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European Vacation Tips

A

amoeba

Diamond Member
Planning a trip around end of december for Europe. Probably fly in to amsterdam and then go through Europe through Eurail.
Going with a friend who is fluent in french and I can speak a little German so I think language might not be too bad although Italy and Spain might be a problem.

Anybody got any tips?

 
I'd recommend getting reservations in each city for the train. Say you're in Paris and you know you're leaving in 2 days for Rome. Go ahead and spend the $5 or $10 extra to reserve your spot on the train so that you're sure to have a sleeping car and/or seat (whichever you need).

Also, I'd recommend first class tickets if you can afford them. They weren't all that much more when I went 6 or 7 years ago. Well worth it in my opinion at the time.

As for getting around, I never pre-book hotels. No need as there are plenty around. In Amsterdam, best thing to do is stand outside the Tourist Info shop in front of the train station. Between 10:30 - 2:00 there are plenty of hotel runners that will negotiate prices and rooms with you. They are legit and will take you to the hotel and get you checked in at agreed rate. I think 2 of us paid $35 for a room with private bath 3 years ago in AMS.

Rome has runners at the train station that will help you with hotels as well. Negotiate a rate and they will grab a cab and take you to the hotel. Cabbies in Italy like US money as well (or at least they did).
 
So even if I have the Eurail pass, I still need to make reservation for special cars right?

Also, which cities are most expensive hotel wise? I think I'll sleep in a hotel for the cheap cities and sleep on the train for expensive ones.

 
Originally posted by: royaldank
I'd recommend getting reservations in each city for the train. Say you're in Paris and you know you're leaving in 2 days for Rome. Go ahead and spend the $5 or $10 extra to reserve your spot on the train so that you're sure to have a sleeping car and/or seat (whichever you need).

Also, I'd recommend first class tickets if you can afford them. They weren't all that much more when I went 6 or 7 years ago. Well worth it in my opinion at the time.

As for getting around, I never pre-book hotels. No need as there are plenty around. In Amsterdam, best thing to do is stand outside the Tourist Info shop in front of the train station. Between 10:30 - 2:00 there are plenty of hotel runners that will negotiate prices and rooms with you. They are legit and will take you to the hotel and get you checked in at agreed rate. I think 2 of us paid $35 for a room with private bath 3 years ago in AMS.

Rome has runners at the train station that will help you with hotels as well. Negotiate a rate and they will grab a cab and take you to the hotel. Cabbies in Italy like US money as well (or at least they did).
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:thumbsup: Very good advice. Definitely make reservations on the train when you are going from city to city, especially major cities. Makes things go smoother, and you don't have to worry about being on like 5 different cars if you are with a group of people. We would have been screwed from Vienna to Rome if we had not made reservations (as in 3 would have gone, and 4 would not).
 
Watch out for pickpockets.

I had a close call with a buncha gypsies near Pisa. Then I got separated from 80+ Euro cash while ogling the Mona Lisa in the Musee du Louvre. Thank goodness I found my wallet on the floor with my credit card intact.

As for language, well well, with French and German you have most of central and western Europe covered pretty much. With Spanish thrown in you'd get by very well in both Italy and Spain.

 
I traveled by rail around Germany one summer. A few tips would have made my life a lot easier.

1) For the slower trains, reservations were a pain in the neck. 95% of the time there are plenty of seats, so a reservation does nothing. One slight delay in your schedule which is beyond your control and you lose it anyways. $5 wasted that you never needed. Obviously your experience may vary.

2) For the high speed trains, reservations are definately useful. Made the mistake of not reserving one of those, and had to sit in the doorway for 2 hours. Those high speed trains are often very full. Obviously your experience may vary.

3) Those trains are NOT designed for anything but a duffle bag. I tried taking typical rectangular American luggage bags on a European train - never again. Repeat after me: duffel bag, duffle bag, duffel bag. (Note: for spelling Nazis, I purposely spelled duffle both ways as they are both appropriate).

4) Try your best to prepare to have translations ready for common train phrases. Things like "you marked off 2 days for this 1 day trip you fu@#$@# bastard." I could only use 75% of my days that I paid for due to them making that mistake. And no, I wasn't taking trips during their evening switch (why they do the switch from one day to the next during the evening is beyond me).
 
Originally posted by: dullard
I traveled by rail around Germany one summer. A few tips would have made my life a lot easier.

1) For the slower trains, reservations were a pain in the neck. 95% of the time there are plenty of seats, so a reservation does nothing. One slight delay in your schedule which is beyond your control and you lose it anyways. $5 wasted that you never needed. Obviously your experience may vary.

2) For the high speed trains, reservations are definately useful. Made the mistake of not reserving one of those, and had to sit in the doorway for 2 hours. Those high speed trains are often very full. Obviously your experience may vary.

3) Those trains are NOT designed for anything but a duffle bag. I tried taking typical rectangular American luggage bags on a European train - never again. Repeat after me: duffel bag, duffel bag, duffel bag.

4) Try your best to prepare to have translations ready for common train phrases. Things like "you marked off 2 days for this 1 day trip you fu@#$@# bastard." I could only use 75% of my days that I paid for due to them making that mistake. And no, I wasn't taking trips during their evening switch (why they do the switch from one day to the next during the evening is beyond me).
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Agreed. Don't bother making reservations for short hops. Plenty of seating, especially since you're riding 1st class. I've done the train thing in Germany several times with a Eurail Selectpass, only get reservations on the long distance or overnight trains, and the ICE trains. Sometimes 1st class on the ICE can be pretty tight, lot of business travellers.


 
Paris was expensive hotel-wise but we ended up there on a holiday of some sort. Spent 6 hours finding a room and nearly got thrown out because we had more people than we were supposed to. Oh well. For Paris, just go to the University (Sorbonne, I believe) side of town and there are plenty of cheap, decent rooms as long as it's some holiday.

When we went from Paris to Rome, it was quite a train ride so we took it at night in a sleeping car. Saved us a hotel for the night. So, if the train ride is over 5 or 6 hours, I'd suggest getting the last one and sleeping on it.

Also, when reserving trains, you can sometimes plan for a few hours of layover time. When we went from AMS to Paris, we planned a 4 hour layover in Brussell. Gave us time to walk around the city and have lunch there.

Most cities have runners at the train station for budget travelers like students. In the winter, there may not be as many, but there should still be some. We stayed at the "Hotel Michigan" in Rome. Big rooms, cheap, and a good location. Just throwing that out there.




 
A very popular Amsterdam red light scam is the homeless dude that bumps into you and claims you made him spill his crack/cocain. Try to avoid bumping into the homeless there. Cost me $20 to learn that. I was almost to the entrance of a bar when he flashed the knife he was holding. Oh well. I gave him the $20 and just forgot about it.
 
Originally posted by: royaldank
A very popular Amsterdam red light scam is the homeless dude that bumps into you and claims you made him spill his crack/cocain. Try to avoid bumping into the homeless there. Cost me $20 to learn that. I was almost to the entrance of a bar when he flashed the knife he was holding. Oh well. I gave him the $20 and just forgot about it.
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Jeezes. That sucks.

which cities in your mind has a higher crime rate?

 
oh and also, how much should I expect to spend over 2 weeks?

average traveler, not poor, but not loaded either.
 
I've had 2 incidents in Amsterdam over the years. One was my fault as I wondered a block or two into a dark area looking for a particular store. I knew I shouldn't have gone down that street but figured I'd check the first block or two. Oh well, I lost about $100 that night but nothing else. The only other incident I've had was the one I mentioned before. That is all.

I still wouldn't hesitate to return to Amsterdam. I've been 4 times, and I've also been to Italy, France, Spain, and England numerous times. Never had a problem outside of those 2 incidents mentioned above. I found England to be very safe. I have a mile and half walk through the city at 3:00am to get to my brother's apartment one night. Never felt unsafe at all.

Granted, the red light district in Amsterdam is probably the seediest, shaddiest place you'll encounter. I'd say with a group of people, you're fine. Just try to stay together when walking around outside after dark.

As for spending...that is sort of up to you. I ate a bunch of McD's for lunch to save money most days (or skipped lunch). England, if you go there, is quite expensive now days. All the prices are the same (3 pounds for a pint of beer) but the exchange rate is so terrible right now you're paying almost 75% more. I also check museums to see if the last hour or two is free admission. Most in England are. Little things like that help.

Otherwise, I'd say about $50-$80/day is a good starting point. That includes a couple meals, museums, and splitting a room with someone.

Before buying train tickets, you might want to check the cheap airlines over there. If you are just picking a couple cities, you might be able to fly cheaper. Purchased early enough, I know I got round trip tickets from London to Ams for $40 one year on EasyJet.
 
I probably won't go to london since its not on eurail and it seems kind of expensive and food is probably bad.

What is there to see in amsterdam aside from red light district?
 
I've traveled extensively in Europe on my own since 1995. I was in Germany and Greece this summer and will be in Germany again in December. If I am there on business it's one thing, but if I am traveling alone for pleasure, these sites are all I need:

Railpass.com: For Rail passes (Look into a country-specific pass.)

Bahn.de: Everything you need to know about German (and other) train schedules.

Hostels.com

Rick Steves: For packing and travel tips.

As someone already mentioned, budget around $50-80 per day.

Edit: My travels have taken me to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Greece.

During the month of December, I would not go north of Germany. I would stick to Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France...anywhere around the Alps!

Also, the further south you go (Italy, Spain, Greece) the cheaper things will get. The UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland (all non-Euro countries) are fairly expensive.


 
Van Gaugh museum, Anne Frank House, and the Rikjs museum are all pretty cool. There are a few nice parks in the area. Boom Chicago is a cool comedy troupe from Chicago that has setup shop in a nice area of AMS. They used to also offer little tours of the city like a coffeeshop tour, a canal boat ride tour (and they let you bring booze and pot if you want), etc. Not sure if they still do these or not since they are a bit larger now. They also have a dinner/show each night that is good. It's not cheap, but it's not terribly expensive. Personally, I'm a conniseur of weed like most folks are with wine. So, I'm generally hoping from one shop to another trying that stuff and meeting folks in the coffeeshops. If you want a list of good coffeeshops I can help there as I've been to quite a few.

Also, check the Melkweig and see if any cool concerts will there. They get good bands.

If you aren't a smoker, I would think 2 days would be suffice in Amsterdam. If you're a smoker, you can spend 4 or 5 days easy without it getting old.
 
I have not ever smoked cigarettes, let alone danced with Mary Jane.

your other suggestions sound good though.

Oh, for the Railpass, whats the difference between adult and saver? What qualification do you need for the saver pass?


Also, should you book hostels ahead of time? and which countries should I do hostels and which countries should I go for hotels due to security issues?


Thanks again.
 
Originally posted by: amoeba
I have not ever smoked cigarettes, let alone danced with Mary Jane.

your other suggestions sound good though.

Oh, for the Railpass, whats the difference between adult and saver? What qualification do you need for the saver pass?


Also, should you book hostels ahead of time? and which countries should I do hostels and which countries should I go for hotels due to security issues?


Thanks again.
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You have to be 26 or younger to get the Youth Saver pass.

During the summer, I typically reserve a hostel spot 48 hours in advance, but only at hostels in popular locations like Munich, Vienna, Prague, Rome, Florence, etc. I made the reservations through hostels.com.
 
Thanks again.

On the Eurail site, I did not see Czech republic listed in the list of countries, so does that mean my Eurail pass will not work when going to Prague?



 
Originally posted by: amoeba
Thanks again.

On the Eurail site, I did not see Czech republic listed in the list of countries, so does that mean my Eurail pass will not work when going to Prague?
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Nope, it won't. Use your pass to München (Munich) and get a train from there to Praha (Prague).
 
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