tannaz

hi
i'm planning to go for a 27days trip to europe.one of my friends lives in geneva and i can stay with her as many days as i want,i also decide to use easyjet airline to travel among countries.i want your advices about how to have the cheapest possible travel in this period, how much would it cost me minimum and which cities do you suggest me to visit and don't miss them...i'm gonna leave for the next week and i'll be gratefull if you help me with all these

bilboburgler

Tannaz, welcome to the world of Fodors. The old timers will want to know

1) what do you like doing
2) when are you going to be here (winter comes)
3) roughly how much money you wanna spend.
4) do you have any must does, "I just gotta go to Venice"

with this we can start to shape you something out.

Geneva is very dull and wealthy and very unlike much of the rest of Europe. Oh yes have you got any European language skills? Food needs? etc etc

Venezia123

I would do some research on places you want to see that are not far and i would do train instead of fly.You don't want to spend most of your trip at the airport .They can be very time consuming.

If you do fly i would suggest you read the weight allowence on luggage.If you go over limit it can be pricy speaking from experence once going from Ireland to Scotland i didn't read the small print ended up costing me $200.00 .I thought sinec i had a carry on only i would be ok WRONG!.

hAVE A SAFE TRIP.

Christina

Your question is too broad, it just can't be answered. The cheapest would obviously be to go to only 1-2 places in Switzerland, and if you add countries, one country nearby. But you talk about airplanes, etc.

Switzerland has one of the best rail systems in Europe, you could easily travel to other places by rail, for example (espec France).

For one month, I can see you might want to do several countries, but you have to have some kind of budget, it can't be open-ended.

PalenQ

don't dismiss the fantastic train system as a way of getting around Europe IMO - if you only fly between big tourist meccas you see only airports and huge heavily touristed cities - the train shows you, obviously, the lay of the land as well in between those tourist meccas that everyone, naturally wants to go to.

I am partial to trains no doubt about that - esp if solo as you seem to be - and with overnight trains, which seem to connect any two cities far enough apart - you also save on a night's hotel costs - board in Paris and wake up in Venice or Rome or Madrid or Barcelona or Munich or Copenhagen or Berlin, etc.

And if traveling enough then consider some kind of railpass - whether one for one country like Switzerland where a very few rides can make a pass pay off or multi-country passes like the Eurail Select Pass where you select up to five countries for that pass to be valid in - a flexipass good for the number of days of unlimited travel spaced as you like as you go along over a two-month period, etc.

anyways for loads on planning a European rail/railpass trip i always put in the limelight these fantastic IME sources - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free and superb IMO European Rail & Planning Guide for suggested itineraries, rail maps, travel times, etc.

scubes

yea need to be specific.

PalenQ

Yes a paucity of folks will even open such a generic thread - but if more specific like "Help needed planning 27-day European Trip - where to go?" would garner many more responses - something like bilbobburgler suggests

close this thread (don't do anything it will sink into Fodor's BlackHole soon if no one responds)

and give yes method of travel - trains, planes or auto or mix - countries preferred, interests, etc

suze

Since you will be in Geneva I highly recommend you take a few days and take the train out along that lake (Lac Leman "Lake Geneva"). The towns of Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux are all beautiful with lots to see and do. There's a hostel called Riviera Lodge in Vevey that is reasonably priced, near the train station, and nice.

tannaz

wow thanks every body for your help to be more specific i'm gonna arrive in geneva on the september 25th. i'm gonna stay for 24days and i have a limited budget that is about 1500 us dollars.i just know how to speak english and no other languages i can speak and i have got a visa that i can go wherever i decide to go in the schengen countries.i need help about selecting the most wonderful places to go and how to plan it.also about how to budget and i do not know if the trains would cost me more or the easyjet flights. i appreciate your kind helps

tannaz

ps: the only must for me is to plan it in the best way and enjoying with minimum possible costs

krgystn

1500 dollars for 24 days?! that is gonna be rough...

tannaz

yep that's why i need help!!

krgystn

can you instead go to South East Asia or Central America (Nicaragua and Guatamala)?

Otherwise, stay at your friend's house the whole time and just do day trips around the area. Eat lots of sandwiches. Take a bunch of walks.

tannaz

is it that expensive? with how much money do you think i can take some trips?

Christina

That's an average of $62 a day for everything. YOu are going to have to spend money on food and entertainment just staying with your friend, so let's say you did that for half the time and spent only $30 a day during those days (I can't imagine, but let's say). Let's say you spend 30x12 or $360 and now have 12 days left or 1500-360=1140 or just under $100 a day for traveling. that is more do-able than $62 a day. Stay in hostels or very cheap hotels in small towns or the country, eat almost nothing and take a few train trips. that is my advice. Visit Switzerland, then take the TGV from Geneva to Dijon then Paris...
I'm sorry, I just can't do this on that budget, not if you want to move around a lot.

krgystn

Switzerland is not a good budget destination. Try Cambodia.

suze

Since you have a place to stay for FREE in Geneva, I would take full advantage of that. While Switerland is not inexpensive, once you remove having to pay for lodging each night, that really stretches your budget.

tannaz

ok what if i can pay about 2000dollars? does it make diffrences? how should i pay it to be charged minimum?

tannaz

and which places do you suggest me to plan to visit?

suze

Here's one example:
from Geneva take the train out to Vevey. It's only about an hour and a 2nd class train ticket doesn't cost much. You can stay at www.rivieralodge.ch which is a very nice hostel near the train station and right on the lake for 30chf/20euro a night. Vevey has a wonderful Saturday morning farmers market in the town square. There are also boat rides on the lake. You can catch the bus or train out to Montreux and visit Chateau de Chillonn. There are inexpensive cafes (look for ones with a chalkboard on the sidewalk and a daily workman's special listed), bakeries, or the grocery store. You could spend 4-5 days in this area and be well within your $60-80/day budget.