2.5 weeks in Europe - May 2011

[heffer2435]

Hi everyone, I have been reading the board for a while but this is my first actual post.

Two friends and I are planning to go to Europe next May for 2.5 weeks. We are all in University. The proposed route is still very tentative and we are looking for help and suggestions.

Fly into London from Canada, we have a place to stay with family there
-London( 3 days)
-Paris (3 days)
-Amsterdam (2 days)
-Munich(2 or 3 days)
- need a city here Venice or Lyon has been tossed around
-Barcelona(3 days)
Fly out of Barcelona

Its pain trying to get to Barcelona but its a must do for one of my friends.

We are looking at a mix of the churches/museums and also the nightlife in places like Paris and Amsterdam. I really want to be able to experience the unique cultures of the places.

Any tips about any part of the trip would be much appreciated. We are trying to keep it as cheap as possible. We have found flights for $800 CDN round trip to start with and want to keep the total budget under $2000, is this a reality? We plan to travel mostly by rail but are open to flights (to Barcelona from wherever).

Thanks

[jessus]

Hi Heffer! I know you posted months ago, but I haven't been on here in a while and I figure there's still plenty of time.

I first wanted to comment on your timing. I count 13-14 days already which means technically you COULD add another city (if we're assuming your trip is 17-18 days), but I'd vote to extend your stay in most of the cities you're already hitting and NOT pick another city.

I'd add a day to London since: a)you're staying with family, who may want to do "other" things, b) it's a big place, c) you'll probably be jetlagged, and may need a cool down day.

I'd do 3 days for both Amsterdam and Munich, partially because the travel time between the two by train is 8 hours. Plus, is the 2 days only 1 night? It might even been a good idea to do an overnight train between the two to save another day. You could also fly, but an overnight train is appropriate.

I'd fly from Munich to Barcelona on one of the cheap airlines (EasyJet,Ryanair) which are REALLY cheap compared to Canadian "discount" airlines. I flew from Rome to Barcelona for 0 euros (yes, 0) plus a tax for my bag (so all together about $30). But keep in mind that the airport the cheapie airlines use and call Barcelona isn't actually in Barcelona, it's in Girona - but there's plentiful shuttles.

As far as budget, I'd say to travel as a comfortable backpacker (i.e. doing things on the cheap and staying in a hostel but still getting some decent food and seeing sites) you need $100 (CDN) a day plus between-cities/countries transportation. So $2000 isn't realistic if you mean your flight would be in there too. I've heard that some people do it on $50 plus between cities transportation, but that doesn't seem realistic to me.

I think I've come to the end of most of what I was saying. I'm also a Canadian and visited all these cities on my trip 2 years ago, so let me know if you have any other questions!

[Eagle]

heffer2435,

I also have a few comments on your proposed Itinerary.

First of all, 2.5 weeks is not a long time for travel in Europe and it's extremely important to allow adequate travel times between cities. Many of your trips will need at least half a day, but some will be longer (ie: Amsterdam to Munich). This is true even if you'll be using budget airlines, as you'll need time to get to and from the airports (some of which are a considerable distance outside the cities - Paris Beauvais is a good example), check-in, security, waiting, etc. The cheapest flights are often from out-of-the-way airports, but travellers have to budget both money and time to get to and from these locations.

It's good to see that you're planning to use "open jaw" flights, especially as your first city and last city are somewhat "geographically distant".

One serious concern that I have is your proposed budget. Travelling for ~18 days with only $2000 Cdn. for all expenses is going to be extremely challenging (IMHO). After the airfare is deducted, that leaves about $1200, or about $66.00 per day (approx. €48.50 at current exchange rates). Although your lodging will be covered in the U.K., you'll still need to pay for transportation and other things. Your per diem in that case will be about £41.15. The "nightlife" especially in Europe can be expensive, so I'm not sure that your budget will be adequate?

If you haven't already, I'd suggest checking a few Guidebooks so that you can at least get a "rough" idea on places you might like to see in each city. If this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend pre-reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door. It has a lot of information on how to travel well in Europe, and includes sections on things like Itinerary planning and money issues.

In planning your time, be sure to allow for the fact that you'll most likely arrive in Europe the day after you departed, and the last day will be needed for the flight home. Therefore you'll have to deduct two days from your time before you even do any touring in Europe.

With the time and budget limitations, I'm not sure whether you'll be able to fit a city between Munich and Barcelona. However, Venice is definitely one possibility. The shortest rail trip I could find from Munich to Venice was 7H:09M, with one change at Verona Porta Nuova. That will require basically one full day for travel.

One reason that Venice would be a good choice is that the trip from there to Barcelona is relatively easy by budget airline. I didn't check in too much detail, but it appears that Vueling, Spanair and Air Berlin/Niki offer flights on that route (Vueling seems to have the best prices).

If you decide to use one of the European airlines, BE SURE to read their "Terms & Conditions" carefully. Booking early is usually an advantage, as the prices often increase as the flight fills. Tickets are usually non-changeable and non-refundable. One other point to note is that airlines in Europe typically allow only ONE carry-on item. That doesn't mean one item plus a "personal item", it means ONE bag of the approved size and weight.

Good luck with your planning!