Getting around in Europe with public transprotation:
No matter which way you plan on backpacking, as soon as you know your travel start and end date, book your flight to and from Europe. The sooner, the cheaper, and having a flexible start and end date will most likely save you money. You do not have to pick the same start and end city, and sometimes it may even be cheaper to book two one-way flights from different cities. The best way to find the cheapest flights is to use a flight search engine such as kayak.com or momondo.com. These sites search all airlines for your specifications, as well as sites such as Expedia or Orbitz, and give you the cheapest fares. You cannot book through kayak.com or momondo.com directly, but it will direct you to the site where you can find that fare. It is also important to note that when flying to Europe, you will arrive the next day because of the time difference. Take this into account when choosing your start date. This part of the booking process will take (by far) the most time, homework, and flexibility than anything else on the trip, so be patient and diligent! You will have to try many different options to find the cheapest rates, so be open-minded when starting your trip.
When you are in Europe, getting from city to city is incredibly easy and cheap (compared to the US). Depending on your budget and preferences, there are multiple ways to travel. I personally choose to fly from city to city. Not only is it the cheapest way to get around, it saves the most time. Using the same flight search engines, you can find flights within Europe for next to nothing. The only thing to be careful of is that the flight fare may be as low as less than €10, but the taxes are usually around €50. Even so, the flight is extremely cheap and cheaper than a train. My flight from Rome to Berlin was €55 (with AirBerlin) total and a 2 hour flight. This same journey by train, if booked a day before, is about €220 and an 18 hour travel time. If booked far in advance, the price is about €65 but still the 18 hour travel time. These flights also get more expensive the longer you wait, but are still very cheap. The public transportation to and from the airport in most cities is very good, and of course there are taxis you can take which are obviously more expensive. I personally would not travel any other way. Many of these airlines you may not have heard of, but not to worry, they are legitimate airlines and each country has their own that is government regulated.
Many people still decide to take the train from city to city. If you plan on taking the train often, I would suggest a Eurail Pass. You pay for the pass and you can get on almost any train without paying additional money. A reservation for a train is not always required, but not having one does not guarantee you a seat on the train. Reservations are easy to make, just go to the train station the day before to make one and the attendant will set you up. The advantage of a train is you can get to smaller cities or villages very easily and you do not have to check bags or go through the hassle of security at the airport. The disadvantage is that travel time is much longer which means less time in your destination. A flight in Europe is rarely longer than 2 ½ hours but trains can be overnight trips. Also, if you do not have the Eurail Pass, train tickets can get very expensive. Again, this is a matter of preference, but from my experience I would highly recommend flying to each city over riding the train.
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