klfkent
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 9
|
Post by klfkent on Jun 6, 2007 12:27:48 GMT -5
Hi, Everyone.
I have made a very last minute decision to head to Europe in July. Here is what I know:
July 5th - arrive in London
July 13th - 21st - meeting a friend in Italy to tour Rome, Florence, Pisa and maybe Cinque Terre (if time permits).
July 30st - fly home from London
Places I would like to see London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lucerne and Innsbruck. I am open to other ideas though that would make the travel a little smoother! I love to hike and enjoy outdoor scenery. Would love to do some adventure type stuff like ziplining, hiking, rafting, etc.
I have already been to Venice, Milan, Lake Como, French Riviera, Interlaken and Geneva so I would like to avoid those areas.
Any ideas on how to make this work?? Having to be in Italy at that time kind of messes things up but I can't change the dates.
Thank you so much for your help!
|
|
|
|
Post by Eagle on Jun 6, 2007 12:58:30 GMT -5
kifkent, Welcome! Well, this certainly doesn't allow much time for planning, but hopefully the group here can come up with a few suggestions to help you organize your trip. I'm assuming you've already bought your airline tickets to London??? For such a short trip, "open jaw" tickets would have been a really good idea! I'll start the ball rolling with a few suggestions: July 5 London - 4 days (I'm assuming that your flight will depart on 4 July?) It would be nice to spend a bit more time in London, but with such a short trip, some compromises will be necessary. I'm assuming you're travelling from North America, so will have to deal with "jet lag"? You'll probably have to force yourself to stay active on the first day, or you'll lose a day of touring time. July 9 morning Amsterdam or Brussels - 3 days. (via EuroStar or budget flight). One point though - most here seem to feel that Brugges is a better destination than Brussels. I'm not sure you have time to see both cities? This might mean spending a day in one city and two days in the other, but given the fact you have to be in Italy on July 13, I don't see too many other options. July 12 afternoon - budget flight to Italy (I'm assuming you're meeting your friend in Rome?). You should be able to find lots of flights from Amsterdam, however there might be less expensive flights from other (smaller) airports in that area). July 13-21 - touring Italy. It appears that you have nine days? There are different ways you could arrange this, but keep in mind that you'll need to allow travel time also. Again some compromises will be necessary. One suggestion: Rome - 4 days Florence - 2 days Cinque Terre - 2 days (given the time frame, I would drop Pisa from the list this time, but if you feel this is essential you can fit in a few hours after Florence on the way to the C.T.). July 22 - 30 - Lucerne and Innsbruck (you might also include Salzburg?) I would have suggested Interlaken for paragliding or river raftting, but since you've already been there, you've probably already done that. Once you've decided on somewhat of a "finalized" Itinerary, you can enter the details into www.railsaver.com and the site will suggest the best option for a Rail Pass. Of course, P-P tickets are also an option. At this late date, I'm not sure if there will be many good deals left on the budget flights, so you might have to pay a bit more for those? I'm sure the others will have lots of great suggestions. Good luck and happy travels!!!
|
|
klfkent
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 9
|
Post by klfkent on Jun 6, 2007 14:14:07 GMT -5
Thank you so much for your suggestions! One quick question: I actually haven't bought my ticket round trip to London but this seems to be about $500 cheaper than flying into London and out of just about every city I have checked on-line (Rome, Milan, Prague, Zurich, etc.). What is an "open-jaw" ticket? Flying into one city and out of another? I am beginning to think it might be worth it to suck it up and fly into London and out of Zurich or someplace else like that...
And yes, I am from North America...Boston, MA.
|
|
|
|
Post by WillTravel on Jun 6, 2007 14:35:08 GMT -5
Some possibilities - it might be the same price or similar if you look at an open-jaw ticket with two UK cities, or a UK city and Ireland.
It could easily be worth several hundred dollars more to have an open-jaw ticket, depending on your itinerary, because you save time and the cost of travel back to the starting point.
In my case, travel to London is often the easiest in any event, because it's a nonstop flight, and travel to many European cities can require two connections. That may or may not be an issue from Boston.
|
|
|
|
Post by pointofnoreturn on Jun 6, 2007 17:49:31 GMT -5
London is absolutely stunning and has many free museums and galleries at your feet. I would spend no more than a minimum of 5 nights because you'll be losing a day anyways due to time differences.
Flying open-jaw: Your best bet is to fly into London and leave from a non-UK city (departure taxes are much higher when leaving the UK) such as Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam or Rome. It all depends on what city you're leaving from the USA and whatnot.
I found that open-jaw tickets saved me a lot of money (I flew open-jaw and it easily saved me 300-400 dollars CDN) and time as well. If you flew roundtrip, you'd basically lose anywhere from 1-2 travel days because you'd have to fly back to your original city in Europe where you landed - which can be a hassle and perhaps costly.
|
|
|
|
Post by herrbert on Jun 7, 2007 8:01:26 GMT -5
Hey Welcome back Pointofnoreturn !!! (hope you had a good trip) It depends on the connections you can get, and the availability of flights. If you have to get back to London, then you will most likely fly out of Heathrow, while most European flights will land at Gatwick, Stansted or Luton (or in some cases City Airport). This will mean you will have to get from one airport to the other, and that can be a hassle. It's up to you if you rather pay a little more, and don't have to get back to you starting point or not. You would most likely also save yourself one day, you can spend somewhere (that you would normaly use to get back to London, or somewhere else). If you really want to do some 'extreme' sports, than you might also want to consider Zell am See / Kaprun. instead of Innsbruck. It's is closer to the mean mountainridge of the Alps, than Innsbruck. www.europasportregion.info/en/summer/activities/water_experience/kayaking_rafting.htmlIf you choose to get back to your starting point, try to also find a direct flight that gets you back to the same airport you need to leave again. (and give yourself enough time to cover delays, and if needed transfers) |
|
|
|
Post by Eagle on Jun 7, 2007 14:31:39 GMT -5
kifkent,
Yes, that's it exactly. In order to decide whether an open-jaw ticket is the best value, it's helpful to determine what the cost and time will be to return to your starting airport. In many cases, it's a better value to use open-jaw tickets even if they do cost a bit more, as this often provides a day or two of extra touring time, and saves the cost and annoyance of having to return to your starting point. Especially for such a short trip, open-jaw would be best IMHO.
You might want to speak with a travel agent, to find out what flights might be available from your area? If there are any charter airlines operating from Boston, that would be a good place to start (in Canada we have Zoom and Air Transat, both of which provide some good pricing at times).
Good luck!!!
|
|
klfkent
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 9
|
Post by klfkent on Jun 8, 2007 8:07:05 GMT -5
Thank you for your help! I am very new at all of this and need all the help I can get! In fact, you may see my name appear again in other sections of this site :-) I am checking prices of open-jaw tickets now. I am thinking of leaving from Zurich, Geneva or Vienna. Any thoughts? I will be leaving Italy late on July 21st to head to either Switzerland or Austria and will not be heading back to the US until July 30th. So, I have 8 or so days in those two countries.
|
|
|
|
Post by herrbert on Jun 8, 2007 10:33:52 GMT -5
I would choose either one of the coutries. In both countries you can do the adventure stuff that you want. The mountains give a great scenery in both countries. What would make the trip to Austria different would be a visit to Vienna. To me Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, for me it ranks by far higher, than any of the Swiss towns/cities. I would recommend at least 4 days to spend in Vienna, if you want to go there. Downside would be that you would have only 4 days for adventure stuff. And if you would make a stop in Innsbruck and Salzburg, there would be hardly anytime left for this. An alternative could be to have 1 day in Salzburg, to spend 1 day in Werfen (30-45 min.) by train, to visit the Ice Caves of Eisriesenwelt and maybe to see the Castle Hohenwerfen, and travel to Kaprun in the late afternoon. Stay there for 2 days and do some of the adventure stuff. From here you can leave for Vienna. The Swiss option, would leave more room for adventure stuff, and for it's always good to have a couple of days in a row to go hiking. (First day is a day to get used to the mountains, second day, you have pain in muscles, you didn't know, you had, and after that the fun really begins  ). Interlaken gives you a lot of options, but you could also spend a few days on the southside of the main mountainridge. (around Brig), you could do trips to Zermatt (see the Matterhorn) and the Aletschgletscher. Head to Interlaken from here, and decide if you would like to spend all your days here, or if you want to go to Gimmelwald for a few days. Geneva and Zürich, can both be reached by train quite fast, and if you arrive one or two days before the flight, you can see enough of these cities. If you want to do some proper hiking, than take some good shoes, with a good profile with you on this trip. I am sure the others will give their opinions and views ... |
|
klfkent
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 9
|
Post by klfkent on Jun 15, 2007 8:04:18 GMT -5
Okay, I have put together an itinerary:
4-Jul Depart Boston at night
5-Jul Arrive London 6:45 a.m.
6-Jul London
7-Jul London
8-Jul London/Brussels at night
9-Jul Brussels/Bruges
10-Jul Bruges
11-Jul Amsterdam
12-Jul Amsterdam
13-Jul Extra travel day (since I am probably underestimating time needed in some of these places)
14-Jul Fly to Rome early morning
15-Jul Rome
16-Jul Rome
17-Jul Pisa/Sienna on way to Florence
18-Jul Florence
19-Jul Florence
20-Jul Cinque Terre
21-Jul Cinque Terre
22-Jul Train from Florence to Innsbruck
23-Jul Innsbruck
24-Jul Innsbruck
25-Jul Salzburg
26-Jul Salzburg
27-Jul Train from Salzburg to Lucerne
28-Jul Lucerne
29-Jul Lucerne/Zurich
30-Jul Depart Zurich in morning
Is the order right for the Switzerland/Austria portion of the trip? Or, is there a better way to to this? I think I am going to save Vienna for another trip as I would like to spend the last week or so enjoying the mountains and doing some outdoorsy stuff. I will plan to see the ice caves near Salzburg as suggested (Thanks!). I am still looking into Kaprun as I am not familiar with it...
I have heard Lucerne is beautiful so I don't really want to miss it...
Does anyone know where I can go ziplining?
|
|
|
|
Post by madamtrashheap on Jun 15, 2007 23:58:38 GMT -5
klfkent, I think you've still underestimated the time you'll need in some places, and your itinerary still a little rushed, so that extra travel day will be snapped up in two seconds. I have a few suggestions:
The time you've allowed at the start is fine, you may find that jet lag is a bit of a nuisance in London, but as you're only in Europe for a short time, you'll have to push on through.
Flying from Amsterdam to Rome is a great idea as you'll save time and give yourself an extra day of sightseeing in Rome. So that "extra travel day" should be devoted to Rome in this case - giving you 3 and a half days in Rome. The Eurostar (Italia) from Rome to Florence takes 1hr30mins and I suggest you use you time to explore Florence. If you want to visit Siena on the way from Rome to Florence, this will take longer as only (slower) regional trains service this section. Either way, Pisa is between Florence and CT, so do it on the way to CT for a few hours, not on the way from Rome as it's an unecessary diversion. As you've only allowed 2 days in CT, I'd even go so far as to suggest not going to Siena this time around, and taking an extra day in CT - you won't regret it.
The train from CT to Florence takes around 2hr45 (with changes) then you have the train to Innsbruck which is around 6hr30mins. I'd suggest taking the overnight train instead, which although it gets in early in the morning, it's less of a "time-eater". I'd also suggest spending time in either Innsbruck or Salzburg (i'd go Innsbruck) and travelling to the other place for a day trip.
Although I adore Luzern, I'm curious as to why you're staying there and not further up in the mountains (Gimmelwald, Lauterbrunnen or even Engelberg). I know you've heard it's stunning (it is!), and you only have 2 days to play with, but consider at least a day trip to Engelberg or up one of the mountains nearby (Stanserhorn is a good choice).
|
|
). Interlaken gives you a lot of options, but you could also spend a few days on the southside of the main mountainridge. (around Brig), you could do trips to Zermatt (see the Matterhorn) and the Aletschgletscher. Head to Interlaken from here, and decide if you would like to spend all your days here, or if you want to go to Gimmelwald for a few days. Geneva and Zürich, can both be reached by train quite fast, and if you arrive one or two days before the flight, you can see enough of these cities. 