Three weeks in Europe with a Eurail Pass

This trip uses the 5-day Eurail pass and overnight trains, with stops of three or four days in each city to get an adequate feel for each place. See Amsterdam, Cologn, Vienna, Rome, Munich, and Berlin. This plan allows two or three nights in each destination, which gives a person a time to get slightly familiar with the place you are visiting.

Short Summary.

Day 1	Fly from U.S. to Amsterdam.	Night on trans-Atlantic flight
Day 2	Day in Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 3	Day in Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 4	Day in Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 5	Day in Amsterdam, evening train to Köln	Köln, Germany
Day 6	Day in Köln	Köln, Germany
Day 7	Day in Köln	Night train to Viennna
Day 8	Day in Vienna	Vienna, Austria
Day 9	Day in Vienna	Vienna, Austria
Day 10	Day in Vienna	Vienna, Austria
Day 11	Day in Vienna	Night train to Rome
Day 12	Day in Rome	Rome, Italy
Day 13	Day in Rome	Rome, Italy
Day 14	Day in Rome	Rome, Italy
Day 15	Day in Rome	Night train to Munich
Day 16	Day in Munich	Munich, Germany
Day 17	Day trip to Füssen to see Neuschwanstein Castle	Munich, Germany
Day 18	Day in Munich	Munich, Germany
Day 19	Day in Munich	Night train to Berlin
Day 20	Day in Berlin	Berlin, Germany
Day 21	Day trip to Potsdam	Berlin, Germany
Day 22	Day in Berlin	Berlin, Germany
Day 23	Return to the United States. Return flight	Home

See our list of trips.

Travel Resources Page

Full Description

Day 1	Friday	Take an afternoon or evening flight out of the United States, going to Amsterdam	Try to sleep on the flight to Europe.
Day 2	Saturday	Fly out of your home airport in the late afternoon, arrive in Amsterdam around 11:25 a.m. Rest of the day in Amsterdam	1st night in Amsterdam.
Day 3	Sunday	Day in Amsterdam	2nd night in Amsterdam
Day 4	Monday	Day in Amsterdam	3rd night in Amsterdam
Day 5	Tuesday	There is a non-stop night train departing Amsterdam Centraal at 4:41 p.m. that will arrive in Köln (Cologne) at 8:21 p.m.	1st night in Cologne
Day 6	Wednesday	Day in Cologne. Probably go to see the Museum Ludwig, the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, the Museum of Applied Art, the Museum of Chocolate, the Museum of East Asian Art, and the Treasure Chamber of Cologne Cathedral.	2nd night in Cologne
Day 7	Thursday	Day in Cologne. There is a non-stop night train with sleeping berths that departs Köln at 8:05 p.m. and arrives in the Wien Westbahnhof the following morning at 9:04 a.m.	Night train to Vienna
Day 8	Friday	Day in Vienna	1st night in Vienna.
Day 9	Saturday	Day in Vienna	2nd night in Vienna
Day 10	Sunday	Day in Vienna	3rd night in Vienna
Day 11	Monday	Day in Vienna There is a non-stop train departing Vienna at 7:29 p.m., and it arrives in Rome at 9:15 a.m. the following morning. (Rome Termini)	Night train from Vienna to Rome
Day 12	Tuesday	Day in Rome. There are many things to see in Rome. On this first day, see the Colosseum, the Forum, Capitol Hill, and the Pantheon.	1st night in Rome.
Day 13	Wednesday	Day trip to Naples. Take a day trip to Naples, departing Rome at 9:00, arriving in Naples at 10:15 ($110 round trip per person). Take subway (or walk 30 minutes) to the Archeological Museum. Stay at the Archeological Museum until 2:30 p.m., and then go to the Piazza del Plebiscito to see the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), the San Carlo Theater, and the Church of San Francesco di Paola. Return to the train station after dinner, around 6:30 p.m. and depart on the return to Rome on the 6:50 p.m. train (arriving in Rome at 8:00 p.m.).	2nd night in Rome.
Day 14	Thursday	Day in Rome. Use this day to visit the Vatican. See the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica.	3rd night in Rome.
Day 15	Friday	Day in Rome. Perhaps see the National Museum of Rome and/or the Borghese Gallery (make the reservation for the Borghese Gallery in advance) There is a direct train with no connections leaving Rome at 7:05 p.m., and arriving in Munich at 6:30 a.m. the following morning.	Night train from Rome to Munich
Day 16	Saturday	Day in Munich	1st night in Munich.
Day 17	Sunday	Day in Munich	2nd night in Munich.
Day 18	Monday	Take a day trip to Neuschwanstein.	3rd night in Munich.
Day 19	Tuesday	Day in Munich. See the Botanical Garden. The city night line overnight train without connections between Munich and Berlin departs Munich at 10:10 p.m., and arrives in Berlin the following morning at 8:22 a.m.	Night Train from Munich to Berlin
Day 20	Wednesday	Day in Berlin	1st night in Berlin.
Day 21	Thursday	Take a day trip out to Potsdam. See the Sanssouci Castle and Park.	2nd night in Berlin.
Day 22	Friday	Day in Berlin	3rd night in Berlin.
Day 23	Saturday	flight home	return home

Cost analysis (not yet calculated)

Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2011 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income)
(Thus 1,080 Myrfti is 10.8% of a median year-round full-time American income, while 230 Myrfti is 2.3% of median year-round full-time income. To convert costs into current dollars, simply multiply the costs in the far right column times the current median year-round full-time American income, and you'll have an idea of current costs. Otherwise, use a Consumer Price Inflation adjustment to 2011 with the dollar figures. The resulting cost estimates should be similar, at least if travel costs and incomes have matched inflation).
The two-person prices assume an adult couple sharing a bed, and the four-person costs assume a family of four with two children aged between 12 and 17.

Transport	This trip uses four long-distance overnight trains, and one much shorter rail trip from Amsterdam to Cologn. Day trips from Munich and Berlin will be with tour companies or public, not mass transit, so there are no other long-distance travel needs. You can purchase a 4-country 5 day select pass. There are additional fees for reservations for sleeper compartments (usually about 30 Euros per person), and those have been included. The 4-country pass costs about 40 Euros more than the 3-country pass, and the train from Amsterdam to Cologn is slightly more than 40 Euros.	2 persons $1 4 persons $1	2 persons 1 Myrftis 4 persons 1 Myrftis
Days 2-16	Lodging for 2 nights in Bristol, 1 night in Penzance, 2 nights in St Ives, 2 nights in Plymouth, 2 nights in Port Isaac, 2 nights in Salisbury, 1 night in Lyme Regis, 2 nights in Manchester. Rates calculated using online reservation systems or the hotel websites, using hotels listed in this travel plan, and always taking the most expensive alternative of two hotel prices to figure the high cost and the always the lowest alterative for the low cost. Prices were checked for late July or early August nights (high season).	High cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1 Lower cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1	High cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1 Lower cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1
Days 2-16	15 dinners and 15 lunches and a few breakfasts. The high cost rates were calulated assuming 7 meals at $32 (2011 dollars) per person, 11 meals at $22.40 per person, and 12 meals at $8 per person. This corresponds to 7 meals at good restaurants, 11 meals at medium-prices or low-cost restaurants, and 12 meals in a picnic style with food from grocers or else fast food. Other meals are assumed to be covered at hotels (most breakfasts included with lodging costs). The low cost estimates simply take the full cost estimate and reduce by 25% (eating less often in restaurants, eating at fewer expensive restaurants, eating more often sandwiches or fast food or foods from grocery stores).	High cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1 Lower cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1	High cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1 Lower cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1
Days 2-16	Total land transport costs including train tickets, car rental, car rental insurance, estimated costs for petrol, estimated taxi costs and local transit costs (in Bristol and Manchester). Includes costs of public transport (bus, subway, local rail) to get round-trip from JFK Airport to Manhattan, and from Schipol airport to Amsterdam.	2 persons $1 4 persons $1	2 persons 1 Myrftis 4 persons 1 Myrftis
Days 2-16	Total costs for admissions to museums, parking fees, souvineers, and various miscellaneous expenses.	2 persons $1 4 persons $1	2 persons 1 Myrftis 4 persons 1 Myrftis
Whole Trip	TOTAL ALL COSTS For two adults this trip costs between 12% and 13.3% of what a median American full-time year-round worker earns in a year. For a family with two adults and two teen-agers the trip costs between 22.3% and 24.6% of the median full-time year-round annual income. A family with one income earner making the median year-round full-time income could save 8% of their income each month and have enough saved up after three years to pay for this.	Highest cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1 Lowest cost 2 persons $1 4 persons $1	Highest cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1 Lowest cost 2 persons 1 4 persons 1


		To show how a family of four earning about 120% of the median income would budget to pay for a trip such as this (costing 23% of a median worker’s year-round full-time income) every three years, I offer the following household budget, using a household annual income of $59,400 (about 120% of a single worker’s income of $49,500): Housing and utilities (including gas, electric, sewer, water, rent or mortgage, homeowner or renter insurance, and home repair and maintenance budget: 28.1% ($1,391 per month) All taxes (property, sales, income taxes for local, state, tribal, or federal governments): 15.2% ($752 per month) Car expenses (ownership of cars, gas, maintainence, insurance): 12.3% ($609 per month) Groceries, food, restaurants, and household supplies: 9% ($446 per month) Savings for a trip like this every three years: 8.0% ($396 per month) Health insurance and health care expenses: 7% ($347 per month) Savings for retirement: 7% ($347 per month) Savings for children's college expenses: 4.8% ($238 per month) Charitable giving: 2.3% ($114 per month) Other entertainment, internet, travel, cable television, movies, etc.: 2.2% ($109 per month) Miscellaneous other expenses (incuding phone): 2.1% ($104 per month) Clothing: 2% ($99 per month)