First time Europe Trip - March/April 2013
Dec 27th, 2012, 06:22 AM
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First time Europe Trip - March/April 2013
Hi all, I've been reading some of the posts on the forum and i have a few questions of my own for my upcoming trip. I'm from the Caribbean so travelling with the train is going to be a very new experience to me.
I'm planning an 18 day trip to Europe. My initial plans look like this:
UK:
7nights - mainly to explore London and possibly do a day trip or two outside of London. I'm staying on Piccadilly, so some ideas on what to do will be greatly appreciated.
Paris:
2nights - Take a train from London to Paris and not to sure what to do except for visiting the eiffel tower and louvre.
Geneva:
1night - take a train from Paris to Geneva en route to Italy and overnight in Geneva.
Italy:
Turin: 3 nights
Venice: 1 night
Florence: 1 night
Rome: 4 nights
I know that spending one or two nights in any of those cities will not be enough but even if i go to spend a few hours to see the place, i'd be happy.
My questions:
Do i need to book train tickets in advance for travel from London/Paris, Paris/Geneva, etc?
My arrival and departure point is Gatwick. Will i have enough time if i fly from Rome to Gatwick to my final destination?
Can you guys suggest places to stay in Italy which would be close to the train stations?
Thanks in advance and if any of my questions are a repeat of what has already been posted on the forums - kindly accept my apology as i want to get specific answers to my specific questions.
I'm planning an 18 day trip to Europe. My initial plans look like this:
UK:
7nights - mainly to explore London and possibly do a day trip or two outside of London. I'm staying on Piccadilly, so some ideas on what to do will be greatly appreciated.
Paris:
2nights - Take a train from London to Paris and not to sure what to do except for visiting the eiffel tower and louvre.
Geneva:
1night - take a train from Paris to Geneva en route to Italy and overnight in Geneva.
Italy:
Turin: 3 nights
Venice: 1 night
Florence: 1 night
Rome: 4 nights
I know that spending one or two nights in any of those cities will not be enough but even if i go to spend a few hours to see the place, i'd be happy.
My questions:
Do i need to book train tickets in advance for travel from London/Paris, Paris/Geneva, etc?
My arrival and departure point is Gatwick. Will i have enough time if i fly from Rome to Gatwick to my final destination?
Can you guys suggest places to stay in Italy which would be close to the train stations?
Thanks in advance and if any of my questions are a repeat of what has already been posted on the forums - kindly accept my apology as i want to get specific answers to my specific questions.
Dec 27th, 2012, 06:47 AM
#2
Hi aflaat, welcome to Fodors. Places to stay near stations, tend to be a bit less pleasant than others. In London and Paris you don't need to as the local metros will get you around. In Geneva you can stay near the mainline station easily enough.
In Italy I wouldn't though Venice is a special case (small and intimate city) you will still do better getting a bit away.
What are you expecting to pay per night for how many people would be a good start to help us advise.
I'm not sure who flys Rome to Gatwick, you need to plan for de-planing and then getting through the system before re-planning.
Train trips, booking early will (nearly) always be cheaper. Have a good read of www.seat61.com to get a heads-up
In Italy I wouldn't though Venice is a special case (small and intimate city) you will still do better getting a bit away.
What are you expecting to pay per night for how many people would be a good start to help us advise.
I'm not sure who flys Rome to Gatwick, you need to plan for de-planing and then getting through the system before re-planning.
Train trips, booking early will (nearly) always be cheaper. Have a good read of www.seat61.com to get a heads-up
Dec 27th, 2012, 06:52 AM
#3
aflaat, before we get started, can you tell us why 3 nights in Turin, and only 1 in Venice and Florence?
and why you want to go to Geneva for a night?
there may be some very good reasons for what seem to be quite random decisions, which is why I ask the question, because on the face if it, your itinerary is a little strange.
However, to answer your questions, you should definitely book the Eurostar train [the only way to get from London to Paris by train] as soon as possible - which I believe is 90 days before the date of travel. Paris to Geneva, Geneva to Venice should also be booked in advance. you can book internal italian trains in advance but you don't have to - to get the best discounts on the fastest trains it's essential. for up todate details of how to do so, look at www.seat61.com
your second question, <<My arrival and departure point is Gatwick. Will i have enough time if i fly from Rome to Gatwick to my final destination?>>
I'm sorry i don't understand this. do i understand that you are flying home from gatwick? and you want to know if you'll have enough time between landing at Gatwick and your flight departure time to get your train?
without knowing the departure time we can't possibly tell you one way or the other but if you are travelling on a through ticket your airline should help you. If you are travelling on a separate ticket, your homeward airline has no responsibility for ensuring you catch your plane and you will have to be ultra-cautious in giving yourself enough time to get it.
as for hotels around train stations, they CAN be a pretty sleazy selection, but most decent guide books will have some recommendations. you can also look at trip advisor or booking.com do a map search around the stations in question, and see what comes up.
good luck!
and why you want to go to Geneva for a night?
there may be some very good reasons for what seem to be quite random decisions, which is why I ask the question, because on the face if it, your itinerary is a little strange.
However, to answer your questions, you should definitely book the Eurostar train [the only way to get from London to Paris by train] as soon as possible - which I believe is 90 days before the date of travel. Paris to Geneva, Geneva to Venice should also be booked in advance. you can book internal italian trains in advance but you don't have to - to get the best discounts on the fastest trains it's essential. for up todate details of how to do so, look at www.seat61.com
your second question, <<My arrival and departure point is Gatwick. Will i have enough time if i fly from Rome to Gatwick to my final destination?>>
I'm sorry i don't understand this. do i understand that you are flying home from gatwick? and you want to know if you'll have enough time between landing at Gatwick and your flight departure time to get your train?
without knowing the departure time we can't possibly tell you one way or the other but if you are travelling on a through ticket your airline should help you. If you are travelling on a separate ticket, your homeward airline has no responsibility for ensuring you catch your plane and you will have to be ultra-cautious in giving yourself enough time to get it.
as for hotels around train stations, they CAN be a pretty sleazy selection, but most decent guide books will have some recommendations. you can also look at trip advisor or booking.com do a map search around the stations in question, and see what comes up.
good luck!
Dec 27th, 2012, 07:02 AM
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Welcome! In answer to you questions:
Yes, book your Eurostar tickets to Paris as soon as you can at www.eurostar.com to get the best prices. I would also do the same for Paris to geneva.
In future it is best to book open jaw into your first destination and home from your last to save the time and cost of backtracking. How much time you need to change planes depends on how you book your flights. Can you add the flight from Rome to Gatwick to your existing tickets? That would be the easiest. When does your flight leave Gatwick? If its in the morning you will likely need to spend your final night in London. BA flies Rome to Gatwick.
I generally wouldn't stay that close to train stations but to give you suggestions we need to know your specific budget in euros.
As for things to do in these places...pick up some guidebooks and see what interests you as everyone will have different interests.
Why go to Turin? I personally love it, but for a first trip I would allocate at least one more night to Venice and florence so you get a full day in these places and another day to Rome and drop Turin. 1 night stays don't allow for even a full day and the time and money you spend just to see a place for a few hours and sleep there hardly seems worth it.
Enjoy!
Yes, book your Eurostar tickets to Paris as soon as you can at www.eurostar.com to get the best prices. I would also do the same for Paris to geneva.
In future it is best to book open jaw into your first destination and home from your last to save the time and cost of backtracking. How much time you need to change planes depends on how you book your flights. Can you add the flight from Rome to Gatwick to your existing tickets? That would be the easiest. When does your flight leave Gatwick? If its in the morning you will likely need to spend your final night in London. BA flies Rome to Gatwick.
I generally wouldn't stay that close to train stations but to give you suggestions we need to know your specific budget in euros.
As for things to do in these places...pick up some guidebooks and see what interests you as everyone will have different interests.
Why go to Turin? I personally love it, but for a first trip I would allocate at least one more night to Venice and florence so you get a full day in these places and another day to Rome and drop Turin. 1 night stays don't allow for even a full day and the time and money you spend just to see a place for a few hours and sleep there hardly seems worth it.
Enjoy!
Dec 27th, 2012, 07:15 AM
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Do you really want to go to Geneva? There are cheap flights from Paris to Italy. For approximately US$55, you can fly Paris Orly to Venice or Florence; it's slightly more to Rome.
Or you could fly from London Gatwick to Rome for about $85 and work your way north. You haven't told us what time of year you're traveling. You might get better weather traveling from south to north.
And do some more research about your proposed destinations, in guidebooks and online. Check out Fodor's Destinations on the top left of this page. Paris has lots to see. Ditto Venice and Florence.
Or you could fly from London Gatwick to Rome for about $85 and work your way north. You haven't told us what time of year you're traveling. You might get better weather traveling from south to north.
And do some more research about your proposed destinations, in guidebooks and online. Check out Fodor's Destinations on the top left of this page. Paris has lots to see. Ditto Venice and Florence.
Dec 27th, 2012, 11:14 AM
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Thank you all for the responses and the welcome.
ok, there are so many things to find out that my first post may have been a bit jumbled (sorry).
My husband and i will be travelling in late March to mid-April (18 days). Our trip is really to go to Turin as our fav football team is from there. We intend to go to a match on 7th April which is why i won't be able to start out in Rome.
This is how i am thinking it may go:
Caribbean -> London->Paris -> Geneva -> Turin -> Venice -> Florence ->Rome -> London -> Home (caribbean. I have a 12noon flight back from London to home which is about 10hours flight time.
Since it looks as though we may be passing through Switzerland en route to Turin, I would like to visit St Peter's Cathedral if i overnight in Geneva.
From Geneva to Turin in time for my match then on to Venice as i am already a train ride away from one of the most beautiful cities. Leave Venice and stop off in Florence en route to Rome. Rome to visit Vatican City and then London for my flight back to home.
If need be, i may need to cut a night in Rome to stay in London to make my flight back home. I'd rather not do that though and am hoping that if i fly from Rome to Gatwick and then board my flight to home. Non of my flights are connecting so i'm hoping that i may be able to make it direct from Rome to Gatwick in time.
I am depending on the great advice from you wonderful folks to continue my planning. Thanks in advance again!
ok, there are so many things to find out that my first post may have been a bit jumbled (sorry).
My husband and i will be travelling in late March to mid-April (18 days). Our trip is really to go to Turin as our fav football team is from there. We intend to go to a match on 7th April which is why i won't be able to start out in Rome.
This is how i am thinking it may go:
Caribbean -> London->Paris -> Geneva -> Turin -> Venice -> Florence ->Rome -> London -> Home (caribbean. I have a 12noon flight back from London to home which is about 10hours flight time.
Since it looks as though we may be passing through Switzerland en route to Turin, I would like to visit St Peter's Cathedral if i overnight in Geneva.
From Geneva to Turin in time for my match then on to Venice as i am already a train ride away from one of the most beautiful cities. Leave Venice and stop off in Florence en route to Rome. Rome to visit Vatican City and then London for my flight back to home.
If need be, i may need to cut a night in Rome to stay in London to make my flight back home. I'd rather not do that though and am hoping that if i fly from Rome to Gatwick and then board my flight to home. Non of my flights are connecting so i'm hoping that i may be able to make it direct from Rome to Gatwick in time.
I am depending on the great advice from you wonderful folks to continue my planning. Thanks in advance again!
Dec 27th, 2012, 12:17 PM
#8
so THAT's why Turin! we don't get so many Juve fans here [making a huge assumption there i know] so that didn't immediately spring to mind.
your timetable, according to your dates, looks like this:
27 March - Arrive London
28 March - London
29 March - London
30 March - London
31 March - London
1 April - London
2 April - London
3 April - london to paris
4 April - paris
5 April - paris - geneva
6 April - geneva - turin
7 April - turin
8 April - turin
9 April - turin - Venice
10 April - Venice - Florence
11 April - Florence - Rome
12 April - Rome
13 april - Rome
14 April - Rome - london
15 April - London -home
by my maths this is a 19 night and therefore 20 day trip, if you count the arrival and departure days. lucky you!
personally I dislike one night stands and might "borrow" a few nights here and there to avoid them. for example, you could leave london a day earlier, and make 7th April your last day in Turin, travelling to Venice the next day - this would give you an extra day there.
if you were prepared to give up Geneva, and fly to Venice from Paris, AND to put a few more london days at the end of the trip, you could do this:
27 March - Arrive London
28 March - London
29 March - London
30 March - London to paris
31 March - Paris
1 April - Paris
2 April - Paris - Venice
3 April - Venice
4 April - Venice - Florence
5 April - Florence
6 April - Florence
7 April - turin
8 April - turin
9 April - turin - Rome
10 April - Rome
11 April - Rome
12 April - Rome - London
13 april - London
14 April - london
15 April - London -home
that keeps your match day in Turin as its fixed point, but has you spending some longer times in everywhere except london [6 nights instead of 7] and Rome [3 nights instead of 4].
but you get longer in each of Venice, Florence and Paris, which to my mind is a big advantage.
your timetable, according to your dates, looks like this:
27 March - Arrive London
28 March - London
29 March - London
30 March - London
31 March - London
1 April - London
2 April - London
3 April - london to paris
4 April - paris
5 April - paris - geneva
6 April - geneva - turin
7 April - turin
8 April - turin
9 April - turin - Venice
10 April - Venice - Florence
11 April - Florence - Rome
12 April - Rome
13 april - Rome
14 April - Rome - london
15 April - London -home
by my maths this is a 19 night and therefore 20 day trip, if you count the arrival and departure days. lucky you!
personally I dislike one night stands and might "borrow" a few nights here and there to avoid them. for example, you could leave london a day earlier, and make 7th April your last day in Turin, travelling to Venice the next day - this would give you an extra day there.
if you were prepared to give up Geneva, and fly to Venice from Paris, AND to put a few more london days at the end of the trip, you could do this:
27 March - Arrive London
28 March - London
29 March - London
30 March - London to paris
31 March - Paris
1 April - Paris
2 April - Paris - Venice
3 April - Venice
4 April - Venice - Florence
5 April - Florence
6 April - Florence
7 April - turin
8 April - turin
9 April - turin - Rome
10 April - Rome
11 April - Rome
12 April - Rome - London
13 april - London
14 April - london
15 April - London -home
that keeps your match day in Turin as its fixed point, but has you spending some longer times in everywhere except london [6 nights instead of 7] and Rome [3 nights instead of 4].
but you get longer in each of Venice, Florence and Paris, which to my mind is a big advantage.
Dec 27th, 2012, 12:23 PM
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Well for the train part of your trip for planning check out these IMO fab sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. For Chunnel trains London to Paris www.eurostar.com - and the early bird doth indeed get the worm as there are some really cheap tickets but they are sold in limited numbers and should be booked way in advance to guarantee availability but cannot be changed nor refunded so book those way in advance - just show up and you'll pay maybe $100 more!
Dec 28th, 2012, 12:20 PM
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wow, thanks for the links. I have a bit of reading to do before i finalize my itinerary.
@annhig, you're right, Juve is the team to which i'm referring. To see them play will be a dream come true. I will play around with my schedule to add or minus days as the case may be.
As i continue my planning, i may have further questions for you folks in here. I'll keep in touch!
@annhig, you're right, Juve is the team to which i'm referring. To see them play will be a dream come true. I will play around with my schedule to add or minus days as the case may be.
As i continue my planning, i may have further questions for you folks in here. I'll keep in touch!
Dec 28th, 2012, 12:45 PM
#12
In your re-think/adjusting - make sure you are back in London <u>at least</u> the night before your flight home. If there are mechanical or weather problems and you miss your flight you will not be protected and will need to buy a full, walk-up fare ticket to get home.
Dec 29th, 2012, 03:31 AM
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Are you sure the train from Paris to Torino goes via Geneva?
If it doesn't, you might enjoy spending more time in Torino, which has some sights that are related to the football team and a fascinating museum of cinema or a car museum if you prefer. It's just a generally interesting place with good food.
If it doesn't, you might enjoy spending more time in Torino, which has some sights that are related to the football team and a fascinating museum of cinema or a car museum if you prefer. It's just a generally interesting place with good food.
Dec 31st, 2012, 03:22 AM
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@ janisj, thanks and Yes, i have pretty much made up my mind that i will take a flight back to London the day before i am scheduled to go back home. I am hoping to spend the night in a hotel close to Gatwick and cut down on commute time.
@ goldenautumn, i am super excited for my Turin leg of the trip and all those places that you mentioned.
I need to have my itinerary confirmed in time to take to the Embassy to get my Schengen Visa in a couple of weeks.
@ goldenautumn, i am super excited for my Turin leg of the trip and all those places that you mentioned.
I need to have my itinerary confirmed in time to take to the Embassy to get my Schengen Visa in a couple of weeks.
Jan 1st, 2013, 01:24 PM
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I'd definitely agree with those that suggest avoiding 1 night in a city. We did a 14 night tour of Italy a few years ago and went to 6 cities in that time, travelling by car and train between them. In hindsight, we would have rather have visited fewer cities and spent more time in them with less time travelling between.
Good luck and have fun with your planning!
Good luck and have fun with your planning!
Jan 2nd, 2013, 06:54 AM
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Unless your flight is very, very early, no need to stay at a boring airport hotel.>
but a short walk from the terminals are some cozy very typical English B&Bs - yes a short walk - no need to stay in an airport hotel and can savor the typical British B&B experience.
but a short walk from the terminals are some cozy very typical English B&Bs - yes a short walk - no need to stay in an airport hotel and can savor the typical British B&B experience.
Jan 2nd, 2013, 07:33 AM
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I travelled by train between Rome and Florence and I stayed near train station since I always arrived late in the evening and just wanted to be soon "at home". In Florence I stayed at Hotel Perseo http://www.hotelperseo.it/hotel_perseo_florence.phtml which is right in via dei Cerretani. This means you get down the train, exit the train station, take on the right and in just 300 metres you can set your baggage down and find a warm welcome.
In Rome I stayed at Raffaello http://www.hotelraffaello.it which you can reach in 6 minutes: you exit the termini train station, walk straight on in via Cavour and just turn right on via Urbana, nothing better.
I hope this is going to be helpful, enjoy your trip.
In Rome I stayed at Raffaello http://www.hotelraffaello.it which you can reach in 6 minutes: you exit the termini train station, walk straight on in via Cavour and just turn right on via Urbana, nothing better.
I hope this is going to be helpful, enjoy your trip.
Feb 5th, 2013, 10:06 AM
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hello again, i've completed all my bookings - hotels, rail and air transport (whew!).
I have another question: how practical is the London Pass and would you guys recommend that i purchase one? I am planning to visit quite a number of places/attractions during my 7 day stay in London.
Also, i am hoping to do a tour of Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. If the Windsor Castle tour is already 'paid' for with the London card, how does it work with the tour company?
I have another question: how practical is the London Pass and would you guys recommend that i purchase one? I am planning to visit quite a number of places/attractions during my 7 day stay in London.
Also, i am hoping to do a tour of Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. If the Windsor Castle tour is already 'paid' for with the London card, how does it work with the tour company?
