mpalmer@dvinci.DEC (M. Lawrence Palmer) (05/22/85)
Hi all you experienced travelers-of-Europe! I have a wedding to attend in Ireland in the last weekend of June. Since I also have friends in Nice, Reading (near London), and Munich, I thought it might be an opportune time to pay them all visits. I am trying to solve the "travelling salesman" problem for minimum travel cost to visit all these places but am not able to get lots of info from American travel agents. I think I'd want to do something like take a cheap fare to London or Munich, use railroad and ferry to get between places, and fly back from another point. It seems to be rather expensive to fly directly in or out of Ireland to the U.S. I'd like information on railway costs, specifically for sleeper cabins. Does Eurail or whatever typically run overnight trains between these locales? How much are the Ireland/England/France ferries? What other difficulties should I watch for, etc.? thanks Mark L. Palmer
macrakis@harvard.ARPA (Stavros Macrakis) (05/23/85)
> ...Ireland ... friends in Nice, Reading (near London), and Munich ... > to pay them all visits. I'd like information on railway costs, > specifically for sleeper cabins. Does Eurail or whatever typically > run overnight trains between these locales? Trains are usually very reasonably priced; overnight runs are common. There's no reason to buy a Eurailpass for such a trip: not only does it not cover UK and Ireland (if I remember correctly), but it will be far more expensive than individual tickets (and if you're over 25, you pay for first class). Sleepers cost you a supplement anyway. If cost is an issue, why take a sleeper cabin? You can get a couchette (shared, beds fold down from walls) for less (cramped if you're over 5'10"). There are various classes of service up to Trans-Europ Express (TEE), which is the fastest, nicest, and most expensive. Call up the offices of the French national railway (SNCF) in NY for more specific information. The ferries are probably your biggest headache. I suggest you not try to take them overnight, unless you get a bed. Unlike in the Mediterranean, you probably won't want to try to sleep on deck....
bhs@siemens.UUCP (05/28/85)
Mark: I believe that Pan Am has a $199 dollar one way fare into Nice form NYC until the end of june. From there, you could take the overnight train to Munich, taking a bunk for the local equivalent of ca. $3 (on top of the regular fare, which is very low, the trip being through Italy ). From Munich, you would want to take the train to Hoek van Holland, or Oostend, for the ferry ride to England. To do it in Style, why not take a night train Munich- Amsterdam, spend a day in Amsterdam, and then catch the evening boat train to Hoek van Holland (boat train means that the train schedule and the ferry schedule are coordinated ). There are two boats from Holland to England. The day crossing takes about 6 hours, while the night crossing typically takes 8 hours. The reason is that if the ship were to cruise at full speed, you would arrive in England at the oddest hour of the morning, when no trains are running yet. Thus, you are delayed intentionally, and arrive in England at a more civilized hour. Again, a train will be waiting for you at the dock. My suggestion is to get a cabin on the night boat from Holland to England. The ferry line recently acquired a large, new boat, which was running from Holland to England at night, return by day. If this is still the case, it is great- multilevel bar/disco, carpeted rooms, and unlike the regular sealink ferries, no vibrations, clanking, or other rude noises all night long. But, while in Munich, you could also check into discount air fares to London, which, at the cost of the nice sceninc trip, would get to London much faster. Bernard H. Schwab Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ