Busabout vs Interrail; other related things....

From: (Rob)
Newsgroups: rec.travel.europe,rec.travel.budget.backpack
Subject: Busabout vs Interrail
NNTP-Posting-Host: 81.86.181.27

Hi,

As everyone was so helpful last time i posted a message on here i
thought i would repeat the exercise.

First of all i have just discovered busabout, it seems a lot safer and
more sociable than interrailing (as i'll be travelling alone), but
also seems a lot more expensive. What is everyone's opionion on the
difference between the two?

Also this is my rough plan for my month long trip:

fly from the UK to berlin
prague
maybe krakow - i've heard that the train can be quite unsafe; is there
a day train?
budapest
vienna
maybe munich
leysin (switzerland - staying at the hiking sheep guesthouse)
lyon
paris
back to the uk

What is everyones opinion on this as an itinery? Are there other
places that i should go instead or in addition to these? What kind of
budget should i be looking at (staying in hostel dorms)? - i was
thinking abnout £1500.

Thanks in anticipation of your much appreciated comments,

Rob

First of all i have just discovered busabout, it seems a lot safer and
more sociable than interrailing (as i'll be travelling alone), but
also seems a lot more expensive. What is everyone's opionion on the
difference between the two?

I would definitely recommend taking trains or a combination of trains
and cheap flights, rather than busabout. It's very easy to meet
locals or other travelers on the trains or in hostels, or in the
places you visit, so don't worry about travelling alone since you
almost certainly won't be alone for long if you don't want to. The
rail network in Europe goes virtually everywhere, while busabout is
much more limited, both in terms of where it goes and how often buses
leave for places.

Also this is my rough plan for my month long trip:

fly from the UK to berlin
prague
maybe krakow - i've heard that the train can be quite unsafe; is there
a day train?

Lock up your stuff and you'll be fine. Take the day train if that
makes you feel safer.

budapest
vienna
maybe munich

Consider Salzburg or some smaller German towns like Bamberg.

leysin (switzerland - staying at the hiking sheep guesthouse)

Consider Interlaken if you're into extreme sports.

lyon

Consider Provence or the Loire Valley or a wine region instead of
another large French city besides Paris.

paris
back to the uk

What is everyones opinion on this as an itinery? Are there other
places that i should go instead or in addition to these?

It's a bit rushed. Berlin-Prague-Budapest-Vienna should take about
three weeks in total if you want to really see them. Those cities are
loaded with history, and with locals with stories to tell, and a quick
trip won't do them justice. That would leave about ten days, if you
wanted to see Paris and ONE other place (like Interlaken or Burgundy).
Leave out Munich and Lyon and Krakow - you won't have time for them.
The important thing is to not try to fit in too much, and leave enough
time to really experience things and go beyond just seeing basic
tourist sights. Spain, Italy, and Greece are also wonderful, but save
them for future trips.

What kind of
budget should i be looking at (staying in hostel dorms)? - i was
thinking abnout £1500.

In most of Western Europe, hostel dorm beds are 15-25 euros. Three
meals a day in cafes, bakeries, kebab stands, trattorias, pubs, and
cheap restaurants with money for beers at night and for cold drinks in
hot weather will run you about 25 euros per day. (You can get this
down to 15 euros if you really slum it foodwise - fast food,
supermarkets, etc., but that would miss out on part of the
experience.) Add about 10 euros per day average for admission to
stuff, and you have 50-60 euros per day not including transport.

Eastern Europe will be much cheaper, in all of those respects.

On 20 Apr 2004 11:21:50 -0700, (Rob) wrote:

From: (Rob)
Newsgroups: rec.travel.europe,rec.travel.budget.backpack
Subject: Busabout vs Interrail
NNTP-Posting-Host: 81.86.181.27

Hi,

As everyone was so helpful last time i posted a message on here i
thought i would repeat the exercise.

First of all i have just discovered busabout, it seems a lot safer and
more sociable than interrailing (as i'll be travelling alone), but
also seems a lot more expensive. What is everyone's opionion on the
difference between the two?

Busabout might be more sociable, but buses are ****. And a lot of the
busabout people are idiots (I KNOW I KNOW). And train travelling is
good.


Also this is my rough plan for my month long trip:

fly from the UK to berlin
prague
maybe krakow - i've heard that the train can be quite unsafe; is there
a day train?
budapest
vienna
maybe munich
leysin (switzerland - staying at the hiking sheep guesthouse)
lyon
paris
back to the uk

For starters, Krakow is sorta out of the way - to get to Budapest from
Krakow could take 15 hours or something. I'd start by going from
Berlin to Krakow (this is a still a long way - 9 hours on the train?),
then down to Prague. From there, get a bus to Cesky Krumlov (buses are
cheaper and quicker at about 3 hours or so), then train to Budapest.
Get a bus back to Prague for an overnight train to Budapest.

I'd skip Vienna in favour of Munich. Munich is amazing. From Munich go
to Innsbruck (Austria. Alps. Good.), then off to Interlaken. Leysin is
a ******* to get to. Interlaken has everything you want - take an
excursion to Gimmelwald or whatever it was called. Cable cars and
stuff. From Interlaken to Paris, from Paris to Amsterdam to finish off
for a day or two then back to the UK.


So:
Berlin 3 nights
Krakow 2 nights
Prague 3 nights
Cesky Krumlov 2 nights
Budapest 3 nights
Munich 3 nights
Innsbruck 2 nights
Interlaken 2 nights
Paris 3 nights
Amsterdam 3 nights

That'd give you a few days to play around with in case you wanted to
stay longer. Also, you could do day trips here and there.

What is everyones opinion on this as an itinery? Are there other
places that i should go instead or in addition to these? What kind of
budget should i be looking at (staying in hostel dorms)? - i was
thinking abnout £1500.

Always stay in dorms. Much cheaper. If you want hostel recommendations
in these places just ask...I did all this last year.