European Travel Tips

I’ve spent the past 4 winters in Europe, travelling frequently between different housesitting destinations by train and coach, and I’ve learned a lot. Here are a few tips that will save you time and money.

Rome2Rio 
Rome2Rio is an amazing resource. Plug in two cities and the site lists all your different travel options. I use it extensively to see how difficult it will be to get somewhere and identify the best route and train company. I don’t know how I’d manage without it.

I don’t usually book tickets on Rome2Rio, but last winter I was stumped. The European train sites wanted me to book using Canadian information, but the Canadian options would only work if I was still in Canada. Fortunately, I was able to book through Rome2Rio without a hitch.

Not all train stations are as beautiful as this one in Valencia, Spain

Trains
Trains in the UK and Europe are awesome compared to our hopeless Canadian options. But there are some tricks:

• Check how often you’ll have to change trains before booking a trip. And check how long it will take. Some trains stop at every little town; others are more direct. 
• Book your train tickets in advance online for approximately half the price of a ticket purchased on the day. You can book your seat too, and there are reduced rates for seniors. 
• Hold on to all the parts of your ticket in the UK. I didn’t wait for all the pieces of my ticket to emerge from the machine one day and ended up without a return ticket. 
• In France you need to get your ticket punched in a machine before boarding – although this doesn’t apply if you’ve booked online. 
• A city may have more than one train station so be sure you know which one to use. Ghent has train stations in the centre of town and in a couple of suburbs. Valence has a regular train station and a high-speed train station – and they’re miles apart – fortunately there’s a shuttle bus between the two. 
• If it’s really windy, trains may be delayed or cancelled. That’s when you check all the notice boards to try and work out an alternate route where the trains are still running. Don’t rely on train personnel to do it for you. 
• Be prepared for flights of stairs as you change platforms as well as lots of chilly outdoor platforms. 
• Don’t let A and B platforms confuse you. It’s the same platform, but A is at the front and B is at the rear. 
• Sometimes only half the train goes to the final destination. Some carriages will only go partway or may go somewhere else altogether. Make sure you’re in the right carriage or you could end up in Geneva instead of Grenoble (yeah, another true story!). 

Coaches 
Coaches are often a good alternative to trains in the UK as you can avoid the long journey into and out of London and the hassle of changing train stations. National Express coaches often go via Heathrow, so it provides a central hub for travelling between two centres.

• Book your coach travel in advance too. 
• There is a wide array of cheap long-distance coach options. I haven’t tried them out, but if you need to travel as cheaply as possible, this may be the way to go. 

Public Transit is for Everyone 
Don’t hesitate to take the train or a coach in Europe for both day trips and long-distance travel. Everyone travels that way – from guys heading to a football match to teenagers going on a camping trip. The locals may complain about expensive fares and delays, but they haven’t experienced the 36-hour delays and exorbitant prices if you take Via Rail in Western Canada.

One last piece of advice. Don’t hesitate to travel in Europe. Yes, there have been terrorist attacks. Yes, it’s scary to see soldiers with machine guns patrolling the train stations. But you’re far more likely to be in a car accident in Canada than a terrorist attack in Europe. And you’ll see and learn and do so much! I can’t wait to be on the road again.