National Tourist Offices

The old-style tourist office (one that was full of glossy brochures and friendly people who were happy to help prospective travelers) is about as rare today as a flying hippo. Rather than spend money up front in order to help tourists, most European countries are shutting down their overseas offices and relying instead on the Web. That might make short-term economic sense, but it doesn’t do you a whole lot of good.

There are a few tourist offices currendy operating in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In North America, many of these offices move around and change phone numbers quite often, so even the most current List may include a bad number or two (though you can always go to ©www.visiteurope.com for an up-to-date directory of the latest information); most of the US offices are in New York, so if you get an invalid number, a call to ©212/ 555-1212 should get you that offices new number, oorne countries also maintain offices in Los Angeles or Chicago.
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Choosing a Rail Pass

When deciding which pass is right for you, the two questions you need to answer are (1) where do you want to go, and (2) how definite are your plans? Someone with definite plans has it easy. They can look at where they want to go and how much train travel they need to do, and use a price list obtained by a travel agent to pick a pass that suits their needs. If you are sure of where you want to go, get the cheapest pass that takes you there. If you are going to be staying in one or two countries, you don’t need a Eurail pass. If you know you are going to be staying in Italy and Germany, for example, a Euro Selectpass will probably be fine for you, or perhaps even individual tickets. In general, though, I recommend regional and country passes only for those who are positive they will be staying in those regions or countries.

Most people headed for Europe aren’t certain of their plans. They have some places they know they want to see, but they aren’t sure in what order, and they may want to change their plans as they go. If that is the case, and you want the freedom to wander all over Europe if you choose, then skip the regional or country passes. The extra money you pay for the freedom to travel farther will be worth it. My advice in this situation is simple: for your first trip, especially if it’s for a whole summer, get the most powerful pass you can afford, either a fifteen-day Flexi Eurailpass or a two- or three-month unlimited Eurailpass, and ride it into the ground.
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InterRail

InterRail passes are similar to Eurail passes in their intent (to get budget travelers on the rails), but different in operation, coverage, and price. There are also a number of restrictions - you must have been a resident in a particular European country for at least six months, and the pass cannot be used in that country. You can find them on the Web at ® www. inter rail. net.

InterRail prices are very competitive. The system divides the countries of Europe into a series of zones, and you pay according to the number of zones you wish to travel through. Note that, unlike Eurail passes, InterRail passes are for second-class travel only; you must pay a supplement on “fast” trains such as the TGV and ICE or the AVE, Spain’s bullet train. As with Eurail passes, there are discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent on ferry lines all over Europe.

Euro Selectpasses Plus other Country and Regional Passes

Since the six rail passes mentioned previously are valid all over Europe, they are the most expensive passes available. You’re paying for the right to use an enormous system of railroads, from Portugal to Hungary, and from Norway to Greece and Sicily. It’s possible that you might not need all that travel power, and don’t want to pay for it. If this is the case, you’re in luck, because passes for smaller parts of Europe and for individual countries are also available. You can buy these types of passes from most vendors that sell Eurail passes.

Eurail Selectpasses: These passes allow you to create your own smaller version of a Flexi Eurailpass. You can buy a Selectpass for any three, four or five countries out of the seventeen-country Eurail system, as long as they’re all connected by a rail or ferry. (For example, you can’t buy a pass for Portugal, Finland, Norway, and Hungary, but you could buy a pass for Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany.) Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are treated as one country.

Eurail Passes

All six of the Eurail passes listed below and on p.216 are good throughout the seventeen Eurail countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain (except private railways), Sweden, and Switzerland (except private railways). Note that Great Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic, and other Eastern European countries are not included. Fortunately, train or bus travel is very cheap in all countries not included, except Britain.

Also included with the train travel provided by these passes are “free” or discounted ferries between Italy and Greece (see the section on flying within Europe in Chapter 6, “Getting Around,” though), France and Ireland, ferries inside of Denmark, from Denmark to Sweden, Sweden to Finland, and several more combinations of the above. Remember the warning about “free” offers, though; anything “free” will cost you a day or force you to validate your pass. You can find Eurail on the Web at ©www.eurail.com.

Rail Passes

If you plan on getting around a lot, especially to major cities, you’ve probably made the right decision in choosing a train pass. The next step,picking the right pass, may seem confusing, but with a little time you should be able to pick a pass that suits your trip. The details quoted here were accurate as we went to press, but the exact prices and types of passes available change all the time. To get the most up-to-date information, call one of the agents listed at the end of this section before makingyour final decision. Most student and discount travel agencies will also have the latest price lists.

Remember that train passes are not good on metros and urban trains, but may be good on some commuter lines. Many super-express services, such as the French TGV, require payment of a small supplement. When in doubt, ask before boarding the train. Children aged 4 to 11 get most passes at half price but, as always, call to confirm for your particular pass. Some definitions before we begin the selection process.

Visas

Visas are pretty much extinct in Western Europe but are still alive and kicking in Eastern Europe. This could change by the time you are reading this, but don’t count on it. Regardless, get any visas that you need early. Most visas, though not all, are issued while you wait at any embassy of the country you wish to enter. Be advised that some embassies only issue them at odd hours or on certain days, and some require you to leave your passport overnight or longer. Aussies and Kiwis should get as many visas as they can before they leave home, and avoid wasting travel days in Europe waiting for visas to be issued. Don’t buy rail tickets or make tightly scheduled plans without your visas in hand.

Western Europe

Australians traveling in France and Spain no longer require visas for short stays, but will need one for entry into Portugal. For details about stays of longer than 30 days, Aussies should contact the relevant embassy. Also, there is a two-month limit on travel in Portugal for Americans and Canadians without visas. In every other country, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, UK, or US passports are good for a maximum stay of 90 days.

Eastern Europe

Visa requirements in Eastern Europe have become much more relaxed than they were just a few years ago. While Americans, Canadians, and Brits are practically home free these days, Australians and Kiwis still have to put up with a little red tape.

Finally one last request

The trip that gave birth to the original First-Time Europe began more than seven years ago. I’ve been back to Europe eight or ten times since then, including a six-month period when I lived in Italy. Looking back, and after reviewing this book, the advice that rings the truest after all of these years is the simplest. First and fore-most, stop worrying about it and make the trip. Do your reading ahead of time, and learn about the regions you want to visit. Travel very, very light. Make your reservations. Take an open mind and lots of film. Learn as much of the language(s) as you can. Go early. If you remember nothing else, remember these things.

Every author hopes that his or her book will somehow benefit the reader. My aim was and is to provide information that makes your trip more enjoyable and successful. If I did that, please let me know. If I didn’t, then definitely let me know, and tell me what was wrong and how to fix it. Whether or not I helped you, this book is not perfect, and can certainly be improved when I come to prepare a new edition in a year or two.

Accuracy is a major concern, and I would appreciate hearing of any mistakes or changes. Also, if you had an experience that would help others if they heard about it, please write. This is especially the case if you have some expertise: motorcycle tourists, hard-core campers, travel agents who can talk about airline tickets from a seat on the other side of the counter . . . anybody who has information that could help the budget traveler.
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Going Home

Sadly, every trip must eventually come to an end. Truth be told, many people are glad to be heading home after two months (or more) on the go, sleeping in a different bed every few days. Returning home should be a piece of cake for the now-experienced traveler, so only a few words of advice are necessary:

- If you are flying home, and stopping on the way, be careful. If you miss one leg of a flight, all other legs are canceled. For example, let’s say you are scheduled to fly home from Munich to London to Sydney, with a scheduled stop of one week in London. You are having such a good time in Munich that you no-show for your flight to London, and stay in Munich for six extra days, and take a train to London. Well, your ticket from London to Sydney was canceled when the plane took off from Munich without you. Believe it or not, it is virtually impossible to cancel one segment of a two-part flight even if you call ahead. Hard to believe, but true. If your homeward ticket says that you catch a plane in Munich, and go through London and back on to home, even if the whole trip is on the same airline, you MUST catch that plane in Munich. Yes, I know this is stupid - believe me, I know. I once burned through six phone cards in Paris, trying to get a flight segment canceled so I didn’t have to backtrack all the way to Denmark.

The worst of Europe

1. Bullfights. I love Spain, and some of my fondest travel memories are from that country. However, bullfights are, in my opinion, the unfair, unsporting, and cruel torture of a fine animal. (I would have no problem with bullfighting if the bull had half a chance and more matadors were gored.) If you disagree with me, go see one. If you agree, go see one anyway, so you can talk about how bad it is with authority. Feel free to walk out halfway through.

2. Secondhand smoke. We’re talking billowing clouds of nicotine death, spewed forth from every man, woman, and child above the age of nine. Well, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it’s bad enough. You’ll see.

3. Munich Hauptbahnhof. This is not so much a railway station as a gigantic ant farm built for human beings. Despite having passed through it at least ten times, I still manage to get lost every time I arrive. Both members of the rock group Milli Vanilli lived in this station for a time, I can understand why they lip-synched their way out of there.