tank4

Hi! We are four girls who will be traveling through Paris, Switzerland (which we know nothing about), and parts of Italy this spring. We are college students and are looking for the cheapest/most efficient means of travel, boarding and eating. We are also interested in any places (other than the norm) to visit while there. We'll be in Europe for ten days. Please give us any advice or suggestions you can! Thanks!

HowardR

Without knowing too much about you, the best advice I can give at this stage ios that Paris, Switzerland and Italy seems a bit too much to cover in 10 days!

tskobo

I agree with HowardR. Ten days is not enough time for what you want to see (at least if you want to appreciate what you are seeing). You can still travel though, just keep it closer together (the countries you mentioned will require long train rides), in my humble opinion.

Perhaps, something a bit more manageable such as Paris (4 days) with day trip to Versailles, short train to Bruge (2 days), short train to Amsterdam (3) with day trips to Haarlem, etc., then back to paris for one more day and a nice round trip. Remember that your first day may be somewhat of a wash due to jet lag, time of arrival, etc. Good luck!

ira

Hi,

I agree that you are trying to cover too much territory in 10 days.

Have you been to Paris before? That's worth at least a week itself.

Patrick

tskobo's itinerary isn't bad, although it certainly isn't what you were asking for. And I can't imagine why you'd go back to Paris for a day instead of flying home out of Amsterdam if that were your itinerary.

I think trying to include Italy is the problem with your time. Paris and Switzerland is tough enough for 10 days. On the other hand, Switzerland tends to be more expensive than Italy. You could do a two country train pass and start in Paris, traveling to Rome or to Venice, with a couple of one night stops along the way to add some character to the trip.

samtraveler

I agree that 10 days is not nearly enough time to visit Paris, Switzerland and Italy. Though I can appreciate your desire, especially as colllege students on a budget, to see all you can in the time you have. If you could stretch the trip to two weeks, I'd say go for all 3, but I'm guessing 10 days is really all you've got. Given that and where you want to go I'd see Paris and then head to Italy. Do you have 10 days for the entire trip, air transport and all? Or will you actually have 10 days in Europe aside from air travel? If so, fly to Paris and spend 5 days in Paris (with a daytrip out to Versailles on one of those days), night train to Italy and spend the other 5 days there and fly home from Italy. Going to Belgium and/or the Netherlands from Paris (instead of Switz. and Italy) would be great too, but since you mentioned you wanted to visit Italy, this is how I think you could best fit both. Switzerland is wonderful too, but if I had to chose 2 of the 3, I'd go with Paris and Italy. Once you've got a handle on your itinerary and what you're hoping to accomplish on the trip, I'm sure posters here would be happy to help you with details. Good luck!

earl30

Paris, Venice, and Rome. Perfect for 10 days. Take the train between Venice and Rome, put your luggage in the lockers and explore Florence for a few hours and have lunch in the main square. See David, then move on.

The_Pixies

please check out www.eurotrip.com. It is great for people travelling on a budget. I would use this site for general travel info (where, how etc)and Eurotrip for budget info.

adrienne

Hi tank4,

Get copies of Let's Go guidebook from the library. They have good listings of budget travel, rooms and restaurants and lots of ways to cut costs. They'll tell you which hotels have quad rooms.

If you're going to Rome there are lots of convents you can stay in reasonably. Check out this web site for convents:
http://www.santasusanna.org/

Buy your food at markets rather than restaurants. Drink tap water rather than bottled water. Avoid drinking soda since it's very expensive. Bring a jar of peanut butter from home - filling and tasty.

Sitting down in cafes is more expensive than standing up. Sitting outside is the most expensive option. Get pizza, sandwiches, crepes to go and sit on a step or bench. Coffee with milk costs more than black coffee.

In Paris don't buy the hotel breakfast -it's cheaper to find a patisserie and buy something yummy for breakfast.

Make sure you have student ids with you for discounts to museums. Find out when the free days are for museums.

Being well prepared for the trip will ultimately save you money since you'll know where to look for the best deals. Learn about the culture - that will help you avoid costly mistakes.

Have a great trip!