Europe Advice -- First Time and Visiting Mid-April to Early May
Mar 29th, 2011, 04:29 PM
#42
Join Date: Nov 2010
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raquelanna - congratulations on your first trip to europe! you and your husband will love it.
you've gotten some great advice to help solidify an itinerary, so i won't add anything there.
i did want to bring up something about lodging. you mention your budget is "a few thousand" -- not sure if that's on the low end (e.g., max $2000) or on the high end, but as others have mentioned it will be tight. some of the places on your wish list are expensive (London especially! as well as Paris).
I suggest you figure out an exact number of what you can afford, then look at a currency converter ( http://www.xe.com/ucc/ ) and figure out what that is in euros and pound sterling. i have found in planning travel that it helps my budget tremendously to "think" in the currency i'll be usig.
for travelling between cities, trains are great of course but don't rule out flying. use momondo.com to search for low fares and compare those with the train. if i can help it, i stay clear of Ryannair, as getting to/from their non-central airports often doubles your cost.
for lodging, try booking.com. be sure to filter for rooms under 49euro -- these will not be 5-star hotels, but often you can find great, clean, centrally located ones. be sure that you're looking at doubles or twins only, as price definitely varies.
if you want a really really budget option, you and your husband might consider staying in hostels ( hostelbookers.com ). normally i am loathe to recommend hostels to anyone over the age of 22 (as we get older, we tend to need a little more comfort), but staying in a hostel at least some portion of your stay could save considerably or at least allow you to reallocate the savings to fun activities. also you often meet other travelers who also are budget conscious, and can share recommendations for eateries, night life, etc, that is fun and affordable. it's also possible to find (with a little looking) hostels with private rooms so you and your husband are not sharing with 6 others
you've gotten some great advice to help solidify an itinerary, so i won't add anything there.
i did want to bring up something about lodging. you mention your budget is "a few thousand" -- not sure if that's on the low end (e.g., max $2000) or on the high end, but as others have mentioned it will be tight. some of the places on your wish list are expensive (London especially! as well as Paris).
I suggest you figure out an exact number of what you can afford, then look at a currency converter ( http://www.xe.com/ucc/ ) and figure out what that is in euros and pound sterling. i have found in planning travel that it helps my budget tremendously to "think" in the currency i'll be usig.
for travelling between cities, trains are great of course but don't rule out flying. use momondo.com to search for low fares and compare those with the train. if i can help it, i stay clear of Ryannair, as getting to/from their non-central airports often doubles your cost.
for lodging, try booking.com. be sure to filter for rooms under 49euro -- these will not be 5-star hotels, but often you can find great, clean, centrally located ones. be sure that you're looking at doubles or twins only, as price definitely varies.
if you want a really really budget option, you and your husband might consider staying in hostels ( hostelbookers.com ). normally i am loathe to recommend hostels to anyone over the age of 22 (as we get older, we tend to need a little more comfort), but staying in a hostel at least some portion of your stay could save considerably or at least allow you to reallocate the savings to fun activities. also you often meet other travelers who also are budget conscious, and can share recommendations for eateries, night life, etc, that is fun and affordable. it's also possible to find (with a little looking) hostels with private rooms so you and your husband are not sharing with 6 others
