Instead of heading to the airport for a budget flight or booking multiple train tickets, the London to Amsterdam service will make the journey smoother than ever.

So how will this new route work?

Details on the London-Amsterdam train route

You will now be able to hop on the train at St. Pancras in the heart of London and ride straight to Amsterdam Central Station in a little less than four hours (3 hours and 41 minutes to be exact). The London to Amsterdam route will use the new e320 trains that we’re launched in 2015 and feature free Wi-Fi and plugs for your devices at every seat.

After you go through Passport control at St. Pancras International, you can sit back and relax until you get to Amsterdam. Order a croissant and coffee or a sandwich and glass of wine in the cafe car. Travelers will be happy to know they won’t have to switch trains in Brussels or anywhere else along the way on their trip to Amsterdam.

How to get €35 tickets

Budget travelers can rejoice as well because tickets for the new London-Amsterdam trip start at €35. Seats for this special promotion go on sale on February 20th, so mark your calendar if you want to score this super cheap deal. There will be two trains a day heading out from London at 8:31 am and 5:31 pm. Arrive in Amsterdam just in time for lunch with the morning train or an evening cocktail with the late afternoon train. Check eurostar.com for the latest updates.

Hotels in London and Amsterdam

Make your journey even easier by booking a hotel within a quick walking distance of St. Pancras International in the King’s Cross neighborhood or Amsterdam Central Station. You’ll never have to worry about being late for your train. Since it’s an international trip, just make sure you show up at least 30 minutes before your departure time (45 minutes on holidays and weekends) for the check-in and Passport control.

More travel tips for Europe
• The cheapest way between London & Paris: Planes, trains & buses from £10
• Should you fly or take a train around Europe?
• French Train Tips: How to find cheap TGV tickets

The post Eurostar is launching a new London-Amsterdam route with €35 tickets appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

More recently, Germany started loosening rules on how bus companies could operate, resulting in incredibly cheap fares for international bus travel. The latest development here happened just weeks ago, when two of the country’s big budget bus companies announced they were merging together.

So how is Germany’s national railway, the Deutsche Bahn (DB), reacting to the current travel landscape? What does this mean for the other rail operators in Germany? And what does this mean for your upcoming travel plans?

Unfortunately, it mostly means cuts to service. Read on…

Good Night, Nachtzug

Germany’s night train service, the “Nachtzug,” saw dramatic cuts in the new train schedules which went into effect last December. DB no longer offers overnight trains from Germany to Paris, Copenhagen, or Vienna, and decreased overnight service to Amsterdam.

The company has also reduced their Autozug offerings, which allow passengers to travel with their car to their vacation destination without driving it there.

The company claims that these routes have been losing millions of euros for years, despite the apparent popularity of certain routes (I’m looking at you, Berlin-Paris sleeper train!). However, the rising costs of right-of-way, the company’s lack of high-speed, long-distance locomotives (which required expensive rentals from the French and Danish), and the unwillingness to invest in improving their aging fleet of sleeper cars are among the reasons DB cites for the decision. They’ve promised to reexamine the issue for travel in 2016 and beyond.

Passengers’ rights and environmental groups see this development as a major setback and are looking into ways to support cooperation between rail companies and the growth of investment in European-wide night train networks as a carbon-friendly alternative to flying.

One bright development, as reported last week by hidden europe: Russian Railways (RZD) plans to begin operating a Paris-Berlin service this June.

Bye Bye, InterConnex

The December schedule change ushered out another familiar train route: the InterConnex ran its last trains between Leipzig, Berlin, and Rostock. The independent carrier rode the eastern German rails for more than a decade, offering steeply discounted train tickets on its dedicated routes and schedules. A subsidiary of the larger transportation company Veolia, InterConnex was the first private long-distance competitor of the near-monopolistic DB.

In its announcement that it was ceasing service, InterConnex explained that it was squeezed between the market pressures of the DB, whose control of the railways allows it to demand increasingly high prices from its competitors for access, and new low-cost bus services. When forced only to compete with DB, InterConnex carved out a discount segment that was quite successful. Yet, the overhead of running a train (even a version as slimmed-down as theirs) was so much higher than a bus that it simply could no longer compete.

Hamburg-Cologne Express cuts back

Germany’s other independent long-distance rail operator, HKX (Hamburg-Cologne Express), has also suffered under the new financial pressures and responded with a two-fold strategy. First, it decreased long-distance service to once per day per direction in order to function primarily as a regional connector (thereby increasing its eligibility for German state funds).

Secondly, it’s cooperating with the former enemy, allowing passengers with DB tickets to travel on its trains, as well as allowing DB to sell HKX-branded tickets at a higher price directly to its passengers.

The Thalys is safe

Perhaps the best-known private rail service in Germany is the international Thalys train, which runs between Cologne, Brussels, (Amsterdam) and Paris. The Thalys, however, is a brand unlikely to be negatively impacted by the same pressures outlined above.

Why? A high-speed train like an ICE or TGV, the Thalys offers a higher quality of service between these European capitals. The majority of its European business passengers are unlikely to switch to lower-cost international bus services, even as these services develop between the same destinations.

The post German train service cuts back, under pressure from cheap flights and buses appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

There are regular comfortable EuroCity trains from Prague and Berlin; sleek, fast RailJet services from Munich and Vienna; for those with the stamina for very long journeys by day, it is even possible to travel to Budapest by direct train from as far away as Zürich (11 hrs 15 mins) or Hamburg (14 hrs 20 mins).

South towards Serbia

It is moving south from Budapest that demands a more sustained engagement with the timetables. There are perilously few trains across the border between Hungary and Serbia. Just two direct services run each day between Budapest and Belgrade—one by day and the other by night.

Take the day train if you are minded to come this way, for this is a journey well worth making. Leon Trotsky nicely identified the appeal of the route when—as he traveled south in 1912 preparing to report on the Balkan Wars—he observed in his diary that “although the railway from Budapest to Belgrade proceeds mainly in a southerly direction, from the cultural standpoint one moves east.”

The landscape is nowhere startling, yet it has a quiet beauty. Running south from Budapest to the border there are prairie-like grasslands, productive farmland, forests and occasional saline depressions. These are the landscapes of Sándor Petöfi’s poetry. An hour or two out of Budapest, the train stops at Kiskölrös, the town where Petöfi was born.

Entering Serbia

The first community in Serbia is Subotica, a place that packs a few surprises. It is famously multilingual and multicultural, a hallmark of Serbia’s semi-detached northern province of Vojvodina which has six official languages. Subotica is well worth a stop for its extraordinary feast of art nouveau architecture. Look out for the overly fussy town hall and the more restrained synagogue with its striking triple-tier dome and green glazed tiles. Beyond Subotica, it is a pleasant run south through Novi Sad to Belgrade.

Crossing borders

If you are traveling from Budapest to Belgrade, bear in mind that you’ll need to use one of the twice-daily long-distance trains to cross the border—although there is also a useful thrice-daily branch-line service from the Hungarian town of Szeged to Subotica.

The daytime train on the Budapest to Belgrade route is called the Avala. The journey takes about eight hours in each direction. Belgrade need not be the end of your journey. There are good onward connections to Podgorica in Montenegro and Skopje in Macedonia. This month has also seen the reinstatement of the direct train from Belgrade to Thessaloniki in Greece—only for it to be suspended again almost immediately due to flooding. However, the railway authorities in the region are evidently working day and night to restore damaged sections of track, so the through rail services that run south from Belgrade to Macedonia and Greece should be operating normally again by early next month.

Find out more about train times in the latest issue of the European Rail Timetable.

The post Exploring Serbia: Traveling by train beyond Budapest appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Don’t hold your breath. The first trains will not run through the new Gotthard tunnel for another six years. Clearly, some of the pundits who dubbed the Gotthard route one of the great missing links in Europe’s rail network obviously didn’t quite appreciate that the existing Gotthard tunnel already carries several trains an hour under the Alps. The point about the new tunnel is that it is deeper, longer—and when trains do eventually start using that new route they will be able to travel faster than through the previous tunnel which is now 130 years old.

The main missing links

But the Gotthard story set us thinking about what really are the key missing links in Europe’s rail network. And we have come up with three flights of cartographic fancy, each of which would hugely enhance connectivity. All suggestions are probably utterly impractical and don’t make a shred of economic sense. But wouldn’t it be great if instead of creating yet another tunnel through the Alps, someone would burrow under the Tatra Mountains to link the Polish railhead at Zakopane with the Slovakian rail network at Poprad.

Next up on our wish list would be a railway linking Norway’s two railheads north of the Arctic Circle. A new line along the coast from Bodø to Narvik would be a treat.

Our third fantasy would extend the railway that ends on the coast of Croatia at Ploce south along the coast, thus giving a rail link for the first time to the delectable Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik.

It is interesting that the fine folk who compile the monthly Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable evidently share our thinking on the importance of these missing links as all three of our dream journeys feature as bus routes in their timetable. Buses in a train timetable. Impostors, you might say, but these are three links where even the most devoted rail traveller must resort to road transport.

The Albanian connection

And as we dream, we have another little idea. That line to Dubrovnik might usefully be extended south along the coast into Montenegro and on across the border into Albania. It is a curiosity of Europe’s rail map that the Albanian rail network exists in splendid isolation. Not a single passenger train crosses the country’s borders. Albanian trains are deliciously antiquated and unbelievably cheap. Indeed we judge the 295 lek fare (less than $3) for the train journey from Podradec in the country’s east to the Albanian capital, Tirana, is the finest investment we’ve ever made. There are few more entertaining ways of passing six or seven hours.

The post Missing Links: The Gaps in Europe’s Rail Network appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

On past trips, I’ve made the mistake of underestimating these other charges, imagining that they’re probably not that much more expensive than in the States. Not surprisingly, I’ve experienced sticker shock when my credit card bill arrives and I add it all up.

Related: Search and compare rental cars in Europe

Quite often, the initial rental fee will be less than half of the total cost of the final rental experience. With a little planning, however, that shouldn’t shock you.

Why take the time?

Why should you go to the bother of calculating the “real cost” of renting a car before your trip? Quite simply, because you have options beyond just driving. Depending on your itinerary, you may be able to take a train, bus or airplane. By calculating the true car cost, you can make an informed decision about which means of transportation works best for your budget.

Not the final price.

For this post, I’m going to side-step the question of which mode of transportation makes the most sense for your trip. Instead, we’re sticking to cars and their “real cost.” It’s a puzzle worth solving—and should only take you about 20 minutes. Ready?

Our 10-day trip

For demonstrative purposes, let’s take a trip together next March, shall we? Against my better judgement, we’re also going to over-pack our itinerary, visiting four cities during our 10 days in Italy. (I’d prefer three cities–or even two. But this is a typical itinerary.)

We’ll start in Rome, where we’ll spend two nights. Then we’ll drive up to Florence, and spend three nights there. (During one of those days, we’ll explore Tuscany by car.) Next, we’ll head to Venice, where we’ll spend two nights. We’ll then spend one day and night in Verona. Finally, we’ll speed back down to Rome, for one night, before heading home.

With a March 1, 2011 kick-off date, the itinerary looks like this:

March 1: Arrive in Rome. Sleep in Rome.
March 2: Visit Rome. Sleep in Rome.
March 3: Pick up car in Rome, drive up to Florence. Sleep in Florence.
March 4: Visit Florence. Sleep in Florence.
March 5: Drive around Tuscany. Sleep in Florence.
March 6: Drive to Venice. Sleep in Venice.
March 7: Visit Venice. Sleep in Venice.
March 8: Drive to Verona. Sleep in Verona.
March 9: Drive back down to Rome. Sleep in Rome.
March 10: Drive to airport. Return car. Fly home.

For this trip, we’ll pick up our car in Rome on day three and return it one week later. (There is no need to pick it up on your first day in Rome. It will do you no good while you’re visiting Rome and will just run up costs at a garage!)

Good; we have our schedule. Now, let’s find a car.

1. Start with the car rental agency quote.

Let’s get started by searching around the web for the cheapest rate for a car we like. (We’d suggest doing a car search on EuroCheapo. You can search several car rental companies at once.)

After searching around, I found a good rate for the week at Auto Europe. Their quote is $381 for a seven-day rental for a cute little Ford Fiesta, an “economy” class option. Clicking on “terms and conditions,” you’ll find the following details:

This price includes: Unlimited mileage, sales tax, and airport surcharge. There is also theft protection and collision damage coverage, but with a very high deductible.

This rate does not include: Insurance to cover personal injuries to anyone in the car. Gas. Road tax of €2 per day. Tolls.

Cost: $381

2. Add additional coverage.

This part is up to you. Your insurance options will vary, depending on the car rental company you use, the country in which you’re renting and the type and level of coverage that you’d like to purchase. As noted above, our rental comes with some collision damage coverage, but the deductible is high—in our case, we’re liable for the first €1,200.

At the rental office, they’ll probably offer CDW, or a “Collision Damage Waiver” that isn’t technically insurance. Rather, it states that the company will “waive” their right to hold us to the deductible in case of damage to the car. Sometimes this CDW is a good deal, but it, too, can have a high deductible (in which case the rental car company may offer an additional “zero-deductible coverage”). This sort of protection usually runs about $15–25 a day.

Some American credit cards offer the same sort of CDW protection when you purchase the rental with their card. This can save you some serious cash. However, if you take advantage of this, the car rental company may also place a hold on your card—perhaps up to the retail cost of the car itself! (This can obviously wreak havoc with your available credit during your trip!) In case something goes wrong (the car is stolen or you’re in an accident), that card will be charged the full amount—and then you’ll have to take up the refund issue with your credit card company. (For more information on CDW and credit card insurance coverage, check out Rick Steves’ excellent overview.)

For our example, let’s say we’re not covered by our credit card, so we purchase a decent Collision Damage Waiver at $22 per day.

Cost: $154.

3. Calculate distance and approximate gas charges.

Map it out on Google

This can be tricky—and illuminating. Please, stick with me!

To determine the distance we’ll be driving, I just plugged each of these cities into Google Maps in the following order: Rome – Florence – Siena – Florence – Venice – Verona – Rome. If driven directly, on the highways, without stopping to explore, the trip would be 1,363 km (847 miles).

We will be stopping and making little diversions, however, so let’s call it 1,609 km (1,000 miles).

But what’s the fuel efficiency of our car? Again, a little search (for “Ford Fiesta fuel efficiency”) leads us to Cnet, which reports that the 2011 manual-shift Fiesta fuel economy is 28 mpg in the city (11.9 km per liter) and 37 mpg on the highway (15.7 km per liter). We’ll be doing more highway driving, so I’ll average it out to 35 mpg (14.88 km per liter). (To get the mpg-km/liter conversions, I simply typed “35 mpg” into Google, and the conversion came up automatically as a suggestion.)

Doing a little division (1,609 km / 14.88), I can approximate the need for 108 liters of diesel for the trip.

The average cost of diesel in August 2010 in Italy was €1.25 per liter. Multiply liters by price, and we reach €135, or $175.

Cost: $175

4. Calculate tolls.

If you thought calculating distance and gas charges was fun, wait until you start in on tolls! This site, however, makes it possible to view current toll charges on Europe’s main highways.

All European toll roads are not created equal, and charges fluctuate quite a bit depending on the country. For example, France has more expensive toll roads than Italy, while Germany’s Autobahn is free for passenger cars. Also, even in countries with expensive highways, smaller and more charming roads are almost always free to use.

In our case, we have quite a distance to cover, so we’ll stick to Italy’s highways for most of the driving. Looking between Google Maps and the toll calculator, I came up with this:

Rome – Florence: €14.60
Florence – Siena: We won’t take highways. No toll.
Florence – Bologna – Venice: €6.50 + €5.60
Venice – Verona: €3.70
Verona – Bologna – Florence – Roma: €5.30 + €6.50 + €14.60

Total cost for tolls: €56.80 or $74

5. Road tax.

In Auto Europe’s terms and conditions, we find that Italy charges a road tax on car rentals of €2 a day, up to €32 for the rental. This will tack on €14 for our 7-day rental.

Cost: €14 ($18)

6. Parking.

And here we are at our last major charge, but one of the most significant: parking garages. Parking is hardly ever included in the cost of a hotel room when renting in the center of a major European city. (It is often free, however, in more suburban spots or along highways, where there’s often a parking lot.)

In our case, we’ll need to park the car seven overnights in a garage. The price will vary, of course, depending on the garage and city. With some searching, you can figure it out. In our case, we hunted around and found the following rates:

Florence garages (3 nights): €18 per day
Venice garages (2 nights): €20 per day in Piazzale Roma
Verona (1 night): €15 (approximate–couldn’t find specific rates)
Rome garage near Termini (1 night) : €28 per day

Total: €137 ($178)

7. Additional charges

There are certainly other considerations. Here are a couple of charges:

Will you pay extra for a GPS system? Baby car seat? Extra luggage rack?

Will you incur any traffic or speeding tickets? (Those can really get you—you’ll pay for the ticket, PLUS a “processing fee”! Read our earlier post about how speeding tickets make lousy souvenirs.)

Are you crossing any bridges or driving through tunnels?

Are you a young driver? In the case of our rental, the minimum driver age is 23, and drivers 23 and 24 years old will have to pay an extra fee.

Total: In our hopeful case, $0.

The bottom line

We’re ready for the fun part. Let’s add it up:

Car rental: $381
Insurance/CDW: $154
Gas: $175
Tolls: $74
Road tax: $18
Parking: $178
Additional charges: 0

Total: $980

Rather incredibly, the $381 car rental has ballooned to a $980 expense!

It’s not fun (for most people) to trudge through all of this data, but now we at least have an approximate total cost. Now we can more realistically compare this amount to the cost of taking the train between each of these destinations. We might even choose to take a budget flight between Venice and Rome.

Or we might still rent the car. The most important thing, however, is that we make an informed choice—and don’t wind up shocked by incidental costs.

Tell us about additional costs – and your experience

Have you been surprised by the “real cost” of renting a car in Europe? Did you notice a way for us to save on our hypothetical rental? Did we overlook another cost? Have a story to tell? Share your experience in our comments section.

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