Hello everyone and let me thank you all in advance for your comments!

I am 26, female and travelling in January. I have up to two weeks off from work...and a budget of about $1500 (plus credit).

Where should I go and what should I do??

I will be travelling alone. I speak and unerstand a little French. I am not afraid of cold weather. I would love to go somewhere tropical but I want to avoid annoying America tourists - and wouldn't pretty much any warm place in January be high season for tourists? This is one reason I thought of doing 3 cities in Europe.

But which 3 cities? Where do I buy a Eurail pass or ticket so I can move arund during the 2 weeks? Do I need a frame pack? I plan on staying in hostels...do I need to book them in advance?

I am not dead set on Europe yet....I love skiing but not sure if thats in my budget.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

Marzipan,

Once you get a better idea of what you want to do, post again. There are probably quite a few Europeans here who will have some more specific recommendations for you.

I don't think you will hear much from many of the most helpful posters, since they are "anoying America tourists."

Hello,
Don't worry, this will all come together with some more planning. But better do it now because this trip is right around the corner.

You sound like the budget traveler type, just like me, so you can find alot of helpful info on my travel Europe websites on these topics. I won't post the site names here, but if you look at my profile/email address, you will be able to track down these websites for more help.

First, hostels in Europe in January...that is very low season for travelers so no need to book in advance (with some exceptions), although it is always more convenient to book online a day or two ahead of arrival just so you know you have a place to go, and you have directions from the train station, etc. It's never fun wandering around a new city for more than 30 minutes searching for a place while lugging your backpack, especially in winter weather.

So show up if you want to and you will be 99% likely to find a room or book online (or less preferably by phone) the day before for convenience and peace of mind.

Depending on your destinations, you may or may not need a railpass. With only a 2 week trip, you might not get the value out a railpass, esp. if you plan your point to point tickets well. The more compact/streamlined your trip, the lower your transportation costs will be.

So...with this being your first trip to Europe, in January, you know a little French, and you might like to do some skiing...if your budget is $1500 and flight is about $600, that leaves $900 for 14 days, so about $60 per day including transportation. This is fairly low for Western Europe so let's say you buy a French railpass (4 days of travel within a month) for $229 on credit so you will have $60 (€50) per day for your expenses.

I might suggest this itinerary:

-Fly into Paris (cheap int'l flights)
-spend 3 or 4 days in Paris, practicing that French
-use rail pass to go to SE France (near Lyon) where there are many skiing options..Chamonix..Grenoble...Val d'Isere, etc. These places will be pretty expensive (and crowded - book accomm. ahead) but you could squeeze a day of skiiing in that budget.
-after 2-3 days in the mountains, head to the Cote d'Azur and explore the French Riviera. It won't be beach weather of course, but you will probably have sunshine
-spend 3 days in Nice, with a day trip to Monaco (South of France is expensive so you will have to watch your costs)
-on the way back up to Paris, spend a day or two in Avignon or Lyon
-Paris for a night or two before going home

If you can cut your train travel days to 2, there is a special France railpass on sale now for $99.

The skiing part may blow this budget and Jan will be high-season for these places, so that might be tough. But it's worth a try, and maybe you could put the skiing part on the credit card.

Anyway, that is a nice two-week trip around great parts of France for your first trip to Europe. You will have to stick to a pretty tight budget on your daily expenses, but if you go with hostels and avoid expensive restaurants, you should be OK.

You can email me with questions if you want.

Good luck!

Marzipan,

I strongly recommend going to your local library and borrowing some travel videos. Rick Steves has a "Travel Skills" video that does a good job of showing you a lot of places in Europe, as well as giving sound advice on travel do's and don'ts that will help you stay safe and enjoy your visit. It will also help you see some of the places that may interest you. He also has a "Europe Through The Back Door" book that covers that and much more, including sample itineraries to help you decide how much you want to see in the major cities of Europe.

If you're going in January, staying south would be better weather-wise (unless you like cold and snow), but it's also the low season for other travelers so you won't run into as many tourists in general.

Personally, I'd go to Paris for a week and then choose somewhere else in France if you understand some French and want to use some of it. Paris is fabulous, and so far my personal favorite as there is much to do, and it's a stunning city rich with history, culture and interesting people.

The other thing to consider is if you're a "big city" person or a "small town" person, what kinds of things you like to see and do (museums, cathedrals, etc.) and what level of entertainment you're looking for.

My husband and I were just in Paris in September and found that the French are wonderful -- and if you stay out in a bar or cafe past 11 p.m., you'll find whatever tourists there are clear out, and the locals are pretty friendly.

On the whole, you can count on spending about $100/day on food/hotels, if not more, depending on what your standards are for hotels vs. hostels, etc.

Jules

I've been know to be an annoying American tourist. I don't think you meant to be insulting, I bet you meant you'd like to be where there is less tourism. The problem with finding that place is, we all tend to go to the best places. I hope you have a wonderful time. When you come back let us know how it went. Regards, Joan

How about annoying Japanese, German, British, Irish, Canadian, Korean, Australian, and Samoan tourists?

Marzipan- try to do some homework first and decide on what you really like to do. At this time of year, I would stick to city travel or city and a week of skiing. The countryside can be lovely at othertimes of year but often the winter weather makes things less than enjoyable. Do you cross country ski? Some of the youth hostel sights and university sites havve long weekend or even a week for a cross country skiing holiday. Once you have done a bit of reading and self analysis, write back with specifics. I will be most interested in helping with advice.

Bonsoir Marzipan (I love that! ;-) )
if you ever intend to go to Dijon (and you would be right, not a lot of tourists in winter and they are all nice anyway..;-) )have a look at :
http://www.auberge-cri-dijon.com/
and my dijon personal pictures to give you an idea :
http://www.kodakgallery.fr/BrowsePho...id=43499444733

bon voyage!
corinne

ttt

this is a link to the follow up second thread from OP

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34706222

I (female) usually travel alone so don't be afraid. Narrow down what you really want to see. Then a Eurail pass, if avaialble is a good choice. I did a Benelux pass in May and it worked out fine for me. I made all my hotel arrangements here on hotel websites, emailing the hotels directly .I'm certain there are plenty of hostel sites to surf. Rates can be different from what is posted or even what they offer on the phone. Check cancellation policies carefully.
Almost all Europeans speak some English, esp. in the bigger cities. So that shouldn'e be a problem. Pick up a multi language dictionary of where you'll be going anyway. People like it when you at least try to speak their language. How about a Mediterranean cruise? Check the websites for a winter deal. If you're flying with a connecting stop, consider tying that country into your itinerary.
Print out stuff from websites ; make a folder and keep all your info in there.
You have a lot of homework to do but it will be worth it. START NOW!