HOW MUCH for 11 days???

[j33pguy]

i'm going to ask a somewhat vague question....hoping to get a ballpark figure.

as some of you may know, me and my gf are going to europe next month and wanted to try and estimate our costs as far as meseums/shuttles/buses/train costs for the 11 days we'll be there (excluding poland when we'll be with family).

here are the breakdowns that i've found as far as museums, please feel free to advise or add to this list as you see fit:


12 euros/person Eiffel tower
9 euros/person Louvre
20 euros/person Château de Versailles
9 euros/person Rome Coliseum
14 euros/person Vatican Museum
15 euros/person Short boat ride in Venice

trains/buses/shuttles ??
additional museums that i'm missing ?

what else am i missing?
again, i have 5 nights in paris, 3 nights in rome, 2 nights in venice, 2 nights in prague.


thank you all in advance.

[pointofnoreturn]

1. Get a Paris Museum Pass (no brainer)

2. Get a Roma Pass (esp. if you're planning on seeing a lot of sights and using the metro quite often cause it gives you free transportation for 3 days)

[j33pguy]

mmmmm.....just checked out the site......i'm not sure if it'll be worth it for us.....i think we could get a better deal doing it individually.........

[WillTravel]

The thing with the Paris Museum Pass is that you get to skip the lines. So even if it did cost a few extra Euros, you could save hours. You could get just a two-day one if you are visiting the museums only on 2 consecutive days of the 5. I didn't end up getting a Museum Pass on my last visit, because I didn't visit any museums (atypically).

For the Roma Pass, it can't help but pay off in most instances, in my opinion.

For transport in Paris, it will depend on your days of the week that you are in Paris. If it's the right days, the Carte Orange or Navigo is the best for your whole stay. Given your hotel location, you'll be taking the metro a lot. If it's not the right days, then a daily Mobilis is probably the best choice.

[pointofnoreturn]

Paris Museum Pass saved me a lot of money and a lot of time by allowing me to use it for the more expensive places (i.e. Louvre) and skipping hour-long waits (i.e. Versailles).

Roma Pass - the first two places you visit that are included on the pass is free of charge. Use it for Roma Coliseum/Palatine Hill visit and perhaps a gallery that is expensive (i.e. Borghese Gallery). For the rest of the places, there is a discount. Free use of the metro and bus system is included on the pass for 3 days I think.

[j33pguy]

WELL, that changes everything :-) if it helps me cut lines and "save hours" like it did for Versailles, then we will be sure to get it!

as far as the roma pass.....it seems like it's well worth it given that it includes the buses/trains. i'm curious though....why wouldn't you use it for the Vatican museum above all? isn't that the most expensive museum there?

[pointofnoreturn]

Vatican City isn't part of Rome. It's a separate entity so that's why it's not included.

[j33pguy]

I SEE. i'm kinda on the border now.....cuase on one hand, i could save time by getting the passes and cut lines........on the other hand, i will not have enough time there to actually get my money's worth for the museums and i'm gonna end up extra money going to places like the vatican museum which are not covered.....

not sure what to do. overall, it seems like it's a better deal for rome than it is for paris. wish there was another incentive that could seal the deal on making this decision.

[WillTravel]

If you have three days in Rome, think seriously about your Vatican strategy. I know it might sound ridiculous, but the lines can be very, very long, particularly at the time you are going. Policies have changed in the past year, so I'm not up to date on what the latest or best ways to avoid the lines are, but I think that if you purchase a Vatican tour (which is another 20 Euros or so) from the Vatican itself or certain approved providers, then you can avoid the lines.

It might be heretical to say so, but if you have only three days in Rome, and don't want to pay for a tour that would let you cut the lines, I'd almost be inclined to say skip the Vatican. There is so much to see in Rome anyway.

[j33pguy]

:-D i wouldn't miss the vatican museum or the sistine chapel....i wouldn't be able to live w/ myself knowing that i missed seeing all those pieces of art. however, i know that my time is limited, so i think planning/timing is key.

thoughts are welcome though.

[WillTravel]

In that case, I think it's probably worth it to pay for the tour to cut the lines. When you have so much to see and so little time, an hour or two in lines (hopefully not more, but possibly), would really feel like a waste. Or at least look for some current info on the best days and times to avoid lines.

[stylescriber]

I probably would go with getting friendly with the locals. They are the ones who knows the best places. It's really better than waiting in line and feeling like a "tourist." Just be careful about getting ripped.