Train trips serve many people’s need of transportation in Europe, Russia, China etc. Most railway companies establish campaigns just like airline companies. Apart from that, a train trip is the most entertaining alternative for those who hesitate to fly, don’t want to carry the burden of a movement-limiting bus trip or simply don’t want to drive. One can walk back and forth in and along the coaches or just enjoy the dining car in a train. Of course, there are some countries like Turkey where railway management is done solely by the government so we should mention that our advices in this article are predominantly for those who would use European, US and Asian trains.
Be your own tour operator! Here, we have to mention that a good travel plan saves you a lot of money. If you thoroughly plan your travel before you start, you will have the opporutnity to dig though cheap travel alternatives and cover the planned distance in a much cheaper fashion. Work like a tour operator and plan every step regarding changing cities and accommodation in advance. And relax, this article tells you how to meticulously plan a holiday!
Early booking saves life! It could be early diagnosis, I’m not sure about that… However, there is one thing I’m quire sure, which is the fact that it is a necessity to book early for trains to catch cheaper seats, just as it is while planning to buy a flight ticket. Many railway companies sell a limited amount of seats for a relatively low fee and advertise them. At this point, what to bear in mind is that such seats are quite low in amont and early booking deals increase your chance of catching one of them.
Compare different companies’ fees. As we mentioned before, in countries where railways are run by private companies (i.e. UK), a lot of railway companies operate and they have to watch for their competitors just like any other private company. If you want to find a cheap ticket, what you need to do is to find different offers from different companies and compare them, then to choose the best one! Otherwise you would buy a ticket for a really high-rate and listen to your friends telling you how less they have paid for the same train.
Take a look at one-way tickets. Our common sense tells us that return tickets are always cheaper, but trust us, railway companies know that! Let’s remember the basic principle of economics: Higher demand, higher price! And this means: If everybody buys return tickets believing that it is cheaper, one-way tickets become cheaper in time. Therefore, check both return tickets and one-way tickets and keep your money in your pocket.
Use multiple companies. As a matter of fact, you’ll automatically do this when you compare prices from different companies. Let’s think you have 3 waypoints, City A, B and C. There are 3 different companies running on this line, Company 1, 2 and 3. Taking a train of C1 from A to B and C2 from B to C, and proceeding to C3 for the C to A route could be cheaper. Because the ticket fees of different companies will vary according to cities, based on their customer density. Resorting to the same company for 3 different trips will not do you any good. You can save lots of money by combining different tickets from different companies.
Make use of Railcard and the like. In a lot of countries, there are cards which make your train trips cheaper. Look for these opportunities because most of these cards come with numerous options among which there’ll be short term ones that would cover your travel period. For instance, if there’s a card that allows you use the trains of a country for 2 weeks for unlimited times is definitely more advantageous than buying tickets one by one. This way you can keep your Dollars or Euros in your pocket.
To sum up, all you need to do in order to benefit from cheaper tickets is to research meticulously. A tour operator can do all the work and provide you with a full tour plan, but you have to pay for it! Instead, be your own tour operator and plan your holiday in front of your PC. When you consider the savings you make, it is worth your time!
