[EUROPE] Going for 39 days ... your advice

[simms]

Going to Europe for 39 days before I start full time work in July. I've attached a schedule of my travels, anywhere you guys would recommend? I have based my travel and such based on Rick Steve's site..

Flight is around 370CDN round trip, One month Eurail pass is 750, 25/day for food, 25-75/day for room means about $3,600-4,500 for this trip... advice?

May 2007 - http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/1871/maymx4.jpg
June 2007 - http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/4583/junejn1.jpg

London
Paris
Madrid/Toledo
Barcelona
Nice
Cinque Terre
Rome
Florence
Siena
Venice
Vienna or Munich
Salzburg/Hallstatt
Swiss Alps
Rothenburg/Bavaria
Rhine
Amsterdam
Brussels
London

I am missing out on Berlin and northern Europe (Norway/Sweden/Copanhagen) .. any regrets?

 

[xSauronx]

eat anything you can that youll never find back home. ive never been to europe, but should i ever go, ill eat my way across whatever region im in.

 

[xanis]

That's quite a hefty itinerary. Madrid and Toledo are awesome, the latter being the coolest looking city I've ever seen. I would pick Vienna over Munich (maybe I'm biased because I'm half Austrian ).

Europe has some awesome snackfoods that you'll never be able to get here in North America. Eat anything and everything that appeals to you. When you're in Spain, look for Bueno bars (Chocolate and wafer filled with Nutella). The Coke also seems better overseas being made with sugar cane instead of corn syrup.

 

[Chaotic42]

Becareful of the Swiss troops. They've been known to cross into other countries without warning.

I'm very jealous of you. I'd love to go visit the Greek Isles.

 

[Biggerhammer]

I'd suggest taking more time and fewer destinations... you'll get a lot more out of it if you spend a week at each site thna your current whirlwind
Nonetheless, you should have an awesome trip- enjoy it!

 

[GTaudiophile]

You're going to be exhausted...and you'll be hard-pressed to take anything in. I would select some highlights and plan to stay there at least for 3-4 days.

You'll be over there in late Spring in a way, so expect mild-to-warm temperatures the further south you go. Expect cooler temperatures and rain the further north you go.

I typically travel over there during the months of July and August, and I personally become a sun worshiper.

I have traveled western Europe as far south as Greece and as far north as Stockholm, and the areas encircled in red on this map are the places I return to, paying special attention to the Greek islands, Spanish islands, northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, Switzerland, and southern France.

MAP

 

[2Xtreme21]

Jeez... I'm spending 10 days in 3 cities (London, Paris, Rome) before I spend 6 weeks in Nantes. And I thought *I* was gonna be exhausted.

BTW, how did you manage to find a flight for 370CDN round trip? I just booked mine-- $935 from Pittsburgh -> Paris roundtrip.

 

[aphex]

Going to switzerland and italy a week from tomm

 

[simms]

Thanks for the advice. It's more of a European sampler, to see what I can catch of Europe in that time. GTaudiophile, why Berlin (just wondering?)
http://ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/europe/eur22.htm (at the bottom)
Berlin is recommended along with Vienna and Prague after Provence, Barcelona and Madrid.. should I make a substitution?

I also want to see Vienna over Munich, considering I'd be near Frankfurt later on and it would be my only chance to see Austria, but it is an hour farther away. Worth it?

2Xtreme, I have really flexible dates because I'm not working and out of school. I used orbitz to nail down cheap flight dates, then used searstravel.com to find even cheaper service, then I get 20% off with them.

 

[simms]

Also Greece will be a really hard fit considering the packed schedule - should it be something I save for my next trip, or should I try to squeeze it in after Rome?

 

[josh0099]

I say skip bath and goto both Munich and Vienna.
Bath is mainly just shopping and spa's and a nice city lay out...

 

[simms]

Originally posted by: josh0099
I say skip bath and goto both Munich and Vienna.
Bath is mainly just shopping and spa's and a nice city lay out...

Thanks. Forgot to mention Bath isn't by itself, it's part of the London part of the trip.


Are there any parts that you would recommend extending? Some parts that I should not go to?

 

[DainBramaged]

You should PM Patt. He has a lot of experience with this.

 

[fallenangel99]

Nice, I also plan on doing something like this, but only for maybe 10 days in Central/Eastern Europe (I've been to most of West Europe). Enjoy!!

 

[Kreon]

When you're in Germany go to one of the Concentration Camps
They're pretty sobering
Dachau is in Bavaria, kinda near Munich

On a better note, theres a great little town called Oberamagou (sp??) in Bavaria. It's around Garmisch Partenkirchen
Great little town to hang out in and shop. Garmisch is too for that matter, but there's a lot of other Americans there too (of the military variety)

If you're in hte military (or are retired form it), there are a lot of awesome deals over there. Especially in Germany

Have fun, I loved Bavaria

 

[Sheep]

Might as well kill two birds with one stone. Got your PM on this, simms, but haven't had a chance to reply till now.

Taking a look at your itinerary, that sounds like an awful lot to be hitting in a relatively short amount of time. Of course, it's up to you to figure out how much you want to do in each place based on your energy levels, but if I could change one thing about the 25 days I spent in Europe last October, it'd be dropping one or two places and spending slightly longer in London and Prague.

Other random bits of advice:

--The best advice I got (and didn't follow) was people telling me to schedule a few days off doing absolutely nothing and just relaxing. But when you're traveling, who wants to do that? Not me. Not doing so really caught up with me though, as I was completely drained in Paris and London, the last two stops on my trip. So plan a few days off especially since your trip's even longer than mine was!

--Pack as lightly as you possibly can. I read GTaudiophile's recommendations on this board among many other references, and this is one I wholeheartedly agree with. Pack your bags early with all the things you think you'll need and test out how heavy it is. Done? Now unpack it and get rid of anything that takes up a significant amount of weight or space. Repeat till you're down to the absolute minimum of things you'll need. Regardless of how lightly you think you packed, your bag will feel like it weighs 1000 lbs. by the end of your trip. If all else fails, you'll be able to buy anything you omitted.

--If you're a non-smoker, as far as Eurail goes make sure to board early to get in the non-smoking cars. Most major stations should have a diagram at the platform indicating how each train is set up. Riding in a smoking car when the train was full SUCKED, but some cool scenery in Germany and the Czech Republic helped make up for that.

--I went a little postcard happy while I was there, sending 12 postcards to one friend as she said she didn't want any souvenirs, just postcards. I finally saw them all after I returned, and I must say it's a cool little memoir of my trip. It's a nice way to keep in touch with people (and much more personal than email)--I've found that friends and loved ones really appreciated them.

--Agreed on the Coke being better in Europe, as is Fanta which is Orangina-like there and not the generic orange soda we have in North America. I practically had an IV of soda at all times and STILL managed to lose 6-7 pounds in 3 weeks wandering around.

--In the metro areas, internet cafes are everywhere. Plan around 1-2 Euro for half an hour of time--not too bad if you plan to use email to keep in touch with people. Oh, and French keyboards suck. Not only do they have different letters, they also have some existing letters in different locations (M comes to mind) which makes it hell to type ANYTHING if you're not used to it.

--Make sure to call your credit and bank card companies and let them know you'll be traveling. I was recently in Chicago and Montreal, pulling out large amounts of money (booze in Chicago, strippers and casino in Montreal) when my bank card decided to put a stop on it thinking it was fraudulent.

I'll PM you my website which contains a travel blog I kept while traveling. You might find some useful information there too.

Good luck planning your trip! And have fun!

 

[UTmtnbiker]

Better yet on internet, rather than pay the 2 to 3 Euros try McD's. For the price of a soda, most McDonald's in Europe have WiFi. Only caveat is you need to buy something from the restaurant. We used it quite a bit in Paris to Skype our familiy, check emails, and surf for weather, destinations, etc.

As a gauge, we were in Europe for 15 days, and stayed 8 in Paris and 7 in Amsterdam. 8 days in Paris was way too much. I think 5 days would've been sufficient. 7 days in Amsterdam was just about right. Not too much, not too little.

I'd break it down to 6 or 7 cities you really want to see, and spend about 5 days to a week in each one. That way you're not feeling harried to just hit the tourist spots (unless you're in to being on the go all of the time - that's not my cup of tea, I like to relax when I'm on vacation). We spent plenty of afternoons in Paris just sitting at a cafe drinking coffee and watching the world go by.

 

[Sheep]

Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
Better yet on internet, rather than pay the 2 to 3 Euros try McD's. For the price of a soda, most McDonald's in Europe have WiFi. Only caveat is you need to buy something from the restaurant. We used it quite a bit in Paris to Skype our familiy, check emails, and surf for weather, destinations, etc.

Good idea, but that assumes he's bringing a laptop or PDA and an appetite for something from McDonald's. I made it my goal not to eat anything resembling American fast food on my trip and didn't stray from that till London, where McD's was by far the cheapest thing in the vicinity of my hotel at $8 for a combo meal. :Q

EDIT: Related to that, I really don't recommend bringing a laptop, as that's a considerable amount of weight and a theft target when you're lugging all your belongings with you. I brought a PDA with IR keyboard and that was plenty for my computing needs.

 

[simms]

Thanks for the tips. I may consider a camera + PDA with wifi. I've never seen an IR keyboard, what is that?

How do you book on Eurail? I am still debating because with my Eurail pass, I want the flexibility of staying a few days in another area, etc... do you book online, or in person when you arrive at the city? I do NOT smoke so I would appreciate advice on this.

I will see if I can fit in a few *do nothing* days.

Side note: Eurostar (between London/Paris train) is a killer price tag. The lowest I can find is $56 for a student. I could fly for that much as well. I am thinking of taking the Eurostar one way from London-Paris then flying easyjet Amsterdam-London for $40 Euro (about the same price as the Eurostar). Thoughts? I want to try the Eurostar at least once... and I realize with flying it's not at the city centers, etc, but I'll be in Amsterdam with my expired Eurail pass and no way to get to London, so it looks like my only option?

 

[Mill]

I would visit less big cities and more small towns. Big cities get very old very quickly.

 

[WildHorse]

Don't race around to so many places.

Pare your itinerary way down, to fewer than half of your list.

Get out away from the central cities to mix with people in the small towns.
Talk to everybody.

 

[Luthien]

OP when in paris make sure you take the time to visit one of the Paris Catacombs. It is an experience you will never forget. Ghoulish but it is something amazing to see and something you will be able to share for the rest of your life.

LINK

Yes, I have been and will never forget the experience.

 

[simms]

Originally posted by: Mill
I would visit less big cities and more small towns. Big cities get very old very quickly.

Thanks for the advice. That's what I plan on doing, the big cities are my "home bases".

I still need an answer to this question:

Side note: Eurostar (between London/Paris train) is a killer price tag. The lowest I can find is $56 for a student. I could fly for that much as well. I am thinking of taking the Eurostar one way from London-Paris then flying easyjet Amsterdam-London for $40 Euro (about the same price as the Eurostar). Thoughts? I want to try the Eurostar at least once... and I realize with flying it's not at the city centers, etc, but I'll be in Amsterdam with my expired Eurail pass and no way to get to London, so it looks like my only option?

 

[Sheep]

Originally posted by: simms
Thanks for the tips. I may consider a camera + PDA with wifi. I've never seen an IR keyboard, what is that?

Prior to my trip, I bought a Palm TX PDA, hard case and keyboard off eBay for just over $200. If you use Palm, find a freeware program called Metro; I think there's a Pocket PC version available too. It's absolutely indispensable if you'll be using public transit within major cities and shows what train/bus lines to take to every major destination and many not-so-major ones too, all without having to dig through messy schedules or maps.

The keyboard I got with the PDA looks something like this. It folds up into a shape slightly larger than the Palm TX, and takes up relatively little space.

How do you book on Eurail? I am still debating because with my Eurail pass, I want the flexibility of staying a few days in another area, etc... do you book online, or in person when you arrive at the city? I do NOT smoke so I would appreciate advice on this.

Once in Europe, you need to go to a train station and validate your pass. It will be good from whatever date you first validate it. For example, if you don't plan on taking a train for the first three days of your trip, get it validated on Day 4 and not Day 1 as you'll basically lose those extra days otherwise.

Once your pass is validated, you can basically hop on any trains that don't require special fares or reservations (e.g., Eurostar); since you're going in the summer, keep in mind that the trains WILL be crowded, especially in 2nd class. The timetable you got with your Eurail pass shows all the routes between cities and whether there's a mandatory reservation or additional fare associated with that route. If you'll be on a train that requires a reservation or going to a country that's not covered by your pass (e.g., the Czech portion of the trip from Berlin to Prague), make sure to get a ticket at the station that covers that portion of the trip.

For research purposes, I used bahn.de to look up the most current train times and fares, if applicable; there's a link for an English version at the top right of the main page.

I'm writing this from memory and I've been a bit senile lately, so someone please correct me if I'm mistaken on anything above.

 

[Jawo]

I really want to wonder Europe without a care! I've read too many of these threads and they are making me jelous!

I have been to Italy though...and you will be exhausted for traveling too much. I had three full days in Rome and I barely had enough time to scratch the surface! Same with two days in Venice. Like other people have said.....pick a few cities that you really want to see and go there. Unless you want a whirlwind tour....