When planning a trip to Europe, there are a ton of available resources for travelers. With this is mind, it is often time-consuming to wade through all of the websites to find really valuable information.

Here is a list of some of the top travel resources for planning a trip to Europe.

1) Wikitravel

This is one of the best sites for travel available. It is open source, so it is constantly updated; further, it is usually locals or people who have direct, experience with an area who contribute information. Thus you get localized information you might not have gotten elsewhere.

2) World Travel Tips

This is a huge, comprehensive resource for world travel. It includes forums, articles, links, free membership and much more for every continent. Their European section covers every European Country and offer in-depth information about each one.

3) About.com: Europe for Visitors

This is a great site dedicated to travel in Europe from About.com. Geared towards everyone from first time to experienced travelers, it is a goldmine of European travel and planning information.

4) Virtual Tourist

This is a great travel guide. Their motto is ‘real travelers – real info.” This seems consistent with the site, which has everything from transportation reviews to the best travel deal and trip planners. The site also includes forums where you can read about other people’s adventures in Europe.

5) Travel Europe

This is an swicki (cross between a search engine and wikipedia) where community users can add, remove and improve the results. This particular swicki is geared towards travel in Europe and is a great resource fro planning a trip to or in Europe.

6) Visiteurope.com

This is the European travel commission’s guide to Europe and is packed with tons of useful information, articles, advice and much much more.

7) Europe for Visitors

This is a site that offer European news, general advice, specific country advice, hotels, links to city guides, tourist offices and much, much more.

8.) Europecities.com

This is a comprehensive portal site that offers European city reviews and guides to hundreds of European cities and over 40 European countries.

9) Travel Library

Travel Library is an impartial resource for travelers and offers a plethora of resources that offer in-depth travel information, from hotel and hostel ideas to travelogues and most popular locations.

10) Europa: Traveling in Europe

A huge site that offers tools and information for over 30 European Countries. Each country has their own site dedicated to travel resources, information news and more from that country. Categories for visitors include: documents you will need, choosing a time to travel, getting there, staying healthy, money, shopping, communicating, pets, and if things go wrong.

11) Europa: Your Europe

While this site is geared towards European citizens, it still offers tons of great information for visitors outside of Europe. Information categories include: working in Europe, education and study, living in Europe, traveling in Europe, consumer protection, European citizenship and diplomatic protection.

12) European Union Website

This is the official website of the European Union. It offers news, educational resources and tons of links to information about what’s going on in Europe and well as youth travel portals, travel guides, transportation information and much, much more.

13) Yahoo Answers

This is a great place to ask questions and get answers about anything Europe related. You ask the question and get a number of answers, then choose the answer that fits your question best. This site is great because it gives you several points of view to read and learn from and is focused on sharing knowledge.

14) Travels Wise

This site offers tons of information about travel in Europe and countries including Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.

15) Rick Steves’ Travel Tips

This site is a large portal site that offers tips and advice for exploring Europe safely, effectively and confidently. From packing tips and safety to accommodations and communications, you will find what you’re looking for.

16) Travel Punk

This site offers travel tips and advice targeted at backpackers, budget travelers and tourists. Offers tons of great information as well as travel tools and resources for finding cheap flights and accommodations.

17) TERC Europe Travel Tips

Offers tips on traveling in Europe and categories run the gamut from packing tips and staying healthy and safe to money matters, budget planning, food and accommodations and much more. It is a huge site that is well worth visiting for any Europe travel-related needs.

18) Accessible Journeys

This is an awesome travel site that offers a wealth of information, tips and travel advice about accessibility and traveling in a wheelchair. With information on everything from traveling with your wheelchair or scooter to equipment rentals, handicapped parking permits in Europe and accessible ways to travel, it is a great resource.

19) Europe Travel Tips

A large portal with tons of travel tools, articles and information about travel in 40 European countries, from Austria to the United Kingdom.

20) Independent Traveler

Great site offering lots of travel tips and advice to independent travelers.

21) Travel-and-transport.com

This is a highly useful portal that offers basic and necessary transportation information for Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. New to the site is a route planner that is especially handy.

22) Travel Notes: Europe

Comprehensive travel notes and advice for traveling throughout Europe. Lots of links, resources and tools for travelers.

23) Open Travel Info

Great travel site with a large amount of travel and Europe related information. The forums and articles are especially useful.

24) Discover Europe

Another excellent portal site that offers a wealth of tools, resources and links for travelers to learn about different European countries and plan their trips effectively and efficiently.

25) World 66: Europe

This is a great wiki site that allows members (free) to change and information. It has a great travel guide, maps, and resources for getting to Europe and getting around it. Members can also post photos and there is a cool photo gallery of different places in Europe. Well worth checking out.

26) Backpacker.net

Geared towards backpackers, this is one of the better sites for information, advice and travel planning for backpackers. Users can submit and read recommendations for hostels, tours, bars, beers and much more.

27) WorldWideBackpackers.com

This site is another excellent resource for backpackers and other travelers. While it is geared towards backpackers, there is a wealth of rich information for all travelers, so you should definitely pay them a visit.

28) Gate 1 Travel

This is a travel site for Central Europe. there is a wealth of information that is super handy; they offer info from climate and clothing advice to packing, required travel documents, travel insurance, transportation, communication and much more.

29) Backpackeurope.com

This is another site that is geared towards backpackers in Europe but is highly useful for all travelers. Has Europe travel tips, advice on packing, hostels and hotels, transportation and links to other travel resources.

30) Gemut.com

This is a great travel site that offers visitors advice on everything from car rental and rail travel to hotel reservations, money matters and much more.

31) Travels With Friends: Travel Tips for Europe

Travel tips and advice from planning your trip to executing it. The site’s creators travel Europe and research sites, accommodations, destinations and much more, so there is great, first-hand information available on all aspects of travel in Europe.

32) Suite 101: Eastern Europe & Russia Travel

Travel, culture and trip planning and advice. This is an excellent resource for finding out more about Eastern Europe and its cultures.

33) Traveler’s Point

Europe advice, tips and travel help for all European countries.

34) Budget Travel Online

Great site offering ideas, how-tos, advice and tips for travelers.

35) Yahoo Travel

Yahoo’s comprehensive travel site offers a wealth of information on all European Countries and many of its countries. Another great resource to check out.

When deciding that you are going to travel to see the many different beautiful landscapes of Europe, the mode of transportation will significantly impact your experience. Ever since the European Union formed, it has made traveling between different countries much more affordable. So whether you are on a romantic honeymoon with your fiancée, on a family vacation or just as a student back packing around, transportation does not have to put a dent in your wallet.

Taking the train through the various country sides is a pleasurable experience. Many different people of diverse economic statuses that you encounter along the way also prefer to travel by train. The appeal of visiting destinations that are completely culturally different from your home are the people that you encounter and the conversations you have along the way. You will find many different types of rail passes for your journey across Europe that will be affected by how many destinations you’d like to visit and the amount of people you travel with. The fares also take into consideration how many days you would like to travel for. Traveling by train can be more appropriate for individuals under the age of 26 because your Eurail Youth Pass will be for a discounted amount of Euros.   

While you will not be able to simply look out the window and admire the various views of Europe, traveling by train at night will be considerably cheaper. When you travel at night, you will find that they have sleeper car accommodations. In these sleeper cars, there are bunks for you to energize in preparation of your day of sightseeing. The sleeper cars are not private, but the plus side is that you will not lose a day traveling and will be able to spend more time sight seeing. Taking the train will also deliver you and the people you are traveling with directly into the center of most cities. You will rarely find yourself in obscure destinations feeling lost and disoriented while trying to make your way back to the destination you actually want to end up in.

Most travelers will choose to travel by train; however what you sacrifice in comfort by taking coach, you will save in expenses. You can travel between many European cities by coach, since many companies will have organized coach routes. Taking coach will most likely be more appealing to students who are looking to save money on their trip. Coach also is more appropriate when your destination is not one of the major European cities, but a smaller town or land mark. Many times once you arrive by train, you will need to find another mode of transportation to get to the smaller location. Coaches will more likely deliver you directly. A few companies will also offer combinations of coach/train packages that ultimately will get you to both the larger and smaller destinations and will provide a cheaper rate altogether.

In the end, it comes down to price and comfort that will affect your decision of whether to go train or coach.