10 January 2012. Train times valid
from 11 December 2011 to 9 June 2012.
UK to Norway without flying...
R I P... The DFDS cruise-ferry to Norway
was sadly withdrawn for good in September 2008, ending
over 120 years of direct ferry links between the UK
and Norway... Photo courtesy of DFDS
Although the last ferry between the UK & Norway (DFDS
Newcastle to Bergen) was sadly withdrawn in September 2008,
there's still no need to fly to Norway.
It's easy to travel from London to Norway by train, using a
lunchtime Eurostar
to Brussels, a connecting high-speed train to Cologne, the
excellent City
Night Line sleeper overnight to Copenhagen and connecting
trains to
Oslo arriving in the evening the day after leaving
London. Or spend the day in Copenhagen then sail
overnight by cruise ferry to Oslo. Departures are daily.
On this page...
You'll find a
step-by-step guide to planning, booking & making a journey
from the UK to Norway by train, with train times, approximate fares, and the best way to buy
tickets.
Here is the fastest way from London to Oslo
without flying, marked in red on the route map above, and it's
both comfortable and affordable, with daily departures.
If you're travelling to Bergen, Trondheim, Bodo, travel to
Oslo as shown below, then take an
onward train within
Norway. If you're travelling to Kristiansand or
Stavanger you may prefer the 'short cut' via Hirtshals in
northern Denmark,
see below. The line to Narvik starts in Sweden, so
for Narvik, first travel to Stockholm,
see here.
Train times London ► Oslo
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras
daily except Saturdays at 15:04, arriving
Brussels
Midi at 18:05. On Saturdays, depart London
at 12:57 arriving Brussels Midi at 16:08.
Travel from Brussels to
Cologne by ICE
high-speed train leaving
Brussels
Midi at 18:25 and arriving Cologne at 20:15. On Saturdays you can
also take the earlier 17:28 Thalys
train arriving Cologne at 19:15. You've time
for a meal in Cologne.
Travel overnight from
Cologne to Copenhagen on the City Night Line sleeper train
'Borealis', leaving
Cologne daily at 22:28 and arriving next morning in
Copenhagen
main station at 10:07. This train has a sleeping-car
(1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, standard with washbasin or
deluxe with private shower & toilet),
couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) & seats.
More pictures & information about City Night Line
sleeper trains. The arrival time in Copenhagen
has been known to vary, so check times for your date of
travel using
www.bahn.de.
A bistro car is available in the morning, between
Hamburg and Copenhagen.
Option
1, Copenhagen-Oslo by train: You leave Copenhagen main station at 12:33 on
a daily
Öresund Link Train to
Gothenburg arriving 16:17. Change at
Gothenburg onto a Norwegian train leaving Gothenburg at 16:37
on Saturdays arriving in Oslo at 20:45, or
at 17:47 on Mondays-Fridays & Sundays arriving in Oslo
at 21:45. You can confirm train times for
your date of travel at
www.sj.se. Soon after leaving Copenhagen,
the Öresund Link train train to Gothenburg crosses the
Öresund Fixed Link,
opened in 1999 to connect Denmark with Sweden.
It's part tunnel, part double-decker road/rail bridge,
and on the long bridge section your train seems to 'fly'
across the sea to Sweden... It can help to know
that Gothenburg is 'Göteborg' in Swedish.
Option 2, Copenhagen-Oslo by overnight cruise ferry:
Alternatively, spend a day in Copenhagen (left luggage
is available at the station,
details here) and sail overnight
from Copenhagen to Oslo by cruise ferry with
DFDS Seaways. The ship (either the 'Crown of
Scandinavia' or 'Pearl of Scandinavia') sails daily from
Copenhagen's International Ferry Terminal
in Dampfærgevej at 17:00, arriving in Oslo at
09:30 next day. All passengers travel in
comfortable cabins with private toilet & shower.
To travel in luxury, treat yourself to one of DFDS's
famous Commodore Class cabins, some with private
balconies with sea view. The
ship has bars & restaurants for dinner & breakfast on
board, you can pre-book dinner & breakfast with your
ticket. The ferry terminal is about 3km (2 miles)
from Copenhagen main station in the city centre, taxis
& free DFDS shuttle buses are available. See
www.dfds.co.uk.
Train times Oslo ► London
Option 1,
Oslo-Copenhagen by train: Travel from Oslo to Copenhagen
by train. On Mondays-Fridays, leave Oslo 07:00, change at
Gothenburg (arrive 10:52, depart 11:27) and Malmö (arr
14:08, depart 14:33), arriving
Copenhagen main station
at 15:07. On Saturdays, leave Oslo 09:00,
change at Gothenburg (arrive 12:52, depart 13:42), arriving Copenhagen 17:27. No connection on Sundays.
You can check train times for
your own date of travel at
www.sj.se.
It can help to know that Gothenburg is 'Göteborg' and
Copenhagen is 'Köpenhamn' in Swedish.
Option 2, Oslo-Copenhagen by overnight cruise ferry:
Alternatively, sail from Oslo to Copenhagen daily by direct
overnight cruise ferry with
DFDS Seaways. The ship sails from Oslo's
Vippetangen ferry terminal at 17:00, arriving in
Oslo at 09:30 next morning. You can now spend the
day in Copenhagen. The ship has comfortable
cabins, bars & restaurants for dinner & breakfast on
board. You can walk from central Oslo to the ferry
terminal in15-20 minutes, or take a taxi. See
www.dfds.co.uk.
Day 1:
Travel
overnight from
Copenhagen to Cologne by City Night Line sleeper train
'Borealis', leaving
Copenhagen
main station daily at 18:20 and arriving Cologne at 06:14
next morning. This train has couchettes (4-berth &
6-berth) and a sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments,
standard with washbasin or deluxe with private shower &
toilet).
More pictures & information about City Night Line
sleeper trains. The departure times from
Denmark may
vary on some dates, so please check
times for your date of travel at
www.bahn.de. A bistro car is available in the evening,
from Copenhagen as far as Hamburg.
Day 2: Travel from Brussels to
London by Eurostar. Daily except Saturdays, a
Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi at 12:56 and arrives London St Pancras at 14:03.
On Saturdays and also Mondays & Tuesdays from 18
February onwards, also Wed, Thurs & Fri from 2 April
onwards, a Eurostar leaves Brussels
Midi at 10:56
and arrives London St Pancras at 11:57.
Take Eurostar to Brussels, then a
German ICE high-speed train
to Cologne...
ICE3
2nd class. ICEs are perhaps the most comfortable daytime trains
in Europe...
ICE3 1st class, with real leather seats. All seats in
both classes have power sockets.
An ICE to Cologne &
Frankfurt waiting to leave Brussels Midi.
More ICE info.
Introducing the City Night Line sleeper
train from Cologne to Copenhagen...
The
Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train 'Borealis' is one of the German
Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains. It
has a modern sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with
private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms
with washbasin, there's a shower at the end of the corridor
and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers), modern
air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4
or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not
recommended for an overnight journey). Inclusive fares are charged covering travel
plus sleeping accommodation. More pictures
& information about this train. Dinner in
Cologne before you board? For a traditional German
meal in Cologne before boarding your sleeper, try the
Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de),
5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle
restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de),
10-15 minutes walk from Cologne Hauptbahnhof, or there's a
restaurant inside the Hauptbahnhof itself at the Schweinske,
www.schweinske.de.
Feedback is always
appreciated!
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
Above: One of the
modern
'Comfortline' sleeping-cars used on the Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train.
...and travel onwards by train or ferry to Oslo & Norway.
Option 1: Take
an Öresund Train
(Öresundtåg,
pictured above) from Copenhagen to Gothenburg & an
onward train to Oslo. The train crosses from
Denmark to Sweden on the 1999-built Öresund Link tunnel
& road/rail bridge...
Option 2:
Spend the day exploring Copenhagen, then cruise to Oslo
on the daily overnight DFDS ferry. This is the m/v
'Crown of Scandinavia'.
How much
does it cost?
1. London to
Cologne
by Eurostar
+ ICE
London to
Cologne by Eurostar+ Thalys or ICE starts at £79
return.
Book in advance to get the cheapest fares, as the
fare rises as cheaper seats are sold. One-way
fares will probably be more than a return, so check
return fares and throw away the return half if
necessary.
2. Cologne
to Copenhagen
by sleeper
train, per person
In a
seat
In
a couchette
In the
sleeping-car
6-berth
4-berth
3-berth
2-berth
1-berth
2-berth
+ shower
1-berth
+ shower
Savings fare, one-way from:
€43 (£38)
€59
(£51)
€69
(£60)
€79 (£69)
€99 (£86)
€139 (£122)
€129 (£113)
€169 (£148)
Savings fare, return from:
€86 (£76)
€118
(£102)
€138
(£120)
€158 (£138)
€198 (£172)
€278 (£244)
€258 (£226)
€338 (£296)
Full
price one-way:
€145
(£126)
€162
(£140)
€172
(£149)
€182
(£158)
€201
(£174)
€241
(£209)
€282
(£245)
€322
(£280)
Child
under 15* with own berth:
Savings fares for children are slightly lower than
the adult Savings fares, the child full fare is
50-60% of adult normal fare
Child under 6* without own berth:
Child under 6 sharing a berth travels free...
* If you have children aged 4- 5 or 12-14,
please read this note
before booking the City Night Line sleeper train.
Savings fare =
cheap fare, price varies, limited availability,
no refunds or changes to travel plans.
Full price =
fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
Youth fares:
25% off full price (not Savings
fares) using
www.raileurope.co.uk
if you're under 26, but Savings fares usually cheaper!
Senior fares:
20% off full price (not Savings
fares) using
www.raileurope.co.uk
if you're over 60, but Savings fares usually cheaper!
3. Copenhagen
to Oslo
By
train, booked with
www.sj.se,
price varies from £40 to £83 one-way, £80 to £166 return.
If you live in the UK, the easiest way to book train tickets from London to
Oslo is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all the trains can be booked as a single
transaction on one UK-based website. If you live
outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which
for some reason raileurope.co.uk currently won't do) then
use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section). In any case, it's a good idea to
compare prices for the Cologne-Copenhagen train between
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ. Remember that booking opens 90
days before departure, you can't book before then.
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Oslo'
all in one go as this won't find the cheapest fares, even if
it works.
First, enter 'Cologne' &
'Copenhagen' and book the overnight train from Cologne to
Copenhagen & back. Obviously, in the search results simply
look for the direct train with no changes. For some
reason it won't book 4-berth couchettes, and may struggle
with 2-berth sleepers with shower, but if you have any
difficulties like this simply book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket.
Step 4,
book your Copenhagen-Oslo ticket. To go by
overnight cruise ferry, book this online at
www.dfds.co.uk.
You can even pre-book dinner & breakfast. To go by train,
there are two ways to buy tickets. The easy but more
expensive way is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from
Copenhagen to Oslo and back online. Rail Europe
charges a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Oslo
trains for all dates and departures, this is the
international tariff made available to other European
railway operators by the Swedish Railways. The
second and much cheaper way is to book the Copenhagen-Oslo train
using the Swedish Railways website
www.sj.se
(no booking fee,
see my advice on how to use it).
If you can't get SJ to work for any reason, try
www.bokatag.se instead (though they charge a small fee
on top) or simply call SJ
telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English).
The price you pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe,
rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or collect them
from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed
at Copenhagen main station.
www.raileurope.co.uk
can send tickets to any UK address and they normally arrive
within a couple of days. Only UK credit cards are
accepted.
Anyone from any country can book a London-Norway journey
in either direction using
a combination of the Belgian Railways website
www.b-europe.com, the German Railways
website
www.bahn.de
and the Swedish website
www.sj.se.
Booking opens 90 days before departure.
This method involves several websites, so do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking for
real.
Step 1, book
your London-Cologne ticket: Go to
the Belgian Railways international website
www.b-europe.com and book a ticket from London to Cologne
and back using the
train times on this page as a guide.
You print off your own tickets. B-europe.com can book
both Eurostar+Thalys and Eurostar+ICE, and their booking
system handles this two-leg journey well, usually seeming to
find the cheapest prices.
Make sure you allow plenty of time for the connection in
Cologne, preferably at least an hour when connecting with a sleeper train.
It's obvious, but remember that your return departure date from Cologne will
be the day after your departure date from Copenhagen!
By all means take an earlier train from London to Cologne,
or a later train returning from Cologne to London, if this
has cheaper fares available or if you'd like some time in
Cologne.
Step 2, book
the Cologne-Copenhagen sleeper train: Go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de, select 'English' top right.
Book a sleeper or couchette ticket from Cologne (Köln Hbf)
to Copenhagen (Koebenhvn H) and
back, looking for the cheap 'Spezial' fares. You pay
online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format on your
own PC printer. Easy! I strongly recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings.
Step 3,
book your Copenhagen-Oslo ticket: To go by
overnight cruise ferry, book this online at
www.dfds.co.uk
- you can even pre-book dinner & breakfast. To go by
train, the cheapest way is to book the Copenhagen-Oslo train
using either the Swedish Railways website
www.sj.se
(no booking fee,
see my advice on using
it here) or
www.bokatag.se (small booking fee, English button bottom right).
If you can't get your credit card to work, call SJ
telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English).
The price you pay using
www.sj.se,
www.bokatag.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available,
rising to much higher prices closer
to departure. You collect your tickets
from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed at Copenhagen main station
(see
photo).
How to buy
tickets by phone...
You
can book through a number of UK agencies, but for this trip
the best is probably Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66
(lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday
& Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge but no
charge for debit cards)
or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-17:30 Mon-Fri,
09:00-13:00 sat, £35 booking fee).
Click
here
for a list of agencies and more info on how to buy European
train tickets.
Tailor-made train travel + hotel arrangements...
If you want a compete tailor-made
trip with all your rail travel expertly booked for you and
good quality hotels arranged, UK residents can call
www.railbookers.com on 020 3327 0761. US
residents can call them on (646) 770 2894 (please
quote seat61) and Canadian residents on (416) 800 0732
(please quote 'seat61'). Australian residents can call
their Australian office,
www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550.
Just tell them what you want, and they'll advise you on the
best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out for you,
hassle-free. They get very positive reviews and take
good care of their guests.
If you prefer
cruise ferries to sleeper trains, you can travel from London
to Copenhagen using a train to Harwich, the excellent 3-or-4
times-a-week DFDS Seaways cruise ferry to Esbjerg, then an
InterCity train to Copenhagen. Then you can then take
onward trains or the overnight ferry to Oslo
as shown above.
See the London to Denmark page for
details of the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry option between London &
Copenhagen. You can book the overnight Copenhagen-Oslo
ferry at
www.dfds.co.uk
along with the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry as one transaction.
Note that you arrive in Copenhagen too late to connect with
that evening's ferry to Oslo, so plan on one night in a
hotel in Copenhagen before continuing to Oslo by train or
cruise ferry the next day. Via Harwich-Esbjerg, the
whole London-Oslo journey will therefore take 2 nights using
the train from Copenhagen to Oslo, or 3 nights using the
Copenhagen-Oslo cruise ferry.
As you can see on the route map
above, this 'short cut' by-passes Copenhagen & Sweden,
heading up to northern Denmark for a ferry direct to
southern Norway.
Travel from Odense to
Hirtshals in northern Denmark by Danish domestic train.
There are regular departures throughout the day.
For example, you can leave Odense at 10:07, change at
Hjørring, arriving Hirtshals at 14:28. Or depart
Odense 12:07, change at Aalborg & Hjørring, arrive
Hirtshals 17:02. You can check times for your date
of travel at
www.dsb.dk. In
Hirtshals, it's a reasonably short walk from the ferry
terminal to the station.
Sail from Hirtshals to
Kristiansand by Color Line ferry, see
www.colorline.com. There's usually a sailing
at 20:45 arriving in Kristiansand at 00:00.
There's a 1 hour check-in for the ferry.
Sail from Kristiansand to
Hirtshals by Color Line ferry, see
www.colorline.com. There's a sailing from
Kristiansand at 08:00 arriving in Hirtshals at 11:15.
There's a 1 hour check-in for the ferry, so be at the
port by 07:00. On arrival in Hirtshals, it's a reasonably
short walk from the ferry terminal to the station.
Travel from Hirtshals to
Odense by Danish domestic train. You can leave
Hirtshals at 13:39, change at Hjørring, arriving Odense
at 18:05. If for any reason you don't make this,
no problem, there's another train at 14:08, change at
Hjørring and Aalborg, arriving Odense at 19:05.
You can check times for your date of travel at
www.dsb.dk.
A ticket from Odense to
Hirtshals costs around 383 Krone, about £48 each way.
You can buy it at the station in Odense. You can
buy it online and print out your own ticket at
www.dsb.dk,
but only if you leave their website in Danish.
Hirtshals to Kristiansand by
ferry costs around 67 euros (£58) each way. Book
online at
www.colorline.com, or you can buy a ticket at the
port.
Train
connections from Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim &
other Norwegian cities...
Modern
air-conditioned trains link Oslo with Bergen,
one of Europe's most
scenic train routes, a journey worth doing for its own
sake! Similar trains link Oslo with Stavanger,
Kristiansand, Trondheim and other Norwegian cities. To check train
times within in Norway, see www.nsb.no
or
www.bahn.de.
Oslo-Bergen
costs between 199 Kr & 399 Kr (£17-£34) one-way with a
limited-availability minipris fare or 728 Kr (£63) each
way full fare. Return fares are twice the one-way.
Oslo-Stavanger also costs between 199 Kr & 399 Kr (£17-£34) each
way with a limited-availability minipris fare or 846 Kr
(£73) one-way full fare, return fares are twice this.
Anyone over 67 (or married couples where one partner is
over 67) get a 50% discount. Children under 4 free,
children 4-15 (inclusive) half price.
How to buy
Norwegian train tickets online at
www.nsb.no...
You can buy
Norwegian tickets online at www.nsb.no.
In fact, it pays to pre-book your tickets this way,
because cheap advance-purchase 'Minipris' fares are often
available, saving a lot of money over the regular fare
that you will be charged on the day of travel.
Minipris tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable.
The 'English'
button is top right.
Useful words:
'Voksen' means 'adult'. 'Barn' means 'child' aged
4 to 15 inclusive (under 4's go free). 'Honnør'
means senior citizen over 67 years old (anyone aged over
67 gets gets a 50% reduction on standard fares, although
no reduction on 'Minipris' fares).
When you see
the fares page, you'll see both standard fares ('Ordinær') which are
flexible and refundable, and cheap limited-availability 'Minipris'
fares which are non-changeable and non-refundable.
Minipris fares cost either 199Kr, 299Kr or 399Kr depending
on availability.
Useful words: 'Okonomi' means standard class,
any fare including the word 'Komfort' means first class
with larger seats, more space, laptop power points and
complimentary tea and coffee.
You need
to make up a phone number. You need to enter a
local phone number as part of the booking process.
It won't accept international phone numbers, so just use
any memorable 8-digit number such as your date of birth.
No-one is actually going to phone you, so it doesn't
matter!
You need
to make up a postcode. It won't accept
UK-style postcodes so make up random digits such as
'12345'. No-one will send anything to you, so it
doesn't matter!
Acceptance
of UK (and other non-Norwegian) credit
cards: It's reported that www.nsb.no
can struggle
with some UK-issued credit cards. Many UK-issued
cards certainly work, and most people report success
buying tickets at nsb.no, but a few travellers report that
their UK-issued card didn't work (and were even told by NSB
telesales that the site only accepts Norwegian cards).
So try using www.nsb.no
as your card may well work fine,
and another card if the first one doesn't work, but if
none of your cards work, simply call their
telesales by phone on +47 23 15 15 15 and buy
tickets that way. NSB will definitely accept UK cards by phone, and
you may well find the price three times cheaper than buying
from a UK agency!
You can
choose to collect your ticket at the station or on board
the train from the conductor.
Oslo to
Gothenburg: www.nsb.no
can also book train tickets between Oslo and Gothenburg
(Goteborg) in either direction. Tickets can be
collected at Oslo or Gothenburg stations or on board the
train.
Oslo to
Stockholm: It won't book tickets between Oslo
and Stockholm, as these trains are provided by Swedish
train company SJ. Oslo to Stockholm tickets should
be booked online at
www.sj.se.
Feedback
from booking this way and using these trains would be very
welcome!
The scenic
Flåm Railway...
A scenic
tourist line worth mentioning is the famous Flåm
Railway ('Flåmsbana')
from Myrdal (on the Oslo-Bergen line) 900m above sea level
to Flåm on the
Fjord below. Train run daily all year round, 4
departures a day in winter, 10 or so in summer. It can be done as a day trip
from Oslo, as the Myrdal-Flåm
journey itself only takes 40-50 minutes each way. See
www.flaamsbana.no, then see www.nsb.no
for connections from Oslo or Bergen to Myrdal.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or
(when available)
Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Make
sure you take a good guidebook.
For independent travel, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.
Both guidebooks provide the same excellent
level of practical information and cultural and historical background.
You won't regret buying one!
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Other hotel sites worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is a huge resource, and the best place to browse for
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in backpacker hostels in most
European cities use
www.hostelbookers.com.
Travel insurance & health card
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself).
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a spare credit card, one designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card
to save on mobile data and phone calls...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
You won't regret buying one!
In
the UK, try
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, try
If you live in the USA or Canada, try
