Europe Trip this Summer/Fall.... Advice needed!
 

Aloha travelers!

My husband and I are taking a trip in September, a modified backpacking trip of sorts. I'm just beginning the planning process, so I will take all the help I can get, as I have never been to Europe.

We are going for 2.5 weeks. We plan on flying into London, staying for about 4 days (1 day jetlag recovery), then flying to Hannover Germany to visit family, staying in Germany for about 8-9 days. While in Germany, we will visit Berlin and go to Munich for Oktoberfest. Then, on our way back, we are going through Paris, and staying there for 3 days.

Here are a few questions I have... if you can offer advice or suggestions on any of the below, I appreciate it!


1. Where would you suggest booking a multi-city trip? (travel agents, travel sites, etc)

2. Where would you suggest staying in these places (Hotels, bed and breakfasts, etc)

3. What "must-sees" and "must-dos" would you recommend?

4. What backpack would you suggest?

5. What key items do you suggest we'll need?

6. Would you make and adjustments to the above schedule?

7. Any other comments, suggestions, ideas are welcome!


Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

I'd star by looking at guide books, or the Destination link above and see what sights you are interested in. DO you like museums? History? Architecture?

If going by rail

www.ricksteves.com has lots about European trains, passes, etc.

www.budgeteuropetravel.com has also lots on their improving site and provides the excellent free European Rail & Planning Guide that is a good primer for anyone not familiar with the rail system

www.eurostar.com for the Eurostar trains that are IMO the best way to go between London and the Continent

www.bahn.de - the German rail web site that has schedules for practically every train in Europe

and Fodors.com the best online travel forum with expert answers to just about any Q you ask and more

Great suggestions! As for what we are interested in seeing (museums, archetecture(sp?), etc), We are first time visitors, and we are really not quite sure. I think we'd just like to get a little of everything. I have tour guide books to look at, but there may be suggestions ya'll have for the quintessential activities for these places.


Any advice is welcome and appreciated! Thanks!

Your plans in Germany so far include only big cities - Hannover, Berlin, Munich. Since all larger cities have been heavily hit by World War II bombs and then rebuilt, there isn't that much historical architecture left in them. Original historical town centers can be found in smaller towns, so let me suggest adding at least one to your itinerary.

Here are some options that are easy to reach from Hannover. All these are well known for their half-timbered houses. Choose one:

1. Celle
An easy day trip from Hannover, about half an hour by train.
http://www.celle.de/index.phtml?La=2...47.2&sub=0

2. Wolfenbüttel
Train to Braunschweig, then by local train or bus (bus 420, stops in front of the train station) to Wolfenbüttel.
http://www.wolfenbuettel-tourismus.d...mp;rubrik_id=2 (website in German, but some photos to give you an idea)

3. Wernigerode and/or Quedlinburg in the Harz mountains
http://www.wernigerode-tourismus.de/...enswertes.html
http://www3.quedlinburg.de/neu/engli...us/default.asp

Wolfenbüttel, Wernigerode and Quedlinburg could be done on your way from Hannover to Berlin.

Untouched non rebuilt from rubble German towns are rare

but in addition to the above mentioned are

Bamberg
Rothenburg
Regensburg (said to have more historical edifices in its city centre than any other German town)
Heidelberg

so some larger cities are still intact - no doubt many more than i note

Wow! Wolfenbuttel. Haven't heard mention of that for decades.

The first article I ever published was the result of a trip to Wolfenbuttel - "Birthplace of the Semicolon."

Bet that's a factoid most folks never heard of:)

If you really want to get a taste of everything, I highly suggest you make a visit to a concentration camp. While it is an uncomfortable and scary place, I believe it is something that every person should see first hand. I went to Dachau Concentration camp this summer on my Contiki tour, and it was really very eye-opening. While traveling is a vacation and full of fun, it is also important to see the sites that have shaped our history.

On another note, while in Munich, you should visit the Hofbrauhaus, but, on the other hand you will prob get a good enough taste for Bavarian beer at Oktoberfest. Here is a link to an Oktoberfest trip that could fit nicely into your itinerary. http://contiki.com/tours/170-oktoberfest-munich-5-days

As far as booking a backpacking trip, I would go with STA. Even if you aren't a student, they have something for everyone.

Enjoy your trip!
Cheers

Thank you for your responses! I had never thought of visiting a concentration camp, but would like to, as a important piece of history.

Keep 'em coming!

You will do less backtracking if you go to London, then Paris via chunnel and on to Germany starting in either the north or south. I don't know if your tickets are purchased yet, but I would re-think the order, if possible.

You probably want to book an open-jaw ticket. With your current itinerary (which I would change) that would be into London and out of Paris, and then decide whether to use low-cost carriers or trains for other segments. Multi one way flights will be very expensive. To check the fares, on booking engines go to the multi-city or multi-flight options, not round trips. If you just put in two segments in and out of the same US city to Europe, it will calculate it at a round trip price as an open-jaw.

You can find low-cost european carrier information on www.whichbudget.com , as well as other sites. Be aware that low cost airlines often fly out of inconvenient locations which their names don't indicate (e.g., Hahn - Frankfurt is 90 km from Frankfurt), and you will pay a huge premium if you go over their stringent luggage requirements.

I would go to www.bahn.de and look up exactly how long it will take by train between the cities you intend to travel to in Germany. You will see that some of these trips are pretty long. If it were me personally, with 2 1/2 weeks I would give up on London and Paris, and just concentrate on Germany, stopping at some smaller cities and town between your big destinations.

That would also be a more economical choice as London and Paris are very expensive. If you stay in Germany the whole time, then a railpass will make more sense, and in general your transportation costs will go down.

One other piece of advice is that whether you book airline tickets yourself on the internet, or use a travel agent, watch connection times very carefully.

A computer can give you a connection time that is "legal" of as little as 35 minutes to change from one airplane to another. Depending on the airport, generally, I wouldn't feel comfortable with less than 1 1/2 hours.

To get a general idea of airfares you can look at www.kayak.com , or www.orbitz.com . Basically there are two types of flights - those booked directly from the airlines themselves, and those booked from consolidators (e.g., cheaptickets, etc.)

The cheapest tickets are generally from consolidators who buy tickets in bulk and then re-sell them to customers. Your contract is with the consolidator, not the airlines. The drawbacks are they are not changeable - if you cannot or decide not to go you lose all your money, and if there are glitches, the airlines tell you it's the responsibility of whomever you bought your ticket from.

If you buy directly from the airlines, even if tickets are "nonrefundable" you can usually change the tickets for a $200 fee for transcontinental tickets (read the fare rules carefully), and customer service is a lot better if there is a problem (for example weather has prevented you from making your connection).

Also, (assuming you are from Texas from your name), if you stick to major airports, like Dallas to Frankfurt, your tickets will be cheaper than to and from smaller airports with less competition.

The Lonely Planet Forum is well-traveled by fellow backpackers.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

Other useful site, even for non-students:
http://meleterc.com/StudentTripcosts.html

I've also used a free site that helps you estimate each of your expenses by country but can't find the link at the moment.

1. Where would you suggest booking a multi-city trip? (travel agents, travel sites, etc)

You can easily book your trip independently. Here two very valuable websites:

for hotels: www.hrs.com
for railroad: www.bahn.de

2. Where would you suggest staying in these places (Hotels, bed and breakfasts, etc)

see www.hrs.com
www.tripadvisor.com gives good recommendations

3. What "must-sees" and "must-dos" would you recommend?

From Hannover, make a trip to Hamburg. See also Celle, Wernigerode, Quedlinburg.

Spend at least three days in Berlin.
For my Berlin recommendations, look here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDet...of_Berlin.html

4. What backpack would you suggest?

N/A

5. What key items do you suggest we'll need?

light raincoat, umbrella, good shoes for walking

6. Would you make and adjustments to the above schedule?

no

7. Any other comments, suggestions, ideas are welcome!

to get an idea of places, distances etc. look into the map on www.viamichelin.de
or on Google Earth

Look at the destination's websites. Usually they have this format:

www.(nameofcity).de

like www.berlin.de

almost every German website is available in English, too

Make yourself familiar with the train system. Search for connections on www.bahn.de

If taking the train any kind of backpack should have wheels IMO

anything without is a hassle, especially as you get older

Just a Munich suggestion - you should book your hotel soon. They fill up far ahead of time for stays during Oktoberfest.

How much backpacking experience do you have?

As an alternative to Munich during Oktorberfest would be to stay in a nearby town - even Garmish-Partenkirchen as i did once and day tripped to munich for the beer blast - lots of inexpensive guesthouses available there at that time of year

Oktoberfest IMO is a one-time few-hour event

These are great suggestions... Keep 'em coming!!

Here is what we did during one of the nicer trips to Germany.

Not everything will appeal to you but here is a short summary:

We landed in Frankfurt. Hopped a train to the Rhein. Stopped in Eltville for lunch.

Continued to Kaub and stayed at Castle Gutenfels for 2 nights.

Took the chairlift from downtown Kaub up over the Vineyards and walked along the top to Rudesheim. Ended up staying the day and night in Rudesheim. There are some interesting places in Rudesheim. The torture museum, the Drosselgasse, and a few nice places to sample wine.

Left Rudesheim and went to Kufstein Germany. Got picked up by the owner of a B&B in Elmau Austria. Stayed in a very quaint B&B in Elmau. Hiked the mountains and enjoyed staying in the B&B approx 45 minutes from st Johann

Left Elmau and went back to Kufstein. Left by train for Berchtesgaden. Stayed in Berchtesgaden for 4 nights. Travelled to Saltzburg by bus. It is about an hour to Saltzburg. Did all of the tourist things in Berchtesgaden as well as some of the things in Saltzburg.

Left Berchtesgaden for Munich. Stayed in Munich for 4 mights. Did all of the things around Munich including Dachau.

Left Munich and went to Tegernsee. Took a room on the Tegernsee near the brewery in town. The brewery dates back to it being a monastery in late 800's. Stayed in Tegernsee for 3 nights.

Left Tegernsee and flew out of frankfurt on Singapore Air, back to NYC.

It was a great 2 and a half weeks.

Good luck.