20 something students traveling from London
Sep 10th, 2012, 02:17 PM
#1
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20 something students traveling from London
We are a group of mostly young women who are studying in London for the semester and want to take as many weekend trips away as possible. Our list of places we want to see are Prague, Paris, Ireland, Amsterdam and Italy if possible. We are looking for any advice for places to go with safety and price being our paramount concerns. Our flat is near the Waterloo station.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Sep 10th, 2012, 02:35 PM
#2
Our list of places we want to see are Prague, Paris, Ireland, Amsterdam and Italy if possible. We are looking for any advice for places to go with safety and price being our paramount concerns.>>
firstly, none of those places should present safety problems. if you are ok in London, you'll be ok there.
secondly, you need to plan ahead to get the cheapest prices. for example, the eurostar to Paris is a lot cheaper if you book as soon as tickets become available - 90 days in advance, I think.
thirdly, you need to start looking at the cheap airlines like ryanair and easyjet, and finding out how they will work out for you - you need to factor in not just the flight costs, but getting to and from the airport/s.
fourthly - accommodation. places on the outskirts of cities can look attractively priced, but what you save you may lose on the cost of getting to see the things you are interested in[ usually in the centre] and the time it takes you to get there. if you only have a weekend in, say, Paris, you don't want to spend all your time on the metro. booking.com and venere.com are good places to look as you can choose your areas, organise by price, and look at reviews by real people who have stayed there.
firstly, none of those places should present safety problems. if you are ok in London, you'll be ok there.
secondly, you need to plan ahead to get the cheapest prices. for example, the eurostar to Paris is a lot cheaper if you book as soon as tickets become available - 90 days in advance, I think.
thirdly, you need to start looking at the cheap airlines like ryanair and easyjet, and finding out how they will work out for you - you need to factor in not just the flight costs, but getting to and from the airport/s.
fourthly - accommodation. places on the outskirts of cities can look attractively priced, but what you save you may lose on the cost of getting to see the things you are interested in[ usually in the centre] and the time it takes you to get there. if you only have a weekend in, say, Paris, you don't want to spend all your time on the metro. booking.com and venere.com are good places to look as you can choose your areas, organise by price, and look at reviews by real people who have stayed there.
Sep 10th, 2012, 02:37 PM
#3
Well you may get to know Stansted airport pretty well.
Look at cheepo airlines like easyjet and Ryanair (assume you will be treated like cattle and it gets quiet nice). Flights booked about 8 weeks before you need to go will get the best prices. Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome, Pisa, Venice, Florence, Dublin, Prague, Edinburgh, Glasgow all look good and are generally safe. When you chose a city and a possible flight take care incase the actual airport is merely called "Paris" but over 80km from the city, some of the cheepo airlines have a sense of humour.
You need to talk through sensible safety actions in a city before you go but lets face it you need it in London. Generally you need to learn the city face and know where you are going rather than wander around lost. If this really is a fear (rather than a sensible concern), then you will find low cost self defense courses on in London (look at Time Out).
Depending on numbers and exactly how long you can get to be there accomodation in appartments or hostels may prove the best. Some hostels are dossy, but sensible research will identify the better ones, I'm not an expert but the thorntree website will advise. The benefit of an appartment is that you can eat well from local supermarkets, but you all have to keep the place clean.
Public transport in Europe (particularly Western Europe) is very good, so aim to use metro trains, trams and even buses to keep the costs down
You can search on each of the cities by surfing this website or rading a good book. Rough Guide for Europe will give you a quick overview.
Look at cheepo airlines like easyjet and Ryanair (assume you will be treated like cattle and it gets quiet nice). Flights booked about 8 weeks before you need to go will get the best prices. Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome, Pisa, Venice, Florence, Dublin, Prague, Edinburgh, Glasgow all look good and are generally safe. When you chose a city and a possible flight take care incase the actual airport is merely called "Paris" but over 80km from the city, some of the cheepo airlines have a sense of humour.
You need to talk through sensible safety actions in a city before you go but lets face it you need it in London. Generally you need to learn the city face and know where you are going rather than wander around lost. If this really is a fear (rather than a sensible concern), then you will find low cost self defense courses on in London (look at Time Out).
Depending on numbers and exactly how long you can get to be there accomodation in appartments or hostels may prove the best. Some hostels are dossy, but sensible research will identify the better ones, I'm not an expert but the thorntree website will advise. The benefit of an appartment is that you can eat well from local supermarkets, but you all have to keep the place clean.
Public transport in Europe (particularly Western Europe) is very good, so aim to use metro trains, trams and even buses to keep the costs down
You can search on each of the cities by surfing this website or rading a good book. Rough Guide for Europe will give you a quick overview.
Sep 10th, 2012, 04:27 PM
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When my daughter did her study abroad year in Ireland, she traveled a lot through Europe, often by herself. I don't think you'll have any problems with safety in a group, as long as you use common sense.
Being in Ireland, there were a lot of cheap flights on Ryanair, but some involved overnights in airports and lots of fiddly charges for things. So, be sure to read ALL the fine print with Ryanair.
She discovered Hostels.com while in Europe and said it was great for booking her hostel accommodations. She used it again when she and her brother went to Europe last year. She showed me how it worked and I would certainly recommend it too.
Being in Ireland, there were a lot of cheap flights on Ryanair, but some involved overnights in airports and lots of fiddly charges for things. So, be sure to read ALL the fine print with Ryanair.
She discovered Hostels.com while in Europe and said it was great for booking her hostel accommodations. She used it again when she and her brother went to Europe last year. She showed me how it worked and I would certainly recommend it too.
Sep 10th, 2012, 05:43 PM
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Thank you longhorn55. The more information we can pass along to our parents in the states the better!
We are in London now so we don’t have the 90 days to search out flight prices but the hostels will help. People around me keep mentioning rail passes but it sounds like we have a lot of good options with inexpensive airfare.
We are in London now so we don’t have the 90 days to search out flight prices but the hostels will help. People around me keep mentioning rail passes but it sounds like we have a lot of good options with inexpensive airfare.
Sep 10th, 2012, 08:43 PM
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Fly Easyjet rather than Ryanair if you have the choice. However check out an Inter Rail pass....much more fun than flying and more chance to meet people. Also you can travel overnight sometimes and save a night's accommodation cost.
This book is useful http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Train.../dp/186105713X
This book is useful http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Train.../dp/186105713X
Sep 10th, 2012, 10:43 PM
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We took the train and overnight ferry to Amsterdam for the weekend, great value and saved us a couple nights hotel.
Info is here http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#train+ferry this is also a great site for train travel.
Our trip report is here http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-adventure.cfm
Eurostar has a sale to Paris and Brussels right now - travel return for €59 each.
Enjoy!
Info is here http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#train+ferry this is also a great site for train travel.
Our trip report is here http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-adventure.cfm
Eurostar has a sale to Paris and Brussels right now - travel return for €59 each.
Enjoy!
Sep 10th, 2012, 10:52 PM
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Do not take Ryanair to Paris, they use Beauvais airport which is far away( an hour and a half by bus) and since some of there arrival and departure times suck its hard to commute into Paris. Look at Easyjet, they use much more convenient airports which have quicker and easier train into cities.
For Italy look at Vueling, good cheap airline, I have used them twice).
Safety not an issue but do watch your stuck re pickpockets, pretty common sense really, but do be aware of that !!
For Italy look at Vueling, good cheap airline, I have used them twice).
Safety not an issue but do watch your stuck re pickpockets, pretty common sense really, but do be aware of that !!
Sep 11th, 2012, 10:11 PM
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Unless the US where passengers are allowed to take steamertrunks on as hand luggage, airlines in Europe are sticklers for the rules - so read them so you know how many bags make one bag, what size your luggage can be, how much it weighs, whether you have to check-in on-line and print off a boarding pass, how you are going to get to & from the airport used on the date and time you are travelling.
As always I refer you to the standard text on the subject - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc
And don't forget everything that the UK can offer (including London). It's amazing how many people travel around Europe yet never get to the world class attraction five minutes from home
As always I refer you to the standard text on the subject - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc
And don't forget everything that the UK can offer (including London). It's amazing how many people travel around Europe yet never get to the world class attraction five minutes from home
Sep 12th, 2012, 07:43 AM
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We met a young man on the EuroStar from London to Paris. He was traveling alone, choosing destinations as he went. He said AirBnB was a huge help finding cheap places and reading reviews of them.
