last minute trip need help!

[jthomas]

My friend and I are going on a last minute trip to europe for only two weeks. We would like to go to England, France, Spain and Italy. I really want to see the country side of England and France but I'm not sure where to go? (I want to see the green grass, and flowers or forest) Also, we cannot decide on where to go to in Spain or italy? We dont have any specific things we want to do or see other than the country side of England and France, so any suggestions as to where to go would be great!

thanks!

[jthomas]

I forgot to mention we will be going in april=)

[madamtrashheap]

jthomas, welcome to GFE!

not doubt if you've looked through any other Posts, you will notice that 2 weeks is not enough time to sufficiently cover four countries. As you are looking for "countryside" in England and France that's a start, so perhaps you might consider either spending your two weeks in only UK and France or pinpoint exact cities in each country that you've considered (even if they are just a fleeting thought). That way we can recommend more specific ideas to fill your two weeks.

Some things to consider:
1) Your planned budget
2) small towns or large cities?
3) travel methods (combination of rail and flights?)
4) nightlife, food, history, architecture, art....?

As an example, if you wanted to visit even just London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona/Madrid, you'd need about 4-5 days in each city (OK, maybe three in Barcelona) to really see things, which already takes you over your two weeks.

That should get you started with questions to ask yourselves, so once you've give a little more thought to what you might want to see, let us know and we'll help fill in the blanks.

[mslibrarian]

I agree, two weeks isn't much time. If you wanted to go to city to city I think it's doable, but country life runs at a different speed.

I really enjoyed the Moors and north Yorkshire in England. But you will have to rent a car and drive yourself as the bus network isn't the best. Same with the trains. It took me 4 different ones to get to Whitby from Edinburgh.

[jthomas]

yes two weeks is a REALLY short time to spend in 4 countries..So I think we will probably forgo Spain and Italy for now and just stick to England and France. We want to go to London and Paris and also see the country side. We love food and wine, architecture, and history. As for our budget we will have about 85 U.S dollars each a day for food,hostels, ect.
As for taking the rail or fly? well in my research it seems cheaper to fly, but Im not sure what the best option would be to get to the smaller towns/country.. Basically we want to see beautiful scenery! thanks for the help!

[crystal]

Come and see me in the English Lake District. Beautiful scenery all over the place lakes, mountains, trees and green green grass especially in spring time.

You couldn't fly here unless you flew into Newcastle and then got transport across but to be honest with the new faster trains you can be here from London in about 4hrs (delays permitting). To look for transport you need to be looking at Carlisle for the trains or even Oxenholme (more ideal but not all trains stop here). Once you are here the local buses are quite good I think. I don't take them because I drive but I'm sure you can get saver tickets. They are designed for the tourist market so they visit all the main places.

For places to stay you need to be looking at places like Ambleside, Keswick, Windermere, Grasmere ... These are the places most tourists head for. There are lots of hostels around that area or pubs who do B&B. However they can be a bit expensive so you might want to look at Cockermouth (no that's not a joke!). It's only about 6miles or so outside of Keswick but because it isn't officially in the National Park it MAY be a bit cheaper. Local buses are quite reliable and regular so being a few miles out isn't gonna hamper you too much.

I realise you don't have a lot of time but close to the Lake District is Hadrian's Wall. A roman wall stretching the entire width of England that marked the northern border of the Roman Empire. From Cockermouth this would be just over an hour drive depending on your mode of transport. They have roman forts at Vindalando and Birdoswald with museums and ruins. Very interesting and they even have Roman soilders on guard! Might in a tiny way make up for not getting to Italy this time :-)

Here is a site I found that may help you out.
www.golakes.co.uk

Happy planning

[madamtrashheap]

Jan 8, 2009 19:59:55 GMT -5 crystal said:

Come and see me in the English Lake District. Beautiful scenery all over the place lakes, mountains, trees and green green grass especially in spring time.

Here here!

You could do a few days in London, travel up to the Lakes District and stay for a few more days (I'm a fan of Ambleside!) then continue to Edinburgh by train, day or so there and fly to Paris directly from there. Paris for 4-5 days and even use it as a base for day trips to places like Dijon or Epernay (great train ride through the countryside), train it an hour south to the Chateau in Fontainebleau or spend a night in somewhere like Beaune which is a quick journey by train, has great scenery along the way, a pretty medieval town centre and great wine to boot!

[spud]

The yorkshire dales are really nice too, have gone every year for the last 6 years until 2008 when i started uni. Was in the lake district in April last year doing voluntary work in Bendrigg, really lovely scenery. You need to take heed though that in Britain at any time of the year, you have to prepare yourself for it to be pissing down with rain!!!!

-spud

[Eagle]

jthomas,

The others have provided some good tips for your trip planning. Your decision to focus on just England and France is a good idea, as it would very difficult to visit four countries in two weeks. Especially as you want to visit the country side, the transportation details could be a bit challenging for such a short trip.

One point in your last post is of some concern though:

As for our budget we will have about 85 U.S dollars each a day for food,hostels, ect.

That's only about £55 or €63 per day, which is a very low budget to travel with. Does that amount include local transportation (Bus, Train, Metro/Tube) in each country as well? The U.K. especially is very expensive for travellers, so something you'll need to allow for.

In order to work within that budget, it would probably be a good idea to pre-book your Hostels, so that you can control your costs of accommodation. If you just show up at each Hostel, you'll be paying whatever their current rate is. Planning transportation would also be a good idea, and you'll probably find that in the U.K., Coach (Bus) is the least expensive. Check www.nationalexpress.co.uk for information and prices. Crystal mentioned another Bus line in a previous post, but I can't recall the name. You'll probably find that Rail costs in the U.K. are very high.

I'd suggest using open-jaw flights for best efficiency. You didn't mention where you were flying from, but inbound to either London LHR or LGW would be good, and outbound from Paris CDG. If you'd rather spend most of your time in the countryside of northern England, you might also consider flying into Manchester (which will provide an easier route to get to the Lakes District, if that's what you want to see). You'll only have one week in each country, so plan your touring efficiently!

There are so many possibilities of places to see! It would help to have a bit of further information on what type of "country side" you're most interested in seeing? Places you could consider in England (in addition to London) would be Bath, the Cotswlds, the Lakes District or the York area (North York Moors, etc.). However, for travel in the north you'll need to work out transportation very carefully if you won't have the use of a rental Car. Places you could consider in France (in addition to Paris) would be a day trip to Versailles, or travel to the Normandy / Brittany areas. With only a week to spend there, it's probably best to stay relatively close to Paris for the flight home.

Good luck with your planning!

[jthomas]

Wow! thank you all so much for the advice! We will for sure be checking out these places, and booking ahead to save money. thanks to the advice I think we will be able to save around 500$ per person! great information, very much appreciated!

[crystal]

Jan 10, 2009 0:55:27 GMT -5 Eagle said:

Crystal mentioned another Bus line in a previous post, but I can't recall the name.
!

The other bus company is mega bus and youcan sometimes get train tickets from them as well