26 June 2009.
Train times valid from 14 June to 12 December 2009.
To Austria by train...
The city & castle of Salzburg, Austria.
It's easy to travel from the UK
to Austria by train. Just take a lunchtime Eurostar to
Brussels, a high-speed 'Thalys' train to Cologne, then the
excellent City Night Line overnight sleeper to Linz or Vienna,
arriving for in time for breakfast. Or an early-evening
Eurostar to Paris for the equally excellent City Night Line sleeper
train to Munich with onwards connections next morning for
Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz, Klagenfurt and Vienna. It's safe, civilised, comfortable
and affordable, far better for the environment
than an unnecessary flight.
On this page...
You'll find train
times, fares & how to buy tickets for:
It's easy to
travel from London to Vienna by train, and there are
several good options. Each of these is explained
below.
Option
1overnightvia the Cologne-Vienna sleeper: This is
probably the cheapest & easiest option.
Take a lunchtime Eurostar from London to Brussels
and a connecting high-speed Thalys train to Cologne in
just a few hours, then sleep your way from Cologne to
Vienna aboard the excellent City Night Line hotel train
'Eridanus'.
City Night Line trains have sleepers (including some with
private shower and toilet), couchettes, reclining seats
and a bar-restaurant. The Rhine Valley looks
wonderful in the moonlight!
Option 2 overnightvia the Paris-Munich
sleeper & RailJet: Another good option. Take an early-evening Eurostar to Paris,
the excellent City Night Line sleeper train from Paris to
Munich, then a daytime RailJet train onwards to Vienna next morning.
Runs daily from late March to early November, only on
Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays in the off-season.
Option 3overnightvia the Orient Express:
Take a lunchtime Eurostar to Paris,
an evening 200 mph TGV to Strasbourg, then the
Orient Express (the real one,
not the expensive restored one!) overnight to Vienna.
Option 4London to Vienna in a day, by high-speed
trains across Europe: If you can get into London for
an early 07:10 departure, it's possible to get from London
to Vienna by train in just one day, arriving late at
night. Available Monday-Saturday eastbound, daily
westbound. Not the cheapest option, though.
Option 5daytime trains with overnight stop in
Switzerland: Take a lunchtime Eurostar to Paris
& evening high-speed TGV to Basel or Zurich, stay
overnight, then travel on next day through the scenic
Arlberg Pass to Vienna arriving early evening. A
relaxing and scenic option.
Coming from other UK town & cities, simply take a train up
to London to connect with Eurostar,
see this advice. If
you live in the north of England or& Scotland,
see
this option.
Option 1, by Eurostar to Brussels &
the Cologne-Vienna sleeper...
Train times London ► Vienna
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03.
Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 16:55 and arriving in
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:15.
Travel
from Cologne to Vienna on the excellent
City Night Line sleeper train 'Eridanus', leaving
Cologne Hauptbahnhof daily at 20:06 and arriving in Linz at
06:46, St Pölten 08:17, and Vienna Westbahnhof at 09:04.
The 'Eridanus' has sleeping-cars, couchettes,
reclining seats & (as far as Frankfurt at 10.15pm) a bar-bistro car, see the photos
& information below. The train travels along the
famous Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Frankfurt, so
if you are in a sleeper and your compartment happens
to be on the left-hand side of the train, switch off
the lights and watch the Rhine pass by, mountains and
castles lit by moonlight, while sipping a glass of
Riesling. Wonderful!
More pictures & information about this City Night
Line train.
Travel from
Vienna to Cologne overnight on the City Night Line hotel
train 'Eridanus', leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof at 19:54, St Pölten 20:41 or Linz at 21:57 and arriving at Cologne at 08:42 next morning.
The Eridanus has sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed
deluxe sleepers with private shower & toilet, 1, 2
or 3-bed sleepers with washbasin), couchettes
(4-berth or 6-berth), reclining seats and a
bar-bistro car, see the photos below.
More pictures & information about this City Night
Line train.
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne at 10:45 and arriving
Brussels Midi
13:01.
Travel
from Brussels to London by
Eurostar.
On Mondays-Fridays,
leave Brussels
Midi at 14:59 and arrive London St Pancras at
15:56. On Saturdays & Sundays, leave Brussels
Midi at 14:29 and arrive London St Pancras at
15:26.
Introducing the
City Night Line sleeper train 'Eridanus' from Cologne to
Vienna...
The City Night Line 'Eridanus' is a travelling
hotel, with bar-bistro car, modern 'Comfortline'
sleeping-cars with 1, 2 & 3-bed deluxe sleepers
with private shower & toilet, 1, 2 & 3 bed
standard sleepers with washbasin, couchette cars
with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and reclining
seats. A wonderful way to travel! The
sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and
duvets. All sleeper passengers get mineral
water in the evening and a light breakfast served
in their compartment next morning, deluxe sleeper
passengers also get a complimentary glass of wine
in the evening. Towels and toiletries are
provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the
deluxe sleeper. Couchette passengers get
mineral water, each couchette is provided with
clean sheets, blanket and pillow. When waiting for
the northbound City Night Line train at Vienna
Westbahnhof, if you have a sleeper ticket (as
opposed to couchette or seat ticket), you can use
the first class station lounge, with complimentary
drinks. City Night Line website:
www.bahn.de/citynightline.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option. Standard
compartments have washbasin, deluxe ones a shower & toilet.
4 & 6-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families. Couchettes are basic padded
bunks with rug & pillow. This is a 4-berth
compartment.
Above:
Reclining seats. Although a couchette is far
better for sleeping!
Above: One of the new
'Comfortline' sleeping-cars as used on the
Cologne-Vienna City Night Line sleeper train
'Eridanus'.
This can be a cheaper route
than travelling via Paris. Book in advance
to get the special 'sparnight' fares at the
German Railways website,
www.bahn.de. Note that couchettes are
sold individually in shared 4 or 6 berth compartments, but
as from 9 December 2007, only whole sleeper compartments
on this route can be booked, it will no longer be possible
for solo passengers to book one sleeper berth in a 2 or 3
bed compartment and share with other passengers.
1. London to
Cologne
by
Eurostar + Thalys:
Fares start at £87 return (£59 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne)
or £65 one-way (£51 London-Brussels + £14
Brussels-Cologne)
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
The easiest way to book train tickets from London to Vienna
is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all three trains can be booked as a single
transaction on one UK-based website. If you live
outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which
for some reason raileurope.co.uk won't do) use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section).
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Vienna' all
in one go as this won't find you the cheapest fares.
First, enter 'Cologne' & 'Vienna' and book the overnight
train from Cologne to Vienna and back. In the
search results simply look for the direct train with no
changes. For some reason it won't book 4-berth
couchettes, and may struggle with 2-berth sleepers with
shower, but if you have any difficulties like this simply
book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket and proceed to the
payment stage.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address (£1.95 fee) and
normally arrive within a couple of days.
There's a 2% credit card fee, so use a debit card if you
can. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Booking tips: Compare prices for the Cologne-Vienna
train on both
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ. Also try booking from London to
Cologne (shown as Koln) at
www.eurostar.com, as sometimes a through fare is cheaper
than booking each leg separately at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
This method involves two websites, so do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking for
real.
Step 1,
go to either
www.eurostar.com or
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as a guide, book a ticket from London to Cologne
(shown as Koln on the Eurostar website). It's
a good idea to try both of these websites, as sometimes one
is cheaper than the other, for some strange reason. Bookings
for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days (3 months) before
departure. Tickets can be posted to any UK
address or collected at St Pancras on departure.
Obviously, remember that your return date of travel from
Cologne to London will be the day after your
departure date from Vienna.
Top tip: If you don't see any sensibly-priced
London-Cologne through fares, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
and try booking in two stages, first London-Brussels & back,
then Brussels-Cologne & back, using the train times above as
your guide. This is often cheaper!
Step 2,
go to
www.bahn.de
and buy a ticket from Cologne to Vienna by direct City Night
Line sleeper train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings.
If you prefer to buy tickets by phone, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or call www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00
Monday-Friday, £25 booking fee but may have more time to
help).
Click
here for more information on how to buy European train tickets.
Option 2, by Eurostar, the Paris - Munich
sleeper & Railjet...
This is also a good option, bookable online. In the
'how to buy tickets' section I'll even explain how to
spend a few hours stopover in Salzburg on the way, at no
extra cost..
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 26 March 2009, then daily until 2 November 2009,
then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments,
standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower),
4- & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats, see the photos & information
below.
More
pictures & information about this City Night Line train.
Travel
from Munich to Vienna by
air-conditioned Austrian 'RailJet' train
with bar-bistro car, leaving Munich Hbf at 09:27 and
arriving in
Vienna Westbahnhof at 13:40.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Train times Vienna ► London
Travel from
Vienna to
Munich by air-conditioned Austrian 'RailJet' train, leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof at
16:20 and arriving in Munich at 20:34. The train has
a bar-bistro car.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 22:44 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
09:30 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays until 25 March 2009, then daily until 1 November
2009, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
again. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes
(4- & 6-bunk) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin).
More pictures and information about this
City Night Line sleeper train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
Introducing the
City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich...
The
Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2
& 3-berth deluxe
rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the
end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms),
modernised air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a
berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment) and ordinary seats
(not recommended).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeper fare includes
a light breakfast. There's a bistro car available
in the evening serving light meals, drinks and snacks.
More
pictures & information about City Night Line trains.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return, try the typically Bavarian
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard
with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
"Night train to Munich": The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
RailJet is
Austria's brand-new high-speed train, linking Munich,
Salzburg, Linz & Vienna. It will soon also link
Zurich, Innsbruck & Vienna. Designed to run at up to
230km/h (143 mph) on sections of upgraded track, it
currently reaches 200km/h on part of the route, but in
other parts snakes around beautiful Bavarian & Austrian
scenery at a more sedate pace. Look out for great
views of Salzburg citadel & castle on the right as you
cross the river Salzach approaching Salzburg. RailJet
has three classes, Economy (2nd class), First (1st class),
and Premium (25 euro supplement over normal first class).
It has a bistro car providing drinks, snacks and hot
dishes, which are served at your seat on proper china in
first & premium classes. TV screens in each car tell
you the train's speed, show maps of the train's location,
and display a list of next station stops and times.
There's even a small children's TV area for the kids.
A great way to travel - simply order one of the regional
beers from the bistro, sit back and enjoy the scenery...
More information about
RailJet trains.
"The RailJet has landed..."
Train RJ 63, the morning RailJet from Munich has arrived
at Vienna Westbahnhof spot on time.
Premium class costs
25 euro more than normal 1st class...
Economy class on
RailJet, comfortable open saloons with large picture
windows. Some seats are arranged around tables,
some are unidirectional.
How much does it cost?
Each train is ticketed separately, so just add up the
price for each leg of the journey...
This is
the easiest way to book. Booking this way
involves two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
, and book the sleeper from Paris
to Munich.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper
train first and double-check arrival an departure times before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above. For some reason, it can't currently
book 4-berth couchettes. If you've a child aged 4- 5
or 12-14 please read this
note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide,
but by
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address (£1.95 fee) or
collected at the station in London & Paris (free of charge).
There's no fee for debit cards, but a 2% fee is applied to
credit cards so use a debit card if you can.
Step 3, now go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de, use the journey planner to bring up the
connecting Munich-Vienna train shown in the train times
above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any cheap
special fares are available. You simply print out your
own Online Ticket. I recommend registering when it
asks you before completing the purchase, so you can easily
retrieve any bookings. Note that you
can also buy
tickets for this train using
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but only full fares are shown, no special cheap deals,
that's why
www.bahn.de is better.
Top tip:
If you fancied stopping off for a few hours in the wonderful
city of Salzburg, when booking the Munich to Vienna RailJet
train at bahn.de simply look for the 'Via (1)' box and enter
'Salzburg', then enter (say) '04:00' in the 'hh:m stopover'
box. It'll then book you a 4 hour stopover in
Salzburg, but still let you buy a cheap 39 euro fare from
Munich to Vienna (if it's available, obviously).
Sometimes
www.raileurope.co.uk
has the cheapest fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper, sometimes
www.bahn.de
is cheaper, so check both sites. Bahn.de can book all types of accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes, though for some reason won't offer solo
travellers a berth in a 3-bed sleeper (but raileurope.co.uk
will!). If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate, which are the correct child age limits for this
train. However, if you book the Paris-Munich sleeper using
www.bahn.de you'll need to book the
Eurostar separately at
www.eurostar.com, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website and book from
Paris to Munich and back on the direct overnight sleeper
train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily make the next booking an retrieve any bookings
later. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
now use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Vienna train shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You simply print
out your own Online Ticket.
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris. Use the Eurostar
times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
Option 3, by Eurostar to Paris & the Orient
Express...
Travel from Paris
to Strasbourg by high-speed TGV, leaving Paris Gare
de l'Est at 17:54 (17:24 on Saturdays), arriving Strasbourg
19:42 (20:11 Saturdays).
The TGV has 1st & 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar.
Travel from Strasbourg to
Vienna on the Orient Express (the real one, not the
expensive tourist one, see the Orient
Express page), leaving Strasbourg at 20:37 and arriving next morning in Linz
04:33,
St Pölten 05:45 and
Vienna at 06:40. The Orient Express
has reclining seats (not recommended), comfortable modern Austrian
couchettes
(4 & 6-berth),
and two sleeping-cars,
one with very narrow 1 & 2-bed compartments
(described in reservation systems as 1st class
'special' and 2nd class 'T2'), and another with larger
1, 2 and 3-bed compartments (1st class 'single', 1st
class 'double' and 2nd class 'T3'). There are
also several deluxe sleeper compartments with private
shower & toilet. There's no restaurant car, so take your
own food and maybe a bottle of wine, although the
sleeper and couchette attendants can sell you snacks, tea and coffee.
For sleeper passengers, a light breakfast is included
in the fare. The Orient Express used
to start in Paris, but was cut back to run
Strasbourg-Vienna with the opening of the new TGV-Est
High Speed Line in June 2007.
Train times Vienna ► London
Travel
overnight from Vienna to Strasbourg on the Orient Express,
leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof daily at 22:40, St Pölten 23:25, or Linz
00:38, and arriving Strasbourg at 08:59 next morning.
There are reclining seats,
couchettes (4- & 6-berth compartments) and two sleeping-cars,
one with very narrow 1 and 2 bed rooms (referred to as
Special & T2) the other with larger 1, 2 and 3 bed
rooms (referred to as Single, Double & T3). For sleeper passengers, a light
breakfast is included in the fare
Travel from Strasbourg to Paris by high-speed TGV,
leaving Strasbourg at 09:15 and arriving Paris Gare
de l'Est at 11:34. The TGV has 1st
& 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar.
Walk from
the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
13:01 and arriving London St Pancras at 14:34.
You can
choose between a bed in the sleeping-car, a couchette, or a reclining seat...
Above: The
standard sleeping-car. Each sleeper compartment can be
used as a 1 or 2-person
room. The centre picture shows a
compartment with beds folded away to become a
private sitting room. The right-hand photo
shows a compartment set up as a cosy 2-person
bedroom.
More information about
sleepers.
Left:
Couchettes. These modern air-conditioned
Austrian Railways couchette cars have padded bunks supplied with rug, sheet and
pillow, in 4- or 6-bunk compartments. The
photo shows a 4-bunk compartment.
More information about couchettes.
Cheap 'Prems' fares
start at £19 one-way,
£38 return (book at least 14 days ahead, limited
availability, no refunds, no changes to travel
plans). Full fare is £47 one-way, £94 return.
Tickets
can be sent to any UK
address (£1.95 fee) or collected on departure from St Pancras
free of charge.
There's no charge for
debit cards, but a 2% credit card fee, so use a debit card
if you can. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Bookings for this
route open 60 days
in advance, you can't book before reservations open.
You must book in
two stages. First, book from Paris to Vienna and back,
asking for an evening departure.
When
the results appear, look for the evening departure from
Paris with one change at Strasbourg. Click 'Show
details' and it will show the range of seats and sleepers
available.
When you have booked from Paris to
Vienna and back, click 'Continue shopping' and book a
Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the
Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later Eurostar
returning from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available
than the recommended Eurostar connection or if you want to
stop off in Paris. Just make sure you
allow at least 1 hour, preferably a bit more between trains in Paris to allow for
any delay, to walk between stations (15 mins) and for the 30
minute Eurostar check-in in the return direction.
Obviously, as you are travelling overnight, your date of
return travel from Paris to London will be the day after
your departure date from Vienna.
Alternative way to
book the Strasbourg-Vienna train: At the time of
writing,
www.raileurope.co.uk
only seems to come up with 6-berth couchettes on this train, but check to
see if they've fixed this problem. You can book the
full range of couchettes and sleepers on the
Strasbourg-Vienna Orient Express, with all the special fares
shown when available, using the Austrian
Railways website,
www.oebb.at.
Leave it in German (even if you don't speak German) and
click 'Online-ticket' at the top. Then click the
'Euro-Night' logo and a new booking window opens.
Under 'abfahrtsbahnhof' (=departure station), type
'Strasbourg'. Under 'ankunftsbahnhof' (=arrival
station), type 'Wien' ( =Vienna). Select your outward and return dates of travel ('resisedatum'),
select your age, and leave 'keine ermassigung' ('no
reduction') selected. When the results appear,
sitzplatz = seat, liege = couchettes, schlafwagen 3er = bed
in 3-bed sleeper, schlafwagen 2er = bed in 2-berth sleeper,
'schlafwagen 1er = bed in single-bed sleeper. 'Mit
dusche' = deluxe sleeper with private toilet & shower.
You pay online and print out your own ticket in .pdf format.
It's easy, even if you don't speak German! You will
then need to then book the Eurostar & Paris-Strasbourg TGV
using
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Alternatively,
residents of any country can book the Eurostar, the TGV and
the Orient Express online at the French Railways website,
www.voyages-sncf.com.
Tickets
can be sent to any address in Europe including the UK.
Voyages-sncf.com shows the same
fares as Rail Europe but paying in euros can be slightly
cheaper. However, it's more difficult to use and more
quirky than the new Rail Europe UK booking system, so see the
how to use voyages-sncf.com page for
step by step instructions.
You must book in
two stages,
first book from
Paris to
Vienna
and back. Select "Vienna (AT)' if prompted.
Then book from London to Paris and back.
How to buy tickets by phone...
You
can buy tickets from a number of UK agencies, including
Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open 08:00-21:00
Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, £8 booking fee) or
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines
open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday &
Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 772050
(Mon-Fri office hours, 8% booking fee).
Click
here for a list of
agencies and other useful information on how to book.
You can
just about travel from central London to central Vienna in a day,
arriving late the same night, at least on 6 days a week. However, although
there are cheap fares available for each segment (for
example Frankfurt to Vienna for £33, a bargain), it
doesn't work out the cheapest option overall.
Train times London ► Vienna
Travel from
London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 08:34 Mondays-Fridays or 07:57 on
Saturdays (there's no service
early enough on Sundays) arriving Brussels 11:29
Monday-Friday or 10:56 Saturday.
Travel from
Brussels to Frankfurt by high-speed ICE train, leaving
Brussels at 12:18 and arriving Frankfurt at 15:40.
Travel
from Frankfurt to Vienna by high-speed ICE, leaving at
16:21 and
arriving in
Vienna at 23:22.
Train times Vienna ► London
No longer possible in a day, due to poor Thalys timings
between Cologne & Brussels and an earlier last Eurostar
departure, there's no longer an acceptable connection in
Brussels with the last train to London.
Fares...
London-Brussels starts at £35 one-way, £59 return.
Brussels-Frankfurt from 39 euro (£33) one-way
Frankfurt-Vienna from 39 euro (£33) each way.
Frankfurt-Cologne from 39 euro one-way.
Cologne-Brussels from 26 euro (£22) one-way.
So
in total, the cheapest London-Vienna return would be £213 return.
Step 2, book trains from Brussels to Vienna using
www.bahn.de. To book online, you must split the
journey into Brussels-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Vienna
& back, Frankfurt-Cologne and Cologne-Brussels.
The system can't cope with booking 5 trains as one
journey!
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
It's no problem at all to reach Innsbruck or Salzburg by
train. Choose between these two main options:
Option 1, take a late afternoon
Eurostar to Paris, snuggle down in bed aboard the
Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper then take a connecting
train to Innsbruck or Salzburg next morning. This is
the simplest & most time-effective way to go.
Option 2, travel by lunchtime Eurostar to Paris and
evening high-speed TGV to Basel or Zurich in Switzerland,
stay overnight, then travel on to Innsbruck or Salzburg next
day through the beautifully scenic Arlberg Pass. This
is a relaxing & scenic way to go.
Option 1: London to Innsbruck or Salzburg via the
Paris-Munich sleeper...
This is the simplest, cheapest & most time-effective option,
although as from December 2008 it will no longer run daily
all year. It will run daily from late March to early
November, but will only run on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays
& Sundays off-season. On days when it doesn't run,
see the alternative.
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 26 March 2009, then daily until 2 November 2009,
then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed standard compartments
with washbasin or deluxe with shower),
couchettes (4- & 6-berth) & ordinary seats, see the photos & information
below.
More pictures
& information about this train.
For Salzburg, travel
from Munich to Salzburg by air-conditioned EuroCity
train leaving
Munich at 08:27 and
arriving in
Salzburg at 10:06.
For Innsbruck, travel from
Munich to Innsbruck on an air-conditioned EuroCity train
'Michaelangelo'
with restaurant car, leaving Munich at 09:31 and
arriving in Innsbruck at 11:21. For Kitzbühel,
change at Wörgl (arrive 10:44,
depart 10:58) and arrive Kitzbühel 11:27.
Train times Salzburg & Innsbruck ► London
From Innsbruck, travel from Innsbruck to
Munich by EuroCity train, leaving Innsbruck at 18:36 and arriving in Munich at
20:27.
From Salzburg, travel from Salzburg to
Munich, leaving Salzburg at 19:03 by air-conditioned
Austrian 'RailJet' train, arriving Munich 20:34.
From Kitzbühel, leave Kitzbühel by InterCity train at
18:29, change at
Wörgl (arrive 18:58, depart 19:13) and arrive Munich at
20:27.
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 22:44 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
09:30 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays until 25 March 2009, then daily until 1 November
2009, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
again until March 2010. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (6-bunk
& 4-bunk) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin).
More pictures
& information about this train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
Introducing the City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich...
The
Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2
& 3-berth deluxe
rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the
end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms),
and modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a
berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeper fare includes
a light breakfast. There's a bistro car available
in the evening serving light meals, drinks and snacks.
More
pictures & information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich (or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return) try the
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euro more...
Above: The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
The 08:27
Munich-Salzburg train is a
smart modern Austrian train, with comfortable
air-conditioned Austrian InterCity coaches, shown in
the photos below. The journey winds through
pretty Bavarian scenery. The 09:31 'Michaelangelo' from
Munich to Innsbruck is Italian, with air-conditioned
Italian InterCity carriages, with seats in 6-seat
compartments. The journey to Innsbruck is also a
very scenic ride...
Above: This is
the train to Salzburg & Klagenfurt about to leave
Munich...
1st class seats are
in spacious 4 or 6-seat compartments...
2nd class seats are
in comfortable open saloons with plenty of space and
large picture windows...
This is
probably the easiest way to book. Booking this way
involves two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk and book the sleeper from Paris
to Munich.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper
train first and double-check arrival an departure times before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above.
For some reason, it can't
currently book 4-berth couchettes. And if you've a child
aged 4- 5 or 12-14, please
read this note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide,
but by
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Step 3,
after adding the London-Paris ticket to your basket, click
'continue shopping' again and book from Munich to Salzburg
or Innsbruck, using the train times above as your guide.
Tickets can be sent
to any UK address (£1.95 fee) or collected at the station in
London & Paris (free of charge). There's no fee for
debit cards, but a 2% fee is applied to credit cards so use
a debit card if you can.
Alternative step 3:
If you have any problems booking the last leg at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de instead. This site
often has special offers for these routes, so is
worth checking as it may be cheaper. Use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Salzburg or Munich-Innsbruck trains shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. Tickets can be sent to any address,
or in many cases you can print out your own Online Ticket.
Sometimes
www.raileurope.co.uk
has the cheapest fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper, sometimes
www.bahn.de
is cheaper, so it's worth checking both sites.
Bahn.de can book all types of accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes. If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate. However, if you book the Paris-Munich sleeper using
www.bahn.de you'll need to book the
Eurostar separately at
www.eurostar.com, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website, and book from
Paris to Munich and back on the direct overnight sleeper
train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
ticket. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily make the next booking and retrieve all bookings
later. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Salzburg or Munich-Innsbruck trains
shown in the train times above, and buy the ticket, looking
for any available cheap fares. You simply print out
your own ticket.
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris. Used the Eurostar
times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
It's too far to do in one day, so an overnight stop is
required. But if you prefer daytime travel here's how
to do it. The great scenery through the Alps makes it
a worthwhile experience! By all means go one way by
sleeper, the other by day.
Daytime train times, London ► St Anton, Innsbruck,
Salzburg, Vienna
Travel from
Paris to Switzerland by high-speed Lyria TGV, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 17:54 arriving
at Basel at 21:15 or Zurich at 22:26. A cafe-bar is available on
board.
Next morning, travel from Basel or Zurich
to Innsbruck, Salzburg or Vienna via the fabulous Arlberg
Pass through the Alps. It's an amazingly scenic
route, the train hugs the mountainside and snakes through
a huge valley, past Swiss & Austrian scenery taken
straight from the 'Sound of Music'. Arguably the
best train is the direct air-conditioned EuroCity train
'Transalpin' leaving Basel at 08:14 or Zurich at 09:40
arriving Feldkirch at 11:18, St Anton at 12:12, Innsbruck
at 13:26, Salzburg at 15:29 & Vienna at 18:24. A
restaurant car is available for breakfast & lunch, so
treat yourself as the scenery passes by!
Daytime train times, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, St Anton
► London
Travel from
Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck to Zurich or Basel through
the Alps via the Arlberg Pass. There are several
trains to choose from, arguably the best one is the direct
air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Transalpin' leaving Vienna
at 09:40, Salzburg at 12:31, Innsbruck at 14:39, St Anton
at 15:50, Feldkirch 16:42, arriving Zurich at 18:20 or
Basel at 19:47. A restaurant car is available for
lunch, so treat yourself!
Travel from Basel or Zurich to London
using any of the services suggested on the
London to Switzerland
page. For example, leave Zurich at 07:02 or
Basel at 08:02, change trains in Paris (with a 10 minute
walk between the Gare de l'Est & Gare du Nord, arriving
back at London St Pancras at 14:34.
Basel to Innsbruck costs 102 Swiss francs (£54) each
way 2nd class
Basel
to Salzburg costs 144 Swiss francs (£76) each way 2nd
class
Basel to Vienna
costs 169
Swiss francs
(£89)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Innsbruck costs 79
Swiss francs
(£42)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Salzburg costs 121Swiss
francs (£64)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Vienna costs 146
Swiss francs
(£77)
each way 2nd class
How to buy tickets...
Step 1, buy tickets from London to Basel or Zurich:
Book your tickets from London to Basel or Zurich online at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(no booking fee) or by calling Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848
(lines open 08:00-21:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat,
10:00-17:00 Sun, £6 fee for phone bookings).
See the London to
Switzerland page for full details & booking tips.
Step 2, buy tickets from Basel or Zurich to Innsbruck,
Salzburg or Vienna as follows:
The easiest way to book the Transalpin train between Basel &
Innsbruck is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk
and click 'continue shopping'. Unfortunately,
www.raileurope.co.uk
can only book from Basel to Innsbruck & back, it can't book
tickets to Salzburg or Linz or Vienna, or tickets starting
in Zurich, so for any other journey you'll have to use
www.sbb.ch
as suggested below.
You can buy tickets from either Basel or Zurich to
Feldkirch, St Anton, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz or Vienna
online at the Swiss Federal railways website,
www.sbb.ch.
For English, click 'EN' at the top. First, do a train
timetable enquiry for the journey you want (for example,
Basel to Innsbruck), then identify the 'Transalpin' in the
search results and click 'Fare/Buy'. You pay online
and can choose either a print-your-own ticket or ticket
collection at any staffed SBB station in Switzerland.
Print-your-own tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable,
collected tickets are changeable/refundable.
Travel from London to Munich
by Eurostar & Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper
train, as shown on the
London-Germany page, leaving London at 15:29 and
arriving Munich at
07:16 next morning.
Travel from Munich to Graz
on a direct EuroCity train leaving
Munich at 10:01 and arriving Graz 16:22. Bus for
part of journey 11 June to 10 August because of
engineering work, journey time extended by up to 15
minutes.
Train times Graz ► London
Leave Graz at 11:38 on a direct EuroCity train to
Munich,
arriving at 17:35, and enjoy an evening in Munich. Or you can leave Graz at 13:38,
change trains at Wörgl (arrive 18:58, depart
19:13) arriving Munich 20:27. Bus for part of
journey 11 June to 10 August 2009 because of engineering
work, journey time extended by up to 15 minutes.
Travel from
Munich to London by City Night Line sleeper train &
Eurostar, leaving Munich at 22:44 and arriving London at
12:29 next day, as shown on
the London-Germany page.
Book the
Munich-Graz trains online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
Travel from London to Munich
by Eurostar & Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper
train, as shown on the
London-Germany page, leaving London at 15:29 and
arriving Munich at
07:16 next morning.
Travel from Munich to
Villach & Klagenfurt on a direct EuroCity train leaving
Munich at 08:27 and arriving Villach at 12:43 and
Klagenfurt at 13:15.
See the photos above.
Train times Klagenfurt, Villach ► London
Leave Klagenfurt
at 16:16 and Villach at 17:16 by direct EuroCity train
to Munich, arriving Munich at
21:35.
Travel from
Munich to London by City Night Line sleeper train &
Eurostar, leaving Munich at 22:44 and arriving London at
12:29 next day, as shown on
the London-Germany page.
Book the
Munich-Villach/Klagenfurt trains online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
Naturally, you can take a train up
to London and travel from London to Austria as described
above.
Here's some advice on buying
connecting train tickets to London. But the
'Eridanus' sleeper train to Vienna actually starts in
Amsterdam on Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights, and there's a
sleeper from Amsterdam to Munich too, with connections to
Innsbruck & Salzburg. DFDS run an excellent daily
overnight cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, and P&O
also sail overnight from Hull to Holland. So why not
by-pass London, and have a day in Amsterdam into the
bargain?
Above: By-pass London with the DFDS Seaways
cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam (or P&O from
Hull to Rotterdam). Direct
sleeper trains run from Amsterdam to Prague, Vienna,
Copenhagen, Warsaw, Milan, Zurich, Munich and even
Moscow...
Photo courtesy of DFDS
Scotland, the north of England,
East Anglia ►
Austria
Day 1, Take an afternoon train from your local station
to either Harwich, Hull or Newcastle, whichever is most
convenient for where you live. Transfer to the
overnight cruise ferry to Holland, with bars, restaurants
& comfortable en suite cabins, arriving next morning.
For details of timetables, fares & how to buy tickets for
travel to Amsterdam via each of these ferry routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
Day 2, spend the day
in Amsterdam, all the sights are easy walking distance from
Centraal station. Left luggage lockers are available
at Centraal station, 4-6 euro for 24 hours, paid for with
Maestro or Visa cards.
Day 2 evening, take
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Eridanus' from Amsterdam
to Vienna or the City Night Line sleeper train 'Pollux' to
Munich. The Eridanus leaves Amsterdam at 17:01 on
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays (on other days you need to
change at Cologne) and arrives in Vienna at 09:04 next
morning (day 3). Sleeping-car, couchettes and seats are
available, for details of what
this train is like see here.
The Pollux leaves Amsterdam at 20:31 on Mondays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays (daily, 27 March to 2 November),
arriving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 07:16 next morning (day 3).
Change in Munich for onwards trains to Innsbruck & Salzburg,
as above.
Austria ►
Scotland, the north of England, East Anglia
Day 1, evening: The City Night Line sleeper
train 'Eridanus' leaves Vienna at 19:54 on Thursdays,
Fridays & Saturdays, arriving Amsterdam Centraal at 12:29
next morning. On other days, you need to change at
Cologne. Sleeping-car, couchettes & seats available,
for details of what this train
is like see here.
The City Night Line sleeper train 'Pollux' leaves Munich at
22:44 on Thur, Fri, Sat & Su7n (daily, 26 March to 1
November) arriving at Amsterdam Centraal at 08:59.
See above for connections from
Innsbruck & Salzburg to Munich.
Day 2: Spend the day in Amsterdam.
Left luggage lockers are available.
Day 2, late afternoon/evening: Travel overnight by cruise ferry from
Holland to either Harwich, Hull or Newcastle, whichever is
most convenient for where you live, arriving next morning (day
4). Transfer to the station and take a train home.
For full details of train & ferry times and how to buy tickets
for each of these routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
To check
Amsterdam-Vienna or Amsterdam-Munich sleeper train fares &
book online, go to either
www.raileurope.co.uk (easy to use and can be cheapest
way to book, but may have difficulty booking 4 berth
couchettes) or
www.bahn.de (look for the direct train with 0 changes).
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
2009 edition (June to December 2009)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Definitely
take a good guidebook. For independent travel, the best guides
are the the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Both guidebooks have
the same excellent level of practical information and cultural and
historical background. You won't regret buying one! My own
book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on this
website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon with shipping worldwide.
Find a hotel in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck or anywhere else in
Europe...
It's
easy to book hotels online to go with your train tickets, just
use the form below. This links to
www.hotelscombined.com, which is a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you
(including Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide. It saves me hours going round in circles on
umpteen different hotel sites!
www.laterooms.com negotiates discounts for hotel rooms booked
within 3 months of travel, which makes it ideal for train
travellers booking train travel within the normal 90 days
advance booking period.
www.tripadvisor.com
is the place to find
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
Backpacker hostels...
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in
backpacker hostels in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and most
other European cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & health card
Travel insurance..
Travel insurance is boring, but a necessity, so
never travel without it. Make sure your cover is adequate, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Direct Line,
Columbus Direct & the Environmental Transport Association
(click the banner below).
I've used Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully
claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel
tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother
fell ill. ETA offer discounts on insurance for
non-flying trips, so give them a try too although I have yet
to use them myself.
Feedback from
using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!
UK citizens travelling in Europe should carry a European
Health Insurance Card. This replaces the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available free
from
www.ehic.org.uk and entitles you to free or reduced rate
health care if you become ill or get injured in many European
countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the UK's NHS.
Great Rail Journeys escorted tours from the UK to
Vienna or the Austrian Alps...
If want to go on
holiday to Austria by train, but would rather do this as part of
an organised escorted tour with other travellers and a guide,
there is a well-known UK-based company called
Great Rail Journeys which offers upmarket rail-based
holidays to Europe, including
tours to the Austrian Alps and a
tour covering Vienna, Budapest and Prague, both tours
starting from London by train. Great Rail Journeys also offer
rail-based holidays to other European countries. Check
the holiday details online, then call 01904 527120 to
book or use their
online booking form. Seat61 gets some commission to help
support the site if you book your holiday through this link
and phone number.
www.venere.com
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
