jennmorin32

I am finally starting to plan my first European adventure! I am 22 and will be graduating from college in December. My plan is to leave the US on December 24 or 25th for London. I would like to spend New Years in London, then travel to Italy on January 1st or 2nd.

During my week in London, I want to take the train to Brussels for a day or two, then spend the rest of my time in London. As far as Italy goes I am hoping to spend the bulk of my time in Florence and Rome, but I'd really like to get ideas of small costal towns to visit.

I have no idea where to start planning! I have a list of some of the more common tourist sights I'd like to see but besides seeing those, I'd really like to just go out in the morning and see where the day takes me. I've looked into renting an apartment via AirBnb.com because I don't want to pay for an expensive hotel and I am not a hostel person. I've budgeted about $5,000 for this trip.

I'm in desperate need of advice and travel tips! Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

anyegr

Does that budget include flights? I assume you are planning to fly from London to Italy, but how are you going to travel around inside Italy? Train or bus or rent a car?

How long are you staying in Italy, anyway? One week? Two? Rome is a beautiful city with lots of old buildings and there should be lots to see even in winter. Not sure if small coastal towns would be much fun in early January. It certainly isn't going to be beach weather.

Renting an apartment may not be that much cheaper for a single person. I've done some looking around for my own trips, but have always been able to find cheaper hotel rooms, at least for shorter stays. It may also be difficult to rent a cheap one in the middle of Christmas. And, unless your little sidetrip to Brussels is at the beginning or end of your stay in London, you could get stuck with paying for a hotel room in Brussels while still having to pay for the apartment for that night.

You should probably repost your question on the Europe forum if you want lots of answers.

jennmorin32

Note: I also posted this on the Europe forum.

My original plan was:

December 25 - leave US for London
December 26 - Arrive in London
January 1/2 - Travel to Italy (train or flight)
January 8/9 - Fly back to US out of Rome

I was going to try and do it over these dates because 1) I wanted to spend New Year's in London to see the fireworks 2) It is less expensive and 3) It isn't the peak of tourist season. When I travel I like to experience as much as possible outside of the regular tourist areas.

anyegr

If you only have a week in Italy I don't think you will have time for more than two cities there. Or one big city and one small coastal town.

LucyStanmore

In London, you must not miss the museums: National History Museum, Science Museum, National Gallery etc. Otherwise, you can just stroll around the center and admire the architecture and history of the British Capital. St. Paul's Cathedral is also a must-see.

In Italy, I would suggest you to visit Rome and one of the following coastal towns: Capri, Manarola or Positano.

bigtyke

fly to Italy from London

needmorevacation

Maybe Fly to Brussels, take the train to London and then fly to Italy?

If you're wanting to rent an apartment, and then go to Brussels, from London, you'll be paying 2x for accommodations for as long as you're in Brussels...

Also, the train from London to Rome is about 15 hours...

Tabernash2

http://www.statravel.com/?from_US=true

This site is geared toward young solo travelers like yourself. They have offices at many campuses, so you can get one-on-one advice. We used them when DD studied in Italy, and they were the best when she needed to change her return flight home.

Tabernash2

Why Brussels? You can get to Paris easily from Rome, on the EuroStar.

Grandvoyage

From your post, I am concluding that you will be staying in london for 5 to 6 days. In this duration, you can visit the famous Madame Tussads, Opera House, London Bridge, London museum and even the Trafalgar Square.
how many days' stay are you planning in Italy?

janisj

GrandVoyage -- I know you are trying to tout your website . . . but maybe you need to actually go to London before recommending places. It seems you really don't know much about the city (London Bridge?? Look it up - it isn't the one you probably think it is). Also - there s no 'London Museum' - could you mean the Museum of London, or the much larger/more famous British Museum?

Tabernash2

Madame Tussaud's sounds boring.

There's a cool event you can attend for free, called the Ceremony of the Keys. It's the official ceremonial closing of the Tower, done every night at sunset. It's really interesting.

You can google for information. You need to plan ahead, send an international stamped, self-addressed envelope to them for the tickets. An old-fashioned way to do it.

janisj

>>You need to plan ahead, send an international stamped, self-addressed envelope to them for the tickets. An old-fashioned way to do it.<<

Just a note -- International Reply Coupons are no longer sold by the USPS . . . Info how to request tix is explained here:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/...emonyofthekeys

I see they are <i>finally</i> going to on-line bookings starting w/ January next year. I'll sort of miss the 'old fashioned way', Getting an envelope from Her Majesty's Tower of London always impressed my mail carrier

Tabernash2

Thanks, janis. The old method was cumbersome. We did it several years ago. For a free event, it's pretty awesome.