- Taking trains all the way across Europe can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- Such an epic, several-day journey doesn't have to be extremely expensive, as I found out recently.
- From breaking the trip up to bringing your own food, there are plenty of ways to save money.
- It is also a good idea to plan in advance, and have an itinerary in mind to reduce stress.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
So, you want to take a train across Europe. Congratulations! It's the adventure of a lifetime.
It's also cheaper, and easier, than you'd expect.
I recently found that out during a trip from Istanbul to London, which, for eight days of traveling across Europe on 13 separate train, cost $491.90 in total.
Here's exactly how you can do it, too — and for more inspiration, you can read about my full route and itinerary here.
Traveling across Europe by train doesn't have to be expensive, but planning is key.
There are plenty of companies that offer all-expenses-included train trips across Europe. While they offer convenience (and usually luxury), they're quite pricey.
But as I learned, there are ways to save massive amounts of money. The only catch: planning does take a little bit of time — and flexibility.
To plan your route, one of the best places to start is a website called The Man in Seat Sixty-One.
The Man in Seat Sixty-One is a website founded by former rail industry manager Mark Smith. Since its start in the 2000s, it has become one of the best online resources out there for traveling by train. Name the country (literally almost every country on earth), and you can find detailed information about timings, connections, estimated prices, and even plenty of first-person reviews, along with photos of what to expect.
As someone who (perhaps ironically) admittedly does not know much about technology, I found the website incredibly easy to use, with lots of large drop-down links and a non-overwhelming page design — impressive considering the sheer amount of information available.
When booking different legs of your journey, make sure you leave plenty of time for connections. I found it helpful to print out my itinerary.
I was lucky that none of my trains were delayed, but I was still very glad I allowed for plenty of time between connections.
My rule of thumb: the longer the train journey, the more time I allowed for connection, in case there were major delays.
It took a bit of extra time, but I typed up and printed out my entire itinerary, including what times trains were leaving from which stations, from what platform, and the addresses of the hotels I would be staying at.
I was glad I did, since I couldn't find free WiFi everywhere, and there were times when I needed to turn my phone off to preserve battery life — not to mention my ancient laptop no longer works unless it's plugged in.
Be sure to check visa requirements — not every country in Europe is part of the European Union.
While the European Union is visa-free for many nationalities, this is not the case in Turkey. Americans, Australians, Brits and Canadians — among others — need to obtain an e-visa in advance (which can be done here).
Next up, book some hotels. The old railway hotels built for Orient Express passengers are ultra-luxurious, but expensive.
In Istanbul, I stayed at the legendary Pera Palace, in the same room where Agatha Christie wrote "Murder on the Orient Express." While it was undeniably opulent, it also cost about 1,600 Turkish lira ($280) per night (and a regular room cost about 1,100 Turkish lira, or $190, per night). It would be the same case in Zagreb at Esplanade Zagreb Hotel. While that was perhaps the fanciest hotel I stayed at during my entire trip, it also cost €139.20 ($155) per night — a bit much for some people.
Were I to take the trip again, I'd consider staying at less expensive accommodations, like hostels or budget hotels.
You can still find bargains, though — especially in eastern Europe.
Not every nice hotel has to be expensive, however, as I learned on my trip. Belgrade's famed Hotel Moskva, for example — where the likes of Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Frank Sinatra, Julia Roberts, and more have stayed — cost only €104 ($115) per night.
The room was cozy and elegant (with a stellar view of Belgrade's skyline), and the personal attention from staff was truly something else. I had even emailed the hotel a few days in advance saying that I was worried I would not have time to buy the next train ticket I needed at the station, and Uroš, Hotel Moskva's concierge, arranged everything — and a train ticket for the next morning was waiting for me when I checked in. Talk about a great deal.
The Sofia Hotel Balkan — a five-star hotel literally next door to Bulgaria's presidential palace, and where seemingly every surface is made of expensive-looking marble, was an even better deal: it was just €89 ($98) per night, with an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast (from which I also smuggled snacks for later) included.
Prices for food on the trains can be high — you can save a lot of money by bringing your own snacks and meals.
Sofia Hotel Balkan was not the only hotel from which I smuggled out snacks from the breakfast buffet to eat later in the day. In fact, I did that at every hotel I stayed at — and it meant I didn't have to buy food on any of the trains or at stations. Seeing as food could be as expensive as the £2.70 ($3.50) small latte on the Eurostar from Paris to London, it added up to quite a bit of money saved.
As beautiful as the scenery is, you might want to bring your own entertainment. Many of the trains don't have WiFi...
I had a well-worn copy of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" and plenty of notepads and pens to keep me occupied when I wasn't gaping at the gorgeous landscapes we passed through. But for people desiring electronic stimulation, the lack of universally-available free WiFi made me realize it would probably be a good idea to already have movies, TV shows, or podcasts saved on your phone.
... But some do have plugs for charging devices, if you're sitting in the right spot.
A few of the trains, such as between Zagreb on the way to the small Alpine nation of Liechtenstein, had outlets for plugging in devices. But many — especially on older trains in eastern Europe, like between Sofia and Belgrade — did not.
Be aware that for some of the trains, it's not possible to book tickets online in advance, especially in eastern Europe.
While I was able to buy all of my tickets in western Europe online in advance, several of my tickets in eastern Europe — from Istanbul to Sofia, Sofia to Belgrade, and Belgrade to Zagreb — needed to be bought in person. It was another reason why I was glad I had allowed for plenty of time between connections.
Nicer seats — such as first class instead of second class, or private compartments — will also cost more.
I traveled in second class throughout my journey. While it was comfortable enough for me (and in the case of the overnight Balkan Express from Istanbul to Sofia, far more comfortable than I could have ever imagined), people desiring a bit more luxury — such as private compartments — could definitely do so, for a price. If I was to do it again, I'd save money on hotels and instead upgrade to nicer seats, since some days (like when I went from Zagreb to Liechtenstein) could involve being on trains for up to 12 hours at a time.
While most everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful, be on the lookout for people who might try to rip you off.
I didn't see many obvious scammers during my travels, except in one place: Sofia, Bulgaria. At the city's main train station, middle-aged men in tracksuits would walk around and offer to "help" passengers with their baggage — for a hefty fee, of course, which they wouldn't ask for until later. With few police around the station (one of several differences between eastern and western Europe), it seemed these men were able to operate with impunity.
Tellingly, the men went straight to passengers who looked like they did not live in Bulgaria — including me. However, they went away when I firmly told them "no."
Overall, a trip across Europe by train is a once-in-a-lifetime experience — and doesn't have to break the bank.
There's nothing quite like traveling across an entire continent — and taking in its incredibly varied scenery and experiencing some of its many different cultures — by train. Sure, it might not be the fastest way to travel, but if you're on vacation, why should you be in a rush, anyway?
I spent a total of $491.90, and I could have saved even more money by staying at less expensive hotels, or even by switching up my route.
If you have the time, it's a trip I would recommend to anyone — especially because, as I learned, it doesn't have to cost anywhere near as much as you might think.
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