Just booked a flight to London!

[phazan]

Thanks to the people who replied to my threads in the past. I just booked a flight from San Francisco to London, then a month later from Rome to San Francisco. Got it through STA Travel for $710. I thought maybe that price was too good to be true, but even Rick Steves talks about booking through them so they must be legit haha

I'm very excited, it doesn't even seem real that I booked a flight to another country. But this is it, in October I'm leaving.

So please, if you have any advice for me let me know...Anything from London to Rome.

[Eagle]

phazan,

Congratulations! You'll be on the way before you know it!

Be sure to check your Passport to ensure it has at least six months remaining on the date that your trip ends.

A few last minute points that occurred to me:

> If you haven't read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, it would be a good idea to do that before you leave.

> Be sure to read the "Rail Skills" chapter in that book carefully, as travelling by rail in Europe requires some "education".

> It's great that you're using "open jaw" flights. That's also my preferred travel method.

> If you need information on getting from Rome to the Airport (FCO), post another note (it's very easy).

Cheers!

[phazan]

Hey eagle, I have Europe Through The Back Door and Best of Europe sitting right in front of me as I speak haha. I've been using both of these to figure stuff out. I think I'm going to book a couple nights in London so I can at least get settled in without a lot of stress.
I basically have everying covered accept for

-Phone situation. My dad really wants me to have a phone with me so I might get there and look for a cheap pay as you go thing

-Still need a backpack. Where would a good place to buy this? I know there are online places but if there is a store I could drive to to see the backack in person I'd very much like that

-Still debating on the global pass vs 5 country select. I'm leaving this trip very open ended. I know it might not be very efficient, but at this point in my life all I want is to see what other places are like. I might want to take a side trip to Prague or something

-Still need to find a bank without a 3 percent fee for taking out money in other countries -_-

[Eagle]

phazan,

A few comments on your most recent questions.....

> Phone situation - one of the disadvantages of buying a phone in Europe is that the rates will be least expensive in the country where the phone was purchased. If you use this in other countries, you'll then be "roaming" and the rates will be much higher. You'll also need to top-up on occasion.

As an alternative, you might consider getting a phone from one of the "travel Phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. They typically use cell plans based in the U.K. or other countries, and have consistent rates for all of western Europe (ie: NO roaming charges). The other advantage is that many are post-paid, meaning you never have to worry about running out of minutes in the middle of a call (they bill your credit card). You can either just obtain a SIM card from them, or a complete phone and SIM package. Check their respective web sites for rates and other details.

One of the advantages of this approach is that you'd be "up and running" right way when you land in Europe, and your family would already have the number for your travel phone.

If other members of your family have Cell phones, it's VERY cheap to send them a text at any time (and no worries about the time difference, they'll pick up the message when they wake up). I usually send a text when I arrive at each new location, as it keeps family apprised of where I am at the moment. Any texts that you receive are FREE.

I'm assuming that if "Dad" is concerned about you having a phone, he might be willing to help with the cost?

> BACKPACK- you didn't indicate your location in your Profile, so it's very difficult to recommend "a store I could drive to to see the backpack in person". Are there any REI stores in your area?

Before purchase of a Backpack, you need to consider the features that you want. Some features that I feel are important:

- PROPER FIT! A Backpack should be properly fitted according to your torso length, so that most of the weight rests on your hips, not your shoulders. Any competent sales associate should be able to handle that.

- BRAND. In my experiences, some brands are better quality than others. I tend to favour Eagle Creek or Osprey. My favourite Pack is a 2003-vintage Eagle Creek Continental Journey (not made any more), however I used an Osprey www.ospreypacks.com/Packs/WaypointSeries/Waypoint85MensNEW/ for my trip this year and it worked well (I needed a bit more room this year).

- STYLE. There are two main styles of Backpacks: panel load (with zippers) or top load (with drawstrings). Panel loading packs are more often used for travel, as the zippers can be locked which tends to minimize "opportunistic theft". It's also easier to access contents. Top-Loaders tend to be used more for trekking in the wilderness, and they're more difficult to secure in a travel setting. Unless they have side access panels, one has to dig through everything to get items on the bottom (not very convenient!).

- FEATURES. Some features that I like are a detachable Daypack (works great for carry-on or day touring) and a stowable harness system (the straps can be secured behind a zippered panel so they aren't torn-off by airport baggage handling systems).

That will give you a few things to consider. The Manufacturer's websites will provide a list of stocking dealers in your area.

> RAIL PASS - I'm not sure what to suggest on that? I'd have to sit down and go through each of your trips to determine which pass would be best in the circumstances. That would be very time consuming! Where were you planning to buy the Railpass? One of the largest vendors of Railpasses in the U.S. is www.ricksteves.com/rail/. You may want to download their FREE PDF Rail Guide, as that might give you some ideas. You may be able to get some information from the staff there on which pass would be most appropriate for your situation. You can also buy Railpasses from this website at www.guideforeurope.com/railpasses_for_Europe.html.

> BANK - again, I don't know where you are, so can't suggest a Bank. You might have a look at Capital One, as I've heard they have good rates. I'd suggest taking a primary ATM card, as well as a "backup" and at least one credit card for "emergencies". Note that travel funds usually must be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. Be sure to notify the financial institutions that you'll be travelling overseas, or they might "freeze" your cards when they see a difference in useage patterns.

Good luck with your planning!

[phazan]

Eagle, thanks again for all your help. I'm researching the phone stuff you talked about. Looks like I'll be doing something like that, and I'll work on getting my parents to pay for this, since I'm getting it for them pretty much.
I have an REI store near me, and I went today but they were closed. I will have to go and check it out. Are there any stores that sell traveling backpack kinda stuff in California that you know off the top of your head?
The rail pass I have covered. I'm still taking time reading about different places so I will decide on which pass to get when I know more about what kinda budget I will have.
Thanks so much for your help. This is a lot to figure out, and a little overwhelming so the help you have given me is appreciated.

[Eagle]

phazan,

You didn't indicate which part of California you live, but you might have a look at:

www.eaglecreek.com/store_locator/search_results.php?state=CA

www.ospreypacks.com/Dealers

You'll have to click the tabs for region, country and state on the Osprey site, but those links will provide a list of dealers in California. Hopefully there's one in your area.

Cheers!

[phazan]

Sorry about the late reply, I've been away from home for a while.
Looks like I will be hitting up a few stores in my area.. There are about 10 from those lists pretty close to me. I'm in the Bay Area, near San Francisco. Thanks a lot for your help!

[phazan]

Ok I have made a supposed itinerary for this now. Here I have a map I made. I hope it's big enough to be able to read, I'm not that great with photoshop and stuff.

EDIT: I accidently skipped over Florence, somehow, but just put Florence in between Rome and the Cinque terre



I have 35 days to get from London to Rome, and I think this is how I am going to do it. In case you can't see very well, this is my new proposed route.

Start in London

London, stay 3 days
Amsterdam, stay 3 days
Paris, stay 3 days
Alps (Recommend me some amazing places to hike?) stay 4 days
Tubingen, stay 4 days (I have a friend who resides there at the moment I want to visit)
Munich, stay 3 days
Venice, stay 2 days
Cinque Terre, stay 3 days
Florence, stay 3 days
Rome, stay 4 days

That's a total of 28 days, which gives me 7 free days to get from place to place, or to stay longer somewhere. Now should I figure out the trains and stuff when I get there? Or should I plan all of the train rides ahead of time? I don't really want to plan all of it out just to change everything later. If it's easy to just look online a day before I change cities, I'd like to do it that way. Please let me know any of your thoughts on this. Help is appreciated!

[liz11]

All I have to say is how totally and completely jealous I am of you Your trip sounds like it's going to be amazing and I can not wait until I'm doing the same thing. I think you're doing it the exact right way by not keeping it too planned. My advice is just don't stress too hard about details and enjoy it all. Oh and when you're on the metro keep your bag where you can see it, people can be very sneaky haha.

Have fun!

[Eagle]

phazan,

Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy with work on the house, so haven't had as much time to sit down at the computer. Also, it's a holiday weekend here so have been relaxing a bit.

The Itinerary in your last post looks good, especially as you've allowed adequate time for travel between locations. Most of your trips will be relatively short (~4 hours or less), but Munich to Venice will be a bit longer.

It's probably not necessary to plan each of your rail trips in great detail before you go. If you'll have access to an Internet connection in each place, you can decide on your travel plans once you're there. However, you might want to at least have a look at each trip on www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml just to get an approximate idea on the travel times, number of changes, trains available and whether reservations are required.

As I recall you'll be using a Railpass. Checking the websites will also be a good indicator of which trains require reservations, and you should be able to pick those up a day or two before you'll be travelling.

Did you eventually buy a Backpack? Did you resolve the phone situation with your Dad?

Happy travels!

[phazan]

Thank you for the link eagle! Yes, I am getting the one month consecutive day railpass. I wasn't sure whether to get this one or not over the 10 day flexi pass, but I think it is worth the extra money to be able to go wherever I want without worrying about using up days.

I have not got to the backpack or the phone situation yet. Hopefully I will take care of all this stuff tomorrow

[thegreennomad]

Phazan, any news on the phone situation? Im in the same scenario (w/ the gf wanting to chat) and would love to hear about your discoveries.
Cheers!
Connor

[phazan]

My mom said she would give me money for a phone, so I was just going to get one sometime when I arrive. I don't really know exactly what I will get, but from what people have explained to me it sounds like you can get a pre-paid phone easily