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Post by amandachristine on Feb 4, 2007 1:01:57 GMT -5
Hi I'm hoping you guys can give me some input/tips on my proposed travel route. so here goes... Fly from Vancouver to London London-5 days Fly to Athens- 13 days(tour of greeks islands) Ancona-1 day Rome-2 days Florence-1 day Cinque Terra- 3 days Nice-2 days Barcelona- 2 days Valencia-1 day Bus to Madrid then we have 9 days where we want to go to Portugal... we're thinking about a train pass then coming back to madrid to meet up with the bus tour thing San Sebastian-2 days Paris-2 days Are there any places that look like they could be cut out to spend more time in portugal? We're really about the beach thing so if anyone knows where the amazing beaches are that would be sweet too! Now that i've typed this all out it looks really really rushed to me  We've booked a tour on busabout with the flexi pass so we can't really make too many changes but any advice on where we should stay longer or what we could cut out would be much appreciated. Also i'm completely lost for PORTUGAL. I've backpacked New Zealand and AUS before but we bought a car and had 3 months to drive around and had no plans at all. This is all really intimidating right now!! HELP PLEASE!!! Thank you! Amanda |
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Post by herrbert on Feb 4, 2007 4:32:42 GMT -5
Hi, Amandachristine (or Amanda & Christine?)
It is rushed ... well London and Greece are a nice start and you can do a lot in the time you have planned there.
Rome needs and extra 2-3 days.
Florence and extra 2-3 days
Remember getting to Nice, and from Nice to Barcelona, are long trainrides. (you could get to fly Athens - Milan, doing Italy in reverse, and flying Rome - Nice. For Nice-Barcelona is remains a long ride, but getting a nighttrain could be an option.
Barcelona needs 1-2 days extra, as does Valencia. (imo 1 day extra). Madrid needs 4 days, and 1 daytrip to Toledo is a must, and Segovia is my recommendation for a daytrip.
When you travel Madrid-Lisbon by train, you could break up the journey in Caceres, and take a look in the historical town, or even stay the night.
San Sebastian 2 could be ok, but for Paris you need more time.
- sorry for the short reply, but I need to go -
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Post by me on Feb 4, 2007 16:48:45 GMT -5
hi Amanda,
HerrBert has a great idea about the Athens -> Milan & Rome -> Nice flights. but, i would even ask how firm is your desire to visit Nice? [my own visit to Nice, as a student, just wasn't particularly nice! it rather turned me off of visiting the Mediterranean until years many later, when i traveled to Barcelona. . . which was so wonderful it got me to visit Italy. (Italy is now a favorite destination! so, i would reiterate his point of Rome deserving more time. Rome is the most important city in the history of Western Civ! unless you've been there before, i think it rates 5 full days. that's w/o any daytrips!)]
if you were to skip Nice, you could fly straight to Barcelona from Rome. from €55, total, on vueling.com
let us know about Busabout. it has a less than stellar rep here. i, for one, would like to hear how it goes for you.
- d
P.S. for Portugal, most here are fans of Lagos. <they say it la-gosh> Lisbon is, of course, also popular. my 1st visit in Lisbon was magical!
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Post by Jules80 on Feb 4, 2007 18:00:25 GMT -5
i believe reading these boards others have said trains in spain and portugal are not very good or frequent and that the bus is the best way to go for those countries.
J
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Post by madamtrashheap on Feb 4, 2007 19:28:21 GMT -5
We've booked a tour on busabout with the flexi pass so we can't really make too many changes Welcom amanda. When you say you've booked a flexipass tour wtih Busabout, do you mean for the cities you've listed, or are these just ones you've looked at on the routes they do? As the others have written, it is rushed so if you can add the days suggested then that would be a good idea, and more time in Paris would also be good (4days min.). If you can't/don't want to skip the Nice-Barcelona portion, just remember that the bus ride is around 10hrs (with breaks) - at least the scenery is good! Not sur ehow much time you have to travel, but if you can add days to some cities then do it. Busabout have "on-board" Reps who aren't tour guides as such but they will give a little info on the cities you're going to and assist with accommodation bookings. The good thing is that you can go at your own pace, i.e. spend as much or as little time as you like in cities and just catch the next service, provided there's room. Just a thought - if you want to get to certain cities and the bus isn't going there on the day that suits you, why not look into catching a train (overnight ones would probably suit best). Whilst is will add to your costs, it might be worth it if you're going to gain more time in places. Don't know if this works in with the pass (6 or more stops according to their website) or your plans, but worth considering. Happy planning! |
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Post by herrbert on Feb 4, 2007 19:30:44 GMT -5
i believe reading these boards others have said trains in spain and portugal are not very good or frequent and that the bus is the best way to go for those countries. So far I never had problems with the Renfe network. (The train company, that runs the trains). On the other side, Spain has an excellent network of busroutes as well. Sometimes you have to decide which way is the best way to travel. Paying a little bit more, and to get there faster on a train (except for Madrid-Segovia), or to get there slower, but cheaper. Amandachristine, remember that July and August can be really hot in Spain, especially when you are traveling to the inland. Make sure, that you buy some extra bottles of water (you can refill them), when arriving in Madrid. There is a reason, that there is a provence called Extremadura. (and another one, with almost the same name in Portugal). |
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Post by me on Feb 4, 2007 22:48:22 GMT -5
when going between Spain & Portugal, bus transport is often better. Spain & Portugal use different gages of track <the distance between the rails> so, one can cross the border by train only in specific places. <between Lisbon & Madrid is the only place i've crossed that border on a train.
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Post by amandachristine on Feb 4, 2007 22:53:25 GMT -5
wow i'm really impressed with all your quick and helpful answers!
Flying between cities and just forgetting the bus pass is a good idea for some things, you're right! It's not worth it to spend that long on a bus if i'm just staying in the place (nice) for one night anyway.
I booked a pass on busabout that lets me stop at any 9 cities anywhere they travel. The places i have listed are just what seemed good to me.
We have 7 weeks flying into london then flying to athens after 5 days in london, then flying out of paris.
Any other suggestions would be great! thank you so much for your help.
Amanda
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Post by madamtrashheap on Feb 4, 2007 23:34:54 GMT -5
7 weeks! Your choices are limitless! (well, sort of. Maybe not limitless, but large!).
Keeping in mind that you want beaches, beaches and more beaches and are already going to Greece, Spain and Portugal, places like the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento, Capri, Positano), further south in Spain (the Costa de la Luz that runs from Gibraltar to Portugal or Costa del Sol which is more touristy), the French Riviera (Nice, Antibes - beaches are stoney, but the water is blue!) may be of interest. There are beaches in Barcelona & Valencia and the coast near Florence (at Livorno) has a beach (of sorts) as well as small patches of sand in some of the Cinque Terre villages (go to Monterosso for the largest amount of sand). Don't discount lakes either as especially in places like northern Italy (Lake Garda), Germany (Tergernsee, Ammersee, Starnbergersee, Titisee), Austria (Achensee) and Switzerland (Luzern/Vierwaldstattesee, Geneva/Lac Leman and surrounds) as many are set up for lazing in the sun by the water (a Lido, with the odd wave generated by boats). I haven't listed places further north as I'm trying to keep suggestions to the area you've already identified.
Seeing as you have 7 weeks to play with, consider the suggetions of adding more days for the cities listed, look at spending time in inland Spain (you'll keep the heat and see the other sights), perhaps expand places to visit in Italy (eg Amalfi Coast, Tuscan cities like San Gimignano or Siena, Sicily) then see what your itinerary looks like. Keep in mind, as you're going in July/August (as per your other post) things will be crowded and Italians, French and Spanish take their own Summer holidays in August (all at once, along with a smattering of the rest of Europe) so roads are busy (traffic delays) and some shops in smaller cities will be closed during August.
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Post by amandachristine on Feb 4, 2007 23:38:44 GMT -5
Yep we'll be there for July and August so probably the busiest/hottest/most expensive months.
thanks for the suggestions i'll definately look into those places!
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Post by me on Feb 5, 2007 0:11:48 GMT -5
just reread your post at the start of this thread. you say the beach is what interests you.
but, as i've said before, the beach in Nice was very disappointing. most of the Mediterranean beaches are rather rocky. Praia da Adraga on the Atlantic coast, not too far from Lisbon - in the Sintra area, is a nice sandy beach.
also, Athens probably isn't the place you'd want to go in Greece. Athens is more for sights, especially antiquities. for the beach in Greece, go to the Islands. Santorini has a good rep. take direct flights in & out of the island you choose.
or, if you do want to see Athens, go there first, or last, on your Greece visit. eg. fly to Athens to visit there, fly from Athens to an Island, fly from that Island to your next destination - or vice versa.
[but, i've never been to Greece. this is all based on what i've read, read here - read elsewhere.]
-some more ideas from david
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We've booked a tour on busabout with the flexi pass so we can't really make too many changes but any advice on where we should stay longer or what we could cut out would be much appreciated. Also i'm completely lost for PORTUGAL. I've backpacked New Zealand and AUS before but we bought a car and had 3 months to drive around and had no plans at all. This is all really intimidating right now!!
