Planes, Trains & Automobiles

One of the more interesting challenges for me with this holiday was always going to be the transport logistics of getting around Europe.  On my previous visits I'd done guided bus tours, which meant I didn't have to worry about getting from A to B to C etc, as it was all taken care of.  I just needed to wake up in the morning, put my bags outside my room and miraculously they'd always turn up at the next hotel.

I originally thought I'd get around using some sort of Rail Pass, however after some initial research on various travel forums, I quickly discovered that the overwhelming opinion was point-to-point tickets were nearly always the better option, as apart from the initial cost of the pass, most bookings then required an additional payment of a 'seat reservation' fee.  The only catch is that buying point-to-point tickets in advance is a little difficult.  While I wasn't concerned about being able to get them once I was on the ground in Europe, I'm the type of person who (if you haven't already worked out) likes to be pretty organised.

So given the prevalence of low-cost carriers in Europe I decided to investigate flight options and I quickly came to the realization that for many of my journeys it was definitely the way to go.  Apart from the time factor, it would also work out to be a lot cheaper as well.

So with all this in mind, my plan to get around is looking like this:

Rome to Naples (Train)
For this leg I'll take the train as the journey only takes 1hr 10mins on the 'express' train.

Naples to Sorrento to Naples (Train)
I'll stick to using the local "Circumvesuviana" train with a journey time of approx. 1hr.

Naples - Venice (Plane: Alitalia)
I could have taken a 5hr 30min train trip, but that quickly became a very distance memory when I found a 1hr 10min direct flight for the bargain price of 1€. (approx. $1.40AUD)  Although once taxes and other surcharges were added it ended up costing me 43€ ($62AUD) which is still way cheaper than the train.

Venice to Rome (Plane: EasyJet)
While I could have easily done the nearly 4 hour train ride, I opted for a flight of just over an hour flight from Venice.  My feeling is that even with the time involved in getting to the airport before the flight, it would be just easier to fly.

Rome to Salzburg (Plane: AirBerlin & OBB Train)
My original plans were to do the 10hr 30min overnight train from Rome to Salzburg, but I soon discovered that apart from the extremely high cost involved, it also had the disadvantage of arriving at 4AM.  I don't know about you, but for me this wasn't an appealing option.  So after a little research, I decided to fly to Vienna on an early morning flight and then catch a train to Salzburg.  This was another bargain 1€ ($1.40 AUD) flight and with taxes and other surcharges it only came to 29€ ($40 AUD).  And the added bonus is that the 2hr 38min train ride will allow me to enjoy the scenery during daylight hours.

Salzburg to Budapest (Train: RailJet)
This leg will be the longest train journey (5hrs 45mins) of the entire trip, and I'm thinking that by this time, I'll probably enjoy sitting back and relaxing.

Budapest to Paris (Plane: EasyJet)
This was probably always going to be a flight and EasyJet were the cheapest, even with the added costs for checked baggage it was only 14,100 HUF ($71AUD).