Steve McKenna Travel Writer

I've been fortunate enough to have travelled widely in Europe over the past couple of years – usually on buses and trains. And, for me, there really is only one way of getting from A to B.

Unlike buses, where you tend to be wedged into a seat for hours on end, waiting in earnest for the next stop for both fresh air and refreshments, trains offer you so much more freedom.

You can stretch your legs by ambling through the carriages and popping to the dining section for a coffee, a snack or, on some trains, a hearty, traditional meal. A giant Wiener Schnitzel I had on the train from Salzburg to Vienna was especially tasty.

Rail routes tend to be far more interesting than the ones furrowed by grey motorways, so you'll become used to being whisked through reams of picturesque scenery. Central Europe is especially wonderful for its dramatic alpine landscape, while the snow-peppered journey between Bergen and Oslo in Norway will long stay in the memory.

However, if you're not keen on staring through the window all day, travelling at night is usually a smart way of eating up the kilometres. I find sleeping on buses nigh on impossible; not so on trains, where the sleeper compartments are usually simple, but comfortable and give you a good chance of waking up at your next destination in a fairly sprightly mood.

If you are planning a rail trip around Europe, consider buying a Eurail pass. I found travelling with one yielded many benefits. For a start, when I added up all the fares I would have spent on single journeys, I made significant savings. The added bonus is that, apart from some, mainly Western European countries, where reservations were compulsory, I could usually just take my seat on the train, skipping the ticket booths, and missing out on the sometimes awkward transactions in broken English and pigeon Spanish, Polish, German or whichever language it happened to be. A word of warning, though. There is so much to see and do in Europe – and getting around on trains is so easy and pleasant – that you'll be in danger of being bitten by the travel bug and if you're anything like me, you'll find that one Eurail trip just isn't enough.