work for trams and buses?
   • Where do I buy them?
   • Is there an app?
   • Can I use contactless cards?
   • How much do tickets typically cost?
5. Do trams and buses need advance booking, or can I simply show up and board?
6. If I want to visit places like: What would be the most efficient way to plan these over 2 days?
   • Old Town
   • Wawel Castle
   • St. Mary's Basilica
   • Kazimierz
   • Schindler's Factory
   • Wieliczka Salt Mine
   • Auschwitz-Birkenau

For trains (if needed):

• Which app or website should I use?
• How far in advance should tickets be booked?
• Are there any routes where tickets sell out quickly?

Basically, I'm looking for a Kraków public transport guide for complete beginners. I would love to know how locals and experienced travelers would spend 2 days in the city without wasting time or money.

Any tips, recommended itineraries, transport hacks, or mistakes to avoid would be greatly appreciated.

This year, I've no trip planned to a city with a metro network and I miss the metros. I want to travel to a city with a metro network. I like metros, trams, trolley buses, Suburban trains (S-Bahn/S-Tog), cog railways, funiculars, chairlifts, special lifts, etc. I've been in all big Dutch cities, all big Belgium cities, all big German cities, København, Praha, Wien, Budapest and Milano. Thus I want to travel to a new city. Which European city has excellent public transport?

I am travelling with my family to Europe and will be visiting London for a couple of days. I'm wondering about tickets for the Tube. Because there are 5 of us and I want to get around having to buy Oyster cards for everyone, is it possible to use Google Pay on my smartwatch, Google Pay on my phone, and a credit card as three forms of payment? And I can put my credit card on the husband's phone (no foreign exchange fees on my card) and also my card on the eldest's phone? The kids do not have credit cards.