Hi there,

I am planning to travel around Europe for 3 months from 6th July 2010. I am looking to spend around 3-4 nights in each town, so that means I can cover about 20-25 cities. I am planning on visiting these cities (although I will most probably have to skip a few):

Paris, Toulouse, Barcelona, Lyon, Milan, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Ljubljana, Maibor, Graz, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Brno, Krakow, Wroclaw, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Utrencht, Gent, Brussels

I am going from London to Paris on the Eurostar (41 euros – purchased ticket) and will be heading back to London on the 2nd October on the Eurostar from Brussels (43 euros – will purchase ticket when available).

However, I am not totally sure what means of transport I should use within Europe. I am thinking of buying a Eurail pass as I am travelling large distances and do not have a fixed itinerary, so can’t purchase tickets more that 1-2 days in advance.

I would like to know if you have any suggestions. I was thinking of buying two flexible passes, such as two 10 in 2 month (5 country or global) passes. A 3 month continuous pass does not seem worth it for me, as it requires you use it more than 25 days to get the same value. So although I may be travelling 25 out of the 89 days, I will only be making about 18-20 trips where the point-to-point tickets (purchased 1-2 days in advance) would be higher than the marginal cost (around 38 euros).

However, I am not too familiar with Eastern Europe, so could you please give me some advice about using the Eurail for those relatively short journeys (maybe compared to a bus ticket).

I would appreciate it if you comment on the above cities, too.

Thank you in advance,
Stuart