June-July Euro Trip With 2 Friends

[hhh24]

Hi all. My friends and I thought it would be a great idea if we blew off some steam in Europe for a couple of weeks. My friends will be getting there before me, but the plan is that I meet them in Rome on the 26th of June, stay there til the 28th, go to Paris for the 29th and the 30th, Berlin for the 1st 3 days of July, Amsterdam for July 4, 5, and 6, and finally Serbia on July 7-10 for the Exit music festival. My questions are basically these:

1) How would you suggest that we go about booking planes? Are there any websites you could recommend?

2 ) What about websites where we can book trains?

3) Hostels, where can we book those?

4) Do you have any doubts about the credibility of the trip? Can it be done? The places we NEED to be are Berlin for July 1,2, and 3 and Serbia on July 7,8,9,10. We can manipulate the other days.

Thanks a lot!

[Eagle]

hhh24,

Welcome to the Boards! I have a few comments regarding your travel plans.

IMHO, your plan is far too ambitious for such a short time frame, especially considering that you'll be travelling in peak season. The proposed route is also not the most efficient, as it involves some LONG trips (Rome - Paris) and some backtracking (Paris - Berlin - Amsterdam). If you drop one day in Amsterdam, you might be able to fit a few days in Paris in. You have very limited time, so it's not a good idea to spend a lot of that travelling between places.

To answer some of your questions....

1) Where are you flying from? The options for booking flights may differ a bit between countries. You could try www.hipmunk.com, www.expedia.com, www.kayak.com or the websites for various airlines. I'd suggest using open-jaw flights for best efficiency.

2) The websites where you can book trains will vary by country. You could try Rail Europe, however they tend to be somewhat on the expensive side. Rather than pre-booking tickets, I'd suggest buying them at local stations a day or two before you'll be travelling (or perhaps when you arrive in each city, as you'll be at the station anyway).

3) You could try www.hihostels.com/dba/continent-Europe-EU.en.htm. They have good properties in most cities, however having a membership (very inexpensive) would be a really good idea. You could also try www.hostelworld.com (I've never used them, but have heard good reports).

4) My initial comments provided some insights on that. You might consider limiting your trip to Amsterdam - Berlin - Serbia, as that provides a somewhat logical travel route. AFAIK, you'll have to fly to Belgrade prior to going to Novi Sad for the Festival. Check www.whichbudget.com for flight options from Berlin to Belgrade. If you haven't already, check the Festival website for informaton on travel services they might provide. One important note regarding budget flights - the price often increases as the flights fill, so it would be a really good idea to book SOON. Be sure to read their "Terms & Conditions" carefully, as there are often very restrictive baggage limits, and tickets are often non-refundable and non-changeable once booked.

Hopefully the others will have some comments.

Happy travels!

[madamtrashheap]

hhh24, I can only echo what Eagle has mentioned - you're planning a lot for a short amount of time in some cities, particularly Rome and Paris.

It's understandable that you want to spend 3 nights in The Damage (aka Amsterdam), and if you don't want to sacrifice time there, then you'll be better off removing either Rome or Paris - likely Paris as you're meeting your friends in Rome - and adding the extra time to the other city. Ideally, and depending on your interests, you need 3 full days in Paris to scratch the surface, ditto for Rome. Perhaps if you stay in Rome then fly to Berlin (check Air Berlin) and then look at flying to Amsterdam (check Transavia airlines) then on to Serbia (into Belgrade would be the most serviced route, then on to Novi Sad (check bus and train services).

As Eagle suggested, an open-jaw flight would save you time and having to get back to Rome to fly back out. It's a great music festival, so plan well and you'll have a great trip!