Need help with Travel Plans

[ryancanada]

Hi guys, I'm really happy I stumbled across this website today.
I'm from Canada and have never been to Europe before. My girlfriend and I are getting married and decided to backpack around Europe for 3 weeks for our honeymoon. ( I know 3 weeks is not very long)

So I was hoping to get some advice or help with my travel plans. Since I've never been to Europe I'm not sure if my itinerary will fit into 3 weeks to please let me know if this is possible.

Here is the plan so far:
Fly into Venice then go to Croatia(3 days for a festival) then head back to Venice then from Venice to Tuscany to Rome - Genoa (2.5 Train ride to)- Nice, France
from Nice we will go to Marseille, then take a train to Paris . We fly out from Paris back to Canada.

Is this possible in 3 weeks? Am I looking at too many places to visit? Which places should I cut or add that could make my journey better. We started off with the plan to go to Venice, Rome, Nice and Marseille. The other places were just added because they are on the way.

We are only 26 years old and love to see sights and party and will be staying in hostels and doing this as cheaply as possible. Anyways to save money?
I would love to hear some advice from other people who have done a similar trip or from anyone who has been there before.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Eagle]

ryancanada,

First of all, welcome to the Boards and congratulations! I have a few comments and questions.

First the questions....

> When is this trip taking place?

> Is there any possibility of extending the time a bit?

> What kind of a budget are you working with?

> Have you booked air tickets yet?

> Are you planning to pre-book accommodations?

> Have you purchased Backpacks yet?

> Do you both have Passports? Have you checked the expiry dates? Will your bride have a Passport in her married name at the time you travel?

Now the comments.....

I'm considerably older, so my trips are not quite the same. However, I do stay in Hostels on occasion and I do use a Backpack.

In planning your time, keep in mind that you'll lose the first day in flight times and time zone changes, and will arrive in Europe the day after you departed. The last day will be spent on the flight home.

As you haven't travelled in Europe before, I would highly recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. It will provide a lot of good information on how to travel well in Europe and avoid problems. Read the "Rail Skills" chapter carefully!

Your idea of using open-jaw flights is great (inbound Venice, outbound Paris). That's the method I always use.

As you'll be staying in Hostels most of the time, you might consider taking out inexpensive memberships in www.hihostels.com. That will provide preferred booking and slightly better rates over non-members. They have properties in most places in Europe, and I find the facilities are usually fairly consistent.

However, in Rome I'd recommend staying in a non-HI Hostel. Check www.hostelsalessandro.com/en/palace for prices and room information. It's located an easy eight minute (or so) walk from Termini station, and is very modern. They do have double rooms available, but they're about the same cost as a budget Hotel.

Concerning the cities you want to visit....

> Venice - 2 days should be adequate, but plan your touring well! You'll need a few days to get over jet lag. You may find Venice a bit "pricey".

> Croatia - you indicated 3 days at a Festival. It would be a good idea to return to Italy right after the Festival, as you don't have time for much touring in Croatia. I wouldn't bother stopping in Venice after Croatia - go directly to your stop in Tuscany.

> Tuscany - that's a fairly large region. Which places do you have in mind? You could consider a 2 or 3 days in either Florence or Siena.

> Rome - I normally suggest at least five days, but with your time limit you may have to settle for 3 or 4. Plan your touring carefully.

> Genoa - I'd skip that and perhaps substitute a day or two in the Cinque Terre.

> Nice - I'd suggest at least 3 days here as it's a beautiful city and lots of possibilities for day trips. A day trip to Monaco is easy and as I recall the Bus is only €1 each way. When you arrive in Monaco, you can either hike up the hill to the town and Castle, or take a Bus but that means another €1. The Changing of the Guard takes place at 11:55 and you could also visit the Church where Princess Grace is interred. It's VERY quick to get from Nice to Paris via TGV, which travels at 300 kMH.

> Marseille - I'd skip it. I don't believe you have time and it's not really that special.

> Paris - as with Rome, at least 4 days as there's LOTS to see! You may consider a Paris Museum Pass, perhaps a two-day version. It will get you through the queues a bit quicker. Which locations are you planning to visit in Paris? Which area of Paris are you planning to stay?

One other point regarding Paris. When you head for the airport for your flight home, there are several methods for getting there. One of the easiest is to take the Metro and then RER "B" (I believe it "splits" into two routes at the end, so be sure to use the correct one). You could also arrange a Shuttle or take the Roissy Bus. Check parisbytrain.com for all the details.

You'll need to allow for travel times also, as each time you change location will require at least half a day (and sometimes more).

I'd suggest checking your local Library or book stores to have a look at Guidebooks for Italy and France especially. They will provide you with a lot of information on sightseeing options, transportation, and other details for each of the places you'll be visiting. I normally pack along one or two country Guidebooks, as they're valuable for reference during trips.

Be sure that both of you are wearing Money Belts, and be vigilant for petty theft and pickpockets. They're VERY skillful in Europe!

Finally, do you have a PBS TV station in your area? You might watch for www.ricksteves.com/tvr/tvr_menu.htm as it may provide some ideas on sights to see in each city.

Good luck with your planning.

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome to GFE, Ryan, and congratulations.

If you've been poking around the Boards, you've probably got a little more of an idea of transport, sights, accommodation, but we will see if we can offer some more helpf for your planning.

Three weeks is a good amount of time, especially for your first trip to Europe, and for your honeymooon. Don't try to cover too much ground if you want to enjoy your time and actually have some time together - nothing worse than spending all your time travelling to places but not actually seeing things because you picked to many places to visit.

A few notes for you:

1. What time of year are you travelling? This will have a large bearing on the better places to visit and how much time in each.

2. It's good that you are planning an open-jaw ticket, ie fly into Venice and out of Paris. That way you won't backtrack and will save time. Make sure you get in early for the airline tickets as open-jaw can be a little more expensive that P2P tickets.

3. Destinations - until Iknow your time of year for travel, I'll just go with best-case scenario for each place on your list.

Venice - 2 full days would be good here. Maybe three as jet lag could eat into your first day, depending on where in Canada you're flying from (ie west or east). There is a "water bus" service called Alilaguna from the Marco Polo Venice airport to the centre of Venice, ie the main island (there are 127 islands that make up Venice, but you're likely aiming for the main area surrounding St Mark's). This takes around 60mins and costs Euro15, and there are 4 different lines depending on your final destination in Venice. There is also a land bus (ATVO Fly Bus) which costs around Euro4 and goest to the train station near Piazzale Roma. Avoid taxis, water and land, if you're on a budget.

Croatia - depending on where your festival is, there are several ways to reach Croatia from Venice. There are large ferry boat services to Pula and Porec, as well as other ports from places on the Adriatic coast of Italy. You don't have to go back to Venice to continue in Italy. You could check flights from Dubrovnik (I'm guessing you'll end up there) to Rome with EasyJet or Croatia Air. Or there are ferries, fast and overnight, from different points on the Croatian coast to Italy. Once we know where you plan to be in Croatia, that will make suggestions easier.

Rome - 3-4 full days depending on your interests there is a good recommendation. If you're planning a (long) day trip to say Pompei, you'll need an extra day.

Tuscany - this is a region/state in Italy, not a town or city. Again, depending on what your interests are and what you want to get out of your time there (relaxing, sightseeing?), there are different places we can suggest, starting with Florence and/or Siena. You'll need 3 full days in Florence and 2 nights in Siena would also be recommended. Unless you want to pause here and soak in the countryside, in which case I'd suggest 3 full days in Siena (depending on the time of year, it gets busy in August). There are lots of other gorgeous little towns in Tuscany, but more info from you is needed before more suggestions can come.

Genoa - unless you have family or a specific reason, you might skip here and go to Cinque Terre instead. 2 full days minimum in a town in CT (Riomaggiore, Manarola or Vernazza would be my suggestions).

Nice - again, depends on the time of year you're travelling as to how long to stay here. I like Nice, but not at night as it can be a little dodgy for thefts if you wander away from the main areas. Don't be scared, just be aware. If you stay here, then 3 full days will let you explore (trains along the coast are convenient), have a day or evening trip to Monaco (don't miss the last train back or it's Euro60 in a cab!) and even lie on the beach if it's Spring/Summer.

Marseilles - again, another place which is a little dodgy, but worth a visit if you're tracking down Bouillabaisse. It's not far from Nice by train, so if your heart is set on it, then 1 night will be plenty. Then you can connect to the TGV fast train to Paris and get there in around 3 hours. If you decide to forgo Marseilles, then you can fly from Nice or also take a TGV connection from Nice.

Paris - 4-5 full days is a good amount of time to explore, sightsee, eat and drink in Paris. You can also fit half a day in Versailles in this time, but day trips outside Paris will eat into your time, again depending on your interests.

Hostels will be found in each destination, some of which will have double rooms so you can at least have a little more privacy on your honeymoon. Are you thinking of splashing out anywhere on a dinner or hotel?

As you can see, it's very easy to fill 3 weeks, so if you were thinking of more time soemwhere, you'll have to adjust your schedule a little. Let us know when you and your Fiance have discussed time in each place, and what time of year you're travelling.

EDIT: great minds think alike - Eagle and I have both pretty much asked and suggested the same things! At least you're on the right track! ;D

[ryancanada]

Hey guys,
Thanks for responding to most of my questions.
Good to know to stay away from Genoa and Marseille. that will certainly free up some time for Rome and Paris.
No one to answer some of your questions.

>When is this trip taking place?

This trip is taking place this year Aug 29 to Sep 19th

> Is there any possibility of extending the time a bit?

There is a small possibility that I can get another 4 days off work to extend to this vacation.

> What kind of a budget are you working with?

Together we will have around 5k Canadian dollars saved up.

> Have you booked air tickets yet?

Yes we have booked the plane tickets, we fly out of Alberta on the Aug 29th then we arrive in Venice on Aug 30th. With the 11 hour flight and time change we basically lose a day. Then we fly back to Paris on Sep 19, however we are looking at changing those ticket for 4 days later.

> Are you planning to pre-book accommodations?

We have booked accommodation for the first week. We have booked a hostel in Venice and we have booked our apartment in Croatia. From there we will be heading to Rome and have no booked any accommodation's nor do we know how we will be traveling from place to place.

> Have you purchased Backpacks yet?

Yes we actually have mountain hiker backpacks that we use all the time when we go camping and hiking.

> Do you both have Passports? Have you checked the expiry dates?
Will your bride have a Passport in her married name at the time you
travel?

Yes we both have passports, we have checked the expiry dates and they are fine. My wife will probably not have a passport in her new married name by then.

> What time of year are you traveling? This will have a large bearing on the better places to visit and how much time in each.

We are traveling at the end of August and most of September, we heard that there will be less tourists and things might be cheaper in September.

So this trip is possible in 3 weeks? Do you guys recommend any places in Rome, Nice, Venice, Paris? Since we are first time visitor's, we really aren't sure where we are going once in each town. We were going to kind of wing it. This worries me a little and which is the reason why I am seeking more advice.

Thanks,

[Eagle]

ryancanada,

Do you guys recommend any places in Rome, Nice, Venice, Paris? Since we are first time visitor's, we really aren't sure where we are going once in each town. We were going to kind of wing it. This worries me a little and which is the reason why I am seeking more advice.

I would HIGHLY recommend buying Guidebooks for Italy and France! With good information, you'll be able to choose sightseeing options that appeal to both of you. There are many types available and everyone has their own preferences. I use Rick Steves Guidebooks almost exclusively, but others prefer Lonely Planet, Frommer's, Rough Guides, Lets Go or others. Check larger book stores in your area, or order on the net, but it would be a good idea to do this soon so that you have time to work out the details prior to your trip.

It's good to hear you'll be leaving from Alberta. I normally travel abroad via Calgary, so know the airport well!

[MTH - yes, great minds do think alike!]