European Travel Skills: Transportation

In this travel skills talk, Rick Steves outlines your options for getting around Europe - by train, bus, rental car, or plane - and explains how you can master big cities by using public transportation, taxis, and bicycles. Visit www.ricksteves.com for more European travel information.

[@tkar66]

thanks a lot. How awesome is that? a ton of informations free of charge.

[@wl03bu]

When catching a train on the platform, double check the sign on the actual train to make sure it is going where you want to go. Sometimes trains use the same platform within minutes of each other.

[@Ink-and-Blood]

Thank you Rick Steves !

[@mrsporty9669]

I really enjoy your European travel guide videos. Keep going. Thanks

[@doloresfmadero6471]

I ve learnt a lot!! thank you!!

[@RawMadeSimple]

Great video! Thank you for the share.

[@mohamadrayan]

Thanks a lot. That was great

[@rrl4245]

I was surprised, driving the back roads in Germany, when they set up a temporary stop light along the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I did stop (confusedly). They use them during construction, when one lane is blocked, and the traffic has to take turns on the single lane. I'd never seen that before, anywhere.

[@Justmynewaccount]

11:27 Used to be the case here in the Netherlands. A small warning for those using trains here: get a card (not a ticket) and put charge on it via your bank account and when entering or leaving the station, scan it at the gates. Basically much like the metro. Do understand that if it isn't charged and scanned - it is invalid and you could be in for one hell of a fine if they check you. A lot of people don't like the new system (I am not a big fan of it) and sometimes people don't stand close enough to the scanner. It happened to me a couple of times and I remember the fine being somewhere around 60 euro's. No fun.

[@JanPBtest]

6:17 This is universally called "sector", not "segment". "Sector", "sektor", secteur", "settore", etc., it helps to know the right word because it always comes up in the station announcements.

[@aliaksandranikovich6300]

good reccomendation for tourists.

[@lotharschepers2240]

As a European I'm allways impressed how much I have learned on the flight of my live. I never mentioned that their is so much to learn about the public transportation in Europe. (or other nations that are used to them like e.g. Japan)

[@stevedavis3527]

Train travel can be quite an adventure. It certainly helps if you speak the language. This is summer/fall of 2022. Used Nord in Paris, Prague HBF, DresdenHBF and Berlin HBF. Hot and very busy. You really have to know what you are doing.

[@karenmariahernandez]

I wish I had known how to read these train station signs! I have always been very nervous to catch the wrong trains in England! Thank you. WOW! I didn’t know you have to date the tickets in some countries!

[@karenmariahernandez]

I have to buy this information in a book or ebook so I don’t forget this info! This advice is fantastic. I wish I knew it a long time ago.

[@guiasetrilhas6849]

Perfect video

[@peoc9377]

Thanks ,wish some day trans @ Europe or USA

[@Westcountrynordic]

Some UK train companies offer discounts if 3 or more people travel together its called groupsave BUT you have to ask for it

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

Johan Mahoney-Berg similar discounts are available in Germany, especially for regional trains. Search for "Ländertickets" or the "Quer durchs Land Ticket" - they can be really cheap, but they're not valid on ICEs or IC trains

[@gerdpapenburg7050]

I have recently watched a travel vlog of an American who was not able to rent a scooter on a Greece island due to the lack of an international drivers permit.

[@stevo728822]

A diesel pump will not fit into a petrol car, but a petrol pump will fit into a diesel. Inside the fuel cap should be a sticker saying what type of fuel the car takes.

[@stevo728822]

When getting on a train at the end of line, remember the front coaches are at the back of the train as you see it, because the train will moving away from the train station.

[@danensis]

It's not worth paying £5 for an Oyster card now. You can tap in and out with a contactless card and get the same rate as you would with Oyster.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

When renting a car, gas isn't your number one cost when using it. Parking and (depending on country:) toll fees will often cost more. I went to Milan last year, and drove a lot around northern Italy - I paid over €400 just in toll fees, way more than the price of the car rental. If you're driving your rental to other countries, then you should also choose a rental agency that doesn't charge for border crossings, and you MUST know which countries you can take your car to, because ie Romania and Albania are usually huge no-no's. Note that most (all?) rental agencies have gps trackers and will know exactly where you've been, so don't bother trying to cheat them. Also, carefully consider which hotel to stay at when renting a car - parking can cost anywhere between nothing, and up to around €30 per night.

[@FellDestroyedMusic]

The bus passed me 3 times. It was on schedule each time. Then after the last one passed, I had to walk an hour to a town

[@stevo728822]

You can buy a separate car rental insurance policy to achieve zero deductible which is much cheaper than buying the policy from the company you rent the car from.

[@jparsit]

I watched hundreds of travel videos and Rick Steves is always a leader in this business.

[@stevo728822]

When driving through tunnels in Europe you must have your headlamps on.

[@amandacousins928]

What is a sleeper train

[@user-ot1ur9so2y]

ungefähr 194.5 miles/hr

[@JanPBtest]

5:17 No, just forget the miles and conversions. Use the local (metric) measures throughout, it's much less confusing that way and you don't need to do any conversions.

[@stevelipowski5337]

That’s not helpful to Americans

[@JanPBtest]

@@stevelipowski5337 Just use metric units from day one, immediately when shopping or driving, etc. You buy a chicken wing or a piece of fish, just make note of its weight in kg. This will work _immediately_ with no need for any conversions. (This was one _big_ mistake in teaching the metric system in American schools: they focused on the 100% useless conversion factors.) I spent half of my life in Europe and half in America and I _still_ don't know _any_ conversion factors whatsoever: I simply use each system as needed.

[@stevelipowski5337]

My only point is that for most Americans it is helpful for us to know roughly how fast 80 km per hour is. We lack context when using metric, the conversion is just to help us use a measure we can relate to given the lack of metric in the US.

[@welshpete12]

The common market does not pay for road ways in Norway !

[@Justmynewaccount]

I am European (Dutch) and sitting here like: "kids here know this stuff" but then I look at the audience and understand they are American so this is new to them.

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

Tristan van Oosten Amtrak (the US national railway) has less yearly ridership than the Israeli national railway

[@Justmynewaccount]

Jesus Gonzalez I realise that now. It's just me being European. We're used to train travel here. That's what we do.

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

***** However, it's changing in the US. Slowly but surely. Amtrak ridership has gone up 50% since 2000. And Los Angeles just voted for a sales tax increase to build more metro lines by a margin if nearly 70 to 30

[@Justmynewaccount]

Jesus Gonzalez That's a good thing.. because parts of the U.S are densely populated enough to warrant a good transportation network. Think of the BosWash region, coastal Florida, the area around Chicago or coastal California. I am actually surprised they haven't been building high speed lines by the dozens yet.

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

***** That has mostly political reasons. Construction on a high speed line linking LA and San Francisco (via Fresno, Palmdale, Bakersfield) has begun a couple of years ago, but they have had to fight almost constant lawsuits by opponents and NIMBYs as well as threats by Republicans in Congress to cut federal funding.

[@Cleeves358]

24:52 Inaccurate! The sign doesn't say anything about a parking fee: the parking disk is required in places with limited parking lots (especially near low-key shopping streets and tourist attractions). It sets a time limit on how long you can stay because of space management. Those lots are dedicated to shoppers or tourists who will need an approximate maximum time there. If you want to park your car for the entire day, you should look for a parking lot elsewhere (or come back periodically to reset the disk when noone official watches you, and of course, that's not a suggestion, I've just heard, some people might do these shananigans....). Of course, if you stay longer, you still have to "pay". But a fine, not a fee. Which irritatingly can be lower than a one-day fee in a parking garage. Of course, in downtown where parking space is extra scarce, you pay by the hour (or fractions thereof).

[@geraldsimko969]

Hertz in Malaga Spain do not accept just international drivers license. Must have US license.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

First, it's an international driving PERMIT (known as IDP in the US), not a license. NO company/rental accepts JUST international driving permit. That's because it's NOT an official driving license at all, it's a translation of your regular driving license in several languages, usually issued by some car/motor club, like AAA in the US or NAF in Norway, etc. Btw, depending on where you live, there may be TWO different international licenses, one is valid for 1 year, the other for 3 years (difference is which international agreement/convension is followed: Geneve 1949 or Vienna 1968), and which to bring, depends on the country. Also, very few countries requires you to bring it, though many recommends it. And what's required varies, for example, someone from the US is required to bring a IDP to Spain, but for Norwegians like myself, it's only recommended. Car rentals, on the other hand, may require it, even though the country is question, doesn't.

[@stevo728822]

When renting a car you will need about $2,000 available balance on your credit card.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

Not if you upgrade insurance. I often rent cars around Europe, and the deposit (or rather, reserved transaction) is usually somewhere between 300 and 800 Euros, and a couple of times there was no deposit at all.

[@lingdatang669]

ltcomment you must go to the kiosk to date your ticket

[@kcsnew]

With multi country rental cars , we might need to pay extra upfront

[@iangb2000]

It’s half plus 25% (a quarter); half plus 10% is wrong

[@MrMajsterixx]

iam european and one criteria of passing the driving test is to showa defensive driving just btw :)

[@18daisydoll65]

Edinburgh is in Scotland 😉

[@vultschlange]

Part of the United Kingdom.

[@TRPGpilot]

Why bother to convert KPH to MPH? The speedometer will be calibrated in KPH. The road signage will be in metres and kilometres. So converting KPH to MPH is an absolutely useless exercise.

[@lotharschepers2240]

@TRPG pilot Not for US folks, they are used to their imperial mesures and theirfore they need to convert our metric system to get a feeling how far the place is or how quick they could cover the distance.

[@jonathanbeatrice8317]

verspätung means delayed

[@e-care-books9867]

So... Nice is nice?

[@Maxime_K-G]

24:45, does that not exist in America??? -

[@operationyellowknife3721]

That does not exist in North America.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

Traditionally in the U.S. a parking attendant or "meter maid" would put a chalk mark on a tire and the ground. They would come back in a few hours and write tickets for those vehicles that haven't moved when they should have. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this chalking of car tires (that has been done for many decades) is illegal. So, now they need to create a new system. Maybe it's time to adopt the cardboard clock? I don't know.

[@mikerilling6515]

Taxis😂 His advice is to pay a taxi 😂 He claims taxis are safe and they won’t cheat you 🙄

[@18daisydoll65]

Be safer if you drive aggressively?!! Wtf am I missing something?

[@truthiseverything9511]

Unlike Americans who eat and watch TV in their cars, Europeans DRIVE.

[@villegas24]

If people think germans are on time then they have never used the Deutsche Bahn. Worst service for the price ever. Italian , Austrian, Swiss and even spanish trains were superior.

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

villegas24 You sound almost like a German

[@villegas24]

Jesus Gonzalez I guess I've lived in germany for too long.

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

villegas24 probably. The "worst" delay I ever had (it was due to a suicide/accident with the district attorney getting involved and my ticket was for the last train of the day) netted me a free night in a hotel and half the price of my ticket (which cost only 21.75€ to begin with) back. And it wasn't even due to anything DB could have influenced. By contrast the two buses that died down under me in Nicaragua netted me losing my toothbrush, waiting hours at the side of the road after sundown and not even an apology.

[@vultschlange]

Wow, another German complaining about DB. Trenitalia is way worse than DB dude. Later than ever. But comfort is kinda better.

[@Hurricane2k8]

We germans sure love to hate Deutsche Bahn, but the reality is the vast majority of journeys are not problematic. In years and years of train travel (usually medium distance with IC trains), I've had maybe a handful of bad experiences. Occasionally, a train might be 5-10 minutes late and that's it. For small delays like that it's usually not an issue, connecting trains will wait in those cases. 98% of the time I arrive on time or 15 minutes late, at most.