Travel

Thalys High-Speed Trains

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There are direct Thalys high-speed links to 17 cities including Paris. Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne in more than 50 daily round trips. Hit just the right schedule, and you can cover the distance between Paris to Brussels in less than 90 minutes. At first, this might seem like an extravagance, but you will save precious vacation time on faster trains. Just be sure the cost is in balance with the time saved. It pays to book early. There are advance purchase discounts, and seats on these fast trains tend to get booked quickly. More

Japan Seven-Day Rail Pass

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This is perhaps one of the best travel values in Asia. You get one week of unlimited coach passage on all Japanese trains for just 28,300 JPY ($303 USD). Japan is connected by more than 12,000 miles of track, so it s literally possible to go just about anywhere in the country by train. Note that the pass is available only to travelers entering Japan on a non-Japanese passport with temporary visitor entry status. There are a few restrictions (read the fine print) but generally, you will do much better with this pass than trying to buy a week s worth of single point-to-point tickets. Check it out for your itinerary, and notice that 14- and 21-day passes are also offered. More