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Europe's extensive train network was once the only way people could afford to travel the continent, but flights have now become considerably cheaper.
Airlines that provide discounted flights, such as Ryanair and easyJet, have made jetting around the continent both cheaper and easier with tickets sold for around 30 TL.
Is there still any point in traveling by train when there are such cheap tickets ? Answer: It depends on the situation. First of all, these airlines may not be as cheap as they seem. While you think you have found a very cheap ticket and are about to buy it, the price can go up to 90-100 TL after taxes are included.
The next airline company's own taxes may be added. Ryanair has so many separate taxes that the company is making things a little easier by paying a “reservation fee” if you bring luggage on board, a priority boarding pass if you don’t check in online, and a “reservation fee” for certain flights (unless you purchase the ticket with a prepaid MasterCard credit card). ” (you need to pay) has prepared a table that brings together the taxes you will pay (these may increase during the summer and holiday periods such as December).
EasyJet also charges similar taxes for checked baggage and payments made with certain cards.
Another fact to consider? Airlines that provide discounted flights generally use secondary airports located in cities, approximately 1 hour or more away from the center. Generally, trains provide easy transportation from these airports to the center and connect you to other public transportation vehicles.
We compared prices on EasyJet, Ryanair and Rail Europe to find out which has the cheapest, most convenient connections and fastest journeys. Read on to find out what we took away from each of the travel providers.
International flights generally depart from London's Heathrow Airport, but discount airlines use Stansted, Luton or Gatwick Airports, so make sure you have enough time to spend between airports if you need to transfer.
Competition Winner: EasyJet narrowly beat Ryanair for availability and travel time.
EasyJet provides direct flights for each leg of our itinerary, so booking was easy and the travel time totaled just under 6 hours in the air. Prices including taxes reached 317.94 per dollar. $332.64 if purchased with a Visa debit card or $341.53 (if purchased with another credit card). All of these fares are booked in advance on EasyJet's website and include a piece of luggage on the flight (the price doubles if you check the luggage in at the airport). EasyJet's website was easier to use than Ryanair's, offering "all London airports".
Note: We had to use six different airports for our three flights: Charles de Gaulle and Orly (Paris), Luton and Gatwick (London), and Fiumicino and Ciampino (Rome).
Runner-up: Ryanair offered a price close to EasyJet, $309.59 with 15 kilograms of single luggage per flight or $376.35 with single baggage and 20 kilograms included, but surprisingly a direct flight from London to Paris Since it was not available, it had a disadvantage. Because they do not organize the connections on your behalf on the Ryanair.com site, we had to provide the connection from each city to the other one by one. The best option we found was that it was possible to fly from London Stansted to Glasgow Pretswick and from there to Paris Beauvais, but obviously the time loss of the transfer was not worth it. Other warnings: Beauvais Airport will not be very useful for travelers going to Paris. To reach the center from the airport, you need to use shuttle buses that take more than an hour. And although Ryanair.com was very convenient to use, it didn't offer the "all airports" option, so it was necessary to search for each airport in London separately.
Loser of the Competition: Obviously, the train would not be a good idea for this journey because the cities are too far apart from each other. It took 28 hours in total to travel from three legs of the journey to each other by train, and the fare was not an advantage anyway, costing $412 per person.
This journey is the route for first-time visitors to see Italy's top attractions. Flights are generally most convenient from abroad to Rome.
The closeness of these cities makes it more convenient to take the train rather than the plane compared to the first route.
Winner of the Competition: This time, Eurail won the competition with the shortest and most convenient journey. The best price for this expedition was $137 for 12 hours. If you want to shorten the journey from 12 to 7 hours (by choosing the high-speed train), the price increases to $313. Eurail is the only means of transportation that covers all 3 cities we want to visit (Ryanair and EasyJet fly to Pisa, not Florence). One last advantage of the train? In most cases, you will arrive at the train station of each city you arrive at, meaning you will arrive very close to the center of the city and public transportation connecting to your hotel or attractions.
Second of the Competition: When comparing both airline companies, it was not very attractive as it did not provide direct flights between the cities of our journey. Nevertheless, Ryanair wins the second place with a 17-hour journey when flights and transfers are combined, at least by being able to provide the route. (Assuming that you go to the airport early to pass through security, you need to add a few extra hours to these 17 hours!) Initially, the price was $298.82 for 6 flights, $65 dollars more than the train, and this price does not include the price of the bags you will put in the luggage. On all of these flights, the price increases to $565.34 with a single baggage check-in, plus a surcharge ranging from $222.52 to $266.34 (varies depending on the weight of the luggage and the busy period you travel).
Loser of the Competition: EasyJet is losing because we could not find a flight from Pisa to Venice on the dates we chose, we tried connecting flights from different cities, but the flights could not be completed as we wanted. The only way would be to stay overnight in one of the cities where we transferred and continue like that, or to skip Florence altogether and organize the trip from Rome to Florence.
