May 2014 Trip

Old May 6th, 2013, 04:29 PM
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May 2014 Trip

Hello. I am new to the forums. I've never been to Europe and am looking for advice on the best way to travel to the different cities and for suggustions on where to visit.

I am a college student, low 20's, and will be traveling with a friend. We are most interested in the culture/lifestyle such as nightlife, food, amoung everything else.

Our list so far is: London, Dublin, Rome, Florence, Venice, Barcelona, Ibiza, and Madrid. We would ideally like to start in London and end in Madrid as those are the cheapest flights (from Washington DC area). Are there any other cities we should look in to? Out of that list is there any that we should plan to stay an extra night or two or any that we should skip to save time? We are planning a packed 12-15 night trip.

Finally, we plan to fly to/from London, Dublin, and between Italy and Spain. We will take the train in Italy and in Spain (ferry to/from Ibiza). Is a ferry better between London and Dublin and then between Italy in Spain or should we stick to flying?

Thanks for the help!!!
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Old May 6th, 2013, 04:51 PM
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Skip Florence for nightlife and food.

You've really got too many stops. This isn't just an old guy talking. Stop and think for a second: What if a Italian friend emailed you to ask how he could come to the states and see Boston, NYC, Chicago, NOLA, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and San Francisco in 12-15 days. And reminded you he doesn't speak English and has never been to the US before! What would you say to him.?

What time of year are you going and what is the most important thing to you and your friend that is causing you to spend so much money to visit Europe? There is lots of good food and nightlife in NYC, and there are trendy beaches for the rich in the US , so what are the two of you really looking for?

If you want music and food and nightlife, you could have a fantastic trip just going to London and Madrid. Interested?
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Old May 6th, 2013, 05:04 PM
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Very good point.

We would like to see Europe. Experience what they have to offer over there. I will soon be graduating college, starting a career, hopefully a family. And there went my opportunity to visit Europe until another 30 years down the road and by that time I will be 50.

I've been bartending and saving up for this trip. We would be going in May of next year.
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Old May 6th, 2013, 05:20 PM
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"Our list so far is: London, Dublin, Rome, Florence, Venice, Barcelona, Ibiza, and Madrid"

All of this in 12-15 days! Wow - this is less than 2 days in each place and doesn't even consider the travel time between each.

You need to cut your list down dramatically. It's just not realistic. You may want to look into Contiki tours - they offer bus tours that will cover alot of geography (and alot of bus time) and are geared to the young crowd.
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Old May 6th, 2013, 06:08 PM
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CathyM, Contiki is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!
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Old May 6th, 2013, 06:15 PM
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>

Are you kidding? I took probably 80 trips to Europe with kids...what do you mean there goes an opportunity to visit Europe until another 30 years down the road???

Ok, besides that, you simply can't do 8 places that dispersed in 12-15 days. You have to account for travel between places and all that that entails (checking out of hotels, getting to the train/airport, waiting time, time on the actual transport, time getting off and finding your accommodations, getting settled, getting oriented to where you are, etc. It all takes time, usually a half-day to a full one.

Pick 2-3 places, preferably in contiguous countries.
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Old May 6th, 2013, 06:39 PM
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Just one man's perspective: fewer countries mean more fun.

We have been to Europe probably 20 times and to Italy at least 9 times. We have seen the highlights, and still really limit our time spent changing cities. As StCirq said above, changing cities really eats into the time.

Here is a sample of our last two trips to Italy: May 2012: 14 nights -- 4 in Venice, 2 in Bologna, 5 in Florence, 4 in Rome; February 2013: 9 nights -- 4 in Perugia, 4 in Florence, 1 in Milan (to return to the US). BTW, the night counts do not count the nights we lost flying over. One other caution: with all the trips we have made, we really have seen the highlights of the cities, but still each trip, we find things we have never heard of and plan another visit.

I would also confidently add that there are few "one-time" trips to Europe. I suspect that this trip will morph into many others (and not when you are 50)!

Enjoy!!
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