Help planning a trip to Europe

[HMXDungHeaver]

I'm planning on going to Europe in June for about 2 weeks, and I haven't done much traveling outside of North America or for business (China). My cousin and I are doing the trip, and plan on hitting up a lot of countries while we're there (ex. Ireland, England, France, Amsterdam, Germany, etc). Since I've never done much in the way of planning something like this, if anyone here (especially if you're from EU) has any suggestions for any of the following, it'd be great:

- Best way to book flights to and from Europe.
- Flying in between countries in EU and how to get the best rates (I've been told Ryan Air is really cheap).
- Great ideas for cheap(er) ways to stay, not entirely sure about Hostels or if there are cheap hotel rooms easily available.
- Best places to visit while we're there.
- Anything else you think would be useful for first-time travelers to Europe.

Thanks in advance!

(p.s. if anyone in Europe has an open home one night for an HMX dev, that would be super fantastic)

[bmaninc]

1. Book tim off work. :D

[bood-boy]

ive heard that trains are the way to travel thru europe.

[Banky71]

When you get over there EZjet is the way to fly. Very cheap. As far as places to stay I can speak for Ireland at least Bed and breakfast's are not very expensive. Not like they are here.

BTW if you are going to do a Guiness tour in Ireland make sure you do the Jamesons tour on the same day.

[hmxhenry]

1. Book tim off work. :D

2. Once Tim has been approved vacation time make sure you ask for time off too.


ive heard that trains are the way to travel thru europe.

EU by rail is great. You should be able to get unlimited passes for cheaper than flights if you're going to be spending enough time abroad to make it worth it. Also, a sleep car is a pretty weird experience, definitely worth doing once.

http://www.raileurope.com/index.html

As far as sites, I loved France way more than I expected too. Paris ruled, and everyone was super friendly. Took the Chunnel there, totally dug it. Cinque Terre is an amazing little collection of Italian villages. Best pesto ever. Also, I've heard that Abbey Road is pretty cool. :)

[DrifterUK]

If you come to England, go on the London Eye in London

That thing is awesome

[Der_Lex]

I have to second trains being a good way to travel over here. The distances between countries aren't that huge, and if you take night trains, you can save money on a place to stay on days that you're traveling.

If you're only going for about 2 weeks, I suggest not going overboard on the amount of countries you're going to visit and to stick to just the ones you mentioned. You could fly to Ireland, go from there to Edinburgh and/or London, and from there take a flight to the mainland where you could travel by train between Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. I suggest sticking to the big cities if it's your first visit. Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris and Berlin should fill up your schedule pretty nicely. Edinburgh and Berlin are my personal favorites out of that list, and I highly recommend them.

For the flights between the UK, Ireland and the European mainland, EZJet is indeed a great option. It's been too long since I flew on a transcontinental flight, so I have no idea what company would be best for the flight from the US to Europe (I flew KLM at the time, which was relatively cheap).

For train travel, this is a good site to get you started: http://www.raileurope.com/index.html (ninja'd about that by Henry, I see)

Most cities have cheap hotels if you look around online a bit (hostels tend to be fine too). I can try to put you up for a night if you visit Antwerp, but I can't make any promises with the little hellspawn on the way.

If there's anything else I can help with, please let me know.

[kiggidykev]

I'd watch Euro Trip first. I imagine that a real life vacation is identical to that teen sex romp.

[Renrock]

I'd watch Euro Trip first. I imagine that a real life vacation is identical to that teen sex romp.

But don't watch Hostel first! Or do watch it and make your decision about staying in one off of that.

[back_blows]

If you need to book flights within Europe, use Ryanair. They have ridiculously cheap flights (I booked a flight from Frankfurt to London for 20 pounds including tax). Ryanair is more or less a flying bus. The only catch is that you need to find a way from the airport to the city centre (or where ever you're staying). I made the mistake of arriving into London past midnight when the tube is closed. I ended up taking a bus and taxi to my hotel. My point is book the flights and know where you're staying well in advance.

Trains are definitely the better option though. They are more expensive than Ryanair (when traveling between countries), but they offer scenic routes. Be careful which trains you take. Deutsche Bahn is phenomenal and fairly inexpensive (provided you book 3 days in advance). I've never been late with Deutsche Bahn and took well over 200 train rides. The Italian trains are craptacular. I took 3 trains and all 3 train rides were delayed. Night trains are pretty decent and save you a ton of time and money (since you don't need to pay for a hostel for one night), although you miss out on the scenery. Buy day passes for local transit if you can, they are ridiculously cheap.

Hostels are definitely the way to go as far as accomodations are concerned. Be careful with certain cities (Amsterdam in particular). Some places require you to stay more than 2 nights (they do this to crack down on people who only visit for the weed and hos). Bring locks with you and keep your ID in a safety box if you have one. While on that subject, keep an eye on your wallet at all times. A little girl in Rome tried to rob me on the bus.

[bood-boy]

i wanna go to scandinavia.

[topperharley]

I want to go to Scotland for a golf vacation.

[Banky71]

I want to go to Scotland for a golf vacation.

Let me know when you go I might meet you there.

[bood-boy]

i wanna see norse aurora borealis.

[bmaninc]

2. Once Tim has been approved vacation time make sure you ask for time off too.

Hi, I'm bmaniac. Nice to meet you.

[bermuddy]

tim isnt a difficult concept. why dont people get it?

[Der_Lex]

You should write a book to explain it anyway. A brief history of tim, for example.

[Lawdog1521]

i wanna see norse aurora borealis.

I don't think you can say something that dirty on here. :p

[topperharley]

Let me know when you go I might meet you there.

I'll do that! It may be a while, though. I don't exactly have the fundage for such an adventure.

[jonoo24]

To many people would get confused about the concept of tim.

[HMXDungHeaver]

Thanks for all the great information. Really like the idea of taking a train overnight to cut down on hotel costs and travel time.

I think my cousin and I are going to sit down and figure out exactly where we're going.

In 16 days, how much time should we plan on staying for each day? I'm thinking we might get to 4-6 places depending on how many days we spend in each...

[Oscar-Rio]

Dang, 16 days is a very quick trip. I've backpacked in Europe twice now and spent over 6 months total traveling there. What countries are you planning to visit when you're there? This will help me get a sense for what you're hoping to accomplish in your time there. I'll give you a detailed response on all things Europe. I am, somewhat, of a quasi-expert.

[bood-boy]

i would ask more from lex, and he is the Mr. Europe.

[HMXDungHeaver]

Dang, 16 days is a very quick trip. I've backpacked in Europe twice now and spent over 6 months total traveling there. What countries are you planning to visit when you're there? This will help me get a sense for what you're hoping to accomplish in your time there. I'll give you a detailed response on all things Europe. I am, somewhat, of a quasi-expert.

Definitely Ireland, and Definitely Amsterdam. Likelies are Spain, France, Germany and/or Italy, but I'm not sure how we should do it or what places are best. I know some people in random areas, so I'll probably try to do that.

If we arrive with a flight to Ireland, is it hard to come back from another country? Also, Passport is fine, or do I need visas of some sort?

[miche.cs]

Dude if you need a place to crash in Scotland give me a shout. I'm about an hour away from Edinburgh and Banky'll back up how fun the city of Glasgow can be.

[HMXDungHeaver]

Dude if you need a place to crash in Scotland give me a shout. I'm about an hour away from Edinburgh and Banky'll back up how fun the city of Glasgow can be.

Done, and done.

[bermuddy]

your american passport is good around the world! i'm pretty sure that you dont even have to pay any money in europe. just walk around with an air of superiority and flash that thing around like you're the king!

[Oscar-Rio]

Definitely Ireland, and Definitely Amsterdam. Likelies are Spain, France, Germany and/or Italy, but I'm not sure how we should do it or what places are best. I know some people in random areas, so I'll probably try to do that.

If we arrive with a flight to Ireland, is it hard to come back from another country? Also, Passport is fine, or do I need visas of some sort?

(note: when i say $$ i'm talking Canadian currency)

I never made it to Ireland simply because the currency exchange from CDN to GBP was really hard on the savings. Flying into the UK is nice because the flight is shorter and the prices are a bit cheaper, but the costs of staying there really add up quick. I don't know what your funds situation is for your trip, but i had $6,000 saved for a 3 month trip, or $500 per week, and I found that to be more than enough in some places (hungary, czech, poland, croatia) and not nearly enough for others (france, england, holland).

For your flight, are you talking about flying into Ireland, but leaving from say Spain or Portugal when your trip is done? Because I flew in and out of London both times I went, but if i did go again i would try to do something more along the lines of leaving from a different city.

As for your timing, i'd definitely say try to maximize the overnight rail trips to free up some day time for sightseeing. The only downside to doing the rails at night is that you, and every other backpacker, wants to do the same thing. I would recommend booking your departing overnight trip the same day that you arrive in the city. If you arrive on the 3rd of March book your ticket that day for the night of the 5th (just an example).

Also, if you're going with the Eurorail pass, which is what i did, it can be worth it in the long run, but i can't really say if it is or not for a short trip like you have planned. I paid, i think, between $1,600 and $1,800 for the 3 month rail pass and I remember breaking even somewhere around the 70 day mark. The downside is that most, if not all, rail lines force you to reserve a seat whether you have the railpass or not. It usually runs between 10 and 30 euros.

The logistics of going from Ireland to Amsterdam to Germany and into Spain could be a nightmare for you in 16 days. Cities like Paris, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Florence definitely warrant more than 2 days each just because of the amount to see and do in each. That factored in with traveling time could make your trip seem very rushed with not a lot of downtime to just relax and take in your surroundings. It may start to feel like you're running from one major tourist attraction to the next.

It's awesome that you may have relatives/friends that you can stay with because that can lead to some of the truest European experiences you can have. On my first trip there my friend had an Aunt/Uncle who lived north of Amsterdam in a town called Heilo (i think) and we stayed there in a beach front house in a beach resort town. His aunt rents out these houses to german tourists and let us shack up free of charge. There was a fully stocked fridge with Heineken and we just got drunk and sat out on the beach of the North Sea with his aunt and uncle and talked about the social differences/similarities between Holland and Canada. I found it so funny that they simply could not pronounce Saskatchewan.

Back on topic. I'm not sure whether or not the passport rules have changed since I was there, but i would figure a standard authorized passport should be enough. I was there the year that the bombs went off on the buses in London. Was pretty surreal sitting an amsterdam coffee shop reading about bombs going off at the King's Cross tube station which i was using a few times a day just 10 days earlier. I didn't really notice any heightened security at the airport because of that, but it could be different now in light of some more recent events.

Sorry if i'm jumping around here. The rail traveling for the countries you're planning to visit might be tough just because of distances. For instance, going to Spain is a fairly lengthy endeavour if you're planning to do the Madrid/Barcelona thing. Madrid is a long 14-hour overnight train ride from Paris, and Barcelona is further than that (from paris).

To me this is how i'd try to do it. Keep in mind this is my suggestion, don't forget it is your trip to structure as you see fit. Anyways. (for your trip I would say either go to Spain or to Italy, but don't try to do both, because Italy has so much to see you could sink a week there with ease, and same goes for Spain. And getting to both of these places in one trip will be challenging with the time you've allotted for yourself)

- Flying to Ireland (i've never been so i can't say how to get to London, but)

- Get to London (somehow).

- Fly (cheap flights with RyanAir) to Munich (or berlin depending on time restraints)

- Based on flying to munich first, then rail it to Berlin.

- Rail to either Frankfurt, or if time is an issue, or to Amsterdam.

- Rail from Amsterdam to Bruxells, or if time is an issue, go straight to Paris.

- Rail from Paris, go to Niece. (i loved niece to death)

- Rail from Niece to Barcelona (this could be an overnighter probably)

- Rail from Barcelona to Madrid.

- And then either fly from there to home, or rail back to Paris where they have a much larger Airport that more likely has more flight departing back to N.America.

And again, that's just my take on it. I'm not sure if you're wanting to do more of the major cities, or if you're wanting to see the less beaten path around Europe. But your trip being 16 days i would assume that you're hoping to hit as many of the major destinations as possible. Seeing the larger cities is also easier on your traveling logistics as there are just that many more trains going between them.

Going to wrap this post up here. A book to check out for traveling to Europe for the first would be Rick Steves' Europe Through the Backdoor (such a dirty book title). The guy is a bit of a cheeseball, but the information he provides is definitely worth the cost of the book. He may bring up a lot of points that you hadn't considered before. I used it the first time I went.

Let me know what other questions/concerns you've got. I'd be more than happy to talk about it. I love talking about traveling :D

[HMXDungHeaver]

^ thanks a lot Oscar, that's all really great info.

After I talk it over with my cousin, I'll probably get back to you with our specific plans in case you have any extra insight. I'll try to grab that book as well.

[bood-boy]

your american passport is good around the world! i'm pretty sure that you dont even have to pay any money in europe. just walk around with an air of superiority and flash that thing around like you're the king!

do NOT do that.
theres a reason americans put canadian flags on their backpacks in europe. so ive heard at least.

[Banky71]

Dude if you need a place to crash in Scotland give me a shout. I'm about an hour away from Edinburgh and Banky'll back up how fun the city of Glasgow can be.

Glasgow is a good time. If you do end up going to Scotland and feel like going further north I have a place you can stay out side of Ullapool. It's very much off ther beaten path and in the middle of no where in the Scotish Highland but it's not so far from Inverness.

[Oscar-Rio]

^ thanks a lot Oscar, that's all really great info.

After I talk it over with my cousin, I'll probably get back to you with our specific plans in case you have any extra insight. I'll try to grab that book as well.

No problem at all. Like i said, i love talking about traveling. The only downside is it makes me depressed because the time i spent there was easily some of the most memorable moments in my life. Just living and experiencing life day-to-day without getting up to an alarm and dredging myself into work day-in-day-out was so much like a fantasy that after time I began to feel like traveling and meeting new people was my job.

[Banky71]

No problem at all. Like i said, i love talking about traveling. The only downside is it makes me depressed because the time i spent there was easily some of the most memorable moments in my life. Just living and experiencing life day-to-day without getting up to an alarm and dredging myself into work day-in-day-out was so much like a fantasy that after time I began to feel like traveling and meeting new people was my job.

The road goes on forever but the party never ends.

[bood-boy]

Tom Cochrane paved the highway of life and proceeded to ride it all night long.

[Der_Lex]

Oscar's giving out some great advice here... I've personally never done the 'multiple countries in one trip' thing before (I tend to stick to one country ad just explore that), so I can only give you some general info about places I've been.

On that note:

- Take Miche up on her offer. I haven't seen much of Glasgow, but Edinburgh is my favorite European city. I'd pick those two cities over London any day of the week. (if you can do London too, that's great)

- To give yourself some room to breathe in your schedule, I'd pick either Germany or Spain to visit, but not both.


- Amsterdam is fun, but you don't need more than a few days there.

- If you want to visit one city in Belgium, avoid Brussels like the plague. If you're willing to take a little bit of a detour with local Intercity trains, go to Bruges or Ghent. If you want to stick to the Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris intenational train route, visit Antwerp. An additional bonus of Antwerp is that I'll buy you a drink if I'm in town. :)

- The 'Europeans don't like Americans' thing is a thing of the past these days, I think. Whether you like your current president or not, he definitely has restored the image of your country abroad quite a bit. What people do hate are loud, annoying tourists of any nationality, so don't be one of those and you'll be fine. :D

[bood-boy]

well i wasnt saying they dont like americans, i was saying they prefer canadians :D

[HMXDungHeaver]

Thanks Der, I'm sure we'll take up just about any offers to stay if we're there because it'll give us a more real experience. Plus I'll get to meet some of you in real life, which would be surreal in a foreign land.

[bermuddy]

bood hates the US. thats why he wont go to buffalo and mail me the friggin beer.

[Banky71]

Thanks Der, I'm sure we'll take up just about any offers to stay if we're there because it'll give us a more real experience. Plus I'll get to meet some of you in real life, which would be surreal in a foreign land.

Well if you stay at my place I'll tell you where I hide the key.

[HMXDungHeaver]

Well if you stay at my place I'll tell you where I hide the key.

I think I might be staying with Miche, and I'm not sure how much time we'll be in Scotland. I certainly appreciate the offer though, and if we're planning to be nearby, I'd definitely take you up on it.