raz1024

I have never been to Europe and am planning a 2 week trip with a friend. I know it's not much time and I don't know if I'll get back so want to make it really great!
Should I try to see a lot or would it be better to just stick to one or two countries?
My friend has been to London, Rome, Paris.
What about London for a couple of days, then tourning around Scotland for the remainder? More interested in the people and the countryside than the pubbing...
This is a really big deal to me, so I could use some help. We're also on a budget, but can't see staying at hostels - maybe B&B's??

adrienne

You can see lots of things in different ways. I've zoomed around and seen lots of places but not much in each place and traveled more slowly and savored where I was and seen lots in that one place.

The first option doesn't work well for me. I highly recommend more leisurely travel because it's more relaxing (less stressful) and you'll spend less time traveling here and there and more enjoying where you are.

I would spend more than a couple of days in London. Start reading about it and then decide what you can fit into 2-3 days. Figure on doing 2 to 3 sights each day (depending on how much time each will take). I believe any large city deserves 5 days minimum.

You could then take the sleeper train to Scotland (or fly), pick up a rental car and see Scotland for 9 days.

Don't forget the pubbing. It's part of the culture. Drinks are inexpensive (outside London) and you don't tip bartenders in pubs (more money for the drinks).

You can find reasonably priced B&Bs in Scotland - just stop in the Tourist Info places and they'll book you into a B&B for a small sum.

It sounds like a great trip - I love both London and Scotland (my grandfather was born in Scotland). There's lots of beautiful scenery and hiking.

When were you planning on going?

aschie30

I would not try to jam pack in as many countries as possible. Many people go on their first trip to Europe and think they'll never go back and they do. So I would go for quality over quantity and focus on 1 large country or 1 or 2 smaller countries and that's it. 2 weeks is not a lot of time.

You state that you're planning a trip to Europe - so that could mean anywhere and you can't see Europe, even in a whirlwind, in 2 weeks. So I've limited my response to England because that's what you mention.

I would just spend the whole two weeks combining England, Scotland, and maybe Wales. London deserves at least five days.

If you've read up on London, you can discern that there's no way to see the major sights in 2 days. There are also adjacent towns where you'd want to spend a day or so, like Hampstead Heath or Greenwich. You'll also want to leave plenty of time to explore the various "neighborhoods" of London, such as Soho, Clerkenwell, Kensington, Southwark, etc. and time for one or two pints in a pub.

From there, I would move on to some of England's other great places, like Bath, the Lake District, York, Canterbury, too many to mention. And then onto maybe Wales and Scotland.

mamc

On my first trip to Europe and with only two weeks, I would not spend 12 days touring around Scotland. In fact, on my first trip to Europe, I did spend 5 days in Scotland and, while we really enjoyed the experience, there are so many other places to visit. You might consider 4 days in London, 4 days in Paris and 4 days in the countryside between, perhaps Normandy. Or 4 days in London, 4 days in Venice and the rest of the time in the English or Italian countryside. What time of year are you planning to go?

raz1024

I should have given you more info. We are planning on going in 2006, likely spring or fall (when not as touristy or as expensive and hopefully weather not too bad). My friend visits England about once a year as her only relatives live in Estonia. So she has had the opportunity to see quite a few things. I don't want to infringe on her spending her time doing things she has already done, however, she was the one that suggested we spend a couple of days in London, then visit her relatives in Estonia, and then maybe get a flight to Scotland (as I had mentioned Scotland at one point).- I have read books with stories based in Scotland/England and this has given me some very lovely images of the place/people and the countryside.
My friend and I are both quite active and we both have a lot of energy and would really enjoy some kind of active component to this trip. I am looking on this trip as an adventure and am open to almost anything.
I agree that it would likely be better spending more time in any given place than trying to see too much to really experience the culture etc.
My husband isn't big into travel, but has expressed an interest in going to England at some point, so I am keeping that on the backburner, and am not too concerned about seeing a lot in England at this time.

raz1024

Another thought, I guess, would be to take advantage of the places my friend has been (and not been), and really do those places right. I'm sure there are still a lot of places she hasn't been or would like to return to. I will try to get her into this conversation with us.

ira

Hi raz,

My suggestion is visit your friends relatives in Estonia and then fly to Paris for the rest of your two weeks.

From Paris, you can take 2 daytrips.

See Scotland when you visit the UK with your DH.

You will get back.

suze

This doesn't really go along the lines you're thinking but Paris and Venice make a fantastic combination and are beautifully contrasting cities. Or maybe Amsterdam and Paris taking the train between. You could still include (or skip) the London and Scotland without being too rushed.

Tamm

I am the travel friend. I have travelled a number of places over the years - a lot because of European family connections. I've seen Germany, Italy, France, Estonia and England. I love Europe and would go back to every place I been so far, but probably we should discover at least one new place!
Another factor to consider is the language barrier - neither Rosemary or I speak another language(s). So, wherever we decide on we need to be in an area that is open to "English" only people!
Having never been to Scotland, I am interested in exploring and would love to do a hike for a few/couple of days. Again, I also love Paris and London/
I think the best thing to do would be to identify two areas and take the time we need to really enjoy rather than travelling none stop (we're too old for that anyway - that was a 20's thing!).
Open to all suggestions...

suze

I don't speak any other language than English (nothing I'm proud of just a fact) and have had no problem traveling in Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, and Switzerland. You don't need a 2nd language to travel. Especially on a trip of a "lifetime" I think it is would be ashame to let that influence your destinations. All of Europe is "open to English-only people"!