New Iternery

[ericjaeger]

My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe in early Nov, but are both first time travelers. We are flying into Germany on a millitary flight, but not sure exactly where. We are going to be getting a Eurail pass, our plans are for a month of travel. We want to see France, Italy, and possibly Greece. How feasible is this to do and are there any suggestions on other places along the way to see. Any help is good help, thanks

[pointofnoreturn]

I wouldn't get a rail pass. I'd stick with budget airlines. You could fly to Greece via a low-cost German budget airline from Germany. But you could get point-to-point tickets for cities within a country (esp. Germany and Italy). Your itinerary could be something like this:

Germany
Greece
Italy
France

These sites would be really useful for you:

www.whichbudget.com/
www.skyscanner.net

Keep in mind not all airlines (mostly major ones) are listed. But both are valuable tools for planning.

What cities do you want to visit in mind? Berlin? Munich? Athens? Greek Islands? Rome? Florence? Paris?

[ericjaeger]

Would I have to still have a railpass to get from place to place after the flight to Greece? Not sure what cities we want to go yet, but am taking suggestions

[pointofnoreturn]

ericjaeger said:

Would I have to still have a railpass to get from place to place after the flight to Greece? Not sure what cities we want to go yet, but am taking suggestions

It's economically cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets. But here is a good website to find out if it's better to buy point-to-point tickets or invest in a rail pass:

www.railsaver.com/

You could do this:

Germany (Berlin, Munich, Stutgartt, etc)

From either one of these cities, fly to Athens via a low-budget German airline (hlx, fly dba, condor, germanwings, etc). Even better, fly to a Greek island and ferry back up to Athens and end your Greek portion of your trip there. I believe that one or two German budget airline does this.

Tour Athens and a greek island or two

Fly Athens-Milan with easyJet

Daytrip in Milan

Train to Venice/Florence

Train to Rome

Fly Rome-Paris with easyJet

Greece isn't best for a railpass. Italy's trenitalia system is pretty good and if you're only planning to see Paris in France (compared to a bunch of cities in that country), better to invest in point-to-point tickets.

You're only in Europe for a month. A railpass would work if you were there for a longer duration. You want to try to minimize transportation time and your budget as well, which is why these flights are so much better.

[ericjaeger]

I have checked it out and looks great, what do you think it would cost for eating, living, not in hotels very often some hostels, some shoppingn just living and moving through Italy and France.

[pointofnoreturn]

I am honestly not sure. My philosophy is this: Most of the things you buy in Europe... you can get in North America. It's really a question about what kind of sentimental value the object is to you.

Eating in Europe, from my experiences, is more expensive than in North America. It really varies. You could try to find apartment-style places to live in or even guesthouses with a kitchen you could use and buy the food at a supermarket. Of course, you could eat out every other night to save money on food.

I would pick up a few guidebooks or go to the city library to see if they carry Rick Steves, Let's Go, Lonely Planet, etc.... They do list plenty of restaurant/shopping options you could do and quote the prices as well.

For me, I'm pretty frugal with my travels. I guess it's something I picked up from my grandad. My mother, on the other hand, is rich and loves to buy stuff when I don't see the need for the stuff she buys. She likes to eat out. I don't. She loves to shop. I don't. Rather I like to go to flea markets and pick one of a thing things.

I think if you wanted to eat out every day, you should keep in mind that Italians eat their dinner very late in the day. It's usually just breakfast and dinner. You could spend half of your daily budget on accomodation, 30% on food and 20% on sights - all not factoring in transportation.

[ericjaeger]

Would you say everyting but transportation for 4 weeks under 2 grand is a possibility. Honest, you are a lot of help and i love picking your brain.

[pointofnoreturn]

Hehehehe. I don't know - My budget is $100 CAD a day not including transportation and my travelling partner and I are only staying in double/twin rooms with a bathroom. No dorm rooms. We are indeed staying in Europe for 1 month so it's about 3000 dollars total.

I think 2000 dollars is stretching it a bit. Unless you're an EU citizen, you'd pretty much have to pay considerably more for admission into sights. So far, I've booked everything including my hotel/B&B/hostel accomodations. The most expensive ones have been Rome, Florence and London.

Greece is very cheap. My friend and I are paying 9EUR each for a double ensuite room in Naxos with a balcony close to the beach at Windmill Naxos. We're also staying at Casa Francesca in Oia, Santorini for cheap as well as Athens (about 17-20 dollars each for a night in a double room).

If you wanted a 2000 budget... it'd be tricky. Try to aim for $75-100 a day (CDN or USD). Take a look at hostelworld.com (they include budget hotels, guesthouses, B&B as well) and see what the rates are for the months you're travelling. You'll figure out if your budget matches those of the countries you're staying in.

The good thing about Greece is that it's SO CHEAP that it'll balance out the high room rates in Rome. Like 9 EUR a night compared to 35 EUR a night in Rome (Beehive Acadia Apartment that has a bathroom and kitchen) and you're balanced out to 20-something EUR a night.

Definitely pick up the following books:
- Rick Steves Europe through the Backdoor (MUST BUY!)
- Let's Go Europe on a Budget
- Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring (I prefer LG over to LP)

[madamtrashheap]

eric, just to add to PONR's info: Greece in November will be chilly (but not like the rest of Europe) and the islands will pretty much be closed for Winter (restaurants, accommodation) by the end of October, so Athens and the mainland are your best bets. Check with islands like Santorini or Mykonos for year-round accommoation, but your choices will be quite limited at that time of year.

As for food, you could combine cooking in your accommodation (provided it is allowed/available) with eating out in the places you have always wanted to. This will save money, but there is the hassle of getting to a supermarket when you'd rather be sightseeing, although local produce markets will be worth visiting for seasonal vegetables and local specialties (esp in Italy and France, even in the larger cities). I'm the opposite to PONR in that I like being able to shop in Europe adn even though one of the effects of globalisation is homogeneity, I like to find things in the country of origin - be it food, wine, art, clothes or shoes. It's totally up to you how you approach this, but my advice would be to buy it if you really love it and want to take it home with you (or watn to eat it, whatever is applicable).