cupcake22 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Hello all! I am planning a backpacking adventure for a month and a half, starting in Glasgow circling to Rome, visiting about 15 cities. My question is about the trains/buses. They seem crazy expensive. Would I be better off renting a car? Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment
Seraphim Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 The price of gasoline in Europe might make you fall over . Link to comment
melancholy123 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Agreed about the price of gas. If you do your homework you can find excellent deals on rail travel in the UK. We've backpacked around England a few times and got great deals on the trains. Link to comment
Scoe141 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I'd price out both. Like others have said, petro is quite pricey there. Also, some places may only have standard cars available. Can you drive standard, on the left side of the road? There's pros and cons of each. I'd make a list and go from there. i.e. car rental allows more freedom, but you have to be responsible for picking it up, dropping it off and other maintenance. (also if something goes wrong with it) I'd research it by talking to a travel agent, Google etc. Good luck. Link to comment
mustlovedogs Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Car rentals are often more expensive when borders are crossed. Also, Italy at least has very expensive toll roads. When I went, we spent maybe €25+ a day on tolls. Check out Eurrail passes maybe. I find those to be a bit overpriced, but who knows. I also hear that sometimes it's cheaper to fly than to take the train. Link to comment
j.man Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 "Backpacking" generally isn't done with a car across continental Europe. Granted, I only have family in Spain and Italy and haven't so much done the grand tour, but I do know it's not the glitz and glamour many people associate with. Backpacking is largely a upper-middle class luxury for those of us in the States. Having enough money or a substantial enough safety net not just to be comfortable getting around, but being able to stay on your feet once you're all done. It may be better to consider individual countries you'd like to stay in for an extended amount of time. You get to know the culture a lot more than just passing through for a week or two. Link to comment
Trammel Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Here in Italy gas is 4 times what it costs in America and renting cars is pretty expensive. Link to comment
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