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Trip Planning: Information, advice and questions!

Thanks all, have booked the Airbnb.

Do the parks ever sell out or are we fine to buy tickets the week before?
 
Bowser said:
Thanks all, have booked the Airbnb.

Do the parks ever sell out or are we fine to buy tickets the week before?
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I'm pretty sure your Airbnb host can sort tickets for you, it's worth asking them.

I think the park only tends to sell out on the really busy days, like Ascension weekend.
 
Total Europa Park novice here (I’ve not been for over 10 years), so go easy on me!

What rides are closed during the winter event? Specially January. Can I expect coasters like Voltron and Silver Star to be running? I know that Phantasialand make a big deal about how their coasters can run in the snow, but not seen this type of marketing from Europa.
 
They don’t make a big deal of it, but you can expect all coasters to run unless the conditions are particularly extreme. Voltron is better equipped than Silver Star for this, being newer and designed with all-year-operation in mind.
 
Almost all rides should be open unless the temperature is below about 5 degrees - some coasters can run in colder temperatures but ice will pretty much close all of them apart from CanCan.

The only major rides scheduled to be closed in winter season are Atlantica and Fjord Rafting - in both cases the lakes are used for other attractions during winter season
 
There are only five attractions that are scheduled to be closed - Atlantica, the rapids, Danube Steamer boat, the kids splash pad in Iceland and the kids canoe ride in Ireland.

When it is very cold, they will sometimes close the log flume and Poseidon. Extreme conditions (not necessarily snow, but freezing temperatures or strong winds) will mean they cannot operate other rides, as you’d expect. The most common condition closing the rides is extreme cold, which I think is your concern. As has been mentioned, some rides are more susceptible to that - the most susceptible large ride (other than the water rides) is the bobsled. Even in said cold conditions, where some rides are closed in the morning, you will often find that they open later in the day - this can happen with rides like Blue Fire, Wodan and Silverstar.

They’ll always try and open the rides wherever they can.
 
Thanks for everyone’s help with this. Sounds all pretty positive.

So that I know when to drop off my hire car, what time does the park typically close during the busier winter days? I know it says that closing time is minimum 7pm, but how far does that usually get extended if busy?
 
Anyone got any idea why all the EP onsite hotels should be fully booked on June 13th next year? It doesn't appear to be a public holiday nor is it during school holidays. Is there a special event or something?
 
Looking at making the long awaited visit to Europa park in August.

Wanted some advice on travel options.

We would be looking at travelling out of either Manchester or Birmingham. Which is the best airport to fly to get to EP via train?

What’s the best way to purchase train tickets?

Any particular hotel recommends?

Thanks all! Really looking forward to it- especially because during every meet I go to everyone’s always asking me if I’ve been yet! 😂
 
VerticalLoop123 said:
Looking at making the long awaited visit to Europa park in August.

Wanted some advice on travel options.

We would be looking at travelling out of either Manchester or Birmingham. Which is the best airport to fly to get to EP via train?
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Manchester (to Basel) is best as there are no direct flights from Birmingham to nearest airports. I've not travelled by train from Basel (we hired a car from the airport for the length of our stay), but I'm sure others will be able to advise you. Basel is a lovely city though, and well worth saving a few hours for.

VerticalLoop123 said:
Any particular hotel recommends?
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I've only stayed on-site in Colosseo. It's a beautiful hotel and I highly recommend it, although the Deluxe rooms face the plaza and noise can be an issue in the evening.
 
Skyscraper said:
Manchester (to Basel) is best as there are no direct flights from Birmingham to nearest airports. I've not travelled by train from Basel (we hired a car from the airport for the length of our stay), but I'm sure others will be able to advise you. Basel is a lovely city though, and well worth saving a few hours for.



I've only stayed on-site in Colosseo. It's a beautiful hotel and I highly recommend it, although the Deluxe rooms face the plaza and noise can be an issue in the evening.
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On the Basel Train part, it's easy

You get a bus to the airport and then a train from Basel SBB to Ringsheim via Freiburg.

You would however need to get a ticket in person in the ticket office, the machines don't offer any to Europa Park (might be a cross border reason).

Once you get to Ringsheim, you get a shuttle bus to Rust.

I have heard that it can be trickier in the evenings.

I've stayed at a nearby hotel but it was fantastic, everything is walking distance or a bus ride away. Rust offers a free bus between Europa, Rust and Rulantica.
 
Can you get a taxi from Basel? Do Uber operate? I've tried looking online and it seems they do but only on the French side? Presumably that's not an issue...Appreciate it will be costly.

We're going in May but would rather not hire a car for various reasons. 5 day trip too so likely not cost effective compared to a taxi (we're staying walking distance).
 
owenstreet7 said:
On the Basel Train part, it's easy

You get a bus to the airport and then a train from Basel SBB to Ringsheim via Freiburg.

You would however need to get a ticket in person in the ticket office, the machines don't offer any to Europa Park (might be a cross border reason).

Once you get to Ringsheim, you get a shuttle bus to Rust.

I have heard that it can be trickier in the evenings.

I've stayed at a nearby hotel but it was fantastic, everything is walking distance or a bus ride away. Rust offers a free bus between Europa, Rust and Rulantica.
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Thanks for this!

How long typically does the train take and how much?
 
Bowser said:
Can you get a taxi from Basel? Do Uber operate? I've tried looking online and it seems they do but only on the French side? Presumably that's not an issue...Appreciate it will be costly.

We're going in May but would rather not hire a car for various reasons. 5 day trip too so likely not cost effective compared to a taxi (we're staying walking distance).
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Can't remember exactly but we hired a car for the length of our five day stay, and it wasn't too much at all. I'd definitely recommend having a research!
 
VerticalLoop123 said:
Looking at making the long awaited visit to Europa park in August.

Wanted some advice on travel options.

We would be looking at travelling out of either Manchester or Birmingham. Which is the best airport to fly to get to EP via train?

What’s the best way to purchase train tickets?

Any particular hotel recommends?

Thanks all! Really looking forward to it- especially because during every meet I go to everyone’s always asking me if I’ve been yet! 😂
Click to expand...
From Manchester it's easyJet to Basel. From there take the airport bus 50 into the centre of Basel.
We have then usually taken a bus or tram across the city to Basel Badischer Bahnhof station where you can catch a local Deutsche Bahn train up to Ringsheim.
Make sure you download the "DB Navigator" app from there you can buy train tickets and check train times.
 
Typically when we've caught the flight into Basel from Manchester it's usually arrived well into the evening resulting in a stay in Basel for the night. If this is the case, you will find it Basel isn't the cheapest place to stay! There is a Novotel & Ibis a short walk from the main train station which we've used before in the past and then caught the train up to Ringsheim the following morning.
 
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