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First time Europe and any forum-please be patient:)
First solo Europe trip. TOO much info out there on this. People tell me fly into Dublin from LAX (reasonable fare) because I want to then go to
Kracow, Vienna,Venice,Switzerland,Paris, and fly home from Germany. Best way to fly open jaw, people say. I have no order in which to visit except I don't want Poland to be my last destination. I realize this is 7 countries, but advise on how long I should take in each .Is 4-5 days good and not be exhausted?? I know about "too much in too little time"--I am planning YEARS ahead, so will save proper amount of money for traveling I appreciate your time. I heard I can take many regional flight to many cities. I will listen to all suggestions and appreciate them |
How long is your trip?
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I am very excited you answered. I was hoping about 5 weeks??
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You are correct open jaws would be best.
How much do you plan on saving? If you were going to take a 2 week trip, how much could you spend? One of the things about planning years ahead is that airfare could double. Do you plan on staying in great hotels and eating in expensive places? Tell us more about your travel dream. I don't spend as much as you'd think to go to Europe. |
Soo excited really. Thinking 1200.00 for airfare and another $5k, plus inter country airfare. I really need a number to save-hahah. No great hotels or expensive food budget------- I want to do B& B or local homes. I signed up for Servas too??I am very good at budgeting, but the travelling from different countries is sooo hard to gauge??
GREAT to hear it can be done without spending 10K, right? |
Would $150.00 a day work??
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Rather than designate a randomly decided number of days in each place/country, you need to know what you want to see and do in each place, how much time that will require, and then find out how long it takes to get from place to place. Flying isn't always more time efficient than taking a train. Make sure the things you want to see are open on the days you'll be there. Factor in a half day or more every several days to give you a cushion of time for sightseeing you hadn't anticipated and then figure out when you're going to do laundry because a trip like the one you're contemplating will be several weeks long.
If you're "planning YEARS ahead," don't assume the LAX-Dublin fare will always be the cheapest. Since you say you don't want to end in Poland, you may want to consider heading there first (via Warsaw). Do you know what time of year you would be going? |
Yes I need to know geography/transportation better between countries. My broad thought was 18 months from now. LAX to Dublin , then to Krakow, Vienna,Venice, any part of Switzerland,Paris and Black Forest Germany. I know this is very hard to help but I wonder which website to go to on such a lengthy country hopping dream. I can change any part of trip, just starting my travel dream-thanks so much:) I was thinking September?
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Okay, 18 months makes sense.
September/October is a great month to travel. You're good at saving. Will this be your first major trip? How do you know you want to be away from home for that long? (this is my own feelings coming through :) |
I would drop Dublin if the only reason you are going there is because you think the flight will be cheaper. It will cost you to get from Dublin to the next city so there really wouldn't be any savings.
If you are traveling Sept/Oct I would start with the northern areas and head south. |
Really good advice and questions so far.
If you'd like, you can look at a couple of websites like skyscanner.net and whichbudget.com to get an idea about discount airlines in Europe, and where they fly. If you want to work out a complicated train schedule, no one is more helpful than Byron at budgeteuropetravel.com If I call them I try to buy from them. Up charges are minimal, and the knowledge is fantastic, especially when I'm a bit confused or have a more complex route, timing, etc. If you have plenty of time, I believe tickets and itinerary will be sent to you. I think I would be playing with air and rail websites to see just where you can go, and how easy it is to get there. My thoughts are that I can usually find a place to stay, but getting from place to place requires planning in order to fit a budget. |
I have been to Mexico and Hawaii about 10x, never Europe-I believe I would love to experience a long trip to places I have dreamed of for 30 years-I could be wrong:)
I would love to go to Ireland,I'm Irish- if i could see a portion in 4-5 days-you think would be worth that short of stay? Yes, I can fly into whichever city is most convenient to travel-its hard to decide. I definitely want to go to Poland, so trying to figure out where to start and finish literally> |
Wow-thanks so much everyone------------I will check out those websites. I don't have specific places to see, because I know very little about the transportation problems of getting from one country to another. I have planned 10+ trips, but never country to country. I will be happy just to be "there"-where that may be in each country:)
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"If you are traveling Sept/Oct I would start with the northern areas and head south".
Is the reasoning on this because of weather? |
There are many cheap airlines in Europe. The catch is they have more rules than a monastery and more fees than a bank against a bounced check.
They are strict about the weight of luggage with stiff penalties. Ryanair flies from Dublin to a number of cities in Poland. http://www.ryanair.com/en Get yourself a map of Europe to understand where you want to visit. Do not compare traveling times in the US. Europe does not have the car culture the US has and relies more on trains. Certain places demand more time, so do not think of 4 or 5 days but what you want to see. And remember you are going to lose time traveling even if you have 5 weeks. It always takes time to pack, unpack, check out, check in, get to the airport or rail station, the actual train trip or flight and getting to the new hotel. |
The advice for you to look at what exactly you want to see in each location is really good advice. Instead of saying "I'll budget XYZ days for abc city", you need to know what are the attractions that you want to see first, then you'll automatically know how much time you want to spend in that particular city.
Going generally north-south is another excellent idea. You may, however, want to fly out of Frankfurt, as the rates from Frankfurt to LA may be cheaper. As for lodging, B'Bs or "pensions" are very prevalent in Europe and can save you a great deal of money as well as offer you an opportunity to meet up with other travelers, particularly Europeans. Servas is a possibility, not so much for lodging but for meeting up with local people. I'd be careful, tho, in your selection of whom you wish to meet within Servas. For local transportation, I'm assuming that you will be spending about a month on continental Europe after your visit in Ireland, so look into getting a Eurailpass for a month, particularly a global pass, since you want to visit so many countries. As a general rule, a Eurailpass allows you to hop on any train within certain countries, so that will allow you the flexibiilty of changing your plans, should you decide to stay one day more/less in any particular location. If you purchase single tickets, you are stuck with the particular train on a particular day. Fodorites are generally very helpful and if you keep dialoging with us, we can help you refine your travel plans. Sounds like a great trip in the making! :) |
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I guess I am odd-I do not know what I want to see I just want to go to country. This way I am not disappointed. I want to go to Krakow,Vienna,Venice,Interlaken Switzerland,Paris, and black forest Germany
"Going generally north-south is another excellent idea.I'd be careful, tho, in your selection of whom you wish to meet within Servas." Why?? Maybe I shouldn't worry about air flights to each country-just do rail-can I actually decide when I get there, or is that moronic?? How much would you bring for 5 weeks?? Thanks for all the help |
I have tried to plan this trip for decades and everyone bailed out on me, so I want to do it before its too late. I didn't know if trying rail all over 7 countries would be feasible in 5 weeks. I was trying not be be complicated and I didn't realize how helpful everyone is on forums, its my first time. I am an event planner, and know exactly how plans can change, thus I hoped if i could figure out how to get from country to country, I would explore whats closest, convenient and I would be happy:)
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Thanks everyone, my 3 hours leisure time is up. If anyone has any more suggestions, I will check tomorrow. I really am grateful for all the help.
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