First Time In Europe Please Help!!!
Jul 18th, 2006, 02:50 PM
#21
Other than the difficulties of traveling to Nepal (a fairly complicated/exotic choice for a novice traveler) 7 weeks (leaving a week for Nepal) is a very short time for Ireland, Amsterdam, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Australia.
You are still all over the map - both literally and figuratively. Assuming 2 weeks in Australia - the rest of your destinations are spread the entire breadth of Europe.
Ireland? Just Dublin, or do you want to see some of the glorious west or SW (which are a long way from Dublin). OK - 7-10 days in Ireland
Amsterdam - only a city but you'd probably want 3 days there - plus the travel day from Ireland
Italy - this is a hard one - do you just want to see Rome, or how about Venice, Florence, the coast, Tuscany. Minimum of 10 to 14 days for Italy.
Spain - Spain is HUGE - just Madrid, just Barcelona - or any of the even better cities? Another 10-14 days for Spain
Greece - just Athens - or the much more beautiful/interesting islands? 7 to 10 days for Greece.
Let's add it up:
7 days for Nepal (including travel to/from)
14 days in Australia
10 days in Ireland
3-4 days in Amsterdam
10-14 days in Italy
10-14 days in Spain
7-10 days in Greece
plus a minimum of 5-6 full travel days
That works out to 68 to 80 days - more than 2 months even w/ just the shortest stays.
It will be cold (or VERY cold) and wet in Europe, and very hot in parts of Australia.
You are still all over the map - both literally and figuratively. Assuming 2 weeks in Australia - the rest of your destinations are spread the entire breadth of Europe.
Ireland? Just Dublin, or do you want to see some of the glorious west or SW (which are a long way from Dublin). OK - 7-10 days in Ireland
Amsterdam - only a city but you'd probably want 3 days there - plus the travel day from Ireland
Italy - this is a hard one - do you just want to see Rome, or how about Venice, Florence, the coast, Tuscany. Minimum of 10 to 14 days for Italy.
Spain - Spain is HUGE - just Madrid, just Barcelona - or any of the even better cities? Another 10-14 days for Spain
Greece - just Athens - or the much more beautiful/interesting islands? 7 to 10 days for Greece.
Let's add it up:
7 days for Nepal (including travel to/from)
14 days in Australia
10 days in Ireland
3-4 days in Amsterdam
10-14 days in Italy
10-14 days in Spain
7-10 days in Greece
plus a minimum of 5-6 full travel days
That works out to 68 to 80 days - more than 2 months even w/ just the shortest stays.
It will be cold (or VERY cold) and wet in Europe, and very hot in parts of Australia.
Jul 18th, 2006, 03:51 PM
#22
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well it's a good thing i came on here i had no idea about all of this.The basic places we want to see is Ireland, i just want to spend one day in amsterdam the red light district is all i want to see there. Spain is Madrid and Barvelona, Italy is Rome and FLorence. we have no I idea where in Greece to go, Nepal is some where i have always wanted to visit please let me if thats a bad idea. Australia is also some where i need advice on. i have researched the Euro Rail is that the best idea for transportation?
Jul 18th, 2006, 04:03 PM
#23
OK then... Ireland, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Florence and Rome is a decent itinerary and reasonable for a 2 month's trip.
STOP... Skip Nepal, skip Australia, skip Greece (especially since you don't even know where you'd want to go once you're there) because your original idea is plain & simple fairly impossible (unless you're on the Incredible Race on TC) and it will be very expensive.
Don't you have a $ budget for this trip? That might be a good place to start.
I can't believe you'd go to Amsterdam and not be interested in the rest of the city (canals, parks, museums, etc.) but only the Red Light District. It's really not all that interesting in my opinion.
STOP... Skip Nepal, skip Australia, skip Greece (especially since you don't even know where you'd want to go once you're there) because your original idea is plain & simple fairly impossible (unless you're on the Incredible Race on TC) and it will be very expensive.
Don't you have a $ budget for this trip? That might be a good place to start.
I can't believe you'd go to Amsterdam and not be interested in the rest of the city (canals, parks, museums, etc.) but only the Red Light District. It's really not all that interesting in my opinion.
Jul 18th, 2006, 04:10 PM
#24
sorry, TV
But seriously, I would start with finding out the price of a plane ticket and making an approximate daily budget, then see if you can even afford what you propose to do. I'm guessing not.
Unless you have unlimited resources, I'm guessing you don't understand the costs involved traveling to 3 continents, 7 countries, at least 9 cities (that's counting only 1 city each for Ireland, Greece, Nepal, and Australia since you don't know where you'll go in these countries).
But seriously, I would start with finding out the price of a plane ticket and making an approximate daily budget, then see if you can even afford what you propose to do. I'm guessing not.
Unless you have unlimited resources, I'm guessing you don't understand the costs involved traveling to 3 continents, 7 countries, at least 9 cities (that's counting only 1 city each for Ireland, Greece, Nepal, and Australia since you don't know where you'll go in these countries).
Jul 18th, 2006, 04:21 PM
#25
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This post is cracking me up...
Kelly Ann and her sister want to travel the world to see Nepal, most of Europe and Australia but they are only interested in the Red Light District in Amsterdam???
Many moons ago I visited the Red Light District and of the top 10,000 places that I would like to visit again it would be about 12,343.
This just seems odd to me. Oh well.
Kelly Ann and her sister want to travel the world to see Nepal, most of Europe and Australia but they are only interested in the Red Light District in Amsterdam???
Many moons ago I visited the Red Light District and of the top 10,000 places that I would like to visit again it would be about 12,343.
This just seems odd to me. Oh well.
Jul 18th, 2006, 04:28 PM
#26
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Uh, Kellyann, I don't think you'll be wanting to hit Nepal right now, there's an official state of emergency in the country right now-a great deal of "civil unrest" as they put it, between the government and certain Maoist elements:
Have a look at the US State Dept. Public Announcement for Nepal here:
travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2114.html
Have a look at the US State Dept. Public Announcement for Nepal here:
travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2114.html
Jul 18th, 2006, 05:04 PM
#28
OK - any chance we've been had? Maybe miss Kellyann is a troll - at first I assumed she was just over enthusiastic like a lot of newbies. But now w/ the need to see Nepal and Amsterdam just for the red light district - I think she is just stringing us along.
kellyann - if you are legit, please accept my appologies -- and then get yourself down to a library and look at a couple of atlas/guide books . . . . .
kellyann - if you are legit, please accept my appologies -- and then get yourself down to a library and look at a couple of atlas/guide books . . . . .
Jul 19th, 2006, 09:08 AM
#30
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ok everyone calm down I just got a little excitied about the trip. I am a first time traveler that will probably only be able to do this once. i have done alot more reasearch and have decided to stick with Europe for the two months. is that ok with everyone? my budget is $10,000, so if anyone would like to be nice about it and help me out i would appreicate it.
Jul 19th, 2006, 09:22 AM
#32
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OK---see above.
Fly into Paris and home from Rome.
Get a rail pass for 4 contigious contries.
Plan your next destination a max of 4 hours from the last one
Plan at least 3 days at each destination--more in Rome and Paris.
Get a good map/atlas and spend hours looking at possible routings.
Good luck !
Fly into Paris and home from Rome.
Get a rail pass for 4 contigious contries.
Plan your next destination a max of 4 hours from the last one
Plan at least 3 days at each destination--more in Rome and Paris.
Get a good map/atlas and spend hours looking at possible routings.
Good luck !
Jul 19th, 2006, 09:28 AM
#34
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Good decision kellyann! I think you will enjoy this plan so much more 
Remember to plan everything in the Euro so you have an acurate budget.
Today 100Euros equal $77.48 US dollars and $68.74 Canadian dollars. You can run your budget through an online currency converter as you plan. Of course Britan is the pound and that will really kick you butt if your going there ($53.43 US).
So say $10,000USD give you about 7800Euros (I need a calculator....) to work with...its close. I think if you budget a 100Euros/day (6000Euros + airfair and intercity transportation) hmmm thats very close -you will have to budget very very carefully and work out a good airfare. I think you may need more money. However travelling with friends will allow you to split some accomodation (if you choose cheap hotels over hostels)and food is negotiable if you want to hit supermarkets over restaurants. Budgeting is all about personal priorities and choices.
Once you start working on itinerary, start adding it all up - sites, hostel/hotels, transporation and extras (shopping, misc and emergency money). I can't say much else without seeing a rough draft of what you think you'll do....so do post it when you get it together.
Remember travel (transportation) is expensive - the more you move around and the farther distences you cross the more expensive your trip will be.
Keep us posted,
Cheers,
Murphy
Remember to plan everything in the Euro so you have an acurate budget.
Today 100Euros equal $77.48 US dollars and $68.74 Canadian dollars. You can run your budget through an online currency converter as you plan. Of course Britan is the pound and that will really kick you butt if your going there ($53.43 US).
So say $10,000USD give you about 7800Euros (I need a calculator....) to work with...its close. I think if you budget a 100Euros/day (6000Euros + airfair and intercity transportation) hmmm thats very close -you will have to budget very very carefully and work out a good airfare. I think you may need more money. However travelling with friends will allow you to split some accomodation (if you choose cheap hotels over hostels)and food is negotiable if you want to hit supermarkets over restaurants. Budgeting is all about personal priorities and choices.
Once you start working on itinerary, start adding it all up - sites, hostel/hotels, transporation and extras (shopping, misc and emergency money). I can't say much else without seeing a rough draft of what you think you'll do....so do post it when you get it together.
Remember travel (transportation) is expensive - the more you move around and the farther distences you cross the more expensive your trip will be.
Keep us posted,
Cheers,
Murphy
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:25 AM
#37
To know if a train pass of any type is a good value, you need to have an better idea of how much your will ride the train and where you will be going. There's not a yes or no answer without more information.
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:30 AM
#38
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I agree with suze. Pick out your must see cities (no matter what mode of transport) then determine the most economical way to get there. It might be a eurorail pass or it might be single tickets or it might be cheap flights.
Destinations first, transport (if flights) second, lodging third
Destinations first, transport (if flights) second, lodging third
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:30 AM
#39
I would look into what is called "open jaw" plane tickets. This means you fly into one city and home from another. They are often similar in price to a normal round-trip ticket and save you the time and expense of backtracking to where you started at the end of your trip.
If you look at a map of Europe, you'll see Spain, Italy, and Greece are each a separate peninsula (for lack of a better word) so train travel will consume quite a bit of time traveling from one to the next. You might want to research low-cost air carriers for some of the longer stretches rather than a train. And go to a website that shows the time/distance of the various journeys you propose.
Using an overnight train for long stretches is another possibility.
If you look at a map of Europe, you'll see Spain, Italy, and Greece are each a separate peninsula (for lack of a better word) so train travel will consume quite a bit of time traveling from one to the next. You might want to research low-cost air carriers for some of the longer stretches rather than a train. And go to a website that shows the time/distance of the various journeys you propose.
Using an overnight train for long stretches is another possibility.
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:38 AM
#40
Assuming the $10,000 is USD? And each of you has that amount?
That gives you 133 euro per day per person for 60 days, which is OK imo if you are not including your plane tickets or rail pass in that amount.
If you are paying for a plane ticket out of that amount that changes things, obviously.
That gives you 133 euro per day per person for 60 days, which is OK imo if you are not including your plane tickets or rail pass in that amount.
If you are paying for a plane ticket out of that amount that changes things, obviously.
