From all my travel experience, I’d have to say this has been a planning nightmare. What ever happened to planning ahead, simple ordering of train tickets and having options up to wazoo on prices, times and the option of having a bed! Not this time. Buying bus and train tickets in the United States alone is limited. Options I found are Amtrak and (I think) Expedia…. The prices are decent, slightly better these days than airplanes, but of course I’ve never actually traveled long distance on a train here so I haven’t the slightest idea as to the quality. We’ll be going to Chicago on the bus, also a rare find, but we found megabus.com for about $50/ticket/way. Not bad when you could be spending 300+ on gas in your own car.
Then I got to thinking about traveling in Brazil. How are we going to go from Rio to Tucuma??? We can’t really reserve a plane ticket ahead of time because the consulate could ask us to stay extra days. I wanted to go by train (silly me), but my husband said there isn’t really a train system that would do that– that the untold gem of travel in Brazil is actually… the bus. Soooo… We’ll be traveling with a 1 year old for 2.5 days in Brazil. I hope that bus is really nice :)
All this to say that travel is different wherever you go. The train is an awesome and easy option in Europe. If you get a Eurail pass and plan wisely, you can get the full benefits of that pass and it can cost significantly less than you may have initially thought. Explore your options wherever you go. Ask experienced travelers to that destination as well as locals.
This, however, is where it gets complicated with us. I have fun planning, but planning is really not so fun when you’re planning alone and/or the other traveler(s) is neutral at best. This is where Cesar and I have recently bumped heads. I want to get the most out of the trip and I am usually a super spontaneous person, but when you’re relying on bus schedules and hotels, spontaneity does not work for the budget and is not as much fun as planning… in my opinion. I love to browse the deals and imagine myself in a 5-star hotel for $75/night (a slight exaggeration of a great deal I found on Expedia’s unpublished rates) and traveling first class for $20 (never happened and probably never will, but who said my imagine couldn’t run away for a little bit).
Is there a resolution? Well, we’re supposedly leaving Monday night and Cesar still will not sit down with me to talk about whether we are definitely going to take a night bus for 10-11 hours to Chicago or a day train for 7. Train is easier with a baby, but about $60 more in the scheme of things. The bus will give us lots of time to walk around Chicago and maybe even see some friends of mine, but could be a nightmare depending on if we all (especially Audrey) sleep or not.
As for Brazil, it will happen as it happens. For now, we’ve got Brazil almost as figured out as we can. There are some things (like transportation) that are indeed fun about learning as you go. So, I’m taking it all as it is. And I’m looking forward to adventures. I just hope Cesar gets a more adventurous spirit in him as we go or these plans mixed with lack of plans could just mean more stress instead of more adventure.