INTRODUCTION - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 9

One final bit of advice on reducing the cost of accommodations in Europe: Use
your rail pass. A rail pass can provide exceptional savings in housing costs by
permitting you to stay outside the base city's center, where hotel rooms, pensions,
bed-and-breakfast housing, and the like are far less expensive than their down-
town counterparts. Lodgings in the suburbs, a la rail pass, can be more economical
and just as convenient as those in the base cities.
Keep in mind that tourist information offices maintain extensive lists of all types
of accommodations, from hostels, bed-and-breakfast establishments, and pen-
sions to five-star luxury hotels.
When inquiring as to availability, you will be asked the inevitable question, “What
do you want to be near?” Naturally, when you're traveling by rail, your response
will be, “Near the rail station.” You are in for a surprise—most major cities have
multiple primary rail stations. A better site-selection statement might be to ask for
a hotel near one of the major lines of the metro, or subway.
The budget-minded traveler may write to the European tourist offices in North
America listed in the Appendix and ask for information about budget accommod-
ations in the countries to be visited while in Europe. The plenitude of modestly
priced lodgings and inexpensive restaurants, even in Europe's most expensive cit-
ies, will amaze you.
Those interested in staying in hostels must join Hostelling International. Adult
(age 18 to 54), $28; senior citizen (age 55 and older), $18; age 17 and younger,
free. For further details contact HI-AYH at [phone] or visit www.hiayh.org .
Note: We recommend having a confirmed accommodations reservation
in your European arrival city where you will be spending the first night.
How to Get There
Transatlantic air traffic is so frequent and varied today that no description—short of
an entire book—could do it justice. Excursion fares are available in a multitudinous
variety. Charter flights are available, too, and they are still mostly money savers.
But some excursion rates are less expensive than charters. It is not uncommon
on a regularly scheduled airliner winging its way to Europe to find that every pas-
senger in your row of seats paid a different fare for the same flight on the same
schedule with the same service!
Travel agents keep tabs on the rapidly changing airline industry. If you've dealt
with a reputable travel agency over the years, contact them for air-excursion-fare
options. Since many airlines no longer pay commissions to travel agents, you may