John and I traveled around Europe for two wonderful months without ever getting behind the wheel of a car.
I loved it every time we strolled along a street so narrow that a car would be a handicap, every time a hotel added 15 euros for parking and it didn’t apply to us, and every time a public bus in its dedicated lane passed a few hundred cars stalled in a traffic jam and we were on the bus.
Okay, okay, there were a few times it would have been nice to have a car — when we wanted to visit a little town off the beaten path, or when it would have been fun to buy a big souvenir and put it in the trunk, rather than reluctantly pass it by because we didn’t want to carry it around for the rest of the trip. (I know, we could ship something home, but we’re not big spenders anyway.)
Then John would remind me about the friends who had parked their rental car next to a garbage bin behind their hotel, and the bin was set on fire, and their rental car was burned to a crisp.
And I would remind him about the time we bumbled around England in a rental car, knocking off a mirror on one side and ruining a tire on the other side before we got the hang of driving on the left.
In my current opinion, trains, trams, buses, metros and taxis are a great way to go. Maybe this is just an interim stage between the adventure of driving yourself and the security of having a tour operator take care of transportation and just about everything else.
Getting on a train in Europe and heading for the next place we wanted to go was a pleasure. The seats in both first- and second-class were always comfortable — hugely more comfortable than any airplane seat in economy class. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the train departed and arrived right on schedule.
On most overnight trains in Europe there is the option of a two-person compartment with clean and comfortable bunk beds. (That, however, does cost a substantial extra fee. More on Eurail’s “extra” fees next time.)
Every metropolitan area we visited made me realize what a difference there is between American and European approaches to public transportation.
In America we build roads, try to keep them in reasonable repair, and encourage people to buy cars and drive them everywhere. Is there really an “American love affair with the automobile” or is it that our other choices are few and far between? In Europe, public transportation is plentiful, convenient, low-cost and well used by local people.
Gasoline costs more there, too. Somewhere between the high price of gasoline and the narrow winding streets probably lies the reason Europeans drive smaller cars.Â
Our biggest transportation hassle was figuring out the different systems in each place: read a metro map, find the route, determine the cost, check whether to pay for a ticket in a kiosk or a machine or on the tram or the bus, and so on. It’s not an overwhelming problem, but it does take time. Still, it’s not all bad. You meet a lot of helpful strangers this way.
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I find that public transportation in Europe is about the same as in the USA. Trains are good for shorter trips, say Paris to Brussels as is the case for Philadelphia to New York. Buses are about the same in both places.
But Europeans use planes for longer distances. Doubt me, compare the myriad flights offered by dozens of low cost airlines in Europe to what we have in the USA. The reason is that air travel is much cheaper than trains.
The most highly touted new train route in Euorpe is the new high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid. It costs at least twice the price of the many flights that go between the two cities.
As for auto travel, please understand that most European families go for their big summer holiday by car. And they prefer cars to commute to work. The best example here is London. Auto traffic got so bad that they had to put in a special fee you must pay in order to drive into the city. Thank God or the city would probably have wound up with the world’s first permanent traffic jam. I know, I lived and drove in London for a year.
I don’t think Leo C. has ever tried to take a train from San Diego to San Francisco. Euro and America are different worlds in mass transit. Surprised that someone who’s lived in London doesn’t know that
mcc.
After having backpacked through europe, I found that the train system was more reliable and surprisingly, more affordable in the long run. Carriers like RyanAir and EasyJet advertise cheap prices, but if you have any type of luggage over 20 pounds, get ready for an extra 50 euros added on to your ticket. The low price advertised is without taxes and fees that basically equate to the total cost of a train. You can bring as much luggage/souvenirs on the train as you want. In addition, you do not have to go through all the security measures that airports burden passengers with. When the conductor checks your ticket, he will also verify your passport. If you have a permanent lodging, than taking a cheap flight for the weekend is probably your best bet. However, I would recommend buying a euro-rail pass for any other traveler who does not have a permanent lodging and/or will be traveling in europe for over 2 weeks. As John asserts in the post above mine, european public transportation is far more reliable and convenient than that of the US.
John and Victoria
I have lived in seven European countries and have visited all the rest save San Marino and Belarus. I am intimately aware of train travel throughout the old world. The trains in Ukraine (thank you Professor Higgins) are fun and just about the only long distance ones I would recommend.
You are right John, there is no direct train from San Diego to San Francisco as I found out on a recent visit. But there are lots of cheap flights.
Ryanair charges Euros 5 to check a bag weighing up to 33 lbs. United Airlines wanted to charge me $15 to check a bag on my last US flight. I never liked large carryons but am becoming used to them.
The London metro (Underground) is the most expensive in the world. The cheapest ride is $4. And taking a bus, other than in the very center of the city, is a joke. I was one of the few people who actually knew where one could park legally in downtown London.
The best metro is probably the one in my hometown, Washington DC. The cheapest is the Kiev metro, about 5 cents a ride. The Madrid metro is probably the best combination of extensive system and reasonable fares, only 60 cents.
I could go on at length describing each train route, metro, bus line, airline and roadway in Europe but it will still come out the same, public transportation in Europe is on a par with that in the USA. Not to put too fine a point on it, no where in the world does a metropolis do a better job of bringing millions of workers to their job each day on time and at the right price than New York City.