Expert: Alun Hill MCIJ - 12/1/2008

Question
QUESTION: Aloha,

I am traveling in March with my 2 daughters.  We are going: London, Groningen, Paris  with a few days not accounted for in case we find we like one place and want to stay longer or can be open to a last minute excursion.

I have planned to buy a Paris/Benelux rail pass.  Travel from London to Dover and cross the ferry, then hook up with the train from there.  
Do you know if the trains connect easily? does the pass make sense? how long will it take by train from the ferry crossing to Groningen?  and then from Groningen to Paris?

Also, what are the best transit options in city.  We'll be in London for 3 days - staying close to the London Eye, so I've been told it's central.  We'll be in Paris for a week.  Any suggestions?

Mahalo for your time!

ANSWER: Thanks for your question - I have to say, I hardly know where to start!

Firstly, Groningen is in the Netherlands, not the UK, and a little out
of my area.

That said, it's a long way north and if you're travelling from London,
it would be much cheaper to fly to Amsterdam and take the train (with
2 changes). The flight would be only a few pounds, as it's such a
cheap route - and only take an hour. By train and ferry will take
almost 24 hours, door to door.

The Benelux pass which you refer to covers the Benelux countries,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, so I cannot see why you would
want a pass for all three countries.

Paris is in France and can be easily reached from Amsterdam, on the
wonderful "Thalys" train, in a few hours.

If you're returning home from London, there is a "Eurostar"  train at
least hourly from Paris to London - the journey time is just a few
minutes over 2 hours, as the train travels at close to 200 mph.

As for London - well, it's a huge city of close to 10 million
residents - plus visitors! - and anywhere is central, depending on
your and your daughters interests.

I'll be very happy to give you more ideas if you can tell me the sort
of things you're all interested in.

Do feel free to let me know a little more about your plans in Europe
and again I'll do all I can to help. It's worth adding that if you
book your train tickets in advance, the savings can be as high as 75%,
so it might make sense to decide in advance what you want to do.

Happy to help!

Alun

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mahalo!
Was looking at the railpass because it would give us more options.  But after reading your answer and doing a lot more research, flying makes a lot more sense.  Then if we pick up our rail tickets individually, it actually works out cheaper and there's not the added on costs of reservations, etc.  
Does it make a difference where we pick up our tickets?  Directly from RailEurope? or is there an outlet I should know about?
Also, my daughter wants to "see castles in England".  I haven't begun to research where.  Any suggestions?

And again, thank you for your time and information!

ANSWER: Happy to help - but please take my advice - do spend some time looking at how far apart the areas are that you're planning on visiting, please, as you're likely to spend more time "moving" than "enjoying"!

For example, Groningen to Paris is 3 trains, and will take the best part of the day, door to door.

You generally shouldn't need reservations in March -  but they're usually free anyway, and can be booked on the day of travel in Europe.

Do remember that rail fares are much cheaper if booked in advance, though - I appreciate that this reduces the opportunities to stay in one place longer, but the savings can be very high.

I'm not sure how long you're staying for (or where you're coming from - you might have extremely long flights in and out of Europe, if my guess of Hawaii is correct!), but I'm genuinely concerend that you're going to try and do too much - for example, your daughter's wish to see Castles can be easily covered by the Tower of London - but it would take almost all day to see.

March can be quite cold, too, so bring warm coats, please!

RailEurope are terrific people - but I suggest you get a map - or look at maps.google.com in connection with
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en (this site allows you to see all train times and connections) and really see how far apart these places are.

I assume you're going to Groningen for family reasons, but Paris is a long way and you could see many other interesting places much closer - the Netherlands itself is a great country, with cheap travel and great, welcoming, people.

London, I'll admit, can be very expensive, but if you need advice on hotels, do ask, please - for your family, http://www.base2stay.com would be perfect.

Again, do feel free to ask more, won't you!

Happy to help!

Alun Hill, MCIJ
Alu

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the tips!!!!

Warm weather clothes and comfy shoes are at the top of our list.  Rubber slippers and shorts probably won't make us as happy there as here (yes, Oahu).

After your notes and more research, we're flying from London to Amsterdam, staying overnight, then picking up a round trip to Groningen.  We'll probably do a day-long travel, from Groningen to Paris.  Looks like the Thalys connection might work and honestly a day of travel is part of why we're doing the trip.  At home, 2 hours and we're back where we started.  That said, we really aren't trying to do 'everything'.  Coming from Hawaii, we know we will be fried when we get there.  Just plan on cruising the first night and relaxing the next day.  We also decided to take advantage of pre-booked rates and go ahead and add a day to London - should allow us an all day trip to a castle.

Looked into base2stay, but ended up deciding on Premier Inn County Hall - someone here (might have been you?) recommended it to someone else.  My daughters are thrilled.

Again, thanks for your time!

Answer
You're very welcome!

That Premier Inn is in an excellent position, just yards from Big Ben and the London Eye.

As you've got an extra day in London, do try and take a trip to Leeds Castle (it's in Kent, 85 minutes from London - lots of people get confused as there's a major city called Leeds, bit it's 200 miles north!).

http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?ref=y&sess=u0|p125|n0|c0|s0|g1|d0&pg=Direct

Combined tickets, to include travel and admission are available from that link - you can just turn up on the day and buy a ticket - Victoria coach station is a few minutes from Victoria - 2 tube stops from your hotel. For about £10 you can get a cab, which would be quicker!

Without a doubt, this is not only the best castle in England, but the best in the world. It's set on 2 islands - and is just magnificent.

Do come back as you get more details and I'll be happy to help further - and do enjoy the Thalys - it's a beautiful train (and from Amsterdam airport to the centre of the city, most of the trains are double-deckers - great fun!)

Alun Hill MCIJ,
http://TVTravelChannel.tv