Here’s what I found…

1. Start with the national rail Web sites.

As we’ve covered in several posts, first check out the Web sites of the national railways. In this case, it means going to SNCF (for France) and Trenitalia (for Italy).

Note: As mentioned elsewhere, you have to continue browsing the SNCF site in French, as clicking on the British flag to switch languages will take you to RailEurope, which may not show the same fares. We have this article on how to book tickets in French for non-French speakers.

The voyages-sncf.com Web site proposes fast trains from Avignon-Lyon-Turin-Florence for €183.

When I checked on SNCF, the proposed train from Avignon to Florence is a high-speed TGV train running to Lyon, then another TGV to Turin, and finally one last train to Florence. Total time: 11 hr 58 min. Cost €183.

This was deemed a bit too expensive, and also struck me as a bit out of the way.

Furthermore, I wanted to experience smaller trains, not necessarily jetting up to Lyon and down to Turin on a TGV. (Read hidden europe’s excellent piece on opting for the slow train.) I also wanted to hug the Mediterranean for as much of the journey as possible.

But how can you find those slower, more direct, and cheaper trains? You could look at a map and plot it out, but what if you don’t know the route?

On the Bahn.de site, uncheck the “prefer fast connections” to see more route options.

2. Find the route on Bahn.de

The German railway, Deutsche Bahn, provides a great service (in English, too!) on their Web site. Do the same search (Avignon – Florence on January 6) and you’ll see that the first result is the same as the SNCF’s, via Lyon. The next results, however, are much more interesting.

Note: In order to see slower and less-direct routes, un-tick the “Prefer fast connections” box before searching.

In the third result, Die Bahn shows a TGV to Nice, then a regional to Ventimiglia (the Italian border town), an Intercity train to Milan and finally a EuroStar Italia train to Florence. Total trains have increased (four), but the time is actually faster (10 hr., 44 min). Only problem, this still heads north to Milan. I want to see Genoa — and trace the Ligurian Sea.

The route for Avignon – Florence, via Nice, Ventimiglia, Genoa and Pisa, shown on the Bahn.de site.

And there it is, the final option: From Ventimiglia I can take a train up to Genoa, and then follow the sea all the way around to Pisa, then Florence.

The only problem: They don’t show fares for these routes and you can’t book them here. Now what?

3. Head back to the national railway sites.

To book this journey, I’ll need to book on two sites: the SNCF and Trenitalia.

Booking the first half of the trip on voyages-sncf.com.

Back on the SNCF, I search for Avignon – Ventimiglia. Et voila! There’s a 9:30 TGV from Avignon to Nice, then a slower TER train to Ventimiglia, arriving at 13:43. Total price: €32, when booked in advance. (Note that the Bahn site shows a 10:11 a.m. TGV from Avignon, but I book a 9:30 a.m. train instead, as it will give me an extra hour in Ventimiglia for a little break.)

Then I head over to Trenitalia, switch to English, and do the Ventimiglia – Florence search. And there’s my train: Ventimiglia (14:58) – Genoa – Pisa – Florence. The total ticket price can be as low as €34.80, booked in advance.

4. Booking issues

Now, at this point I’m feeling pretty smart. I go ahead and book the seats on the SNCF site, never switching from French to English.

The Trenitalia site shows the trains from Ventimiglia to Florence.

But when I go to book the tickets on the Italian site, I get booking errors. Something has gone wrong. I have to create an account, but then it won’t let me pay. We’ve hit a snag.

The site tells me:

“Error code : 998    Dear customer, due to some malfunction of the system transaction is unsuccessful. No charges made. Please try again later.”

Solution

Not to panic, the base fares for the ticket are still pretty low. If I simply wait to buy the same tickets in Ventimiglia during my one-hour transfer, it will still be €43.80, in lieu of the €34.80 discounted price on the site.

I guess some things can still be booked the old-fashioned way, by waiting in a line.

Even with this little snag, I’ll be able to get from Avignon to Florence for €32 + €43.80 = €75.80, a savings of more than €100.

And yes, even though it will require several more stops and transfers, the trip will mostly be spent hugging the Mediterranean. It just took a little research.

The post How to find and book slower trains in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here a few suggestions of near misses across popular destinations.

1. Leaning Tower of Pisa > Duomo di Pisa
Pisa, Italy

No trip to Italy would be complete without a stop in Pisa to take a picture “holding up” (or, for those more devilishly inclined, “pushing over”) the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And once you’ve turned down every vendor hocking watches, worked up the courage to walk on the forbidden lawn to get your picture, and perhaps even spent precious vacation time in line waiting for a timed ticket to climb to the top, you may finally take in the fact that the Tower is disappointingly small—and is, in fact, dwarfed by the other monuments in the ensemble, monuments you didn’t even know existed until you arrived in Pisa for this short visit.

Save your entrance fee money and buy a ticket for the Duomo, the large cathedral immediately adjacent to the Tower. The Duomo, with its green and white striped design, served as the archetype of the Pisan-Romanesque style and a model for other churches throughout Tuscany. Despite the hordes of tourists outside, the marble cathedral remains comfortably empty and, in the hot of summer, refreshingly shady and cool.

King Ludwig II spent his childhood in Hohenschwangau. Photo: Nataraj Metz

Anyone who may have felt crowded in cathedrals in Florence or Rome will be pleasantly surprised at the freedom to move, sit, and even pray peacefully in Pisa’s Duomo.

Entrance to the Duomo: €2; joint entrance to the Tower and Duomo:  €17.  Order tickets for the Tower online for a 2-euro additional fee.

2. Neuschwanstein > Hohenschwangau
Füssen, Germany

Mad King Ludwig II’s masterpiece, unfinished before his mysterious death in 1886, Neuschwanstein is clearly the model upon which Disney’s classic castle is based.  For travelers to southern Germany, this beauty is a highlight and a destination in itself.

Unfortunately, many overlook the neighboring castle, Hohenschwangau, where Ludwig spent his childhood.  Hohenschwangau is nowhere near as romantic from the outside, but inside, it hides countless treasures.  The castle was not damaged during either World War, and the castle’s contents — the royal family’s possessions — were saved from destruction or plunder during those years by local residents.

So whereas on most castle tours (Neuschwanstein included), one may be impressed by the luxurious decorations of the gigantic rooms, yet be left with little sense of how said rooms were actually used beyond the description of the tour and one’s own imagination, a tour through Hohenschwangau gives an excellent picture of everyday royal life.  Further, the tours at Hohenschwangau are more personal and informative and less rushed, without the assembly-line feeling one gets at Neuschwanstein.

The EIffel Tower rises over the Musée de Quai Branly. Photo: Theory

Entrance to Hohenschwangau:  €12; “King’s Ticket” joint entrance to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein:  €23.  Book tickets online for a fee of €1.80 per person per castle.

3. Eiffel Tower > Museé de Quai Branly
Paris, France

Near the top of the list of European icons is Paris’ Eiffel Tower.  Originally constructed as a temporary part of the 1889 World Expo, the Tower won over the hearts and minds of Parisians and has since remained one of the city’s most significant landmarks.

Yet, if you failed to book your tickets for Tower entrance online and don’t have the time (or the legs) for standing in the ticket line or for walking up the Tower under your own steam, or if the weather simply isn’t cooperating, you don’t have to leave the area with a handful of pictures from the ground and a broken heart.  Instead, head over to the Musée de Quai Branly, Paris’s museum of ethnography.

Here you’ll find “an unpartitioned geographical itinerary comprising 5,450 artifacts from all four corners of the world.”  And on those hot summer and cold winter days, here you’ll find a temperate refuge from the weather outside (and a cloakroom for your luggage).

Entrance to Musee de Quai Branly:  €10 for all exhibitions; timed elevator tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower:  €14.  Reserve online at no extra fee.

Your near misses?

What are some of your favorite “near misses”?  Share your ideas in the comments.

The post In the Shadow of an Icon: 3 Sights not to miss in Pisa, Fussen and Paris appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It has, in truth, been incredibly relaxing and perhaps there’s a lesson or two in here for Cheapos planning summer trips. We’ve not used a single plane on our spring tour of western and central Europe, sticking instead mainly to trains, with just the occasional journey by bus or boat thrown in for good measure.

Wander around Santa Margherita Ligure's harbor. Photo © hidden europe

Seduced by sunshine

But the secret of not merely surviving but actually enjoying such long trips has a lot to do with making the most of each overnight stay. Cast back to Palm Sunday early this month, and we experienced one of those glorious days that are just too good to be spent entirely on the move.

We left Florence shortly after midday, taking slow trains via Lucca through blossoming western Tuscany. We then tracked north up the coast, but by 3 p.m. realized that this sparkling spring Sunday was one made for lingering by the sea, so we alighted at Santa Margherita Ligure.

Santa Margherita Ligure

This is a gem of a small town, tucked into the coast of the Riviera di Levante. The previous stop on the train line up the Ligurian coast is Rapallo, which has been celebrated as the perfect Ligurian resort. Some might argue that Portofino, so very much smaller but often dreadfully overcrowded, has the edge.

A walk through town. Photo © hidden europe

While devotees of this stretch of coastline tussle over the competing merits of Rapallo and Portofino, we think the best option is Santa Margherita Ligure, which lies halfway between the two.

Exploring the area

Within 20 minutes of having alighted from the train, we had checked into the Hotel Laurin and were soaking up the Ligurian sunshine on a splendid private terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. “Life,” we thought, “doesn’t get much better than this.”

That Santa Margherita stopover was utterly memorable. We wandered around the yacht harbor, went over to Portofino by boat and returned on the local bus. We explored cliffs and coves, enjoyed a splendid dinner of local fish at Trattoria dei Pescatori and were quite sad when, just after lunch the following day, it was time to leave Santa Margherita Ligure and head north towards the Alps.

Twenty-two hours in Santa Margherita were enough to make us realize that we had stumbled upon somewhere special. We shall most certainly return.

Connections

Santa Margherita Ligure is served by direct Trenitalia InterCity trains from Genoa (35 mins), Milan (2hrs 15mins) and Pisa (2hrs). There are regular boat services linking Santa Margherita with both Rapallo and Portofino, both hops taking about 15 minutes.

Santa Margherita is also a good base for exploring the Cinque Terre coast. Local trains from Santa Margherita to the Cinque Terre villages take an hour. During the summer season there are also direct boat services from Santa Margherita Ligure to the Cinque Terre villages.

The hotel we chose at Santa Margherita, the Laurin, is a very comfortable family-run hotel on the waterfront an easy 15-minute walk from the railway station. Rooms are from €70. The Ciana family who run the Hotel Laurin are a long-established family of hoteliers. In 1897, Gaudenzio Ciana who ran a hotel in Novara moved to Santa Margherita Ligure and opened a hotel there. 115 years later, the Ciana family are still in this idyllic spot on the Ligurian coast and, as well as the Hotel Laurin, they also have a handful of other properties in and around Santa Margherita Ligure. The Hotel Laurin is marketed under the Best Western brand.

The post Ligurian Diversions: Santa Margherita Ligure appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Check out these tips to save energy, time and money when arriving in Florence:

Lean toward Pisa (the airport, that is)

Florence has 1.5 airports. The official airport is Firenze Peretola, which is where most people arrive. However, there is also Pisa, Florence’s bratty little cousin. Pisa’s Galileo Galilei Airport has a longer runway and a higher volume of flights. (Pisa now sticks his tongue out.) Pisa also serves low-cost airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair.

Getting into Florence from Pisa airport is easy. I recommend that you hop on the Terravision bus, which drops you right in downtown Florence at the Santa Maria Novella Train Station. The trip takes about an hour and a round-trip ticket will cost you €16. Be sure to book online, as the bus tends to fill up in the summer months.

A train also makes the journey, which takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. For more information see the “getting into Florence” article in our city guide.

Arriving at Florence’s airport

Florence’s airport is microscopic. And it’s old. But it doesn’t have to be unpleasant. I suggest going to the bathroom before you arrive (i.e., while you’re still on the plane) since there is only one stall per gender in the arrivals hall. Do take advantage of the free luggage carts and get ready to jockey for a position near the conveyor belt. Consider this a prelude to the challenges you’ll face lugging your heavy suitcase.

Florence is a city of cobblestone streets, razor-thin sidewalks and never-ending stairs. Elevators are as rare as unicorns and can be extremely small. So why not pack super light? A small suitcase will be easy on your watch and your sweat glands—remember that Florence is as hot as an oven during the summer months.

For your return flight, be sure to check the airport website to avoid commuting there for nothing: Because of the airport’s short runway and quick-changing weather, flights out of Florence are often delayed or diverted to Pisa.

Renting a car in Florence

So you’ve delightfully retrieved your lightweight suitcase, passed through customs and are possibly now ready to tackle another task: claiming your rental car. Turn left once liberated from the arrival hall and head out of the airport while staying to your left.

Here’s a tip: Have a hat and a (full) water bottle ready. The car rental desks are outdoors and you will be waiting under a scorching, merciless Tuscan sun. Plus, you could be in that waiting line for quite some time during peak summer months.

Bonus tip (because I’m such a nice guy): Keep your speed under 50 km/h when fleeing the airport. There are speed cameras set up all along the road to the city center. A speeding ticket makes a lousy souvenir.

For more information, also see our article on renting a car in Florence.

The ATAF Volainbus from the Florence airport

If you arrive at Florence’s airport, take a right from the arrival hall and exit the airport through the main entrance. Wiggle your way through the snake of idling taxis to get to the ATAF Volainbus. It is by no means a rocket, but it will get you downtown to the Santa Maria Novella train station in about 20 minutes. The bus departs every half hour. Tickets cost €4.50 can be purchased from the driver. Buy a round-trip ticket to save money.

Taxiing into town from the Florence airport

If you want to play big shot and take a taxi into downtown Florence, then expect to spend between €15-25, depending on traffic and extra charges. Know that there are extra charges for everything in an Italian taxi cab (luggage, pickup location, rotation of the moon, etc.). Should anyone successfully decode the logic of these charges, please alert the author.

Did you know?

Did you know that Florence’s airport has two official names? It also goes by Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci, named after the famed Florentine explorer. Two names for an airport, only in Italy!

The post Florence Transportation: Tips on getting in from the airport appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Now, before you ask “what were you thinking?” or say “that doesn’t sound particularly Cheapo, Pete,” let me explain further.

Yes, the villa we rented was admittedly off-the-charts decadent. It had seven large bedrooms, five bathrooms, a kitchen nearly as large as my current apartment, a billiard room, a dining room, a massive living room area, an in-ground pool whose gorgeousness was eclipsed only by its vineyard view, and—somewhat inexplicably—a separate, small chapel on the grounds. And just to round it off, there were also large stone lion statues adjacent to the front doors, greeting us upon our return from schlepping around the countryside.

But did we mention the entire week-long stay cost each person roughly $70 per night? Sure, you can beat the pants off that price at a number of our Editor’s Picks in Florence (while actually being in Florence rather than a 45-minute drive outside) but for everything that the villa had to offer, we felt the price was reasonable. And for the sheer experience of the endeavor we were willing to shell out a few extra euros.

Related: Our favorite affordable hotels in Tuscany

But looking back on our trip, there are a number of tips and recommendations that would have been helpful to know when we were planning our stay. Here are some things to consider when renting a villa in Tuscany:

1. Prepare to “hub” it.

If you’re planning to explore a particular region – rather than just one specific city – renting a villa makes sense. Our villa was located near the village of Traversa, making it easy to “hub it” and visit Florence, Pisa, Siena, Cinque Terre, Bologna, and even Venice during our trip. Which brings us to our next tip…

2. Get ready to drive.

Rent a car and plan on driving it a lot. This might seem obvious to most, but prior to our trip we didn’t really consider how frequently we’d be driving around the region. Fortunately we had several eager drivers among us who were particularly adept with manual transmissions. Otherwise, we likely wouldn’t have strayed too far from our residence. Which, again, brings us to our next tip…

3. Get cooking.

While most villa rental agencies offer decadent, home-cooked meals on the premises at an extra cost, part of what made our experience so special was handling all meals ourselves (plus it saved a whole lot of money). There was never any shortage of ingredients at local markets for our nightly dinners and we found that a large part of our daily routine revolved around dinner planning. And we loved it.

4. Get ready for some family time.

For our group, part of what made renting a villa so special was traveling as a big family. Sure, we experienced our fair share of “I think it’s your turn to do the dishes” moments, but we still frequently reflect and laugh about our hysterical experience of sleeping in the Tuscan castle.

When renting a villa in Tuscany might not make sense

1. You don’t like your in-laws. Just kidding. Promise.

2. You don’t like driving through twisty, turny, slightly nerve-wracking roads. If this is the case, you might be better off staying in a city rather than in the winding hills.

3. When the math doesn’t work out. Budget wisely and consider all the incidental expenses of renting a villa. While the per person price of accommodation itself can be similar to that of  2 and 3-star hotels, you’ll also pay for food, car rentals, gas, electricity, a cleaning fee, and any other incidentals that spring up.

Websites that specialize in renting villas in Tuscany and elsewhere

There are many helpful websites that provide reservation services for villa rental throughout Europe. Most offer large format, high quality photos that should stir up your excitement. Here are a few that we recommend checking out:

Parker Villas – Specializes in villas through Italy. Parker Villas was one of the first villa rental agencies we discovered when we started our search.

Tuscany Now – Large listing of villas for rent in Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Sicily, and other regions in Italy.

VRBO – While not technically a villa reservation agency, VRBO does feature many properties in Tuscany and beyond, plus the rates tend to be a bit more reasonable.

Cuendet – Offers villas in Croatia, Italy, France, and Spain (and was the website we used when booking ours).

Tell us: Have you ever rented a villa in Italy or elsewhere? Share your experience with other Cheapos by leaving a comment below.

The post How to rent a villa in Tuscany. Is it right for you? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.