jubilada

There is no right or wrong decision here. only by choosing some way of doing it will you discover what works for you and what does not. In any case you will have started on your life long journey to see the places that call to you. Have a great time!

Ramblero

Geeezzzz.....My daughter did your "trip", and, while she knows she was at (fill in the blank) she actually remembers little of it, mainly because she was only in (fill in the blank) for a few hours.

OK, ok. Get someone (brother/boy friend/girl friend) who's as interested as you in history/culture/travel and has the time to do this trip with you...and, better yet, has been to Europe maybe once.

And then start doing a lot of research (both/all of you) and talk to Fodorites and develop your own tour plan. It will be far more meaningful if you reduced the list and spent more time in each.....like:

Spend 8 days in Ireland/Scotland/Wales/London (I'd actually narrow it to 2 places);

Spend 7 days in Paris (inclu. Versailles/Fontainebleau/Givarny)

Spend 10 days in Venice/Rome/Sorrento-Amalfi....(and I'd be remiss to not include Cinque Terre and Florence..but pick 2 or 3).

And keep Fodorites informed as to how you're coming.

Ramblero

Oh......are you "locked into" your 25 day tour next summer, or what????

Snowflake25

Just to add my 2 cents worth.... I traveled with Explorica with HS students on a 10 day tour. We saw Rome, Assisi, Florence (with optional tour to Pisa which we didn't take), Verona, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich. We did spend some longer days on the bus and not all the meals were the best but all the students had a blast. They didn't go to bed at 9:00 PM every night and I'm sure some of them had naps during the day on the bus. The pros were that the transportation, accommodation and tours were planned ahead of time. We did opt out of some tours and this gave the students time to explore some of the cities with us, using public transportation. The cons were that in some places they would have liked to spend more time, other places the stop was longer than they wanted and we found them sitting by the bus waiting to carry on.

On the flip side, my son and his girlfriend (age 23) did a 6 week tour of Europe by themselves on a very tight budget and had a fantastic time. They spent months planning, reading, researching and looking for budget flights and accommodation. Even with all their planning they had to make changes to their itinerary on the spot and even added some additional stops that they had not planned on. The weather was not always in their favor, transportation plans didn't always work out, the flu bug had one or the other of them down and out for a couple days, but they met tons of wonderful people, and visited 15 cities in 10 countries in 42 days.

I think what I am trying to say is that there is no one that can decide, except you, which way to go. And how great the trip is depends on the attitude you have when you travel. have fun and enjoy your trip!!!!

lalalacheesejah

Here is what I am really considering now and am actually more excited about than the trip:

8 days in London and exploring southern England and areas around London.
Then rent a car for a week and criss-cross all the way up to Inverness and then get over to a ferry to Dublin and then find my way across to Galway and go home from there.

Like 3 - 4 weeks exploring all of UK, where my heart lies.
With my boyfriend and perhaps my brother.

I mean I have a list of about 30 places that I HAVE to see just in England alone...
SO I'm really glad that I am thinking about planning my own tour of the UK!

suze

Sounds fantastic!

suze

Oh you'll need to check about minimum age for renting a car. Some places you have to be 25 (I've no idea about the UK though).

lalalacheesejah

At this one website Student Universe it was 21. But if that doesn't work out then I could take trains and such.

Woyzeck

lalalacheesejah,

My $0.02. I like your reconsidered trip a lot more. Here's what I'm hearing. You're ambitious and there's a lot you want to see, but you're a little overwhelmed by the planning and a little nervous about travelling alone. On paper, the long organized tour sounds great because it would give you a little taste of everything, plus some company along the way.

However, in reality, you're a thoughtful and capable person with some very strong and specific interests. You've wanted to travel to the UK forever and have even very defined and specific ("Jane Austenite/fan of 18th/19th century aristocracy").

I say skip the tour and follow your interests. You'll have a richer and more memorable experience. It's great that you'll have your boyfriend and/or brother. I think you'll get a lot more out of something that you've planned 100.0% according to what you want to see AND a trip where you can be flexible. If you don't like something, you can move along to the next sight.

I don't get the idea of a whirlwind tour for a taste of everything. There is "more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done." You've got plenty of time in life. Take this rich and special experience. Then, when you're a little older, you'll have another opportunity to pick another experience - and you'll always have something to look forward to.

jent103

That sounds great! A couple of tweaks, aside from checking on the car as suze mentioned: You might look into flying to Dublin (or Galway, Shannon, or Cork, depending on what exactly you want to see in Ireland) from Inverness or Glasgow, rather than worrying about the ferry. The fee to drop off the rental car in a different country could be really high, and the ferry really isn't as exciting as a lot of people think.

dutyfree

Most rental car places in the UK are usually 25;they drive on the other side of the road and even for those of us used to driving overseas it is always tricky the first few days whether you are on back roads trying to get past sheep or on an expressway.
Roundabouts are always fun in the UK-NOT! So if this is your first visit to Europe I would either do an England only tour or use public transportation for ease and comfort-it is a beautiful train ride in various parts of the UK that would be more enjoyable if you don't have to concentrate on the road.
I think that flying into London and then leaving out of Ireland is a great idea-the ticket is called an "open jaw" when you book it.You can book on airline to fly you to the UK and back from Ireland and then possibly use one of the discount airlines to Dublin from the UK?
I have a history degree and England is a wonderful place to see your history come alive!Don't make this you do or die and one and only trip to Europe-it won't be so enjoy one area at a time and savor what you see.
I laughed when you mentioned Egypt-I have been flying for a major US airline for over 37 years and just got to Egypt this past December. I travel ALL the time but could never get there till then so remember you got a lifetime to see alot of these things.After graduation and your trip you will realize as most of us on this travel board have that travel is an addiction!

StCirq

I'm getting this thread confused with the ADD-ADH grand-daughter thread. In fact, I think I'm getting a bit ADD myself just reading it.

Peter_S_Aus

I'm gonna leave this one alone.

Ann1

First of all if you plan to take the rental car on the ferry, make sure the rental agency allows it. Some don't.

Second, you answered your own question. Your heart is in the British Isles. Do that trip and see the other countries in the next 65 years.

suze

I am never confortable renting a car and driving in a foreign country. I know some people don't mind. But I plan my Europe trips so they can be done entirely with public transportation. It's so much more relaxing and easy to plan that way.

Ann1

suze: It just shows how different every traveler is. We are more comfortable and relaxed driving. We can stop and see what we want and find interesting place on the way. We find wonderful little restaurants we would have missed. I completely understand how you feel, though. Everyone is different.

suze

I usually travel solo. So that is a very big part of it. I don't want to be responsible for a rental car and driving where I don't speak the language OR on the "wrong" side of the road.

If I was with a friend who was comfortable driving, and wanted to rent a car, of course I can see there are advantages.

Ann1

I totally agree. Traveling solo isn't good to rent a car.

Christina

I agree with Suze, renting a car in a foreign country is never relazing to me, it is very expensive and very stressful. I avoid it whenever possible. It is also very expensive for a single person to do that. It can be difficult driving out of any major city you don't know (which is usually where you pick up a car), and then you have to worry about something going on with the car, getting lost, etc. And I read maps very well, but I have been lost one in Guadeloupe and almost missed my plane (no, it isn't relaxing or "fun" to get lost in a place where you can't figure out the streets and roads, and cows are running across the highway--this was the Caribbean island). I also couldn't find my road once in Provence as now matter how good a map is, sometimes the way to get to some location isn't clear due to not being able to find the right turnoff, not being able to turn around or get off the highway, etc. Now I speak French which was my only salvation in both those countries, so I did get by. I managed to stop on the autoroute in France to ask how the heck I get to this country inn and I managed to finally get there just at nightfall by their directions. It wasn't pleasant at all as I was really worried about being out in the country in the dark (especially with jet lag).

I've had warning lights going off in one rental car and had to find a mechanic out in the middle of nowhere in Provence (and again, if I hadn't spoken French, it would have been impossible to communicate with these guys).

If you have someone who can read the map or watch out for things while you drive, it would help, and also it would just not be as worrisome when something goes wrong if you are not alone. It's always better to have something to share problems with. Also, you can't really watch the scenery that well when you are the driver, so driving along some narrow mountain roads or along the corniche in Guadeloupe was really not that fun or relaxing, some of those roads are scary and dangerous. I got a little scared driving up to the volcano in Guadeloupe, and as the road got narrower and rougher, I finally decided I shouldn't be driving up there alone, and turned around to go back down the mountain. SO I missed the volcano.

lalalacheesejah

Since no one seems to like the rental car idea (and I'm not too fond of it myself, but I don't know much about travel over there yet) how easy are trains?

I want to be able to see lots of the country though. Could I just hop on and off whenever we want to?

How about getting from Scotland to Ireland? What mode would be best?