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Post by jstampler on Jun 30, 2008 13:59:25 GMT -5
My girlfriend just studied in Rome where I visited her and we both loved it and its made us want to travel the world. We decided next spring (april or may) we will set off on a 2 month trip I want as much help with this as possible so anything that seems wrong or difficult please let me know and I would like some advice on the best ways to get from city to city. Here is my rough draft of places we want to go and possibly the route we take. I'll be flying out philadelphia, but will use NY is its cheaper which I expect. I'll write how many days Ill want to stay at each place by the level of interest, feel free to say if its too long or short. If I write 5 days that means 1 day of traveling to the place and 4 of enjoying it. NY-Dublin (5 nights) Dublin-London (4 nights) London-Paris (6 nights) Paris-Lille (family there so a free place to stay and visit them...4 nights) Lille-Amsterdam (6 nights) Amsterdam-Hamburg (friend has invited me...3 nights) Hamburg-Berlin (3 nights) Berlin-Prague (5 nights) Prague-Munich (4 nights) Munich-Venice (4 nights) Venice-Florence (4 nights) Florence-Rome (7 nights) Rome-Naples (Friend here and will visit capri for at least 1 night...5 nights) Fly from naples-Barcelona (6 nights) Barcelona-Madrid (6 nights) Madrid-Home What do you think? Anywhere I should cut out, cut short, expand or add in? How is that route? Will it be easy to get from each city to the next? One more thing...money Im thinking in the $1,000 range fro my plane ticket to and from europe. I figure on average a hostel is $30-$35 a night...so for 2 months about $2.000 for housing? This is where Its tough for me, how much more do you think I will spend? For a flight from naples to barcelona, for trains or any other means of transportation from one city to the next/? How much for food and other expenses. I will want to check out the nightlife at least 1 night in each city for sure. Im guessing somewhere around $40-50 a day for food and entertainment. I wont be paying a ton for museums and stuff, I'll try to avoid those expensive ones at least. How does $3,000 for food and entertainment sound? Roundtrip plane- $1,000 Hostels- $2,000 Food and entertainment- $3,000 Trains and transportation-  no clue How do those numbers look? way off? |
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Post by herrbert on Jun 30, 2008 16:18:00 GMT -5
To start with the money issue. There are many factors which influence the money you spend, but in general you have to think along the line of about $100 a day you need. This does not include the airplane tickets. I think that for the price of the hostels you are about right. If you can find hostels that have a kitchen available for the guests, you can save money by going to the supermarket and cook for yourself, which can save you a lot (esp. in some of the cities you mentioned). Looking at the itenarary as it stands now, I think you need a combination of a railpass, check www.railsaver.com (some p2p-tickets for the Czech Republik), and some airline tickets. For Dublin - London (Ryanair, AirLingus, BMI) and for Naples - Barcelona (Clickair), you can book tickets for around 50 euro ($75) each, maybe even less. The catch is that you need to book far in advance (at least 2-3 months in advance), so those dates are then fixed. About the cities: I think that London, is a place that needs at least 4 whole days, so I would at least add a day here. I would take that day away from Paris, but then again, I am not such a big fan (understatement) of Paris. I guess it would also depend on the interests. 6 nights (5 days) in Amsterdam seems a bit over the top. 3 days will do fine. Berlin on the other is huge, with a lot of things to see, so i would cut off 2 days in Amsterdam, and use them in Berlin. (in Berlin, check out the Kulturbrauerei for live-music) Between Berlin and Prague, you can add a day in Dresden. 4 days/3 nights in Venice seems a bit much to me, but I know other will disagree. to me 2 whole days, will do. Rome can do with a lot of days, and I think that with 7 days, you will have the time to explore this city really well. 6 days in Barcelona, to me seems like a lot (deducting 1 day for the travel from Naples, leaves 5). For Barcelona itself 3 days is about right, but there are some place you visit on a daytrip. You can check the Dali museum (I know you wrote, that you don't want to visit too many) and a trip to Girona, would make some nice trips. From Barcelona to Madrid you can opt for a train, but there are also cheap tickets available on several airlines (Vueling, AirEuropa, Spanair, Iberia), with the AVE/Talgo line being completed you can get from Barcelona to Madrid within 2,5 - 3 hours, by train, but taking the plane is a little bit cheaper. From Madrid take time to make daytrips to Segovia and Toledo. One last remark: If you want to make this trip in the spring, it might be wise to completely reverse this itinerary, and start in the south. (in April/May the weather will be nicer there, but in July it will be getting really hot in places like Madrid, where as the more northern part of Europe, will (usually) be a bit cooler in April, but hitting pleasant temperatures at the end of May/June. |
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Post by jstampler on Jul 1, 2008 0:41:50 GMT -5
I think I will add another day in London, I;m sure there is a lot in the area even to take day trips so I will add a day there like you said. Im going with my girlfriend, her family is from france which is why we're going to lille and she also had family in paris which is why theres such a long stay there. I havent heard the best stuff about the people or the city but I think with a family or people from paris showing us around it will be more pleasant for sure so I think I might stick to the length of that trip just to keep her happy haha.
I might take your advice on amsterdam and cut it a little shorter, I know the sites arent s great but for the middle of our trip that was going to be our paty time so I think 4 days is what we will do.
Italy we def want to spend a lot of time in, we both love it there and there are so many great day trips (tuuscany, ischia, capri, pompei) so I think we will want at least 2 weeks total in italy, it doesnt really matter how long in each place but i think your right venice can be done in 2 nights.
What do you suggest for the rail passes? Should I buy them before I go or just buy the eurorail pass or whatever its called before I go. The one is over $600 so Im guessing Ill have to buy that before I go.
Should I really fly from dublin to london, I thought you could take a train, would it just be easier and cheaper to fly? I noticed there are so plane tickets is you book way in anvance that are actually free on Ryanair and you only pay for taxes and fees which comes to 10 euros...can this really be right, fly for 10 euros???
Lasty is there anywhere I should add a few nights stay to my trip, something I might be missing thats not too far out of the way that I should see?
Thanks so much for your help.
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Post by pointofnoreturn on Jul 1, 2008 11:09:10 GMT -5
You have to fly from Dublin to London. Ireland is an island - there's no way to take a train from Dublin to London.
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Post by Eagle on Jul 1, 2008 15:02:29 GMT -5
jstampler, Welcome! I have a few thoughts to add as well. Incidentally, what was your girlfriend studying in Rome? First of all, the cities you listed. > Dublin - 5 nights is a good estimate, as you'll lose the first day in flight and time zone changes. This will give you a few days to recover from jet lag, get up to "touring speed" and sample a few pints in Dublin (the Temple Bar area is great!). > London - I have to agree with herrbert, in that adding a day to London would be a good idea. Although the flight from Dublin is not a long one, you'll probably still spend the better part of a day for travel (travel to the airport, waiting times, check-in and security, etc.). * One note on the flight from Dublin to London - if you decide to use RyanAir, be aware that they have extremely strict baggage limits! If you're not travelling light, be prepared to pay a surcharge. Yes, some of their flights are priced very inexpensively but these operate on a "sliding scale", so as the seats fill the price goes up. I haven't checked, to determine if other airlines ( EasyJet?) also fly this route? > Paris - as you'll have family to visit there, I can understand the rationale for six days. As far as "not having heard the best stuff" about the people or the city, in my experience the people of Paris have been wonderful and hospitable. If you try to make an effort with the language and treat people politely, generally speaking you won't have any problems. I usually try to greet shop keepers with "Bonjour" when entering a store and "Au Revoir" when leaving. > Amsterdam - again I agree with herrbert, that's time that would be better spent in other cities. Three days would probably be adequate. > Lille & Hamburg - these look good. > Berlin - at least one extra night in Berlin would be nice. > Prague - looks good > Munich - four nights is good (it will actually be three nights with a travel day), although if you're planning on doing day trips (Dachau, Neuschwanstein) it would be a good idea to add at least one day. > Venice - again I agree - four nights is a bit much. It's a very unique location, but as you noted in your later post, two nights is more realistic. > Florence - four nights is good. > Rome - I'm glad to see you allowed lots of time in Rome. It's an incredible city with so much to see! > Naples - I understand your reason for allowing five nights. Regarding the trip to Capri, be aware that it's expensive! I was there a month or so ago, and was a bit shocked at the prices. However, given the location I suppose it's understandable. > Barcelona - you might want to drop one or two days? > Madrid - six nights in Madrid is perhaps a bit much, but again as herrbert suggested, you could make some day trips. One area that was notably absent on your Itinerary was the Cinque Terre, which is a favourite with many travellers. Regarding your travel budget, I suspect that your estimate of US$6000 is going to be a bit low. The exchange rate will certainly change before your trip, but the rate today is about US$1.57 for €1. Therefore your estimate of US$30-35 per night will actually be €47.35-55.25 per night! The same factors will exist with spending money and local transportation costs. The usual "benchmark" these days (even for "budget travel") is to allow at least US$100 per day for lodgings, food and incidentals. This amount does not include air fares, rail pass or related transportation. That's equivalent to about €65 per day, which is VERY low, and perhaps a bit unrealistic. On the "trains and transportation" question, except for the Dublin-London trip and perhaps London-Paris, travel by train is probably the best option. You might try entering each leg of your trip into www.railsaver.com to see what the site suggests? I find this provides a good estimate, but it's not infallible. As your cities are in a fairly logical order, it should be relatively easy to work out the rail journeys and get a close estimate of the costs. If you haven't done a lot of travelling by train in Europe, I'd highly recommend reading at least the "Rail Skills" section in the book Europe Through The Back Door, as it provides a lot of very useful information. Good luck with your planning!
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Post by herrbert on Jul 4, 2008 3:20:45 GMT -5
That would be a great rate for you people, but I think it will be more like:
$30 - $35 = €19 - €22,30 (which as an average, remember that some days are spend at relatives, might just work out if you stay in dorms all the time)
Flights: Yes there are flights on Ryanair (but please mind the weight limits on these flights!!!) for 0,01, and all you will pay are the taxes (and fuelcharges), which vary from airport to airport.
Trains: I am not an expert on trains, as you can see, I live in Europe, and most of the times I will take a plane, and some p2p-tickets for trains. Also there are passes available in the US/Canada, that I don't have any clue about. It's important to first find out where you want to go, and then see which combinations is best for transport.
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Post by jstampler on Jul 11, 2008 7:34:12 GMT -5
Hey guys, I'm trying to pin down the path I was to travel and I want to take everything you guys say into consideration. I was thinking of doing what you say and reversing the trail but I'm not sure, The norther cities (dublin, france, lille, amsterdam...) are all more sight seeing places and places down sout is where I was hopign to wind down and really just enjoy the weather in places like italy and spain. This is why I might stick with the path of north to south. i was hoping to add in a few little islands along the way towards the end as more of a vacation with my girlfriend. We are both already very familiar with italy because she went to school there so we are able to get a lot done there with less time wasted navigating the cities. We know we want to go to Capri, and now I have been convinced to go to Cinque terre after researching it and I was also wondering about Palma de mallorca, I see you can take a ferry from barcelona but I dont know how long it would take, Im guessing it isnt cheap and it would take a long time but if anyone here recommends it I may think about it. Are there any other little bits of paradise I may want to watch out for along the coast of italy, spain or france? Im trying to work on a a more final itinerary (which will still prob be changed) and I know you guys said 6 says in madrid and barcelona may be too long so thats why UI was thinking about palma de mallorca. Let me know what you guys think.
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Post by herrbert on Jul 12, 2008 4:58:17 GMT -5
Palma is a nice place to go, and you can do about anything there. Lie on the beach like sardines with the Germans, or take the effort, and find a nice remote beach for yourself. It's a good place to party (however Ibiza is the party island), and good for sightseeing as well.
You would however need to book some tickets to get there, so it could have an impact on your budget. A flight with Vueling or Clickair would be much faster than a boat, and if you book ahead far enough cheap as well.
If you like to add another city in Spain (and if you have a railpass covering that already, it might be wiser to do that), I can really recommend Granada (2 days), and if you have days left also Sevilla (2-3 days).
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Post by jstampler on Jul 17, 2008 6:08:29 GMT -5
OK so after more planning and research I came up with a slightly better draft. here it is...
Fly from NYC to Dublin, stay for 4 nights
Fly from dublin to london via ryanair, stay for 5 nights
Train to Paris, stay with family for 5 nights
EURail to Lille, stay with family for 4 nights
EURail to Amsterdam, stay for 4 nights
EURail to Berlin, stay for 4 nights
EURail and p2p train to Prague, stay for 4 nights
p2p train then EURail to Venice, stay for 2 nights
EURail to Florence, stay for 4 nights
EURail La Spezia then p2p train to Cinque Terre, stay for 4 nights
EURail to Naples, stay for 5 nights with day trips to Capri and Sorrento
EURail to Rome, stay for 8 nights
Fly to Barcelona via ryanair stay for 4 nights
EURail to Madrid, stay for 4 nights
Fly home
(all money in converted to US $)
I wont need a hostel in Paris or Lille and I looked up some prices in each place and found places that seemed to be decent and for the days I need to stay in a Hostel I came up with the price of $1,600.
I also checked and I think I will need a 10 day 5 country EURail pass which is $600.
The cheapest plane ticket I found to Dublin and home from Madrid was around $1,000.
I found a plane ticket from Dublin to London for $80.
I found a plane ticket from Rome to Barcelona for $50.
The train ticket from London to Paris seemed expensive at $150, is that the cheapest I will find?
For my day trip to capri I figured the ferri would cost something like $70 (the ferri to Ischia was around that when I went recently)
I'm not sure how much the train tickets to get to and from Prague and same for la spezia to cinque terre (that has to be cheap)
Total for travel and Hostels = $3,600 (or around that)
So all I need to figure out is what I will spend on food and entertainment. I figure around $4,000 (around $65 a day)
So total my expenses seem to be around $7,600 but I will plan for $400 more and make it and even $8,000 just to cover for unplanning expenses.
I'm really meticulous so i want to be as planned as possible, even though this trip isnt happening until next may.
What do yuo think, anything I should tweak?
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Post by herrbert on Jul 17, 2008 11:01:55 GMT -5
Check your timetable for this flight. Ryanair flies into Girona airport (and calls it Barcelona), this means you need another 1,5 - 2 hours by bus to get to Barcelona. You could also check an airline like Vueling that flies into Barcelona airport (El Prat). that would save you time, and the money for the shuttlebus.
Eurostar:
Non flexible tickets can be bought for 44 pounds. But like airlines you need to book ahead to get the best deals. If you can't find a cheap ticket for the Eurostar, you can also check airlines. (It will take you longer, and doesn't get you to the citycenter right away, but if it saves a lot of money, it might be worth it).
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no clue
