eurobound2012

Hello Fellow Travelers!

This will be my 3rd time in Europe and my boyfriend's first time in Europe! We are thinking of going for 3 months and staying in 3 different cities, so that we will have a "home base" and go traveling from there. I'm thinking Florence for one month, Budapest for another, and....???? Wish list for places to visit include Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Czech, Croatia, Hungary, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Florence is pretty central in the west and Budapest in the east, but what other city??? Also, anyone know of good websites for places to stay for a month at a time?? Thanks for any suggestions!!

qwovadis

www.backpackeurope.com

www.eurocheapo.com

Couple of good sites for you

Have done this in the past on regional trains

hopping on and off like a local...

www.eurolines.com bus pass works best for super budget

Usually do the south first till weather warms then

up to the north in August when everybody heads to the beach.

The cities idea makes no sense distances too far...

Extended stays are best done when you get there.

www.hopitalityclub.org good site helpful locals.

Hang on to your wallet in Denmark.

Backpackers insurance cloumbusdirect.com always wise

Happy Travels!

bobthenavigator

Why only 3 places--why not 6, or 12?

michele_d

I agree with bobthenavigator...why not more places. And I don't mean 1 or 2 night stays. We were in Europe for 13 weeks and averaged about one week in each place. We stayed in apts and loved the slower pace. We had a lease car which worked out great. Instead of just seeing the cities we were able to visit the small towns and villages also. Just something to think about. There is soooooo much to see.

november_moon

This would be a dream come true...now how to get someone to feed the cats for 3 months...hmmmmm...

I like the idea of homebases rather than lots of short stays, and you have the time, so I think that is definitely the way to go. I agree with the others though - choose more bases. 1-3 weeks in each place sounds great, and if it was my trip, I would shuffle in some stays in smaller places rather than just cities. There are some neat small cities and towns in Europe.

charnees

For example, stay a week or so in Bologna and visit places in Northern Italy, them go to Orvieto and tour around central Italy, then down to Napkes to see some of the south.

eurobound2012

Thanks for the tips so far!

Michele D - How did you lease a car? I would love to do that! Website or do you have a contact? Thx

loveners

Hi Eurobound2012. Pugeot and Citroen both offer lease deals. I haven't used either but have received positive recommendations for pugeot.

Cheers, lovener1

bobthenavigator

Look at kemwel.com for their lease deal. You will need to pick the right cities for pick up and drop--preferably in France to avoid surcharges---but it can be a great deal.

michele_d

Hi eurobound2012,
We leased our car through the buy-back program at AutoEurope. http://www.autoeurope.com/buyback.cfm

Don't let the words 'buy back' frighten you. You buy nothing. It worked just like a regular car rental except Auto Europe needed a copy of our passports.

We picked our car up just outside of Paris and dropped it off in Rome. All very easy. No problems whatsoever.

We really loved having our own car. Since we were gone for so long the trunk served as an extra closet of sorts, depending on the weather. We had to bring everything from capris and tanks to long underwear, heavier jackets and hiking boots.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have.

Oh, and the lease cost $3000 for 10 weeks. That included full insurance which is standard with their lease.
Happy planning,
Michele

eurobound2012

Thanks Michele...I'll look into it! We're till debating train vs. car....hmmmm