So my friends and I are seniors at the University of Maryland and we are hoping to be able to travel to Europe this upcoming summer after we graduate (there are 4 of us). We noticed that there is an offer through UMD for traveling to Europe with a group of fellow graduates and they claim it is a good deal. However, i am somewhat suspicious of how "good" a deal it is.

Here is a link to the package: http://umaa.umd.edu/Travel/2013/2013.../essential.pdf

Basically, it costs $3500 (no airfare included) to travel though 8 countries in 19 days on a bit of a whirlwind tour which includes the costs for housing each night in addition to travel and some food and entertainment. Now i understand that Europe can be expensive, but $185 a day seem a bit exorbitant to me, which is why i am asking the community here (who i presume are well versed in travel costs), is this a good deal? Or would we be better off planning our own trip? I understand it will be more work on our end to plan our trip but if it costs less and allows for more freedom, then that is what we will do. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this "deal" from UMD.

Thanks very much!

$185 a day isn't exorbitant - but that $185 a day is only a part of what you will spend. It only includes the 17 breakfasts and 7 dinners and <i>some</i> sightseeing. You're likely to spend on average another $50 a day or so. (nothing extra some days but $50-$100 extra on others)

but that tour would be nasty IMO. It is 17 nights - for EIGHT countries . . .

It mostly looks like a fund raiser for the department and to earn free passage for the school rep.They have the gall to charge $295/£185 per night hotel-only for a single room London add on.

The school isn't doing you any favors . . .

You could just go on your own and backpack around for much less.

Most of us are not traveling at the level of college students, but both of my daughters have been recently - one with 2 freidns and the other with her fiance.

As a first note: costs in western europe re typically as much as twice that in the US - more than that in /Switz and Scandinavia.

It is possible to travel very inexpensively - on your own, don;t even consider a tour - but you will have to do a lot of work beforehand. The best resources - since most people here are older (no in the absolute but than you) and travel at a modest or moderate level - rather than student budget.

Get a copy of some of the Let's Go student guides and check out the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely PLanet website - for where to go and how to do things on a super low budget.

The cost of that tour isn't high for that many days moving to that many different places (the more places you go the higher the cost) - but you can probably do better yourself in terms of central places to stay, better food from markets and non-tourist places and seeing what you want.

A couple of things to note:

Local beer and wine is usually fairly inexpensive
Soft drinks are typically small and very inexpensive - carrying large bottles of water (or soda from a market, if you must) is a big money saver
Hard liquor or mixed drinks are usually VERY expensive due to high taxation

Book hostels in advance and check them out carefully - many are good bargains but some have lots of theft and drugs and little staff control

nyt: "<i>Soft drinks are typically small and very inexpensive</i>"

I <i>think</i> you meant very <u>expensive</u>

Depending on the level and type of amenities you'd want or need in your lodging, college dorms are another budget option for summer travel.

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/stay-...tel-10629.html

http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...-of-hotels.cfm

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College Trip To Europe
Posted by: shdoxz on Dec 26, 12 at 9:15pm Posted in: Europe
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this "deal" from UMD.</i>

Way too much to do in that short a period and overpriced. Note that most of the *meals* are simply breakfast.

Get the Lonely Planet *Europe on a Shoestring* for planning and cost estimates. Join Hosteling International and stay with other students from around the world, plus a few geezers like me. The best deal I found for a room in London is at the London School of Economics dorm Rosebery Hall, http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/residences/rosebery.htm. See if it is available during your stay.

Personally, I think that is NOT a good deal and the trip itself is a jumble of stuff that you may or may not be interested in. You are trapped in a bus several days. Trains would be much faster (and even more scenic) for you in some cases. You spend a whole day getting from London to Paris when you can take the Euro star in a couple of hours. Some important places are very short changed. Example: you do not even have one full day in Venice. They rush you to Pompeii, but you don't see the Amalfi Coast.

While it is a good thing they don't include most dinners because they won't be very good, you still have the added expense of food on most of your trip, so add that in. They have a lot of options and don't include many tours of things you might want to see - so will have to buy tickets for.

It is too many countries for you to see anything much of any country. Question becomes: Do you want a bus/tour experience or a European experience?

You have 2&1/2 weeks. With a few friends, each of you make a list of the three or four places you dream about seeing in Europe. Consider you personal interests. Are you into hiking or Art, food or history, nightlife, etc? Compare lists and pick three places or areas you can all agree on as important. Plan from there.

Figure out what you want to do in a place and plan days/nights based on that. Being young, I know you will probably want to go faster than some of us, but something like this would be reasonable - cut anything you like and substitute something else, but this is doable.

Day 1 - Arrive London or Amsterdam
3 nts - London or Amsterdam
Day 4 - Euro Star to Paris (from London) or train to Paris (from Amsterdam)
4 nts - Paris (cut to 3 if not including day trip to Versailles or someplace else)
Day 8 Fly to Venice
2 nts - Venice
Day 10 Fly to Naples. Stay in Naples or train to Sorrento.
3 nts - Naples or AC area (Pompeii, Capri, etc.)
Day 13 - Train to Rome
4 nights - Rome

Day 10, you could train to Florence or the lakes area and skip Naples. You could skip Naples and visit very expensive Switzerland for a couple of days. You could skip London and Paris and see Greece and Italy - anything you want, but not everything.

You can see a lot more if you center sightseeing around central bases rather than bouncing all over, wasting time and money on travel. Don't miss out on lots of great stuff by zooming all around and seeing only one thing in a place. You WILL go back someday. You can never see it all anyway. So, get the most out of what you do see. Don't do a drive-by photo shoot.

travelodge on Old City Road is where I stayed 4 years ago with two teenagers - we were very happy and the price was great - there are several travelodge or similiar hotels in london.

There are so many free things to do in London - airfare is the biggest expense of course but you can do it on a reasonable budget too!!

Check out http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/ for information on rail passes and call the office in Ann Arbor. Byron and Linda are very experienced and very helpful when it comes to railing around Europe.

Check out www.seat61.com for some terrific information about rail travel around Europe.

You may also want to consider the overnight train from Paris to Venice of Rome. It will save you a night's accommodation cost, and means you won't waste at least half a day as you almost certainly will with air travel between cities.

I did the Paris - Venice trip earlier in the month with my family - get aboard in Central Paris, and off the next morning right on the Grand Canal in Venice - simply magic, and for only Euro35 each with advance purchase in a 6 bed couchette (I booked all 6 seats even though there were only five of us - definitely worth it for the extra space and not having to cope with a stranger in "our" compartment.

I also support looking at the Hostels International site - although the more popular destinations usually also have a number of private hostels - check reports and reviews carefully for these, and also familiarise yourself their location in relation to the main tourist sites you want to see.

And hop down and see Craig in the Stamp Union - you might be eligible for some Leadership program credits if you organise your own European Tour! ;-)

The trip looks a tough rush. If you can organise the trip yourself do. As others say, agree priority list of where using a MAP together as the scale of Europe is hard to imagine without one. Public transport is very good in Europe, Hostels can be booked in advance and can be very good value.

Once you know where you are going (and for 2.5 weeks I'd limit it to say 6 places) then use seat61 and skyscanner to plan getting about. Then book international flights (fly into one and out of another saves on backtracking)

That doesn't sound like a good deal to me, nor does it sound like much fun, which is what traveling in Europe should be, especially at your age.

Would you hop on a bus and travel around to 8 different states in 19 days in the USA? I doubt it.

Plan your own trip so that you actually get to see and do what you want to and are not just gazing out a bus window and watching things fly by. You can surely do it for $185 a day or less and have a MUCH more rewarding time.

Enjoy!

Agree with everyone above - forget this ridiculous "tour".

I especially like Sassafrass's idea of open-jaw flights into EITHER Amsterdam or London and working your way south via trains to Rome and flying home from Rome.

And limit your hotel stays to 4 different cities (Amsterdam, Paris, Venice & Rome would be my choices).

My son did a similar trip - solo - right after his undergraduate. He started in Amsterdam and ended up in Venice. His trip was 30 days and he had six home bases (Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Munich, Prague, and Venice). He did day trips from each of them. His best resources were Let's Go, Rick Steves (who I dislike intently, but my son likes him, bless his heart), www.seat61.com , and (especially) www.eurocheapo.com

Oops! - suggestion above was because I though trip was 2 weeks.

If you have 2-1/2 weeks, then you can certainly add another home base city (but don't HAVE to).