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How long does it take to travel by train from Paris, France to Milan, Italy?
Should I buy the train tickets here in the U.S. before I leave, or should I buy in Europe?

Thanks for any help!

The day trains take around 7 hours and leave from the Gare du Lyon station (85 – 95 euro 2nd class). There are several options for times during the day.

The night train from Paris Bercy station (a couple of blocks from Gare du Lyon) takes 9 hours 10 minutes. It leaves at 8:28 pm and arrives in Milan at 5:38 am the next morning. A berth in a 6 bed couchette is 95 to 105 euro.

You can probably buy the tickets when you’re in France, but sometimes the train sells out. If you have a specific train that you want to take, book the tickets before you leave to be sure.

You can use the Italian or French train sites to check the schedules and book tickets:

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Note that there are specials a few seats on the trains between Paris and Italy and if you’re lucky you can get a 2nd class seat during the day for 25 euro or the couchette mentioned above for 35 euro. This is another reason to book early, but there’s some luck involved since there’s limited availability:

"Paris starting from 25 euro with the Artesia trains
On the day trains from Milan and Turin for Paris, seats in 1nd class for 50 euros and seats in 2nd class for 25 euros .
On the night trains leaving from Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice and Milan: 35 euros for a couchette in 6-place compartment; 60 euros for a couchette in 4-place compartment. "

and from there take a plane to LAX in order to save money? My tour ends in Rome but I want to know the best way to return to LAX? From Rome is very expensive? Any ideas? thanks

The bets way is by plane

maybe you should check with a travel agent they should know that kind of stuff

I am planning for 3 country europe tour (Switzerland, France, Italy) in the month of may 2nd week and my base will be in Basel, Switzerland, so my question is which is best option either to go for euro rail passes or just individual train tickets.

we are family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids below 5 yrs) and I see there are discounts on Saver passes but I get mixed opinions about taking individual tickets is cheaper option.

Even if I take Eruo rail passes I still have to pay for resevervations on high speed/overnight berth trains so I doubt it whether these passes will be really economical. My rough itinerary is
- Basel to Paris
- Paris to Rome
- Rome to Venice
- Venice to Basel
- local city travel within Swiss (bern, zurich, geneva)

I will be statying maximum # of days in swiss thou and total vacation is for 3 weeks and I will be travelling from US.

Any one with really good inputs/suggestions so I can make my trip more economical? Ofcourse best answer will be rewarded!!!

There are different types of Eurrail pass– go to their website and they should outline the exact terms and conditions of each pass type. I used a ten days travel in three weeks pass, which was economical–however you have to cover a lot of ground for it to be cost effective (and I did get tired of trains, let me tell you!)

You can probably track down online prices for indvidual tickets to and from various cities on your itenerary for cost benefit purpouses.

If you are travelling fairly lightly you might also look at air travel–trains are slow and eat up vacation time.

Also a suggestion– you might fly into Paris and out of Rome. I also highly recommend stopping in Interlaken and Florence, and heading down to Naples (or more specifically Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast) if you can…

I am planning a vacation to England or England/France for 2007. I would appreciate input on good travel tour groups for European vacations.

Trafalgar is fabulous!!! I went to England Ireland Scotland and Wales with Traflagar costsavers and had the best time

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When going island hopping on your Greece vacation or European travel tour, one of the islands that you must not leave out on your itinerary in Mykonos. Mykonos is an important Greek island that is part of the Cyclades group and located in the middle of the Aegean Sea and close to Paros. Mykonos has been a notable destination for tourists and is considered one of the most recognized travel meccas in Greece. Being one of the most touristed islands in this country, you should expect lots of excitement day or night.

There are many ways to get to the island of Mykonos. Getting there by air is also possible if coming from the Greek mainland. Mykonos has its own airport and there are flights to the island regularly by way or either Athens or Thessaloniki.  At the height of the summer season when the greatest number of tourists arrive to take part in the excitement of Mykonos, there are also charter flights available coming from various European routes.

The other means of getting to the island of Mykonos is by sea. There are two choices available for tourists who wish to get to the island by sea. They can either go for the regular ferry that can carry even rental cars as well as buses. But this might be choosing a longer trip as the voyage may take three and a half hours to get to Mykonos. There are also the faster high speed catamarans that serve daily from terminals in Piraeus and Paros, similar with the bigger ferries.

While on the island of Mykonos, there are many ways to get around and explore the island. The island operates an extensive bus network that can take the tourist from almost any point in the island. For the more adventurous spirits, there are also scooters as well as ATV’s available on the island to get to places one wishes without having to stick to schedules. For convenience, there are also taxis that go around the island to serve tourists if the need for them arises.

There are many attractions and places of interests all around the island. The windmills in Mykonos are considered landmarks and should be worth seeing. There is also an area in the city of Mykonos called Little Venice which has become famous for its wonderful balconies. The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos offers tourists a glimpse of the island’s past through the relics found there. There are also artists who live in Mykonos whose works may also be worth taking a look at.

But what really most tourists look forward to when going to this wonderful island is heading to the popular beaches of Mykonos. There are a lot that tourists can choose from. Agios Ioannis Beach is a small enclave of a beach that offers a fantastic opportunity for snorkeling and exploring underwater sea life. It is one of the beaches in Mykonos that rarely gets crowded since it is not one of those commercialized beaches found somewhere else on the island.

For beaches known for the excitement brought by the crowds, one choice would be Paradise Beach. It is a crowded beach usually for tourists under 30 years old. The beach contains large pebbly sand that is convenient to go to especially on windy days. Other choices for a complete Mykonos Greece vacation include Psarou Beach, Elia Beach, Paranga Beach and Ornos Beach.

Technorati Tags: Europe Vacations, Greece, Mykonos

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Many people enjoy visiting the city of Sicily and would not mind finding out ways to save money on travel.  First time travelers can benefit from reducing travel costs.  Here are some tips about ways to make travel to the vibrant city easily affordable.

Booking during the off-peak season.  If you book during off-peak season within the city which is February through May or September through January, you’ll find many places are open.  It is to the benefit of hotel managers to bring in clients.  In order to achieve this they lower their prices by as much as 40-50% an enormous cost saving. If off-peak season is not an option for you make reservations as far ahead of your scheduled travel date as possible. 

If you can book three full months in advance, owners may give you a discount. Generally, the center of the city is the most popular and therefore more costly.   It is the same in Sicily, Naples, Milan and Rome. If you stay in an adjoining area to the city’s central portion it can save a great deal of money.  It is not far to go by cab or train if you wish to visit the center of the city.

If you have a hire car, another good way to make travel less expensive is to review the cost of gas to where you will visit.  Calculate the distance from where you are staying to the first attraction and then the second attraction and so on and so forth. You may find that public transport is cheaper. 

In other words get some idea of cost with regard to different forms of travel so you’ll know how much you’ll be spending. Find accommodation with cooking facilities so that you can cook food purchased from the local markets.  Just to stay in-line with the culture, you might want to cook dishes unique to the area.  Buy a couple local cookbooks and see what cultural items you can present to your traveling companions.  If traveling alone this is still the preferred way to go if you are looking to save money.

Stay at bed and breakfast accommodation.  In fact, many individuals agree that bed and breakfast accommodation is more exceptional as far as value goes than many top of the line hotels.  Find a B&B in close proximity to the sights you wish to visit if you can manage it. If you can make travel reservations or bookings direct with the owner you may possibly be offered a lower price.

Technorati Tags: Milan, Naples, rome, Sicily