Help Europe in winter 1st time for son

Old Nov 14th, 2008, 05:50 PM
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Help Europe in winter 1st time for son

My 23yr old son & mate will be travelling to Europe in January.
Neither has been before, they will be spending New Year with friends in Amsterdam first and then purchasing a eurorail pass for 16 days and their planned itinery is:
Amsterdam to Belgium
Belgium to Paris
Paris to Munich
Munich to Vienna
Vienna to Innsbruck (they hope to ski)
Innsbruck to Berlin
Berlin To Amsterdam
Do you think this itinery is ok, they each had must sees
Can people please give them suggested places to see in each city and especially accommodation ideas.
They are on a budget but don't really want to stay in dorm youth hostel accommodation
They are Aussies and not used to the cold winters
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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 07:34 PM
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"Do you think this itinery is ok, "

in a word - no . . . .

Not counting A'dam at the beginning, they want to visit 6 cities and back to Amsterdam in 16 days. Every single time they move from one city to the next they lose between 1/2 and almost 1 full day.

It will be winter, the days will be short, the weather likely bad in places, but definitely COLD just about everywhere.

so basically they will have 2 days in each city - less in some.
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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 09:40 PM
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Thank you for your imput
Do you think there is any point in travelling to Vienna(they were going to spend 3 nights there.
Maybe they could add them as follows.
1 night Belgium (they only want to stay 1 night, maybe they could give this a miss as they are staying 6 in Amsterdam
4 in Paris
4 in Munich
3 in Innsbruck
4 in Berlin

OR can you suggest an alternative
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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 10:08 PM
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Vienna to Innsbruck (they hope to ski)

They are Aussies and not used to the cold winters

Have they skied before? If not, they will need to enrol in a ski school, and it will be a few days before they are proficient enough to go off on their own, even on the beginner's slopes. They will need to hire ski equipment, buy lift passes, pay for instruction, etc. It's difficult to do all that on the cheap.

The actual ski areas (e.g. Igls) are outside Innsbruck itself.
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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 10:13 PM
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IMO - the new plan is still a bit rushed but much (MUCH) better. They are young and can probably keep up the pace.

Myself - I'd pick 3 of those cities (probably Paris, Munich, Berlin). But that is just me - and I haven't been a 23 yo for a looooong time

They can save some time by taking some night sleeper trains or low cost flights. If they fly some of the routes they won't need rail passes. A few point-to-point tickets would cost a lot less than a eurail pass.

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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 10:27 PM
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Thank you janisj and Heimdall for your reply

Yes they can ski, they love it we do get snow sometimes in Oz but nothing like Europe. Thats why they thought skiing would be fun.

How far out of Innsbruck would the ski fields be

Maybe we should rethink the eurorail. I have worked out the travelling times and tried to get direct trains.
However maybe the Berlin back to Amsterdam flight would be a good idea. What would be good airline carriers to look at.

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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 10:30 PM
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check www.whichbudget.com to see which low cost carriers fly between which cities
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Old Nov 14th, 2008, 10:44 PM
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Igls is not far outside Innsbruck, so it would be possible to commute to the slopes from there, but not sure how long it would take. I visited Innsbruck on a day off the slopes during a trip to Kitzbuhel, so know it's not just a matter of picking up your skis and walking to the lift.

Personally I would prefer to stay in a resort at higher altitude where the snow conditions are more reliable, but Innsbruck is easy to reach from Munich, so that would be a factor in it's favor.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 12:59 AM
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Travelgirl2
Thank you for the web address for the cheap flights.
Maybe you can help me. I looked up a flight from Berlin to Amsterdam and the option was transavia.com. I went to the site and selected required dates etc. Having never purchased a flight this way I am unsure of the procedure. Do you fill in all the details and progress through the pages until payment I guess. Do they then email the ticket to you and you print it off and this is all you would need to catch the flight.
Please correct me if I am wrong I am only guessing here.
They have a good flight and price. Has anyone delt with this Airline. I value your imput
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 01:06 AM
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Heimdall
thank you for your reply

How long in hours would it take from Innsbruck to the ski slopes.
They must have some local transport maybe?

I know that they had the Winter Olympics there some time back.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 01:25 AM
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Aussie_10

Here is a map of the slopes around Innsbruck: http://www.austria-trips.com/Innsbru...i-Area-Map.htm

There may be some glacier skiing further out from Innsbruck if the snow is poor at Igls.

I'll have to confess it has been a number of years since I skied in Austria, but as I recall it took an hour or two to get between Kitzbuhel and Innsbruck. Even Kitzbuhel is fairly low, so if I were going today, would head in the other direction for the Arlberg region.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 01:50 AM
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Hi Aussie - There's a tram up to Igls from Innsbruck - but it's quite slow if I remember.

They'd be better off using a taxi - or staying in Igls.

Back-tracking from Vienna to Innsbruck is time-consuming. Why don't they go from Munich to Innsbruck instead, then fly from Vienna to Berlin?

Alternatively - have they considered skiing near Munich - e.g. Garmisch?

Steve
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 02:24 AM
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Heimdall
Thank you for the map! that is great I have emailed it to my son who is in New Zealand this week with work.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 02:32 AM
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Steve_James
Thank you for your reply. Yes maybe staying in lgls would be a good idea.
Ah Garmisch near Munich, never heard of it. I must look it up. Just when we thought we had the trip all planned out.

The boys are so busy with work that they have left me to do the ground work, they just keep giving me their ideas.

From a previous suggestion I have been looking at flights from Innsbruck to Berlin and Berlin to Amsterdam as they are the long legs.
I must admit I had not considered the cheap flight options.

In Australia everyone just talks about getting a Eurorail pass as the cheapest way of getting around.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 02:35 AM
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hi auusie,

i agree that innsbruck is not a good fit for your lads.

Garmisch is much better, or Kitzbuehl which will have a lot more youth around.

if they budget for ski school they will find that they have some instant mates as there's nothing like falling over together to greate some bonhomie.

there are loads of ski resorts within easy reach of Munich as it is a major access airport for ski resorts. also austrian food is reasonably cheap and filling, and tehe beer is good. what more could they want?

as for the rest of the trip, i like Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, with Berlin perhaps somewhere in between.

regards, ann
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 02:45 AM
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Hi annhig
Ah now I will have to research Garmisch.
How far is it from central Munich.

My son's mate has a visit to Neuschwanstein castle on his to do list. I believe it is about an hour from Munich maybe there is some ski resorts near there? Do you know?
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 02:49 AM
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Oh forgot to ask

What do people think about going to Vienna at all is it worth it for travelling distance or maybe there are better options in Germany or Switzerland.
Suggestions are most welcome
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 03:05 AM
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Another vote here for Garmisch. It's closer to Neauschwanstein than either Innsbruck or Munich. We stayed there one year while our son skied in the area. Easy to find rental equipment and buses to ski areas from there. Lots of wonderful little villages in the vicinity (though not sure how accessible each is by rail) The only problem is the elevation. It's not as high as other areas, so a) if it's warm this year there might not be a good base of snow and b) the runs are mostly of moderate difficulty, not exciting for top notch skiiers like say Kitzbuhl.

On that score, another alternative would be Salzburg. It would give you an Austrian rather than another German venue. The ski bus infrastructure is truly top notch. The town is lovely (but isn't close to Neuschwanstein) And the skiing is better than Garmisch for really good skiiers--at least that's the opinion of my son who is a big time ski buff.
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 03:19 AM
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Hi JulieVikmanis
Garmisch is looking better all the time. Its just that it is little known in Australia as say Innsbruck. Not that we really know much about it as well. (Must have something to do with the Olympics)!

I must I admit I loved Saltzburg when I went there in my youth (summer though). Do you think it is worth adding Austria to the itinery? Has it a different feel to Germany?
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Old Nov 15th, 2008, 03:34 AM
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Garmisch is a much nicer place to spend time than Innsbruck IMO--shared by 4 others who traveled with me. No, frankly I don't see a lot of difference between Austria and Germany, just mentioned it in case the kids are into seeing a lot of different countries. If they are moderately good skiiers but not interested in major alpine tough skiing, the Garmisch area would be fine--with the caveat that their altitude makes good slopes less dependable at that time of year. If skiing isn't very good, they can spend more time seeing Ludwig's many castles, not just Neauschwanstein.

I hope others will chime in re: garmisch area skiing, since I personally am not a skiier, just recalling my son's remarks and the research I did before booking there.
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