OK, here's my dilemma. Changing jobs and have from 12/26 to 1/6 to go to Europe. Nothing planned yet. I'm trying to convince my girlfriend that it's not too late to plan this trip!

I'm looking for a couple of suggested sample itineraries...where are the best places to see during this season and for this duration?

Is finding a hotel on New Year's going to be difficult? I'd like to stay in a hotel on the first/last nights, and on New Year's Eve. Other than that, hoping to stay on the cheap, and possibly take a couple of overnight train rides for efficiency.

I was thinking either a trip that includes a) London, Paris, Germany or b) Italy, Switzerland, Prague. But in all honesty, I have no idea! I love the mountains and would like to ski, but I don't think it's feasible to combine that with a multi-country itinerary, trying to pack lightly, etc. So, I'll have to save skiing for next time, right?

I realize that this question is ridiculously open-ended, but I'm hoping there's someone out there that will enjoy helping!!

Thanks!

Keep it simple and your planning will be easier for a last minute trip. I'd start with plane tickets. Here's my ideas:

Look at flying into Paris and out of Venice taking a night train inbetween the two cities.

Fly into Amsterdam and out of Paris taking a day train in between.

Fly in and out of Geneva and spend the time in and around Lac Leman including towns like Montreux and Vevey, along with with train trips to Gruyeres, Bern, Zermatt, etc.

I am not sure about hotel/hostel reservations over the holiday weeks in these places, and obviously your weather will be winter. I'd skip the skiing idea for the sake of your budget and easier packing.

If I was your lady and had some say in the matter, I'd vote for London and Paris for 10 days.

Maybe Amsterdam if you REALLY (really really) want a third country.

I'd be a very nice traveling companion if my beau did this for me!

I would suggest you decide quickly to get your reservations for New Years Eve.

Would your girl like overnight train-rides for efficiency? From what I've read here, train "rooms" are not that inexpensive.

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions...I will start looking into plane tix. The other catch is that I'd like to use miles for one of the tickets, and I think I'm running out of time. Either way, I'll call and ask about the different options that you suggested. I'm pretty sure US Air flies to most of the places suggested.

Will I be OK in only reserving a couple of nights prior to the trip, or do you suggest booking all rooms in advance? How much do you think I'll be spending per night? I'd like to keep it less that US$100 per night on average (possible?). Maybe $200 for first/last/New Year's.

I'm not sure that she'd like the overnight trains, but she may not have a choice!! Any idea on how much above train ticket cost they are?

Sounds to me like you both agree on 2 country trips, and 3 could be pushing it?

Thanks again!

When you say Germany, Switzerland or Italy, where are you wanting to go in those countries? This would probably give us an easier time helping out.

We took an overnight train from Vienna to Florence last year. If I recall, the private overnight sleeper compartment was an extra $70 or so each on top of the train ticket. If you are looking for something economical, this probably isn't the way to go unless you wouldn't mind sleeping in a couchette with 2 other people instead.

I think that, depending on what itinerary you choose, and where you want to stay, your hotel prices may be unreasonable. For instance, given the exchange rate of the pound, you may have a difficult time finding a room in London for under $100. Same goes with, for instance, Rome if were including it as part of the Italy itinerary.
I don't think this would be a problem in Paris.

I have never been one to "go with the flow" as I am much more of a planner and prefer to have my hotel rooms arranged ahead of time. However, many people on this board prefer to travel this way so I will let them give you that advice.

good luck!
Tracy

LastMinuteCharlie
Great suggestions above, but should you have any difficulty re accommodation, train bookings etc. perhaps you could look at Portugal - Lisbon (many lovely day trips) including the island of Madeira for a few days, especially New Years Eve.
Check the following website:

http://home.online.no/~nancys/portugal/stay/index.html

Tracy-
Thanks for your reply. Honestly, I'm not sure where we'd like to go in those countries. I think there's way too much that we've never seen to be picky, so I'm hoping to find the most feasible and economical ininerary and go with it. I'm sure that I'll be able to go back in a couple of years, maybe not for 2 weeks (but with a better budget).

I would definitely like to plan as much as possible...sleeping with 2 others probably won't fly, and doesn't sound like a great option. Thanks for that tip.

I'm thinking that I might save Switzerland for a ski trip sometime down the road, though, so I may have to rule that out.

I would make all hotel reservations ahead of time for 3 reasons: your price range is fairly low budget for major european cities, time of year being the holidays, and lastly I don't like to spend precious vacation time tromping around looking for a place to sleep that night. not my idea of fun on vacation!

I wouldn't count on using FF miles at this late date and for flights over the holidays.

I suggest you back-up a bit and find out where you CAN fly to using miles then plan from there... For instance you can get a RT to Munich for the dates you want using miles, then start planning from that.

No sense getting too far down any of these roads if you can't get the plane tickets.

An overnight train if you spring for a private cabin (2 people) will be approx. the extra amount you are planning to spend for hotel rooms. So while you may save some time doing this, you won't save money. If you sleep in seats or a shared couchette will be less expensive of course.

I would do 2 big cities. Remember the further north you go the colder and darker it will be. My suggestion is Paris and Rome because I think they are the 2 most exciting cities in the world.

FYI, look at this site in Paris, I just rented and apartment thru them and it was excellent. You may be able to find an apartment if you can find a hotel.

parisbestlodge.com

Bring your long-johns and hats!

Hi LMC,

I also suggest that you find out where you can use your FF miles and then look for lodging.

You might also want to shorten the visit. I think that you will have some trouble finding hotel rooms for under 85E dbl at this late date.

I agree with richardab. If you want to keep costs down, definitely staying in two cities and renting an apartment in each. Apartments are usually fairly inexpensive and they can also help cut down on food costs. I too would choose Paris and Rome. Both are great with many things to do and have numerous daytrip options should you want to venture outside the city. I have been to Rome in both March and December and the weather has been fairly mild, especially compared to my midwest hometown.

Tracy

The apartment site looks pretty cool...checking into the FF miles as we speak. I can probably afford to spend a bit more on the rooms, I guess that was just being a bit idealistic.

How much is reasonable for a decent hotel room? How about hostels? We're both sort of young 25&29, so I'm assuming this is still OK. Again, I think a nice room will be refreshing, esp on the last night, but we're not too picky.

Thanks again everyone! This is a great board, and I'm still listening if there's any additional advice out there!

ditto to much of what's already been said.

Just a couple of comments/reinforcements -- <b>Definitely</b> find the air tix first and only then make decisions about accomodations.

2) Not booking ahead will likely cost much more than booking ahead will. If all the cheap rooms are full when you arrive in a city you will end up either paying a <b>LOT</b> more (like full rack rate), or sleeping in the train station.

3) If you go to London -- you can get wonderful bargains using Priceline. Even though London is an expensive city, w/ the often dirt cheap airfares and priceline hotels it can be cheaper than a lot of other places.

And finally - cut back the number of places - like 2 major cities, 3 at the absolute most. The more inter-country/inter-city travel you have, the more it will cost and the less time for each place.

My husband and I are both fairly young as well (27 and 28) but we've never stayed at a Hostel. That being said, I know that many hostels offer basic double accommodations with en-suite bathrooms for affordable rates. Perhaps check out hostel.com, hihostels.com or the lonely planet thorn tree forum. Perhaps you could substitute youth hostels with regular hotel rooms to save some money.

Tracy

Depending on where you go you can get accomodations fairly inexpensively. Usually the smaller the town the lower the price.

I think you are dreaming on the FF tickets because of the luck I have Not had cashing them in, however depending on where you are flying from, and if you can fly Tue, Wed or Thur there are some dirt cheap fares out there right now.

Start by looking at travelocity and leaving the dates open to a range of dates. I am seeing Seattle to Munich, London, Paris, etc in the $350 RT range.

Maybe you could go for 7 or 10 days instead? Pay for plane tickets if you can't get freebies? Then stay in a tiny bit nicer places?

I don't at all think it's too late to plan a trip to SOMEwhere in Europe, but counting on FF miles, two full weeks vacation on a tight budget, and hotels at 80-ish euro in major cities, visiting 3 countries... well those each are what make the plan a stretch IMO.

This trip has taken a pretty big turn! We can fly into/out of Munich, arriving on 12/31 and leaving on 1/6. One ticket using FF miles and the other for ~770. Not bad.

Since this is a huge change, do you think I should start a new thread? I've done some research on the message boards, and have a few questions.

We'll have about 6 days, arriving on New Year's Eve in the morning. I'd rank castles, mountains, food/drink, and scenery higher on the list than museums, although some history will be nice.

Car vs. no car: Do you recommend a car for this short stay? Do you think staying two nights, heading somewhere else for 2 nights, and then back to Munich would be too much? Or is one good day trip (or overnight trip) enough?

Any suggestions on where to stay? Using this board, I found www.hrs.de, which seems pretty efficient. I found one there called Vitalis, 4 stars, for US$76 per night, including breakfast. Says that it's 1 km from the subway, 0.5 km from the bus, and 4 km from town center. Seems like a good deal.

How about apartments? Can you rent for only 6 nights?

I'm pretty excited...any good Munich/surrounding area tips would be great! Thanks!

would it be crazy to try and ski one day near Innsbruck?

or how about a trip to Prague?

Hi Charlie,
I know nothing about Germany but i suggest that you start another thread with a header that reads something like &quot;Munich: 6 day itinerary&quot;. Good luck on your trip. Have fun!