Ok I'm a University student finishing an internship in Kosovo (Former Yugoslavia) and after I finish in March I want to visit some friends and people I know in Bosnia, Italy and France (in that order). I have March, April and part of May. I plan on doing it as cheaply as possible of course, but I don't have to pay for places to sleep b/c I know lots of people where I will be going. I looked at the Eurorail passes and they seem to be the best option I have found. I can get a 10 days within 2 months pass for $370 US. I plan on staying in one city or area within Italy and France for about one week; I will be staying with friends or people that my friends know. There seemed to be a bunch of things that cost extra ex day trains and such. Is the pass worth it and is there alot of extra things I'll have to end up paying for? If you have any good ideas or experience I am 100% open to hear what you know and have learned.
Dan

What a great opportunity, sounds like it will be an awesome adventure.

The train pass will probably suit your needs quite well - I'm a bit out of date with the latest charges and what not, but generally speaking, you only need to pay extra reservation fees and such on the express trains, for overnight berths, or to guarantee a seat on a busy route. Generally speaking you should be able to just hop on a slower train with no extra fee, though you can't be absolutely guaranteed a seat in those cases.

Generally the passes work out to a good deal if you use them on longer distance routes, so you may run into extra costs for transport within a city or it's surroundings. However, you can often buy local transit tickets covering anywhere from a day to a week which can be quite a good deal, as they usually cover areas outside the metro centre where you might want to take a day trip or two.

It's also a great time of year to be travelling, as the weather should be gradually improving and should be just beautiful in Italy in April, and still not too terribly crowded. The main snag that time of year is the Easter holiday - usually the week before and the week after Easter itself, when every European school child is on holiday and many many people cope by taking a vacation. This can lead to crowded hostels and budget hotels (hopefully not a big issue for you), and sometimes the trains and cheap flights will be stuffed to capacity as well. Not to mention tourist hordes at the big attractions. Unless you have always wanted to be at the Vatican for Easter, it might be wise to opt for a smaller community during that time - you'll still get to see lots of local customs and enjoy traditional events and foods, but without quite the throngs you'd get in Rome.

:tumbleweed:

Thanks for the info; I'll try to take your advice about Easter... No have never wanted to visit the Vatican any time of the year haha so that wont be a prob.
Thanks again
Dan

I was in italy for easter last year and wanted to go to Vatican city. You have to actually buy tickets to enter the city/country, for that day. Tickets can be purchased on the internet, but i forgot where. I also heard, that it is sooooo packed, you can kinda sneak in. But, being easter and all, that wouldn't be too holy!

cya...lilchappy :party: