bilboburgler

Hey lets not have too much of the horrendous expense thing. Our currency is down at 1.66$ now while 18 months ago it was 1.85$ so it must be getting cheaper for you guys while the Euro must have gone up for you.

Op please note its expensive if you do the dumb tourist thing in a major tourist site rather than the smart things. Surf this site and you will find the smart things

Iowa_Redhead

<<I chose the UK because I feel like for my first trip it will help a lot to be somewhere where pretty much everyone speaks English so I can get around easier - thats a pretty superficial reason I guess...>>

That's not superficial at all Sarah, that's logical! You don't learn to drive on the interstate until you've learned to drive at slower speeds in town. Starting your travels somewhere where you won't have a language issue and you seem interested in visiting makes sense. Figure out the traveling part and then figure out the traveling and possible language barrier thing.

London, and the UK in general, are pretty expensive but not much more so than other countries you might visit. The exchange rate (www.xe.com) is pretty good right now. $1 = 0.60pounds. It's also at $1 = 0.66Euro, so not much difference. The amount you already have saved is more than enough for two weeks even staying in great locations (no, that wasn't a suggestion to spend wildly! )

TDudette

You have reminded me that my first overseas trip was to UK but it was after my first year of teaching. I agree that an English-speaking country will make an easier transition but if Paris or Rome calls out to you, remember that many people speak English in popular cities these days.

A week in London and a week in Paris is another thought. Fly into one city and out of the other. Take the chunnel or ferry crossing. Side trips from either easy to do and you might consider a guided tour as a side trip to Oxford or Cambridge from L. OR one to Versailles or Giverny from Paris.

Sorry if I missed this above but think about your interests and what the major museums in the cities have that coincide. Love Impressionism? Paris has Musee D'Orsay and side trip to Giverny. Greek statues? London Museum might be of interest.

Looking forward to reading your trip report next year!

jent103

I agree - the UK is not expensive enough to scare you off. You have plenty saved for a two-week trip. London especially can be done inexpensively if you know some tips (and there are tons on these boards). The apartment idea might be a good one, depending on how fast of a pace you decide to take. It would give you and your mom enough space for a little "alone" time, and let you save some money by eating some meals at "home."

Here's one thread with some money-saving tips to get you started:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...england.cfm?90

jent103

Oh, I meant to add - renting a car will give you more flexibility, but you can still see a lot of places in the UK even if your mom doesn't want to do that. It just takes a little more planning. For example, when I went to the Lake District in 2007, we did not want to rent a car, even though a lot of people would say you need one. So rather than staying in one of the smaller towns, we stayed in Windermere, which is the end of the train line, and booked a b&b within walking distance of the train station. From there we used the bus system to get to smaller towns like Ambleside and Grasmere. (If I were to go back, I would consider renting a car, because then I could stay somewhere with a better view or closer to the lake and hiking trails. But it's definitely doable either way.)

Hans

If something costs 5 pounds in London and 3 euro in Berlin, then London is still expensive. The exchange rate just took London from incredible expensive to expensive

From personal experience within the last six months, London is in regard to typical tourist expenses as hotels and restaurants by now similar to a city as Paris. But I think it's at least a third more expensive than more Eastern European cities as Berlin, Prague or Budapest. (No idea about shopping prices, if that's an important part of the budget.)

Now, I'm absolutely not saying that the places recommended in the UK aren't worth visiting. I just think that with 18, this wouldn't have been my idea of a dream vacation since something as a road trip to bed&breakfast places in the country-side doesn't leave that many possibilities for spending maybe half the day or evening independently from the parents. On the other hand, I was at that age with my father in Florence and it was great since for much of the time I could do things on my own. But this was in my opinion only possible since the place we stayed at was in the centre of the city.

This is obviously just me at that age. If Sarah thinks that this vacation in the UK sounds perfect for her, wonderful. But if not, it might make sense in the planning phase to think about some alternatives to the UK.

Cholmondley_Warner

One thing to consider is taking one of your London days and turning it into a Paris day. It’s not expensive on the Eurostar (from £59 – book ahead as early as you can) and you will get a full day in Paris which will at least give you a taste of Paris (literally if you eat there).

Other than that think of what you’re interested in (and what Mum is as well).

For instance in London there are places where young people go to do whatever it is that young people do these days (smoke crack? Join gangs? Hold scout camps?) which you may love and mum could well do without.

Are you interested in history – we’ve got that in spades. You could visit either Windsor Castle or Hampton Court as a trip from London and Greenwich is doable in an afternoon (because it is so well policed, you see).

Culture? We’re good at that too. Most cities and even small towns have a vibrant cultural programme.

Food? We’re the best in the whole wide world at that now (don’t listen to the peeps who will trot out the old clichés about British food – it’s as accurate as assuming all Americans are cowboys). And we have great beer.

Once you’ve worked out what you want (and I second the recommendation of the Rough Guides and Lonely Planet for research) then come back and we’ll give you advice. We’re usually pretty gentle (well the others are).

janisj

Hans: Let's not muddy the waters - OK? You seem to not like the UK and think it is expensive. Fine. (the more expensive bit really doesn't hold much water BTW). But millions of folks visit the UK every single year and have truly amazing trips.

Other parts of Europe are terrific too - but <u>there is absolutely not one thing wrong w/ deciding to visit the UK</u>.

Your responses are sort of like over on the USA forum where a poster asks for the best things to see in Chicago and someone answers "New Orleans is much better". Apples an oranges. Why not wait until sarah starts planning her 2nd trip to Europe and decides she wants to go somewhere you'd approve.

MySardinia

Europe is a very nice country... I've been there a couple of times. But you should try going to Sardinia too. you'll never regret it

Hooameye

"Europe is a very nice country"..........It is ??????

Infotrack

No matter what you decide or where you go, you will have a fabulous time!

Some on here will strenuously object to what I am about to say, but for a first time trip, to get a good overview of a country or several countries, do not discount the possibility of an escorted tour. I personally like Insight Vacations (http://www.insightvacations.com/us/) but there are several good ones. They handle your luggage, you get a good overview of several cities and areas, you have plenty of time to explore on your own, etc.

Infotrack

Hopefully, this link works better, if you are interested:

http://www.insightvacations.com/us/

Iowa_Redhead

Infotrack brings up a good point. Guided tours really can be a good way for first timers to visit an area. Even more so if you combine a tour with some time on your own. My first travels were guided tours and for some areas they're still the way I would choose to travel.

I went through the UK with Cosmos and loved it. Trafalgar is another well known tour group. I know that a Cosmos trip would definitely fit into your budget if you were interested. I think Trafalgar is on a similar price range. I have no idea about Insight or any of the others.

Depending on your interest level in a guided tour, you could easily do a guided tour for 7-10 days through the countryside and then spend the rest of the time on your own in London.

Hans

janisj wrote: "Hans: Let's not muddy the waters - OK? You seem to not like the UK and think it is expensive. Fine. (the more expensive bit really doesn't hold much water BTW). But millions of folks visit the UK every single year and have truly amazing trips."

I like the UK, visited most of the places which were recommended to Sarah and also had amazing trips. I've returned often, the last time this September, and I'd hardly do so if I disliked the country.

I also did similar trips as recommended to Sarah with my parents and I enjoyed them. The difference is that I wasn't 18 when we did them but a few years younger.

I think that with 18 I would not have enjoyed this kind of trip, out of no other reason than me not wanting to be stuck with my parents the whole day at that age.

If Sarah thinks that it's fine with her, then there is utterly nothing to be said against this kind of trip in the UK. But if she has some concerns, then I think that staying in the centre of large cities might be an alternative offering her more freedom to do things on her own. Staying in the city centre in a nice hotel is way more expensive in large British cities as London than in Eastern European cities as Prague. I'm pretty sure about this since I visited both this year, did similar things, and spent more money in London. I'm furthermore pretty sure that Sarah and her mother wouldn't have much of a problem there with the language since I don't speak more than three words of Czech and used English all the time.

I think that Sarah is very able to just ignore my posts if I'm mistaken with my assumptions. On the off-chance that I'm not, it might help her to plan a vacation she'll enjoy more. Fair enough?