As an American who is not from the Northeast, I didn’t have many opportunities to take trains growing up. But when I started traveling in Europe as a young adult, I finally got to experience train travel — and I was hooked! Now, I’ve taken trains in about 20 countries in Europe and Asia (as well as the U.S. and Canada!)
But while I love traveling by train, most of my journeys had been about getting from one place to another. Madrid to Alicante, Tokyo to Kyoto, Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I hadn’t yet set out on a Train Trip, which was something I’d been wanting to do for the last few years since moving to Spain again in 2024.
This past spring, we finally decided to plan our very own European train trip — where we traveled from Belgium, to Luxembourg, to Germany, to Switzerland — over the course of about two and a half weeks. Since it was a new experience taking an extended trip by train, I learned a lot!
If you’re thinking about taking a European train trip of your own, there are lots of things to think about before you make the decision. And now that I’ve done it, I’ve got a list of things for you to consider.
Here are the pros and cons of taking a European train trip.
European Train Trip: Pros
Pro: More comfortable and less stressful than flying
The best thing about taking trains is that it’s soooo much less stressful than flying — for a variety of reasons. You don’t have to get to the train station hours in advance like you do for a flight, you don’t have to panic about airport security lines randomly taking forever, and you don’t have to worry about being squeezed into an uncomfortable middle seat between strangers for hours because you didn’t want to pay an extra €20 to RyanAir for a better seat.
On top of that, trains are so much more comfortable than planes. You have a lot more personal space, you can get up and walk around as much as you want, and sometimes there’s even a cafe car you can go hang out in for a while!
Pro: No strict baggage requirements
Now that I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, carrying around a shopping bag full of gluten-free snacks is part of my travel routine. And obviously, I don’t feel like I should have to give up space in my actual personal item/carry-on bag, so when I’m flying, I usually get an airport shopping bag, put the snacks in there, and pray that the gate agents don’t give me a hard time even though I’m *technically* carrying three bags onboard.
When you’re traveling by train, you can bring as many bags as you want! Okay, maybe not as many as you want, but most trains don’t have the same kind of strict limits that airlines do. For example, on this trip, we pretty much exclusively traveled with Deutsche Bahn. From what I’ve read, Deutsche Bahn’s official baggage policy is that you can take as much luggage onboard as you can carry.
Another benefit of train travel: No strict liquids requirements! So when we didn’t have time to pop open a bottle of wine we bought in Luxembourg, we didn’t have to leave it behind — instead, it traveled with us to Heidelberg where we actually had a chance to enjoy it.
Pro: Your train will typically arrive in the city center
There’s nothing like arriving in a new place, being super excited to start exploring… and then finding out that the airport you landed in is 100km from the city. (This happened to me when I visited Stockholm with a few girlfriends during college study abroad. Little did we know that a nearly 2-hour bus ride from Skavsta airport to Stockholm would await.) Or, if you arrive late at night, public transportation might not be running, so you may have to pay for an expensive taxi or Uber to get you where you need to go.
But when you travel by train, the train stations are typically in the city center — so you don’t have to worry about a long or expensive commute. You basically arrive right in the middle of things and can get started exploring immediately! And even if it’s too early to check into your hotel, it’s fairly common for train stations to have luggage lockers available.
Pro: Less responsibility than renting a car
So far, I’ve been talking about the benefits of taking the train compared to flying. But what about renting a car? We took a similar-length European road trip a few years ago, so I also feel qualified to speak on this. 😉
Renting a car might be the most comfortable travel option, but there is a lot of responsibility involved. You have to secure your rental car with a credit card and do everything in your power not to let that car get damaged — though it’s not totally in your control, and it can be a huge headache (and expensive) if something happens. You have to always think about where to park, how much parking costs, and remembering to pay the meter so you don’t get a ticket. Plus, you have to stay sober to drive and also ensure you aren’t breaking any traffic rules, all while driving in a foreign country with a language you don’t speak and road signs that are unfamiliar.
Taking the train eliminates pretty much all of the above issues! Sometimes when you’re traveling, you already feel like you’ve had to be responsible for planning everything — and the last thing you want is to also be personally responsible for your own transportation. When you travel by train, you don’t have to do any work. Just look out the window and enjoy the ride!
European Train Trip: Cons
Con: Tickets can be expensive based on your route and/or time booked in advance
I originally was going to say that the price of European train tickets is a pro, but then I remembered how cheap some flights in Europe can be, lol. (Like the time I got a €12 direct flight from Madrid to Brussels.)
Honestly, train tickets can be really hit-and-miss when it comes to cost. Sometimes they seem to be stupid expensive for no reason. For example, since we live in Alicante, it’s generally been the cheapest to book any major flights to the U.S./Asia from Madrid, and just take the train from Alicante to Madrid the day before. But for the last year or so, the one-way cost of the train is getting to the point where it’s more expensive than a flight between Alicante and Madrid. Yet somehow, a day or two before/after the day we need, train tickets are always like €7 instead of the €79 we have to pay. Make it make sense!
On our recent train trip, in Switzerland, our one-way tickets from Zürich to Schaffhausen were €26.60 per person, which feels expensive for the fact that this train only takes 36 minutes and runs basically every 30 minutes. Understandably, not everyone would find it a good use of money to spend more than €100 for two people on a half-day trip.
Con: Not all routes are super direct or easy
On this trip, we were starting in Belgium, and we knew we wanted to visit Luxembourg. They are neighboring countries and are apparently so close that they even have a moniker in conjunction with the Netherlands: Benelux!
So, in the part of Europe that boasts one of the densest rail networks in the continent, why was it actually super difficult to get from the capital of Belgium to the capital of Luxembourg? It ended up being easier to go from Brussels to Cologne, Germany, and then heading to Luxembourg City from there, which surprised me.
For the most part, the train situations in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, and (underdog alert) Czechia will likely help get you where you need to go without too many diversions. But outside these countries, the rail networks may not be as extensive or direct, so keep that in mind when planning your itinerary.
Con: Not as private or comfortable as a rental car
Sometimes you just don’t want to be around people. Sometimes the train is hot, and crowded, and your seat assignment is at one of those weird table/seat situations where you are directly facing two or three strangers, all of you staring at each other and trying not to touch feet under the table because none of you have enough personal space. (I feel like Matt and I end up at this table like 8/10 times now when we take the train in Spain. WHY?!)
People might be talking loud, even in the “quiet” car, or hogging the charging outlets, or coughing like they have tuberculosis without covering their mouth, or kids might be screaming or watching a baby pop star video at full volume on their mom’s phone. Even just typing those situations out made me wish I never had to exist in public again.
Most of the time, trains aren’t that bad, and not all of that happens at once. But it’s possible, so when it comes to traveling with privacy and comfort, not much tops having your very own rental car. 😜
Maybe it was a bad idea to end on the cons list, because I really did love our European train trip and I hope to take many more in future years! But if you’re planning a similar trip of your own, it’s good to keep all of the above factors in mind to decide whether train travel is the best option for you.
What do you think? Are you interested in a European train trip? Let me know what thoughts or questions you have in the comments, and I’ll be happy to get back to you!
-Cathy
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