Tag: travel-tips

Eurail & train pros & cons

Published on by AdriLeave a comment

A personal anthology of Everything Eurail. Everything I wish I knew before traveling around Europe by train (info that even TikTok won’t be able to help you with).

If you’re studying abroad in Europe, and want to travel as much as you can, you may want to consider the Eurail pass.

If you are currently a sophomore, or a junior reading this (and planning on studying abroad in the winter/spring, or even fall) Eurail pass does Black Friday sales. Which is absolutely worth it to buy in advance. It is a really good deal. You can buy your pass in advance, then you have up to a year to activate it whenever you want.

Here are some considerations and tips for choosing the best Eurail pass for you, and to help you decide if it is the right choice for you. As someone with a more limited abroad budget, it was absolutely worth it for me.

First, consider how close your host country is to the places you want to go. Or where you could travel to by train. For example, I was in Florence, Italy. I traveled around Italy by train, and to Slovenia, Austria, Germany, and took a train from London to Edinburgh/Belgium. As well as by train in the UK and the Netherlands. The train station was central in Florence, and easy to access, making trains a great, budget friendly travel choice.

If you’re planning on studying in the UK or nearby, I recommend the Eurail pass! Trains and transportation are VERY expensive in the UK. No matter the time of year. For example I traveled from London to Edinburgh, the train I took would have cost $150 for a 2nd class ticket. Which would be around 35% of my Eurail pass cost, but for just ONE trip.

Also consider how many trips you’ll want to take, and if you need to take high speed trains or not.

A great option for a semester abroad is the unlimited Eurail pass for 2 or 3 months. This is an amazing option for flexibility, budget, day trips and weekend trips. When you’re traveling by train in Europe , flexibility is KEY. It may seem like a lot up front. But it is worth it if you are going to be traveling every weekend (or almost every weekend). Plus it’s nice to get one travel expense out of the way. Take advantage of the Black Friday sale!

It may been intimidating or hard to know what Eurail pass to choose at first, but if you do some quick calculations you can decide which one is best for you.

For example, I had the 10 trip Eurail pass over two months. But I think the perfect pass choice would be 15 travel days over two months. Having the extra travel days for more flexibility and longer travel days is worth it.

Something else important to note, is the amount of months/days the pass will be valid for! If you want to spread out your trips, you definitely don’t want to do the limited number of days in one month. You will get a better value by doing the 10 or 15 days over two months, or unlimited. For example, I decided to extend my last trip by one day. But I forgot that my pass expired that next day. So when I got on the train I had to pay for a full ticket price, even though I still technically had a travel day left on my pass, it didn’t matter because my pass was expired.

Obviously Eurail pass is best for going location to location, not back and forth from one place (like weekend trips). However I was able to make it work no problem, and I really recommend it, as individual train ticket prices can be more expensive and change a LOT. Some people took 3-4 trains in Italy and it cost around the same price at my 10 day trip pass.

No one really talks about train strikes or warns you about them. Italy particularly, was a bit notorious for train strikes. I was not expecting them, didn’t know much about them, and wasn’t warned about them (even by my program in Florence). SO PSA: If you’re studying abroad in Italy and planning on taking trains, look in advance for train strikes. Most of them will be scheduled, but sometimes it’s hard to find specific information. Important lesson that I learned the hard way, if there’s a possibility or uncertainty of a strike, schedule around it. Or arrange backup plans. When I was in Italy, there were particularly many strikes, significantly more than other countries.

Other countries may also have train strikes. If you’re taking a train somewhere to/from a major city, check this before planning your trip. For example Netherlands, Germany, Paris, etc…

However this should not deter you from traveling by train, and you can easily avoid any issues by planning ahead.

Always book trains with at the MINIMUM 10 minutes between each other. But if possible, aim for 20-30 for transfer time. Most trains (especially regional ones can easily get behind schedule), and some train stations may be hard, or crowded to navigate. So most times you won’t even have to wait 1hr – 30 mins between trains, if you’re taking a regional train in any country.

A great pro of using a Eurail pass is having stop overs along the way to your destination! This is how I got to see multiple cities from just one trip/or travel day use. For example, I had a 6 hour stopover in Rome, a 4 hour stopover in Venice. So I got to explore them without using an extra travel day, or buying another ticket.

Lastly and most importantly. Travel days. Something I learned the hard way, is what was considered a ‘travel day’ for Eurail. I had to rework all my trips, and take more high speed trains, to try and just use two travel days for each weekend trip. This is a pro of the unlimited pass, you don’t need to worry about the number or travel days or taking late trains. But let me break it down for you:

When you get your Eurail pass you ‘activate’ it when you’re ready to take your first trip.

From that first activation, your month(ly) period begins. For example if you have a month long pass, and activate it on the 1st of September, it will expire on the 1st of October. Even if you don’t use all your travel days. So use your days before it expires!

You can choose what travel days to activate your pass on (if you have 10 or 15 travel days for example). You need to activate your travel day before getting on the train, or else you risk a fine.

A travel day is a period of 24 hours. Try to take trains earlier in the day to avoid having to use two travel days to get somewhere.

So let’s say you’re taking a train at 8pm, and then you have to take another train at 12am (you’ll need to use two travel days).

You need to activate your pass and get your seat reservations BEFORE getting on the train. This is how you avoid fines or not being allowed on. Some high speed trains only have a certain number of seats for Eurail pass holders. For example, when I was in Amsterdam I wanted to take a high speed train to Belgium, but it had been booked up for a month already because of this limited availability. Same with in London. And they were very strict on it.

Obviously taking trains takes longer than flying, but it’s also a beautiful way to see different countries. I only had two days of classes, so that’s how I was able to take longer train journeys. But even if you have class 4 days a week you can make it work. If you take night trains or high speed trains, it is possible to make a short weekend trip happen. Or you can use your pass for day trips explorations. Everyone should experience a train trip at least once on their abroad experience, especially since it is something we don’t have in the US.

I hope this is helpful if you are considering the Eurail pass for studying abroad, or at any point in the future!

Overall, I do recommend the Eurail pass if you’re studying abroad (in Italy especially), for flexibility, seeing MANY places around the country you’re in, and visiting countries nearby. It is a better rate than flying or buying individual tickets.

Happy travels! 🙂

Thank You, Fear.

Published on by Mattie EmbreyLeave a comment

I wrote my second blog post about my trip from home to Morocco, and how my fear of flying affected it. It’s a little silly to read through now, even though it was only a month ago. I had so much fear and anxiety inside me that I wrote nearly a thousand words exclusively about my flights and feelings relating to them. It was even worse in the month leading up to departure. Every time somebody asked if I was excited, I only ever responded with grief about being on an airplane. I must’ve been a huge bummer, and my list of pre-departure regrets only grows from there.

I’ve already posted about my worry about societal roles and air travel, but that pattern is getting kind of old. If I write this in-depth about every single fear or anxiety I encounter, I’ll have written a very long and emotionally draining novel:

Chapter 1: I’m Scared to Travel Alone

Chapter 2: I Hate Flying

Chapter 3: The Horror of a Long-Distance Relationship

Chapter 4: I Don’t Know Any Languages

Chapter 5: I’m Scared of Being a Woman

Chapter 6: I’m Doomed by My Sense of Direction

Chapter 7: I Don’t Know How Taxis Work

Chapter 8: Unaware of Unspoken Social Rules

Chapter 9: I Really Don’t Like Heights

Chapter 10: Seriously, How Do Taxis Work Here?!

I’m happy to say that, despite all my time wasted on worry, I haven’t let fear hold me back. Every single time, I rose up to the challenge and did what I needed to do. Over the weeks, I kept surprising myself, and my curiosity grew. Why was I so terrified, but also being so uncharacteristically courageous?

There were times where I was just forced to be brave, like when I needed to take a taxi by myself for the first time. I still didn’t understand how the system worked. I could either: 1.) Flag down a petit taxi and attempt explaining where I needed to go to someone who doesn’t speak English; or 2.) Awkwardly wander around the grand taxis with set destinations, hoping someone would direct me to one set for Bassatine (I genuinely don’t know how Moroccans just know which ones go where. There’s no sign or indication anywhere on the street or vehicle itself).

Neither option sounded great, but it was a 15-minute drive to somewhere I needed to be in 15 minutes. I wish I could say that I navigated everything perfectly, but honestly, it was a bit of a hot mess. I waved down a petit taxi and told the driver the name of the neighborhood I was going to but had zero idea how to describe the specific spot. So, I sat next to the woman in the back seat, and frantically searched for a voice memo that I’d been sent as a reference. Once it was located, I handed my phone up to the driver, but he didn’t speak French, which was apparently what the memo was in. He then handed my phone to the lady next to me, who replayed it a few times before finally telling the driver where I was going.

Then we took off, and I was really crossing my fingers that I was going to the right place. I was relieved when we began passing familiar streets, and handed the driver my payment. But, as I was exiting the taxi, I stepped right into a pothole and fell down as the door closed. Embarrassing. At the very least, I got there and even had my own dramatic exit. Although I’m not even close to perfect yet, I’ve become more comfortable with taxis and proud of myself for it.

I’ve taken particular interest in the times where the pressure comes from myself rather than external reasons. For example, my program went on an excursion a few weeks ago to Ifrane National Park, which included an afternoon at Azrou Adventure Park. I’d never done a ropes course or anything similar before, mostly due to my fear of heights. My peers opted for the most difficult course that made my stomach twist just by looking at it. But the idea of trying an easier one, or sitting out entirely, made me feel even worse. I had no idea why– it didn’t feel like the social pressure or fear of being left out. Nonetheless, it was enough motivation for me to put on a harness and go somewhere labeled: “NOT FOR BEGINNERS!”

Don’t get me wrong, I was shaking, sweating, and nauseous whilst watching my friends and waiting my turn. Then, once I joined our accompanying staff member on the first platform, the realization that I couldn’t turn back hit me like a slap in the face. Upon seeing my expression, he asked if I was alright, and I revealed my fright.

“Why are you doing this, then!?”

I shrugged and giggled, both because of the humorous circumstances and because I didn’t know how else to respond. Why did I do this? No matter how– I really had a good time.

I’ll give you another instance. Since my program is short in comparison to others, we have two long weekends in the place of a week-long break. My three roommates and I went to Lisbon, Portugal for this past one (which was SO much fun!!!), but I had zero ideas for the other. As time went on, everyone developed and solidified their own plans, and I was left as one of the only people without a travel group. My mind was constantly occupied by attempts to solve my pickle.

I should ask them if I can join their trip. No, that’s weird. Also, what if they don’t want me there? They likely wouldn’t mind– but still that’s weird. Plane tickets are probably expensive by now, so maybe I’ll just stay home? No. I can’t stay home while everyone else is gone. But I also can’t just latch onto somebody else’s plan. And I can’t go anywhere by myself, no way. So, I guess I could just stay at home and relax? Or wait– maybe I could go somewhere by myself? No. Yes? Well, now I want to. But that’s scary. But since I thought of it, now I have to, don’t I?

Yes, absolutely.

Traveling for four days by myself is still a really scary thought, since I’d never done anything like it before. I actually hadn’t traveled much before coming to Morocco at all. Even when I did, I was just a kid cluelessly shadowing my mom like a lost puppy. But when I imagine myself sitting in my apartment all that time thinking, “I could be somewhere else right now,” that truly sends shivers down my spine. I became plagued by nightmarish visions of myself 10 or 20 years from now, lying awake thinking about that stupid, stupid decision. The potential turmoil of mourning such opportunities and experiences is beyond spooky. This prompted a very enlightening realization: my biggest fear is, in fact, regret.

So, I guess I’ve subconsciously been trying to prevent remorse (as best as anyone can). And, as a result, I now have one plane ticket, one bed at a hostel, and a one-person itinerary for the small beach town of Essaouira, Morocco. After realizing that I could do anything as long as I was more scared about not doing it, committing to everything was surprisingly easy. Anxiety is still rattling around in my brain, and I do still obsess over how I’m getting from the train station to the airport, if eating alone will look weird, and many other obsolete details. But they’re a problem for later.

Of course, fear is a natural reaction that keeps us safe. I’m not going to start ignoring my instincts completely– that would be a very bad idea. You won’t catch me jumping into a tiger enclosure or walking the sketchy part of town at night just for fun. However, these hesitations are backed by survival needs. My terror surrounding taxis, solo travel, and heights, however, are not.

So, scare yourself into fighting your demons. Your future self is watching you from their memory right now– what do you want them to think of you?

Become petrified by regret and horrified of your own judgment. If fear is the one and only thing holding you back from something, you can’t not do it. Trust me, it makes living life a lot more fun.