travel in 2009

[mollymook]

My Husband and I are looking at travelling from australia to england, sweden,finland and europe in 2009. as we are over 50 (but young at heart) we want to stay in YHA or backpacker accomm and want to go out into the countryside and meet the local people in these countries. obviously we will do the tourist things. what is suggested as mode of transport in these countries. don't want to have a stressful time getting lost if we are driving. happy to catch trains, buses etc.

[WillTravel]

It's hard to say what will happen by 2009 - the economics of different types of transport could change drastically. But it's probably fair to say that with those countries, some combination of plane, train, bus, and ferry will be appropriate.

www.whichbudget.com (cheap flights)
www.eurolines.com (buses)
www.aferry.to (ferries)

There are various rail sites, so it's hard to suggest the best. You might want to check the rail site for each country.

How long do you have for this trip?

[Eagle]

mollymook, welcome to the Boards! As WillTravel mentioned, it's a bit hard to predict what transportation options will be like in 2009, but a few general points to consider. I'm also over 50 and so far have used a combination of Hostels, B&B's and budget Hotels for accomodation. I find it's nice to have a "mixture" of accomodations - there are some nights when I prefer to have my own room, and many times the price difference isn't that much.

As far as the "mode of transport", that will become more apparent when you've "roughed-out" an Itinerary. Generally speaking, Trains (or in some cases Buses) will be perfectly adequate. I believe that car rental could also be an option but will depend on the circumstances. If there's some place "off the beaten track" that you really want to see, then car rental is usually the best option.

Two important points though: it's NOT advisable to have a Car in the larger cities (Rome, Paris, London) as the traffic is horrendous, and in London you'll get "nicked" with the congestion charge. There's also the issue of parking charges and vandalism / theft which seem to occur on a regular basis. The other issue is that you'll be driving on the left in some countries, and the right in other countries. Many people in the U.K. regularly travel in France and other Euro locations, so it's not an impossible task, just a bit awkward. On my last trip domestically, I found it quite "liberating" not to have a car, and the trip seemed simpler without the car.

You didn't say how long you would be travelling in Europe, which specific places you are most interested in, or what you most want to see (history, art, architecture or whatever)? If this is your first trip, I would highly recommend reading "Europe Through The Back Door" as I found it to be an essential "pre-read" for travelling in Europe. Once you have a rough Itinerary worked out, let us know and I'm sure the group here will be able to provide lots of useful tips to help you plan your trip.

Cheers!!!

[commie]

mollymook said:

My Husband and I are looking at travelling from australia to england, sweden,finland and europe in 2009. as we are over 50 (but young at heart) we want to stay in YHA or backpacker accomm and want to go out into the countryside and meet the local people in these countries. obviously we will do the tourist things. what is suggested as mode of transport in these countries. don't want to have a stressful time getting lost if we are driving. happy to catch trains, buses etc.

be sure you catch the summer if you visit skandinavia. was there in winter and it was quite depressing with only 4 hours daylight. busses and trains are quite cheap there (compared to germany), but also often to late.
another option may be a overnight ferry from sweden to finland, found this quite compfy to have a bed+shower+transport for 50€ after 2 days in busses and trains :)