Brett

Hey. can anyone give me some recommendations as to choosing busabout
or eurail? i am heading to Europe this summer and my itenary is
germany, poland, czech republic, austria, italy, croatia, france, and
hopefully spain . I wanted to steer away from an unlimited eurail
pass, coz i don't want to be rushed to see everything in a short
time.. i was strongly considering busabout because of unlimited time
to use travel days and it seems to fit fairly well with the itenary..
but reading some previous posts has made me unsure about my choice.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks everyone.

Iceman

    > i am heading to Europe this summer and my itenary is
    > germany, poland, czech republic, austria, italy, croatia, france, and
    > hopefully spain.

Then you don't need a Eurail pass. If you want to visit a lot of
places in Germany or France, then you might consider a German or
French railpass (long-distance train rides in those two countries are
expensive). But in the other countries a railpass would be a waste of
money, since the trains are cheap in Italy and Central Europe (and
buses are cheap in Spain). Railpasses usually only make sense if you
want to focus on countries where trains are expensive and you're
visiting a lot of places in a short time.

    > I wanted to steer away from an unlimited eurail pass, coz i don't want
    > to be rushed to see everything in a short time..

No one is forcing you to rush. I met two British girls in Naples who
had been in nine countries in the last sixteen days because they felt
they had to get their money's worth from their railpass. If you want
to spend more time in places and really experience them rather than
just rushing from one "sight" to another, then you probably wouldn't
get your money's worth from a railpass.

    > i was strongly considering busabout because of unlimited time
    > to use travel days and it seems to fit fairly well with the itenary..
    > but reading some previous posts has made me unsure about my choice.
    > Any advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks everyone.

If you're unsure what you want to do, I'd recommend just paying for
tickets as you go, which gives you the freedom to use cheap flights as
well as trains. Airlines like ryanair, easyjet, Air Berlin,
SkyEurope, Basiq Air, and Hellas Air are often cheaper than the train
if you book them in advance, and if you're in one of their hubs they
can get you quickly and cheaply to many major cities in Europe.

There are a few problems with Busabout - their network is very limited
as compared to the Eurail network, which goes virtually everywhere in
Western and Central Europe. Trains on major routes leave several
times per day - how often do Busabout buses leave, and if it's full,
are you stuck? Also, the trains will be full of Europeans, while
Busabout will be full of other backpackers. In Western Europe at
least, train travel is almost always pleasant, and there are a lot of
high-speed trains. No matter where you are, bus travel sucks, and
buses are always slow. Trains get you from one downtown to another -
does Busabout drop you off in hostels far from the city center?

Helmut Uttenthaler

Brett wrote:
    > Hey. can anyone give me some recommendations as to choosing
busabout
    > or eurail? i am heading to Europe this summer and my itenary is
    > germany, poland, czech republic, austria, italy, croatia,
france, and
    > hopefully spain .

Busabout doesn't even go to Poland. And with busabout you can only
see some places in the other countries, with the train network you
have much more flexibility (trains go to every imprtant place, and
there are usually sereval trains daily on each route, not only
every other day like busabout).

If you want to meet local people, the train is also the better
way, I don't think much Europeans use Busabout (it's not well
known here - at least in Austria -, and seems to be designed
specially for travellers from overseas).


I cannot say whether a railpass is the best option for you, it
depends on your specific itinerary. A railpass has the advantage
of being very flexible, you can just hop on the train (well, you
need supplements or reservation for some trains) and get off where
you want and you don't have to get a ticket and find the cheapest
fare for each trip.
On the other hand it might be cheaper to travel around with
individual tickets for each trip, then you can also choose between
train, plane or bus.


--
Helmut Uttenthaler,
Graz - Austria

Brett

Thanks heaps for the advice guys, much appreciated!
-Brett


On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:41:38 +0200, "Helmut Uttenthaler"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Brett wrote:
    >> Hey. can anyone give me some recommendations as to choosing
    >busabout
    >> or eurail? i am heading to Europe this summer and my itenary is
    >> germany, poland, czech republic, austria, italy, croatia,
    >france, and
    >> hopefully spain .
    >Busabout doesn't even go to Poland. And with busabout you can only
    >see some places in the other countries, with the train network you
    >have much more flexibility (trains go to every imprtant place, and
    >there are usually sereval trains daily on each route, not only
    >every other day like busabout).
    >If you want to meet local people, the train is also the better
    >way, I don't think much Europeans use Busabout (it's not well
    >known here - at least in Austria -, and seems to be designed
    >specially for travellers from overseas).
    >I cannot say whether a railpass is the best option for you, it
    >depends on your specific itinerary. A railpass has the advantage
    >of being very flexible, you can just hop on the train (well, you
    >need supplements or reservation for some trains) and get off where
    >you want and you don't have to get a ticket and find the cheapest
    >fare for each trip.
    >On the other hand it might be cheaper to travel around with
    >individual tickets for each trip, then you can also choose between
    >train, plane or bus.