Budgeting?

[candy]

Hi,
I need a little help with budgeting. I’m planning a 2 – 2 ½ week trip to Italy for the beginning of June. I hope to go to Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence and maybe Sienna. [any other suggestions?] I was wondering what an appropriate budget would be per day. I’ve never been to Italy so I have no idea, although I have heard that Venice is quite expensive. I plan to live cheaply – staying in hotels, not eating in good restaurants [except for the occasional splurge]. Would it be better / cheaper to travel by bus or trains? Etc.

I might also be able to squeeze in a 2 week trip to Ireland [end of June]– stopping in Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Cork, and I’d love to be able to get to the Aryan [spelling?] Islands. Does anyone know how much a trip out to the Islands costs? Any other suggestions? Same questions as before – budget? Train vs. bus? Etc….

Thanks
Candy

[Kim]

A typical backpackers budget staying in a dorm is usually about $50 a day. If you plan on staying in cheap hotels, you might want to up this to $80 or maybe even $100 a day. Venice is very expensive and will blow your budget for a few days but as long as you expect it, it won't be that bad.

The Aran Islands are wonderful-most people travel to Innishmore. Most people do it as a day trip. (You have to take a bus to the ferry, buy your tickets at the tourist office for the bus).

The bus drops you right at the terminal and if I remember correctly, it was about 15 pounds return.

For the rest of Europe, I would take the train seeings how you have limited time. For Ireland, a combination of bus and rail always works-as in, if there is no train that goes there, you take the bus!

Speaking of buses, we did an excellent tour from Galway of the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren area, caves, Doolin etc.

Kim

[LHR02]

>>>>>Speaking of buses, we did an excellent tour from Galway of the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren area, caves, Doolin etc<<<<


Speaking of which......with plans nearing finalization I am having the devil of a time trying to find out FOR SURE if such tours from Galway will be operating on 23/24 December! If not.....I don't need 4 days there and don't need Xmas week in Galway! Help Kim!

ging

[Kim]

Ok, what you need to do is to phone or email the Galway Tourist Office-as that's where you book all the tours anyway.

I looked up their number in my Rough Guide:
091 537700

This time of year, they are open:
Monday-Friday 9am-5:45pm and Sat. 9am-12:45pm

There is also a "Contact Us" form on their website here:
www.irelandwest.travel.ie/
but you might get a quicker response by phoning. Or do both!

I was just reading about the Aran Island ferries (this is for both you and Candy) and they run all year round.
This is what it says:

"Island ferries, Victoria Place, Eyre Square, Galway
(091 568903, evenings 091 561767 or 572273)

A return, Galway to Innishmore costs around 15 pounds, sailings are daily at 10;30am, 1:30pm and 6:30 pm (there are often more in the summer) and takes about 40 minutes. Boats to Inishmaan and Inisheer cost about 18 pounds return and sail daily at 10:30 and 6:30 taking about 1 hour. The ferry company runs a bus to Rossaveel (leaving 1.5 hrs before the sailing) which costs 4 pounds. A B&B booking service is also offered free of charge and package deals are available. Round trips taking in all 3 islands are also negoitable".

I have changed my mind since the other post and if you can stay the night, go for it. What a great experience it would be! The schools on the Aran Islands still teach Gaelic and the people are wonderful.

Kim

[LHR02]

Thanks Kim,
I've used the contct us today for the Galway TI. The wicklow and New Grange tours from Dublin are very clear...they run every day of the year, including Xmas, but can't find the same info for Galway. Imagine it will be Monday before I get an answer now.

Just got a 'correction' note from the place I 'thought' I had booked in Galway.....they are so sorry but a mistake was made. They are not open 24/25 december! It's really too late now to try and rearrange the whole plan as bookings made all over the place. Lord knows what it is going to cost to stay there (Galway) at this late date!! B & B's out of the question, none open on the holiday, or at least none that I have been able to find. I HATE having to pay a fortune to stay in some fancy hotel that I don't want or need, but it may come down to that.

And here I thought I was 97% done! AARRGGHHH!

ging

BTW....booked the airlines this afternnon.....seem too fabulous to believe, but London - Cork 4.99 GBP and Dublin to London 8.99 GBP......how can they stay in business??

[Kim]

That is so cheap for the flights!!

Check back in a few minutes and I will work on the B&B/accommodation thing for Galway!

Kim

[Kim]

This is what I have so far:

Brennan's Yard Hotel
www.brennansyardhotel.com/
76 Euros for a single.

Ashford Manor
www.galway.net/pages/ashford/
They also rent apts., which might be worth a quick email to see the price.

Menlo Park Hotel
www.menloparkhotel.com/
1 mile from the city center

I know there isn't much character but there is also the
Galway Ibis-it's 48 Euros a night for a single and according to the website, they have rooms.
www.ibishotel.com

You could also get a private room in one of the hostels, as a last resort.

Kim

[LHR02]

So sorry Candy! Seem to have taken over your thread....I'd rename and move it if I knew how.


Thanks! looking hard at Brennan Yard....more than I wanted but not over the top. Menlo Park IS over the top! Hadn't found the Ashford one....I'll check that later. Funny....I did indeed look at the hostels just a bit ago. As you know......I am NOT a hostel gal....but hate like the dickens to spend 100+ per night too. Ouch!

This whole adventure tonight has me rethinking the whole plan! I really really hate this I have to tell you. I've not been there before! How in the hell do I know what I want to go see and how long I might want to stay? Gee, I sure miss the freedom of 'planless' travel. ;D I didn't stick to a single plan I had tentatively made for my last trip. That tells me that guidebooks do not give me personally a good enough idea of how long I might want to tarry in a place. Some of the very best 'out of the way' places I visited last year were as a result of local TI's, word of mouth, personal reccomendations of folks I encoountered.

On the other hand, I am convinced that hotels are really the best way to go over a 'serious' holiday like Xmas. At least if every darn thing in town is closed (as they usually are) you at least can be sure of finding something to eat! And who in the world would want to have 'guests' in their house on Christmas morning and have to cook b'fast for them! I surely understand why B & B's are normally closed....as they should be I think.

Anyway, thanks for the help. Oh, from Dublin want to take two seperate day tours...one to New Grange and one to Wicklow. From Galway wanted to do Cliffs and Connemara....maybe islands...not sure on that yet. If I can't get a tour bus to Cliffs, then I need to cut out a day in Galway and stay in Ennis I think. Really poor public transportation to that area this time of year though....or so LP. Rick Steves, and Eyewitness guides all tell me.

Sorry........I am really rambling on tonight aren't I?? Have a good weekend. And I meant it......come to Florida! Cheap getaway.......tempting in the dead of winter! ;D

ging

HUH? 'hate like the d-i-c-k-e-n-s' is 'illegal'? Now it says thingyens or something like that. Really Kimgirl.....dickens !
!

[LHR02]

Just emailed the Ashford one....will advise what they reply.

thanks again,
ging

Problem with the Ibis is not so much it's lack of character as the distance out of the center......but, it is only 48 so still a real possibility that I had not even found!

[Kim]

LOL.. I didn't set the censored words, honest!! I did just erase them all though! I bet I can pick out which part of dickens was censored though! LOL ;D

Hey, did I tell you I spent 2 weeks in Wicklow?? I designed a website for a hostel there in exchange for 2 weeks accommodation. My favorite memory of Wicklow was the fact there was no laundrymatte and the lady that washed clothes was backed up for 4 days so we had to take the train 2 towns over to do our washing!

I would love to come to Florida.. one of these days! If my damn job wasn't such a monkey on my back, I'd be happy to have a rest from my hockey obsessed man. Now that the season has started, I believe I am invisible. Damn men. (Waiver - to all men reading this, this does not in any way apply to you unless you too are sports obsessed. This said, you would currently be glued to the TV screaming randomly, rather that reading this.)

Candy, I too apologize for hijacking your thread. Ging and I have a habit of rambling on like the dickens.. LOL

Kim

[me]

Candy,

have also heard good things about Lake Como, and the Lakes District in Italy.

in playing with plans, i am also thinking about including Italy late in my next trip. i never really got there (excpt a late night drive from Swiss border to southern France in my student days. We didn't even stop the car in Italy!)

my thoughts had been to stick mostly with the Med side, maybe skip Venice: i hear it's too expensive!

maybe i could save it for a trip to Slovenia/Trieste?

but, i was thinking about a North to South trip on the Med side, ending in Sicily. so, i'd like to fly back to London from Sicily. (London is one of just three places in Europe i can fly to directly from my home town & there are sometimes fare sales) but haven't found any cheap flights on that Sicily - London route.

don't supose you've heard of any? there are cheap flights from Naples, but i've not found any from a place South of there.

[LHR02]

Just got an email back from the day tours company in Galway.....no tours 23-26 December.

Well.....maybe need to look into a rentl car? Can't be in Ireland and not see Connemara and Cliffs of Moher. This trip is getting way too complicated!

ging

[Kim]

A rental car is a great idea for Ireland anyway. I would have loved to have one. Gives you a ton of freedom. You could just drive to Wicklow too.

Did you hear back from Ashford yet?

K

[emily]

candy,

yah venice is expensive, but we found a loop hole when we were there....we stayed outside of venice in jeselo. it was incredible. it was a great little italian family resort area, but it was only about a 30 minute commute by bus to venice...so we would go to venice in the morning and stay all day and come back around 11 on the last bus. the place we stayed was amazing, it was super cheap and the breakfast was free and super super amazing. it was almost to good to be true, and i kept checking the fine print to make sure.........
[e-mail] for more details about it......

emily shepard

[nitsansh]

me said:

my thoughts had been to stick mostly with the Med side, maybe skip Venice: i hear it's too expensive!

maybe i could save it for a trip to Slovenia/Trieste?

but, i was thinking about a North to South trip on the Med side, ending in Sicily. so, i'd like to fly back to London from Sicily.

I must be nit-picky... There is no "Med side" of Italy... well, not a single one... Italy is surrounded by the Med from 3 sides...