First time Solo Trip - 4 weeks in Europe
Jul 6th, 2012, 05:27 PM
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First time Solo Trip - 4 weeks in Europe
Aloha!
I am traveling from Hawai'i to go to a summer program at the University of Amsterdam next summer in July, 2013. I decided that it would be wise to embark on a new adventure through Europe and leave a bit early (around June 1st), leaving me about 30 days to travel. I've been to Italy and Greece and loved both; so far I've narrowed where I would like to go down to: Ireland or Spain, France, and Czech Republic and end up in Amsterdam to start school July 1st. I would love to throw Florence in there too, but I think it may be crunching on time..
I'm an adventurous 25 year old woman who loves seeing extraordinary things including those of which are in nature, itself! I like to hike, swim, dance, sing, eat, drink, converse, explore, and of course laugh! Any cities or views you think would be worth seeing for a person like me, please throw them at me!
My summer program will cost a good amount and I will be left with about $7000 left to spend on travel (incl. flight from Hawai'i). BTW Thank you student loans!
I have NEVER done a solo trip ANYWHERE! So any first time-pointers, please - by all means, tell me!
I love this site! Thank you for any replies! <3
I am traveling from Hawai'i to go to a summer program at the University of Amsterdam next summer in July, 2013. I decided that it would be wise to embark on a new adventure through Europe and leave a bit early (around June 1st), leaving me about 30 days to travel. I've been to Italy and Greece and loved both; so far I've narrowed where I would like to go down to: Ireland or Spain, France, and Czech Republic and end up in Amsterdam to start school July 1st. I would love to throw Florence in there too, but I think it may be crunching on time..
I'm an adventurous 25 year old woman who loves seeing extraordinary things including those of which are in nature, itself! I like to hike, swim, dance, sing, eat, drink, converse, explore, and of course laugh! Any cities or views you think would be worth seeing for a person like me, please throw them at me!
My summer program will cost a good amount and I will be left with about $7000 left to spend on travel (incl. flight from Hawai'i). BTW Thank you student loans!
I have NEVER done a solo trip ANYWHERE! So any first time-pointers, please - by all means, tell me!
I love this site! Thank you for any replies! <3
Jul 6th, 2012, 10:47 PM
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First have a look at this Forum (and others on the Internet) for discussions of single travel. Several good threads by long time travelers who travel solo. This should put your mind at ease.
Touring in all respects is quite personal. Hard for readers to place themselves in your shoes (your interests, likes/dislikes, etc.) all factor into recommendations. What type of sights do you like mountains, museums, shore, or something else. Food, drink and activities can be found in all the areas of interest (to a greater or lesser degree). But if you want to do museum crawls, or pub crawls for that matter, some countries are more favorable than others.
I notice you are focusing on four countries. Rich history in all four listed. Ireland has great sites but fewer musuems (more Dublin centric) ... does that matter? France has both scenery and fantastic museums. Spain likewise. The Czech Republic is a bit closer to Ireland (museums are Prague centric).
You are in the driver's seat ... the choices and priorities are yours (not ours). If you can spend a bit of time narrowing your options down ... for example, do you want to spend all your time in a single country (depth) or hit 2 or 3 (more breadth). Think a bit and come back with a more focused approach to your questions ... that will help readers direct you to specific answers and experiences.
Touring in all respects is quite personal. Hard for readers to place themselves in your shoes (your interests, likes/dislikes, etc.) all factor into recommendations. What type of sights do you like mountains, museums, shore, or something else. Food, drink and activities can be found in all the areas of interest (to a greater or lesser degree). But if you want to do museum crawls, or pub crawls for that matter, some countries are more favorable than others.
I notice you are focusing on four countries. Rich history in all four listed. Ireland has great sites but fewer musuems (more Dublin centric) ... does that matter? France has both scenery and fantastic museums. Spain likewise. The Czech Republic is a bit closer to Ireland (museums are Prague centric).
You are in the driver's seat ... the choices and priorities are yours (not ours). If you can spend a bit of time narrowing your options down ... for example, do you want to spend all your time in a single country (depth) or hit 2 or 3 (more breadth). Think a bit and come back with a more focused approach to your questions ... that will help readers direct you to specific answers and experiences.
Jul 7th, 2012, 05:14 AM
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First, as we fly to Rome from Atlanta in a few weeks, I will not complain as you have a haul ahead of you. But I love Hawaii! I hope your time in Europe is extraordinary. I would have loved to do something like that as a college student. Travel is the greatest education out there!
So, you are excited about the possibilities but you may need to come up with some must sees and possible itinerary so we can help a bit more.
It looks like you want to be more active and maybe not as into museums...is that correct?
For me, I love Paris and there are lots of great day trips around Paris. But, part of Paris are the fantastic museums ? Maybe you enjoy the fat tire bike tours in Paris, Versailles or Barcelona.
http://fattirebiketours.com/paris/
Tell us a bit more about where you really want to go,
So, you are excited about the possibilities but you may need to come up with some must sees and possible itinerary so we can help a bit more.
It looks like you want to be more active and maybe not as into museums...is that correct?
For me, I love Paris and there are lots of great day trips around Paris. But, part of Paris are the fantastic museums ? Maybe you enjoy the fat tire bike tours in Paris, Versailles or Barcelona.
http://fattirebiketours.com/paris/
Tell us a bit more about where you really want to go,
Jul 7th, 2012, 06:06 AM
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If I were you, I would look in depth at flying in to Barcelona, then wend your way through several stops in Spain toward France. Possibly up through Basque country into France, and deciding where you want to visit in France with your final French destination being Paris. You can then hop the train to Amsterdam. No doubt there will be a couple weekends during the summer when you can visit other places in Belgium and France easily from AMS with new friends.
Save Ireland for another trip and Prague for another trip. Plan your return flight from AMS.
Save Ireland for another trip and Prague for another trip. Plan your return flight from AMS.
Jul 7th, 2012, 11:50 AM
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Thank you guys for all the advice!
I definitely am more of the adventurous type (bike, hike, mountains, ocean, views, etc.) but am also a history buff and would love to see the art as well as architecture throughout all the cities. I will only be staying about 60 days total (incl. my summer program), so no worries concerning the timing. Now that I think about it, Spain and France are definitely my top choices in this trip, especially coming from the tropics, it would be a nice transition going up to the Netherlands after seeing beaches, as well as the city life. Have any of you been Toledo, Barcelona, French Pyrenees, Nice, Paris? These seem to be very appealing to me, personally, but would love input on other beautiful places to go on this trip!
Thank you so much for all the advice so far!!
I definitely am more of the adventurous type (bike, hike, mountains, ocean, views, etc.) but am also a history buff and would love to see the art as well as architecture throughout all the cities. I will only be staying about 60 days total (incl. my summer program), so no worries concerning the timing. Now that I think about it, Spain and France are definitely my top choices in this trip, especially coming from the tropics, it would be a nice transition going up to the Netherlands after seeing beaches, as well as the city life. Have any of you been Toledo, Barcelona, French Pyrenees, Nice, Paris? These seem to be very appealing to me, personally, but would love input on other beautiful places to go on this trip!
Thank you so much for all the advice so far!!
