- recent trip to Poland and Frankfurt, all cities, all easily accessible by train/bus. One leg was 5

I know this question comes up all the time - and I try to respond based on the make-up of the group traveling and their itinerary. (Although I really prefer road trips and that is how we usually travel - unless doing just two cities with a few days in each.)
But there seem to be a number of people who feel train is the only possible option. And a few who feel car is always best - and some who reco flying - even if the train or car would be only 4 hours or so (so plane is no faster).
My question is - have the train people ever done a road trip in europe - and is their POV based on experience - or perhaps just that they hate driving at all? And for the car or plane people - have they done any travel by train and found problems with it - or just assume that form of travel is always japan land tours better.
- recent trip to Poland and Frankfurt, all cities, all easily accessible by train/bus. One leg was 5 hours by train and 2+ hours by bus but it didn't make sense to fly since there was no nearby airport at the destination and the train/bus tickets were so cheap. Renting a car for 1 day for this leg would have been expensive. The other train trips were much shorter (3 hours). Flew to Frankfurt as that was my connecting city between home and Warsaw. In Frankfurt took the train, tram, S-bahn for sightseeing.
- Czech Rep, Krakow, japan land tours Frankfurt, Paris: Plane to Paris, connected to Frankfurt, train/bus to Prague. After visiting Prague used a rental car to see the Moravian countryside/small towns that are not easily japan land tours accessibly by public transport. Dropped the car in Brno and took the train to Krakow (avoiding cross border drop fees). Flew from Krakow japan land tours to Frankfurt as trains leaving japan land tours Krakow take a very long time to anywhere (i.e., 20 hours to Frankfurt) and the Lufthansa flight was not expensive. Train from FRA into town and used trams/walked within Frankfurt. Plane to Paris since I bought a round trip from Paris to Frankfurt. Stayed in Paris and used metro and walked.
- Portugal - arrived Lisbon and took a train to Evora (2 hours) as I didn't want to drive after an overnight flight and didn't need a car for a couple of days. Day 3 - picked up rental japan land tours car and used it for day trips for 2 days while basing myself japan land tours in Evora. Left Evora traveled for a week with the car, stopping in small towns. Dropped the car at the Lisbon airport for my 4 days in Lisbon. Took buses, taxis, japan land tours walked in Lisbon.
We've taken trains to get to where we rent cars (Rome to Orvieto, Paris to Avignon) so maybe that doesn't really count? LOVE the train travel. But I was too quick to answer that. We have taken trains for daytrips (London to Cambridge, Paris to Chartres, etc). And also we took the chunnel from London to Paris, and the Thalyss from Paris to Amsterdam. Love them all. Last year we did a month in Italy, with a car for 3 weeks, then flew to Prague for 5 days before flying home. That's the only flight within Europe we've done.
I guess it depends on if you are focusing on cities or not. You don't want a car in Rome, Venice and Florence, for example, so why bother unless you have a LONG (3wks+) time and you want to explore places inbetween. If you are renting a villa or flat in Tuscany or Umbria (or Provence, Dordogne, etc) you are likely to want to get around and a car is pretty useful.
japan land tours I feel about short hop flights the same as I do in the US. You need to factor in getting to/from the airport and usually you want to be the city center. japan land tours If there is a train that will get you there in a reasonable amount of time, take it.
Yes, I used to drive in Europe. I was stationed in Germany and drove all the time at that time. I even took one trip to Switzerland and rented a car and drove from Lugano to Montreux and kept the car in Montreux.
Since being green is relevant to Europe (it seems that folks would want to help preserve the beauty they are coming to see . . . ) and since train travel is SOOO easy (and convenient and fun)in Germany and Switzerland, I always recommend it. In fact, I am so against using cars in those countries that I can't help folks who want to drive there.
I guess I'm lucky that I generally don't want to travel to places japan land tours that don't have good public transport. I did take a trip to France last year and relied on tours, but the experience in the area didn't really thrill my soul, so I don't think I'll be going back.
I will say, however, that car rental is out now since the age business has crept up on me. More car hire companies put age restriction on rentals, and that cuts me out. My much younger DW does not do stick shift, so that leaves train, plane, bus, or boat for us. I suppose we could go with another couple who would drive, but we have given up travelling with others for the duration.
My question is - have the train people ever done a road trip in europe - and is their POV based on experience - or perhaps just that they hate driving at all? And for the car or plane people - have they done any travel by train and found problems japan land tours with it - or just assume that form of travel is always better.
I am a big booster of train travel for the average tourist going like most do mainly do big tourist cities, places where cars are more and more a liability - but also say if you want to say tour the rural areas like the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Tuscany and not going to many big cities cars are better.
That said to answer your question I have driven for thousands and thousands of miles all over Europe many many times - I have bicycled thousands and thousands japan land tours of miles - I appreciate the benefits of a car but realize that cars in cities like Paris, Rome, Florence, etc are useless and if just going between those type cities train is the logical way to do it.
if you are going to a place/s where there are good public japan land tours transport connections it makes sense to let the train take the strain. OTOH, if you are wanting to pootle about exploring the nooks and crannies of a remote region, you'll see more with wheels.
I've done both, I agree, it totally depends japan land tours on where you are going and what the goal is. Train is the most convenient for just getting between two cities usually (at least in countries that have a good train system). But obviously you can't use it for driving around wine country and staying in small villages or mountain areas, if that's what you want to do. And even when I've rented a car because I was in a more rural area and didn't just want to visit cities on a train line (ie, Provence), I wasn't exactly doing a road trip, I was just driving around the area locally.
Flying japan land tours vs train is a different story and completely depends on the cost and airport situation in reference to wehre you are going, japan land tours as to how convenient that is. I probalby wouldn't fly vs. a 2.5 hr train trip, but I would for ones that are most of the day.
So now I really plan ahead. On this next trip we will have a car. We are staying in Cascais japan land tours for the whole two weeks. I plan to go to places I will not use the car such as Lisbon and Sintra. I will take the train because these places japan land tours are not the best places to park.
(And I differ there - to me Germany and Switz - where you want to do mostly a bunch of small towns and countryside are the perfect places for cars. But I admit I love driving - and it's much more fun in europe - higher speed limits, better roads and mostly better drivers. but definitely not in major cities.)
As a solo traveler, trains japan land tours won hands-down in the pre-GPS days. I did rent a car occasionally when it made it possible for me to see something japan land tours I really wanted to see, but I didn't like trying to drive and navigate at the same time, and no matter how thoroughly I prepared in advance, there were still the inevitable detours or road closures or unexpectedly hectic intersections or whatever. In contrast, trains and buses got me where I wanted to go and left me completely free to admire japan land tours the scenery and relax.
Now that GPS is an option (I have my own, which I can program in advance, etc.), how I choose to get around depends on other considerations. I like to keep my environmental footprint as small as I can, and that to me is a very strong argument for public transportation. As a solo traveler, costs are another argument for public transportation. And even with GPS, I am well aware that I can't always appreciate the scenery as much as I might if I weren't driving. But I definitely like the convenience and flexibility afforded by having a car. And I enjoy driving (at least outside of cities), so it's a bit a treat to be able to do so.
For my last few trips, I've tried to figure out my options either way, think about how much scenery that I'd like to see that I'll "miss" because I'm driving, and then rent a car for the part or parts of my trip that I believe will be substantially facilitated by having my own transportation.
My "default" is train though. I love travelling by train and in some respects, it offers more flexibility than cars - no worries about parking, for example, and with things like the Bayern ticket, you can take any train you like within certain restrictions.
I like to walk and I travel pretty light, so public transport works pretty well for me in most cases. I also tend to plan trips around japan land tours beer and wine, in which case not having a car is a definite plus. And if I am trying to decide between particular places on an itinerary, all things being equal, I will generall choose the place that doen't require me to get a car over one that does.
We have rented cars for some portions of trip where it made sense though. japan land tours The Ausfess area of Germany is not well-served by public transport, so we got a car for that portion. I have also had a car for a trip through the Bavarian Alps and also when I went to some small towns outside of Madrid.
I think that a lot of Americans default to car travel and are pretty unfamiliar with public transport, so they don't really understand how extensive and convinient the train system is in much of Europe, so I try to encourage people to get out of the cars a