Bus vs Train vs Tour

What is the best way to see Europe? Is it by bus, traveling by train or by guided tour. Their are many advantages to each kind of travel, and also many disadvantages. Lets take a look at the more favored options and see how they stack up against each other on the pro and cons..

Bus Travel
There are two major companies offering ways to get around Europe; Busabout and Eurolines.

Firstly Busabout. This company runs buses in 3 circular interconnecting loops taking in Central, Northern and Southern Europe. You can travel to most of the major and popular capitol cities of Europe as well as many smaller cities starting at about $580US. The company also has deals with specific hostels and hotels which allows you to make a booking in some cities where accommodation may be hard to find in peak periods. You can also add on extras such as Eastern Europe cities and sailing adventures. Pick up and drop off points are generally at their own accommodation site in a particular city or in a centrally located area.

The main downside to Busabout is not being able to backtrack on your journey and buses only departing every 2nd day. This means you will have to stay a least 2 days in some cities or towns that only warrant a day trip, and there are quite a few of them. This can be avoided if the city or town is on a connecting link of two of the bus route loops, if so you may be lucky and get out the next day! The Busabout timetable operates mostly between 08:00 and 18:00 on the days it runs, and therefore you waste a days sightseeing with a full day traveling. The service operates from May to October only. Therefore you  must travel in peak periods and miss out on some awesome winter options and also my favorite time to be in Europe; late March through April when it's not too cold and there are no queues at the museums or sites.

Eurolines is a cheaper bus option and is made up of a main bus company from almost all countries in Europe. Buses run to all major cities and not just the capitols, but more than 40 cities in all. Buses run every day or every other day or on selected days per week on most routes. Departure times are at various hours throughout the day including night services, leaving your day free for sightseeing. Prices start at 175euro for a youth 15 day pass and 240euro for a 30 day pass. Eurolines also has various deals with hostel and hotel booking companies to help you plan your trip.

The main areas of concern with the Eurolines service are the locations of some drop off points.  They can be far from the central area of town and means extra travel will be required to get to your accommodation, and this may not be possible depending on the hour you arrive. Also you cannot travel from a city in one country to another city within the same country unless it is specifically stated on the pass conditions.

Tour Companies
Tours are a great way to see Europe whether you are young or just young at heart.

Contiki is the best known for the younger travelers and offers a great first look at Europe for the 18-30 year old age group. Prices for tours range from the 100's to the 1000's and take in various areas and of different lengths of time. Almost everything is included in the tour as a package except sightseeing (and alcohol) which can become expensive as some tour guides may manipulate the group rate charge per site and pocket the difference. Yes, they do! Check the group rates at museums and see what the guide charges you, then do the maths.

A real downside to Contiki is the way they rush you around, you don't get to see everything. Paris for example, may include a drive past the Eiffel tower at best with no visit! You are also expected get up at very early hours for the bus departure, and if you miss it, well too bad, find your own way to the next city and hopefully catchup with the group. This can happen after you're dropped off at a bar (again guides get a kickback for taking you there, they get more $$$ the more you drink) where you're expected to drink and drink and drink. Then you're expected to be up bright and early next morning to make the bus departure, whilst the tour guides have been back at the hotel sleeping all night. However, don't let this put you off Contiki, you will have a great time on the tour, make some lifelong friends, see some awesome sights and do some amazing things you will remember your entire life.

Insight, Globas, Trafalgar run some of the major tours around Europe, taking in all areas and also river cruises. They are well run and generally include all accommodation, meals and sightseeing. The tour guides are professional and will never rip you off or try to make a buck out off you. Most tours are full of couples over the age of 40, but more-so over the age of 50. However, sometimes the tour has a few younger faces but not too many. Your accommodation will be 4 star at worse and be in some beautiful and amazing locations like castles and medieval manors, and also will be in the better areas of each major city. The downside to these type of tours is the lack of your own sightseeing time and just like the Contiki tours, you may only have a drive by tour of some of the most famous places in Europe at best. When you do get free time it is usually late in the afternoon or early evening or in a small town where there is not too much to see.

Finally you need to pick and choose the best tour to suit you, some go to Brussels or Bruges, but the majority don't! And that's such a shame to miss either of these great cities. The same can be said with Germany and Austria, most tours never go near Berlin they almost all travel along the Rhine or castle/romantic road areas. Then when you reach Austria it's generally Innsbruck you visit and you miss out on seeing Mozarts' Salzburg or classical Vienna or both. Believe my when I say 'No tour takes in the best of Europe' they can claim it in brochures but each tour misses too many great places, and it's far too expensive and extremely time consuming to try and plan which tours and extras you will need to be able see  'the best' of Europe.

Train
This by far is the best way to see Europe. It may not be the cheapest and you will need to book everything yourself. But if you want to see all that Europe has to offer, buy a rail pass and get on your way.

The Eurail pass is the only option for European rail travel. Prices range from 100's for a specific country pass up to a few thousand for a 3 month all country pass. Trains travel at all times of the day and most days of the week for the entire year. It is possible to go from whatever city you're in to most major and also minor cities and towns nearby, then onto wherever else you want to be usually within a few hours and with only 1 or 2 train changes. You can take overnight trains and save on hotel or hostel costs, or travel by day through the Alps enjoying scenery a bus tour just cannot provide. Because Eurail covers all of Western Europe, Scandinavia and now a great deal of Eastern Europe, you can pick and choose where and when you want to go and ensure you get to see all the best of each country. Just go to the international station wherever you are, look at where the trains are heading, jump on-board and head to the destination of your choice.

A downside maybe the extra costs involved. An overnight train may require a sleeping berth or couchette of which may cost $10-$20, and a lot of high speed trains require bookings $5-$10 to ensure a seat. You cannot just jump on these type of trains. Also, in Italy train lines are regularly effected by strikes. This can strand you at the worst possible time, but the strike is generally over on the same or next day.

I personally believe seeing Europe by Train is the best option, the freedom and flexibility is something no bus company can provide. And the booking and planning of accommodation, train sleepers and whatever else is required is all part of the adventure of travel. And that makes the travel even more special and memorable as you do it all yourself.

Happy Traveling
The Baldman