1st time trip 2 weeks

[jesstrika]

Hello! I was wondering if you'd have any tips/advice for me...my fiance and I are 28 and 27 and we are going on our 1st backpacking trip in Europe. We want to see some sites but love hiking, running, outdoors also and also want to see some city nightlife if we are not too exhausted! We want to do this as cheaply as possible and its going to be a 2 week (about 13 days actually in Europe) trip before he deploys again, plan is to stay in hostels. We would like to visit West Coast Ireland area (Galway?), London (would love to see Stonehedge also but not sure how much time we have/time that will take), Paris, France, Berlin, Germany (maybe Munich also if time), and Prague. Anything else would be neat if we can take trains and stop somewhere for a day but our time is limited and I know its a lot in 13 days (and so far what I have seen looks like flying EasyJet might be cheaper than Eurail trains between countries). We are going this mid-May and my fiance wants to just go and not plan much but I want to have a tenative plan...suggestions? How would you do this route and how much time in each place and is there anything that's a must-see in between these cities?
If this helps...my Dad works for Delta so we can fly very cheaply (standby) from the U.S. to Shannon (but after that probably won't take Delta as it costs per mile and will get expensive and is at times unreliable), Ireland and then would like to end up as close to Ramstein Air Base in Germany so we can fly from there on military standby space back to the U.S. and take Delta from whatever base we end at in the U.S. Thanks so much for any help you can offer...I am kind of lost and he is too busy to be much help in research and planning!

[Eagle]

jesstrika,

First of all, welcome to GFE! A few comments on your travel plans.

As you're planning to travel this May, that's not much time to work out the details! You'll need to get some details sorted quickly, and start making arrangements.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. It provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel in Europe. Use country-specific Guidebooks to plan sightseeing, hotels/hostels, etc.

Unless you can get double rooms, Hostels won't provide a lot of privacy and you may be separated in gender-specific rooms. Dorm rooms will the cheapest, but double rooms are almost the price of a budget Hotel. You may want to consider using Hotels at least part of the time.

With a VERY short time frame of 13-days, I'd suggest skipping Ireland this time. Although you can fly into Shannon, transportation is not as well structured in Ireland and that will use both time and money.

I'm not sure London is a real good idea at the moment either. The Olympics are only a few months away, and some reports I've seen indicate many accommodations have doubled in price. A visit there may be possible if you can find a good rate at one of the Hostels, but overall I'm not sure you have the time for London.

You'll reduce your transportation costs by limiting the geographic area that you're covering. With that in mind, you might consider flying inbound to Paris / CDG to start your trip. You could (for example) travel Paris - Berlin - Prague - Munich. From Munich it should be a relatively easy trip to Ramstein. If you decide to start in Paris, I'd suggest booking a Hotel SOON!

Travel from Berlin to Prague is very easy by rail (I travelled that route last September). For travel from Prague to Munich, I believe that's possible by Bus now, with a travel time of about four hours. I hope to be back in Munich again this fall (it's a wonderful city).

For planning rail journeys, one of the best websites to use is www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml (the German Rail site).

You might want to have a look at the www.hihostels.com website, as they have properties in many places around the world. I've found the facilities to be fairly consistent from one location to the next, and they're well run. They're not "party Hostels", but they host school groups at times and they can be a bit "noisy". Having an HI membership provides slightly cheaper rates and preferred booking.

In planning your time, keep in mind that you'll probably arrive in Europe the day after you depart, and you'll be jet-lagged for a day or two after that so won't be up to full "touring speed". The last day will be spent on the flight home.

It would be a really good idea to have a look at France, Germany and Prague Guidebooks, so that you'll be familiar with hotels, transportation, sightseeing options, etc. I often pack one or two Guidebooks along, as they're valuable reference sources during trips. If you need further suggestions on Guidebooks, post another note.

Finally, I'd suggest planning your touring very carefully so that you don't waste ANY time, but try to keep the pace somewhat relaxed.

Be sure to check the expiry date on your Passport.

Good luck with your planning and happy travels!

[carox]

Basic travel tips for first time traveler:
*Travel Details - Leave your entire trip related general details with your family members and friends. Also do not forget to regularly e-mailing them about the place where you currently reside.
*Health- Nobody wants to get sick on their holiday trip. It is advised to maintain regular visits to your general practitioner at least eight weeks before your travel out of the country.