Train Routes

Most people dream of roaming around the Avenue des Champs-Elysees but they are not willing to risk their future to finance the trip. However, traveling to Europe may not really cause you to mortgage your future. Anyone can have a cheap holiday vacation over the place. It doesn’t mean though that you have to hitch free rides to strangers or go backpacking. One way to help you reach that European dream is to go for a packaged bus tour.
Because of the tour operators’ ability to secure group rates on hotel accommodations, sightseeing attractions, and ground transportation, packaged bus tours only offer the best value per day. This is actually hassle-free because you don’t need to get any international driver’s license, or rent a car and memorize those streets and roads so that you won’t get lost, or experience the difficulty of reading train schedules in foreign languages. Everything is all set for you. All you have to do is enjoy!
For a more enjoyable and hassle-free European bus tour, here are some helpful tips:
- Prepare Your Camera – Secure the number of batteries you have and bring in some extras. You will get to see many attractions on packaged bus tours. They are usually for one stop only because as you move along, you won’t be able to go back on a certain sight. So take pictures for yourself while you’re on the spot.
- Keep an Open Mind – European culture is rich in history. Touring around Europe can help you enrich your mind by learning about local culture and traditions, interacting with some locals and even with some passengers to share some ideas and interests with them.
- Bring Some Gadgets and Stuffs – You will have a lot of traveling on your packaged bus tour to Europe so you may have downtime between attractions. Bring your iPod, PSP, or any thing that will keep you from boredom. A book or a magazine may also preoccupy you while en route to the next destination.
- Eat Wisely – Prices are usually high on major sightseeing venues, so take advantage of any meal inclusions available in the hotel. Also, bring with you some snacks to munch while on the bus as you may get hungry.
- Dress in Comfort – You will do a lot of walking, sitting, and riding a bus. So dress sensibly and appropriately. Wear something that you will be comfortable of during the entire tour. You already have the idea on what kind of tour it is so you know what to wear.
- Always be ready – bring some necessary things that you may think will be useful in case of emergencies. First aid kit, extra clothing, extra cash, and the likes.
The tips given can really help you enjoy your European packaged bus tour. It is a cheap way to explore Europe and you also get to see a lot of tourist attractions compared to just staying in one place and do things on your own. So while on tour, make the most out of it and enjoy the things that Europe can offer.

One of the most-visited cities in England, Manchester is best known for its arts, media dominance and sporting culture. World renowned for its acceptance of gay culture, it is easily one of the most multicultural cities in Europe.

If you are a first-timer in this city, it is advisable that you carry a Manchester guide all through your stay here. Easily available online, these guides provide a detailed insight into all the important aspects of this place. Visitors often use these guides before and during their tour of the city.

Guides on Manchester provide good information on how to get into the city. The Manchester International Airport is the centre-point for flyers. Located in the south of the city, it is the largest airport in the UK after London. Home to hundreds of international carriers, it connects Manchester to all major cities of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. The airport station operates direct trains and taxis for the convenience of travelers.

The Manchester guide can be quite helpful for those who use trains to get into this city. These guides have detailed account of train timings and routes. Manchester is served by two major railway stations – Victoria and Piccadilly. Well-connected with various other cities of the UK, these trains are quite economical and safe for frequent travelers.

Tourists can also have a tour of the city in hired cars. Although an expensive option, it gives you the comfort of visiting places at your own pace. You can also use the public bus service here. The Chorlton Street Coach Station is the main coach station in Manchester. Reasonably-priced and convenient, this service connects the city to all major parts of the country.

Not just travel, Manchester guide is a must for those who want to understand this city better. Be it is a list of popular attractions, or the best theatres, these guides will help you discover the city without being hassled or seeking others’ assistance.

It has been a time-honored tradition for the North American university grad to leave his sheltered nest and seek the unknown in a distant land.

Unfortunately, tradition also lends way to cliché.

The early twenties, book smart grad are filled with an ambition to add some life experience to his new set of professional letters. He sits in a dockside café eating hometown food with French provincial names as he writes into a leather-bound booklet some deep insights that he assumes are original. He dreams of having a torrid love affair with some local peasant girl but settles instead for swapping email addresses with some Canadians doing the exact same thing. As entertaining as this prospect seems, it was not my wish. I wanted to carve out my own adventure, and in Europe there is no better way than by train.

The European rail system has been for years second-to-none for accessibility, comfort, and, with Rail Europe, affordability. There are a variety of Rail Europe passes for different prices that can get you anywhere you wish in little time and from city center to city center. North Americans must purchase the Rail Europe tickets before departing Europe (you can’t get them in Europe) and well in advance of their trip, and in certain countries the passes are valid on ferries and riverboats. The passes are easy to use and, if taken advantage of fully, are cheaper than most other forms of transportation. Best of all is that trains can get you to remote areas that you would otherwise miss. For the budget-minded the night excursions or hotel trains save you hotel rooms so that you awake the next day in a new country!

Copenhagen —

I landed in Copenhagen and got immediately roped into the standard tourist sites — Tivoli Gardens, the Royal Palace, etc.

I saw an incredible exhibit of Danish design at the National Art (Kunst) Gallery, and I took a bike ride through an area called Christiania, an area started by a group of Danes in the 1960s looking for free love, free drugs, and free rent, and it hasn’t changed much since. I was here when I was thirteen years old, staying with a cousin. Since, the government has made an attempt to clean up Christiania by taking out most of the drugs but the general atmosphere remains. Old military buildings painted in bright colors are home to all sorts of the local free thinkers from vagrants to artists to very accomplished architects. The tour ended at the National Library, also called the “Diamond” because of its seemingly transparently beautiful aesthetics. It is a remarkable example of the old world class of a European city (half of the building is the original building of the National Library) and the clean lines and simple concepts of modern Danish design that act to seemingly tell a story with nothing but light.

Munich —

As wonderful of a city as Copenhagen is, the tourist route begins to lose its luster and the rails are calling me East. I’ve been to Germany before so I wasn’t interested in staying for too long, but the food and beer would be a shame to miss — yet another perk of train travel. Local trains can always be caught if you simply feel like ending up in a small town outside Munich, ordering a heaping lunch and a few giant steins of local brew and making your way out the same day. Needless to say, between Frankfurt and the Hungarian border I was full, comfortably brewed-up, and happy as the beautiful sites of central Europe flew by.

As can be expected, this type of life can take its toll on a person’s ability to remain conscious. By chance, when my body and mind were screaming for sleep, I happened upon a rather quiet train car. In fact, at one point a person was asked to keep the noise down behind me. I thought there was going to be some sort of movie starting that necessitated such silent attention until I realized that some of the train cars are specifically designated for the lazy kind of traveler that I felt like being. They are quiet cars and I will snore my praises of them for years to come.

Budapest —

A city full of history, incredible architecture, and beautiful women. As you walk around the city you get a definite stench of the former socialist society coupled with an obvious existence of capitalist growth. The city sits on the banks of the Danube. The Pest side is where you would find a much more built-up city center with malls and shopping areas, not to mention the late night venues. You can imagine my desire to visit the other side of the river.

The other side of the river is the Buda part of the city (are you picking up on the basis of the name yet?). A little quieter and lush, Buda contains some beautiful homes and sites. The Gelhert Hill, marked by a statue that can be reached by hiking paths, offers an incredible view of the city. I was lucky enough to meet a lovely local named Janka and I was invited to a dinner party. Hungarians are often seen as slightly less personable than some western European counterparts. This can be chalked up to a very dry sense of humor. I can attest, however, that this is not the case at all. After a great, home-cooked meal and a few cocktails in a quaint apartment in the hills filled with great people, including Zigga (who I knew for a few days and offered me a lift to the train station), and of course the beautiful Janka; I would say that kindness and generosity are staples in the social diet of Hungarians. They also have an uncanny ability to have a good time