A view of Athens and Lykavittos Hill from the Acropolis.
Photo: Anders Blomqvist, Lonely Planet Images

by Brook Wilkinson

Question from reader jth163:

"I am helping my daughter plan her honeymoon. She and her fiance will be flying to Munich and then Athens. After several days in Athens, they are planning to use Eurail passes to ferry across to Italy, stopping in Sorrento, Rome, and Venice before taking the night train back to Munich. How can they get from Athens to the ferry at Patras? The Greek rail schedules are confusing; the bus appears faster but is it covered by the Eurail pass? Second, are they okay with Youth second-class rail passes in Italy and Greece, or is the extra money for first-class worthwhile there? Third, the rail trip from Naples to Rome is short. Is there a day trip to add in between to get the most out of the Eurail pass? They are traveling 16 days on a fairly tight budget."

That's a lot of ground to cover in a short time, especially for a honeymoon! Is your daughter sure that she wants to spend that much time on trains and ferries?

If so, they should take the train from Athens to Patras. It's about two and a half hours, which is shorter than the bus and will be covered by the Eurail pass (once you buy the pass, you'll receive a detailed map of the available routes). Since your daughter isn't planning any especially long or overnight journeys, she should be fine in second class. The seats won't recline, and they'll be slightly smaller than in first, but any inter-city train in Europe is better than what you'd find here in the U.S.

If your daughter and her new husband are going to be schlepping bags, I'm not sure that they'll want to get off the train midway between Naples and Rome (an hour-and-a-half trip). But one good option would be Aversa, which is famous for its buffalo mozzarella.

Eurail passes are an efficient, economical, and scenic way to see Europe.
Photo: wikitravel.org

by Brook Wilkinson

Question from reader Jonsail:

"I have planned a September trip involving Munich, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Ferraro, Geneva, Salzburg, and Vienna. Can I assume that if I buy a Eurail Pass I can make easy connections between these cities without making reservations in advance?"

Do you like to live dangerously, Jonsail? The last time I used a Eurail pass, I only made reservations a day or two in advance -- but that was February and March of 2002, a time when far fewer people were traveling.

Deciding whether or not to make reservations depends on how much time you have, and how flexible your schedule is. Since you're visiting three adjoining countries, you should buy the Eurail Select Pass (which you absolutely need to buy now; you can't get one once you're in Europe). And considering the number of legs you plan to travel, you'll probably need the 8-day pass, which allows you to travel on 8 different days over the course of 2 months. Here's my advice:

It's easy to take the train from the port of Civitavecchia into Rome
and then catch the subway to the Spanish Steps (above).
Photo: Index Stock Imagery, Jupiter Images

by Wendy Perrin

Question from reader Rosie Lee of Naples, FL:

"What would you recommend as the best (and cheapest) way to get from the port of Civitavecchia into the city? Three healthy, well-traveled, retired ladies on a budget wonder about taking a train (is there one?) into the city, then a taxi to our hotel. The cruise ship charges $85 per person at least."

You're smart to opt for the train rather than pay an outrageous price for a bus ride that will take longer, what with all those cruise passengers being loaded on and off, not to mention the traffic you can hit. As I advised in "Ten Tips For The Perfect Port Call" in Conde Nast Traveler's August issue, research whether you can get a train, bus, or ferry from the pier to the place you want to see.  The train is how I myself got from Civitavecchia into Rome, and back again, during a port call on a Windstar cruise several years ago. The station is an easy walk from the pier . . . as long as you're not lugging a ton of baggage.

A high-speed train in the Spanish countryside.
Photo: RailEurope

By Brook Wilkinson

I ducked out of the office early yesterday to attend a press conference on high-speed train routes in Europe, and I left itching to plan a trip to Spain. Why? Because by the end of this year, travelers will be able to hop on a train in Madrid and hop off in Barcelona, 373 miles away, less than 4 hours later -- and just 2.5 hours later, if you wait till late 2008 to make the trip. (Need suggestions for what to see in either city? Readers who still have their June 2006 issue of Conde Nast Traveler can refer to the "graphic narrative" we published on Barcelona, and anyone can read our September 2006 story on Madrid online.)

There could be a hitch, though. I tried to make that very same trip between Spain political and cultural capitals 7 years ago, but a train workers' strike foiled my plans and I had to buy a plane ticket instead -- and no amount of technology can ever stop the logistical-nightmare-inducing scourge of strikes in Europe.