(2) Getting There

There are three variable to consider in your destination travel planning.

Time
International travel to Europe will take a minimum of 8 hours by air. Air is the only realistic consideration for transatlantic travel. And the focus of this blog is traveling in Europe not Cruising the Atlantic. But once you hit land in Europe your inter or intra country transportation option are considerable. You can opt for air, train, or boat.

Air - has shortest actual travel time, but when airport travel and pre-depature time is calculated, some routes could actually be faster using other modes of transportion.

Train - stations featuring high speed trains are usually centrally located in most Eurpeon cities. In most cases requires less travel time to the station. Also stations have considerably less pre-departure rituals, so you don't have to arrive 2 hours before departure.

Boat - Surprisely you can get to many Eurpeon distinations by sea. But, unfortunely you will have to find other transport modes if the central city is your final distination. If time is of esssense you should seek out the high speed hoover craft, otherwise consider day or overnight leasure cruises. Can be most time effective when traveling to coastal locations over shorter distances.


Cost
Air - surprisingly cost can range much lower than other modes with advance purchase.

Train - train travel may prove more expensive if individual tickets are purchased, but very cost effective when passes with set or flexible destination. These tickets have open departure dates and have experations of day or months.

Boat - can find attractive pricing during low seasons.

Experience
Air - most american have probably been over exposed to air travel so the only novelty of Eurpeon travel would be limited to the brief scape views during take off and landding.

Train - probably provide the most comfortable travel and scenic views. Save your daylight travel on sleeper trains

Boat - this can be a very pleasant experiece depending on the sea conditions. There are a wide range of comforts and adminities depending on the shipping options you choose

Other transportation consideration
Car rentals - if you enjoy car travel and can quickly adjust to Europen driven rules this may be an option for you. Don't forget your GPS.

Take your car along - some train and boats allow you to bring a care along, but for most american travelers. This would require car rental.

Luggage regs - intra/inter country air travel can have more restrctive baggage wieght limits. Ship and train wieght requirements are less restrictive, but check for specifics.

Booking Transportion
There are a large number of sites to book travel to and within Europe. Her are my favorites.

Air
So many airlines and booking agents to choose from suggest an alternative of a search engine. Travel search enginges search most airlines and agents but don't provide purchase options, only links to providers. The best of these are...'
www.kayak.com
www.sidekick.com

Train


Boat