Car
The most flexible way of travelling Europe in my opinion is by
car. The pros are that: - It is easy to seek out rural and suburban hotels and apartments away from train stations and bus routes
- You can travel at your own pace; stop wherever you like.
- If a case of wine, selection of cheeses, herbs or anything else takes your eye you can buy it and stow it away and not have to worry about carrying it around with you (until the cheese goes off!).
- Fuel is often cheaper than the UK
- Long journeys can be tiring especially with bored children
- You need to find a parking space
- Cars use up valuable fossil fuels
To see something of the countries as you drive through, you need to take the smaller roads, but if you need to get to your destination quickly, then turn onto a Motorway / Autoroute / Autostrada / Autobahn, depending on which country you are in. These enable drivers with cars lacking acceleration (like mine) to pass slower vehicles and for faster vehicles to overtake me. They get you there quick but often this comes at a price (Toll). Some countries don't have toll roads these include the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
There is more information on cars and autoroutes on the car page.
Ferries
To get around Europe from my home in Wales by car requires the use of a ferry or the Channel Tunnel as mine is not amphibious. There are pages on this site devoted to looking for the cheapest way of crossing the Channel. The Ferry Deals Page gives a few options.Air
Eurapart no longer covers European Air Travel. As there is a choice of more sustainable travel options available.Car Hire
You might need to hire a car at your destination or take public
transport. Car hire companies abound, but hiring a car can be
like walking through a minefield. Have a look at the Eurapart Car Hire page.
- Avis - The car hire company I use most often.
- Sixt* - German car hire company
but with European presence
- Hertz* - Leading car hire company
- Cheap Car Hire Finder Search for holiday and business car rental worldwide including airport pickup at affordable discount rates.
Rail
Eurapart train and bus pages.Rail travel is an extremely civilised mode of transport. Eurostar*, TGV, ICE etc are just a few of the new breed of high speed train that are cutting travelling times between the major cities. The Channel Tunnel allows a direct connection between the UK rail network and that of the continent.
Rail passes used to be restricted to Under 26's via the Interail Pass. I missed out on this when I was younger and now can't get the travel bug out of my system. I digress; Interail Passes are now available to all ages (more expensive for over 26's). For non European citizens then Eurail Passes are available. Interail* and Eurail* passes offer unlimited travel across most countries.
Some useful rail related sites:
- The man in seat 61 - an excellent personal website with information on travelling by rail to Europe and further afield. Comprehensive rail links.
- Eurostar*- UK to France and Belgium
- - booking of UK trains
- SNCF - French Railways
- DB - German Railways
- SNCB - Belgium Railways
- RENFE - Spain
- FS 'Trenitalia'- Italy
- Rail Europe
* - Book rail journeys and rail passes anywhere in France and the rest of Europe.
- Eurostar* - High speed train from London - Paris, Brussels and more.
Bus
National Express*Intercity bus service for the UK.
Megabus
Super cheap UK InterCity bus service. Seats start at £1 but are subject to £1.50 booking fee. Megabus is now operating some routes to Brussels and Paris.
Eurolines*
Europe wide bus service The UK arm is run by National Express Coaches. London to Paris from £12 (plus £3 booking fee).
Why the asterisk (*)?
There are two types of link on Eurapart: Normal and Affiliate. An asterisk (*) is used to identify Affiliate links. The Eurapart site may receive commission from Affiliate links in some circumstances.The second type of link will take you to the company's site without this site getting any commission.
The following links are provided as alternatives to the affiliate links in the text: Hertz Rail Europe Eurostar National Express