Berlin, Paris, London: 2 weeks, 3 people
Jul 16th, 2014, 05:07 AM
#62
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London and Paris work so well together logistically. Is there another city that fiance would like nearly as much as Berlin that would be a better fit? Amsterdam is beautiful, very different from Paris and London and an easy train trip from Paris. You could even make a stop at some smaller towns, which offer experiences that are unique and so very different from cities in Europe. Look at some images of Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.
If you keep the three you have, check flights from London to Berlin and Paris to Berlin, and from US to each, so you can book multi-city tickets, say:
Fly into London, train to Paris, fly to Berlin, home from Berlin or
Fly into Berlin, fly to London, train to Paris, home from Paris.
Besides typical differences in flight costs, departure taxes may also make it cost more to fly out of one city than another.
If you keep the three you have, check flights from London to Berlin and Paris to Berlin, and from US to each, so you can book multi-city tickets, say:
Fly into London, train to Paris, fly to Berlin, home from Berlin or
Fly into Berlin, fly to London, train to Paris, home from Paris.
Besides typical differences in flight costs, departure taxes may also make it cost more to fly out of one city than another.
Jul 16th, 2014, 05:35 AM
#63
I think Berlin can be fit in easily enough. However, both London and Paris deserve five full days each ( meaning 6 nights) and maybe an additional day in which ever is your arrival city to allow for jet lag.
With travel time that leaves very little/no time for Berlin. If you mean two weeks total that is only about 11 or 11.5 days 'on the ground'. So if you can stretch it out to 2.5 weeks you can more easily fit in all three if your 'must' cities.
With travel time that leaves very little/no time for Berlin. If you mean two weeks total that is only about 11 or 11.5 days 'on the ground'. So if you can stretch it out to 2.5 weeks you can more easily fit in all three if your 'must' cities.
Jul 24th, 2014, 05:56 AM
#64
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Berlin is definitely the cheapest of the 3 cities you guys are traveling to! There are many options to find a cheap stay. Quality of food is really good in Germany and being able to prepare a home cooked meal can be a big help on the weight of your wallet 
rental apartments are best for this since you’ll be in your private flat and able to come and go whenever you want (I’ve used http://www.tc-apartments-berlin.de/en/Default.aspx a few times before and have found apartments with my girlfriend for 40€ a night). Also public transportation will take you anywhere so even living a few minutes outside of the center won’t hurt, especially since you guys can save at least 20€ a night that way. A day ticket with the S-Bahn is somewhere around 5-10€ and you guys can travel the whole city by u-bahn/s-bahn and bus with the same pass. For your stay in Paris and London I can advise to rent an apartment through Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/) or sometimes people have an extra room or two in their apartment. This way you meet many interesting people that are happy to give you many tips about sightseeing and interesting things about their hometown. London will be the most expensive stop on your Euro trip. But save the best for last and go all out. Buying an Underground Pass is 5 £ (which you will get back when you return the pass) but still need to load money onto it (you pay by faire and I think it max’s out at 10£ a day, and you can travel as much as you want after you’ve exceeded the limit). Regarding the sightseeing, Paris and London definitely have more to offer than Berlin, so I’d plan a little more time in France and the UK even though the Berlin nightlife can’t be topped. Overall I’d plan plus/ minus 100€ a day (for the UK 100£/day) for food/stay/transportation/pocket money. Hope this helps, just my 2 cents, since I really enjoy traveling through these three cities as well. Have fun
rental apartments are best for this since you’ll be in your private flat and able to come and go whenever you want (I’ve used http://www.tc-apartments-berlin.de/en/Default.aspx a few times before and have found apartments with my girlfriend for 40€ a night). Also public transportation will take you anywhere so even living a few minutes outside of the center won’t hurt, especially since you guys can save at least 20€ a night that way. A day ticket with the S-Bahn is somewhere around 5-10€ and you guys can travel the whole city by u-bahn/s-bahn and bus with the same pass. For your stay in Paris and London I can advise to rent an apartment through Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/) or sometimes people have an extra room or two in their apartment. This way you meet many interesting people that are happy to give you many tips about sightseeing and interesting things about their hometown. London will be the most expensive stop on your Euro trip. But save the best for last and go all out. Buying an Underground Pass is 5 £ (which you will get back when you return the pass) but still need to load money onto it (you pay by faire and I think it max’s out at 10£ a day, and you can travel as much as you want after you’ve exceeded the limit). Regarding the sightseeing, Paris and London definitely have more to offer than Berlin, so I’d plan a little more time in France and the UK even though the Berlin nightlife can’t be topped. Overall I’d plan plus/ minus 100€ a day (for the UK 100£/day) for food/stay/transportation/pocket money. Hope this helps, just my 2 cents, since I really enjoy traveling through these three cities as well. Have fun
Jul 24th, 2014, 12:47 PM
#65
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It really is just absurd and unhelpful for people to spread their personal travel anxieties on the internet under the guise of "experienced travel advice."
99 percent of American adults who are old enough to get married and take care of a child can rent an apartment in Europe. Thousands of "first time" travelers to Europe now do this EVERY DAY. A new generation of internet users and participants in the "share" economy are not flummoxed by this at all -- and I would like to point out that in previous generations, plenty of people traveled in Europe without any plans at all, without a CLUE, without a foreign language, and with nothing more than a rental car and a guidebook, and nobody died.
Get a grip, people.
99 percent of American adults who are old enough to get married and take care of a child can rent an apartment in Europe. Thousands of "first time" travelers to Europe now do this EVERY DAY. A new generation of internet users and participants in the "share" economy are not flummoxed by this at all -- and I would like to point out that in previous generations, plenty of people traveled in Europe without any plans at all, without a CLUE, without a foreign language, and with nothing more than a rental car and a guidebook, and nobody died.
Get a grip, people.
Jul 24th, 2014, 01:18 PM
#66
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It's very difficult to give the OP a real budget - since although she asked for a "touch of luxury" we don't really know what that means. I can;t imagine that she is expecting to stay at the Georges V. However, she might be expecting white tablecloth restaurants versus a croque monsieur at the corner cafe.
And she might be looking at more upscale lodging (all rooms with AC, large rooms and elegant decor) versus smaller rooms, IKEA furniture and open the windows to let in a breeze.
She seems not to understand that one can travel on all types of budgets, based on what you want and what you are willing to give up. And people here know the budget they would use to travel to their standard - but not to hers.
We just don't know what her standard is (and knowing she is from the US - that she may expect AC, large rooms and even free cooked breakfasts - when this is NOT the rule in europe).
It would help if she would delineate her expectations.
And if she or one of her companions would START looking at prices online to get an idea of what things cost. For instance, entry to the Tower of London is about $36 for an adult, the Eiffel Tower is about $20 and the Pergamon museum complex is about $25. All are quite a chunk if you think each person is living on $100 per day (or even 100 euros a day).
She needs to build a ground up budget based on how they want to travel.
And she might be looking at more upscale lodging (all rooms with AC, large rooms and elegant decor) versus smaller rooms, IKEA furniture and open the windows to let in a breeze.
She seems not to understand that one can travel on all types of budgets, based on what you want and what you are willing to give up. And people here know the budget they would use to travel to their standard - but not to hers.
We just don't know what her standard is (and knowing she is from the US - that she may expect AC, large rooms and even free cooked breakfasts - when this is NOT the rule in europe).
It would help if she would delineate her expectations.
And if she or one of her companions would START looking at prices online to get an idea of what things cost. For instance, entry to the Tower of London is about $36 for an adult, the Eiffel Tower is about $20 and the Pergamon museum complex is about $25. All are quite a chunk if you think each person is living on $100 per day (or even 100 euros a day).
She needs to build a ground up budget based on how they want to travel.
Jul 24th, 2014, 07:02 PM
#67
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We just stayed at the NH MItte Berlin, a very nice hotel for 62 euros a night. I watched prices on bookimg .com, and they dropped a few weeks out. We were thrilled with its location and cleanliness
4 nights were adequete. Enjoying the world cup games each evening was fun, at the fan zone.
After 6 more nights in Germany we crossed into France. We used a rental car. In Paris we had a nice hotel, Hotel Verdome near the rodin museum for 358 euros for 2 nights. This was for their smallest room. The location was wonderful for walking to the eiffel tower for the celebration and firwoks on July 14. Plus the morning military parade. Both events were very crowded.
Hotels in germany averaged 90 euros per night, france a bit more.
Hope you have a great trip. I book most of our lodging on booking.com now. Its free and easy.
4 nights were adequete. Enjoying the world cup games each evening was fun, at the fan zone.
After 6 more nights in Germany we crossed into France. We used a rental car. In Paris we had a nice hotel, Hotel Verdome near the rodin museum for 358 euros for 2 nights. This was for their smallest room. The location was wonderful for walking to the eiffel tower for the celebration and firwoks on July 14. Plus the morning military parade. Both events were very crowded.
Hotels in germany averaged 90 euros per night, france a bit more.
Hope you have a great trip. I book most of our lodging on booking.com now. Its free and easy.
