New FIXED Itinery... please help for the train planning :)
Jul 28th, 2010, 03:34 PM
#61
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Ditto on Fashionista's advice, along with the others.
Meihan, Let's reframe your inquiry based on that budget.
You guys are backpacking honeymooners who will picnic on trains overnight to preserve the budget.
I like it. I've done it. You can also. Given that premise, you can do this on the budget indicated.
But dial down your hotel expectations. Look for quads and hostels. I'm assuming you guys are under 30 and can still stay in hostels. Check Lonely Planet for some great recommendations.
Buy a $6 bottle of house wine, a hunk of cheese and a baguette. That's a picnic for four for $10.
You can absolutely do it based on those expectations.
Meihan, Let's reframe your inquiry based on that budget.
You guys are backpacking honeymooners who will picnic on trains overnight to preserve the budget.
I like it. I've done it. You can also. Given that premise, you can do this on the budget indicated.
But dial down your hotel expectations. Look for quads and hostels. I'm assuming you guys are under 30 and can still stay in hostels. Check Lonely Planet for some great recommendations.
Buy a $6 bottle of house wine, a hunk of cheese and a baguette. That's a picnic for four for $10.
You can absolutely do it based on those expectations.
Jul 28th, 2010, 04:36 PM
#66
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I think that a good suggestion would be to book a tour - Trafalgar, Kontiki, something of that nature. Ashford Castle sounds nice, but a teensy bit above my price point.
Zeppole's advice <<I'm serious that you need hotel reservations you can cancel without penalty and travel insurance.>> is very good, because after a couple of weeks at the pace you are planning, you might want to cancel out a couple of your destinations.
Zeppole's advice <<I'm serious that you need hotel reservations you can cancel without penalty and travel insurance.>> is very good, because after a couple of weeks at the pace you are planning, you might want to cancel out a couple of your destinations.
Jul 28th, 2010, 04:40 PM
#68
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I agree that everything looks good but the England/Ireland/Scotland part. If you were to remove this section and add more France, Switzerland, Italy, or Spain you could get a Eurail pass and use it on basically every train you wanted to take!
Also for night trains on bahn.de the price you are seeing is just for a seat, you then have to purchase a bed at a higher cost. If you have a eurail pass you will get the "seat" price for free and you have to purchase the bed rate.
I stayed with my husband in budget B&B's and hostels and averaged 90 euros an evening in Italy. The countries you are going to are the most expensive European countries. You will need at least 90 euro a night for basic (not 3 star) double rooms.
Also for night trains on bahn.de the price you are seeing is just for a seat, you then have to purchase a bed at a higher cost. If you have a eurail pass you will get the "seat" price for free and you have to purchase the bed rate.
I stayed with my husband in budget B&B's and hostels and averaged 90 euros an evening in Italy. The countries you are going to are the most expensive European countries. You will need at least 90 euro a night for basic (not 3 star) double rooms.
Jul 28th, 2010, 04:44 PM
#69
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I think if you skip Lourdes and leave out Ireland this is do-able. Maybe not at the pace most of us would like to travel, but for young people it is fine. My earliest trips to Europe were about this pace, and they were hectic but not crazy. As others have said, don't set your expectations high for food or hotels and concentrate on just enjoying the sights and natural beauty.
Just please arm yourselves with some good guidebooks, brochures and maps (whether official or Google/viamichelin printouts) to make your lives easier once you are there.
Italy will likely be the most crowded in September (is it ever not crowded?) so try to secure your plans there first. Also set up a "plan B' for many places in terms of sold out trains, bad weather, etc. that could throw off your plans. A train pass would probably work best, alhough the partial car rental in Italy and the Swiss trains will still add more to your costs. E.g., I think it's something like CHF 125 to get all the wasy up to Junfraujoch even with a train pass.
Good luck and have fun!
Just please arm yourselves with some good guidebooks, brochures and maps (whether official or Google/viamichelin printouts) to make your lives easier once you are there.
Italy will likely be the most crowded in September (is it ever not crowded?) so try to secure your plans there first. Also set up a "plan B' for many places in terms of sold out trains, bad weather, etc. that could throw off your plans. A train pass would probably work best, alhough the partial car rental in Italy and the Swiss trains will still add more to your costs. E.g., I think it's something like CHF 125 to get all the wasy up to Junfraujoch even with a train pass.
Good luck and have fun!
Jul 28th, 2010, 04:45 PM
#70
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I forgot to add. Your budget will be very tight.
The cheapest way to make a trip cheaper is to:
Go to fewer cities!
You will save money on trains, inter city transportation, plains, ferries, and some European hotels offer discounts for longer stays.
The cheapest way to make a trip cheaper is to:
Go to fewer cities!
You will save money on trains, inter city transportation, plains, ferries, and some European hotels offer discounts for longer stays.
Jul 28th, 2010, 06:57 PM
#71
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For your "Tuscany" part of the trip, with the car, stay near Pisa or Lucca. then you can easily get to Cinque Terre, or Florence, or the wine country of Chianti. then catch the train in Pisa and go to Rome.
Jul 28th, 2010, 09:53 PM
#73
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A good piece of advice for a budget - figure about 100 Euro per person/ per day for food, entertanment and entrance fees. That is a more realistic budget. That doesn't include hotel, trains or souvineers. Remember, it is a budget. I'm not saying each day you'll spend 100E, but the worst thing you can do is go in thinking you will only spend 50E and go way over your budget and start skimping on things that you want to do or want to purchase because you've spent too much money. Just my 2 cents on the matter.
Jul 28th, 2010, 10:10 PM
#74
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Let's not forget your OP a few days back. THIS IS YOUR HONEYMOON!!
I dont think that staying in Hostels or in a quad room with your other travel companions is going to make for a great honeymoon.
I also saw that you want to do a day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence. Not so sure that is really doable. It's 2 1/2 hour drive each way to La Spezia, which is not accounting for any traffic or delays (high season). From there you can catch a train to one of the Cinque Terre towns. But that wont leave you much time to explore CT, maybe 5 or 6 hours.
If you stick to this itinerary, follow others advice - pack light - REAL LIGHT.
I also don't think you should be taking offense to the oppinions of others on these boards. Everyone is trying to give you advice so you can best enjoy your trip. Alot of people on here are giving you really sound advice. I would strongly listen to what the other experienced European travellers have to say.
I dont think that staying in Hostels or in a quad room with your other travel companions is going to make for a great honeymoon.
I also saw that you want to do a day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence. Not so sure that is really doable. It's 2 1/2 hour drive each way to La Spezia, which is not accounting for any traffic or delays (high season). From there you can catch a train to one of the Cinque Terre towns. But that wont leave you much time to explore CT, maybe 5 or 6 hours.
If you stick to this itinerary, follow others advice - pack light - REAL LIGHT.
I also don't think you should be taking offense to the oppinions of others on these boards. Everyone is trying to give you advice so you can best enjoy your trip. Alot of people on here are giving you really sound advice. I would strongly listen to what the other experienced European travellers have to say.
Jul 28th, 2010, 11:09 PM
#75
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OK. What am I missing here? How is the above itinerary improved over the original one when this one is reading a list of places so long that it's making me dizzy....the same as the last one. Happy Travels!
Jul 29th, 2010, 12:38 AM
#76
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The budget calculation is just estimation of the standart everyday meal n hotels.
I did mention about ashford hotel, n we r still discussing it, if we decided to sleep there, of course we r READY to splurge some MORE money beyond our budget.. geezz i can count too n i m taking all into consideration all of the costs.. its just u guys dont get the details then u start assuming things "oh she got that very low budget, but planning to stay at ashford -- what a dumb"
I did mention about ashford hotel, n we r still discussing it, if we decided to sleep there, of course we r READY to splurge some MORE money beyond our budget.. geezz i can count too n i m taking all into consideration all of the costs.. its just u guys dont get the details then u start assuming things "oh she got that very low budget, but planning to stay at ashford -- what a dumb"
Jul 29th, 2010, 12:53 AM
#79
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In addition just so u know, we dont drink alcohols, we dont even like beer, i DID mention about BEER in Munich, we just want to drink a lil, be a part of the oktoberfest..
suze : "Certainly it CAN be done, with a combination of street food (bakeries, crepes, hot dogs, etc.) picnics from the grocery store (sandwiches, fruit, etc.) and casual eateries" yes we know, this is the kind of food we would have while on trip, pizzas, pastas, etc.. we dont expect any fine dining, maybe if we can we ll save a bit, n say for once a week we ll find a decent good restaurant n have steak for dinner
suze : "Certainly it CAN be done, with a combination of street food (bakeries, crepes, hot dogs, etc.) picnics from the grocery store (sandwiches, fruit, etc.) and casual eateries" yes we know, this is the kind of food we would have while on trip, pizzas, pastas, etc.. we dont expect any fine dining, maybe if we can we ll save a bit, n say for once a week we ll find a decent good restaurant n have steak for dinner
