HELP: seeking ideal plan for college travelers
Oct 17th, 2007 | 06:06 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 124
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HELP: seeking ideal plan for college travelers
I need some good advice from Fodorites for students on a tight budget. I received an email from one of my daughter's best friends who is currently studying in Seville. At the end of his travel report he writes:
"... We only have 3 and a half weeks, so we had an extremely hard time trying to narrow things down. The master plan includes Paris, Athens, Prague, Amsterdam, Ediburgh, Venice, Switzerland and Madrid. We don’t know when we are visiting each place exactly, but we know that we end in Madrid (because all our flights home leave from there and none of us have gone yet) and we are spending Christmas in Switzerland, that way we are guaranteed a white Christmas. I’m most excited about Switzerland. We are going to travel the whole country in one day by this special train called “The Glacier Express.” It starts at one end of the country and ends in Zermatt. The train is a panoramic train, and cuts through the most beautiful parts of Switzerland, passing through 100 tunnels and crossing about 150 bridges. We also want to try and get to Interlaken, the base of the Alps, if we have enough time."
I was exhausted just reading their plan but then again I'm not in my twenties
Perhaps because of poor planning they have had a few bad experiences traveling. I would hate for them to end their 'last hurrah' with bad memories so any and as much advice will be more than greatly appreciated!
Michele
"... We only have 3 and a half weeks, so we had an extremely hard time trying to narrow things down. The master plan includes Paris, Athens, Prague, Amsterdam, Ediburgh, Venice, Switzerland and Madrid. We don’t know when we are visiting each place exactly, but we know that we end in Madrid (because all our flights home leave from there and none of us have gone yet) and we are spending Christmas in Switzerland, that way we are guaranteed a white Christmas. I’m most excited about Switzerland. We are going to travel the whole country in one day by this special train called “The Glacier Express.” It starts at one end of the country and ends in Zermatt. The train is a panoramic train, and cuts through the most beautiful parts of Switzerland, passing through 100 tunnels and crossing about 150 bridges. We also want to try and get to Interlaken, the base of the Alps, if we have enough time."
I was exhausted just reading their plan but then again I'm not in my twenties
Perhaps because of poor planning they have had a few bad experiences traveling. I would hate for them to end their 'last hurrah' with bad memories so any and as much advice will be more than greatly appreciated!
Michele
Oct 18th, 2007 | 03:11 AM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,508
Likes: 0
Hi Bonjour Voyageurs,
I can only comment on the Swiss portion --
There really isn't a guarantee of snow at Christmas, especially these days with global warming. I scheduled my last ski trip for Jan 07 to be sure to have good snow, and there really was barely enough to ski on. There was almost no snow actually in the village.
To get to snow, the students will have to go to a glacier or to the top of the Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn.
As for seeing Switzerland from the Glacier Express -- I think it's a bad idea. It's an eight-hour train trip that runs between St. Moritz and Zermatt, giving only a window's-width impression of the country. It would be no better than watching tv; even with panoramic windows, it's still a limiting experience. I think it's much, much better to spend those eight hours actually on the mountain getting a five-senses experience. Tell the students to select a destination, then use cable cars and rack railways to get around the peaks and take some gentle Alpine rambles. It'll be more fun and more memorable.
Train schedules at www.rail.ch
s
I can only comment on the Swiss portion --
There really isn't a guarantee of snow at Christmas, especially these days with global warming. I scheduled my last ski trip for Jan 07 to be sure to have good snow, and there really was barely enough to ski on. There was almost no snow actually in the village.
To get to snow, the students will have to go to a glacier or to the top of the Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn.
As for seeing Switzerland from the Glacier Express -- I think it's a bad idea. It's an eight-hour train trip that runs between St. Moritz and Zermatt, giving only a window's-width impression of the country. It would be no better than watching tv; even with panoramic windows, it's still a limiting experience. I think it's much, much better to spend those eight hours actually on the mountain getting a five-senses experience. Tell the students to select a destination, then use cable cars and rack railways to get around the peaks and take some gentle Alpine rambles. It'll be more fun and more memorable.
Train schedules at www.rail.ch
s
Oct 18th, 2007 | 03:55 AM
#4
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Being students, I'm sure they aren't dragging lots of luggage. If they can get online check out the ryanair.com website.they have VERY cheap airfares all around Europe, sometimes only $5or$10, but they have to have their travel plans down pat because tickets are non refundable. I have purchased railpasses (cheap for students) and slept on the train at night between cities. Saves on time and hotel rooms. My 2 oldeest grandchildren are doing Europe this summer after graduation and we are alredy working on their plan.
