gigm

Hi,
I will be studying in Leeds, the UK from september to january and have one month christmas break from December 7th - January 6th. My boyfriend will meet me in London, and from there our trip itinerary is as follows:

Three nights (two days) in London
Fly from London to Barcelona

Four nights (three days) in Barcelona
Fly from Barcelona to Paris

Four nights (three days) in Paris
Fly from Paris to Rome

Five nights (four days) in Rome
Fly from Rome to Vienna

Three nights (two days) in Vienna (spending Christmas there and leaving Boxing Day)
Fly from Vienna to Berlin

Six nights (five days) in Berlin (spending New Year's Eve there and leaving New Year's Day)
Fly from Berlin to Amsterdam

Four nights (three days) in Amsterdam
Fly from Amsterdam direct to Leeds.

We have already booked our accommodation in London and Barcelona, and our flights to Barcelona and Paris, but beyond that we are flexible - ideally I do want to spend Christmas in Vienna and New Year's in Berlin but I am wondering whether we should have an extra day in Paris or in Rome.

We are travelling on a reasonably moderate student budget (around 4000 euro) and would prefer to wander around cities and see architecture and get a feel for the atmosphere rather than spend all our time in museums (with some exceptions maybe), despite the expected cold weather. I will be doing some shopping but probably will focus on second hand or less expensively priced boutiques rather than just big designer stores.

Does this trip sound achievable? Is there anything I need to consider? Where would a fifth night best be spent? (Paris vs Rome, or should we attempt an overnight trip to another French or Italian city/town with the extra day?)

Sorry for the information overload! I've never planned a trip before and it will be our first time in Europe - any help/tips/guidelines would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
Georgina

Michael

For cheap flights, try this new site:

http://www.drungli.com/

or: http://www.flylc.com/directall-en.asp

adrienne

I think your budget is a bit tight. Things can get expensive around the holidays. You have E140 per day for the 2 of you for lodging, food, and transportation.

Have you looked at other airfares to see if your trip is possible? How about lodging?

PalenQ

fly fly fly - you will only see heavily touristed tourist meccas and nary a wee bit of the lay of the land that lies between the big cities - tarmac and big cities but not say Switzerland as you might pass thru on the train.

Strongly consider IMO bargain Eurail Youthpass, if under 26 that is, and avail yourself of the way to not only see the often wondrous countryside between the tourist meccas and also meet and mingle with Europeans, who often take the train as well as zillions of young folk from around Europe and the world riding European trains.

Overnight trains can cover long distances but save on the cost of a hotel.

Anyway srongly consider a major re whatever of your trip and take to the rails - great sites IMO for learning and planning a European rail adventure -www.budgeteuropetravel.com, www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

MelJ

I so agree with Pal. Taking the train accomplishes two things: You get from point A to point B and, unlike the plane, you save the cost of a hotel each time you train overnight. And, you are city center to city center, saving you the cost of a taxi, train or shuttle to and from the airports.

Dayle

georgina,

Consider this if you are on a small budget (and you really are): You are spending an awful lot of money GETTING to all these major cities vs. BEING in these cities.

You would actually get more cultural value for your money if you cut your destinations and just do a third of this itinerary.

You are young. Europe isn't going anywhere. You will have more trips in the future.

Have fun whatever you decide!

Jean

In one month, you'll be coming and going through airports 14 times. During the Christmas and New Years holiday period!! That would send me over the edge.

If it were my trip, I'd pick destinations that are not quite so geographically separated and are, where possible, reachable by train. You've also picked only big cities. I'd want to mix it up a little with a couple of smaller, quieter destinations.

You need to note what days of the week you'll be where and what things will be open. For example, if your only days in a city are Sunday-Monday, you might have trouble seeing everything on your list.

nytraveler

If you can find another day I would definitely spend it in Paris.

And I think your budget is extremely tight. Forget about shopping - you would need your whole budget for one designer item.

Have you looked into the cost of lodging? And flights between cities? I don;t think you really have anything left for food or sightseeing or even a little night life in student cafes or pubs.

Granted you are going off-season - but that doesn;t make things free. I woulld do some searching now for lodging costs - and organize your flight plan to you are ready to pounce the second you get get a super bargain fare. (My 19 year old daughter went to europe with 2 friends last summer for 5 weeks - modestly, no shopping and limited student price nightlife - and she spent more than $8000 for one person - including trains and intrercity flights - but not the transatlantic flight.)

Michael

<i>and she spent more than $8000 for one person</i>

She's a heavy spender. Not counting international flights, my wife estimates an expenditure of $5500 for two months for the two of us (she thinks that this is actually high). Admittedly 4 weeks were rent "free" (the costs are hidden in annual taxes, telephone bills, utility costs, house repairs etc.), but it includes flights from Poland to France and three different car rentals for a total of 48 days.

After living in the UK before this vacation, the OP might learn how to limit expenses.

vespacurves

I take the last half of your itinerary as a given, but suggest altering the first half this way

Three nights (two days) in London
Train from London to Paris

Four nights (three days) in Paris
Fly from Paris to Barcelona

Four nights (three days) in Barcelona
Fly from Barcelona to Rome

Five nights (four days) in Rome
Fly from Rome to Vienna

I understand you are not afraid of cold, but Amsterdam is wet too. You really can't walk around in the rain all day in December. Have back up plans for indoor activities that will genuinely interest you and your boyfriend.

vespacurves

Sorry. I just realized you had posted your Paris and Barcelona flights are booked. But I reiterate my advice about the weather, and it applies to all your destinations, not just Amsterdam.

RonZ

"In one month, you'll be coming and going through airports 14 times. During the Christmas and New Years holiday period!!"

Jean makes a very valid point. This sounds like a real grind.

janisj

Traveling out to all those departure airports, arriving about 2 hours early each time, traveling in from all the arrival airports -- you are spending easily 8 or 9 days of your month just in transit. That is a huge waste of time/money.

Cut way back on the number of destinations . . . you save a TON of $/£/€, and actually see <i>more . . .

PalenQ

Tour de Tarmacs et Aeroports!

nytraveler

I don;t think she's a heavy spender - I couldn't begin to do it for that. But I'm not 19, staying in a small triple and don't want the type of hotels or restaurants/cafes they used - and definitely don't want low budget airlines or trains (except if just between two major cities).

We like to do one splurge restaurant in each city and stay in a central full-service hotel with enough room to relax (usually a small suite). IMHO at a certain point in life comfort is more important than $.

blh

What does the 4,000€ include? Does this amount include transportation and and hotels? I would cut back to about four destinations and try to travel by train as much as possible. If you stay a week in each place, you could find a small apartment which would be much cheaper than hotels. If course, if you're planning on staying in hostels that can be inexpensive as well. Three days is not nearly enough for Paris.

AisleSeat

If you are really bent on conquering Europe in one trip you might also consider a guided tiur so someone else arranges all those trips back and forth to the airport. If I had your time and money I would probably drop two cities from the list and I would concentrate on the big three - London, Paris, Rome. Your job is to enjoy the trip, not just to put pins in the map. Enjoy it.

suze

I think you have too many cities and too many plane flights for the period of time. I'd cut out at least two destinations from the original list and check if there are any legs that the train, either by day or an overnight one could make sense, to mix things up a bit. Way too much time in airports in the 1st draft itinerary.

Also by trimming the number of places, you'll save some money by not moving around so much. That will help stretch your budget. I don't think you have enough time or money to start adding 'day trips' or doing much 'shopping'.

jt865504

Hi Georgina,

I agree with many of the posters who are suggesting fewer cities and plane rides. I think that for a first trip to Europe many people want to try to see all of the highlights (I also wanted to do this the first time) but this can be quite expensive and you'll end up spending a lot of time in airports and planes with your current itinerary. IMO, I think you would need to add an extra day or two to your time in Paris, London, and Vienna to really get a good feel of them so narrowing down the cities you visit can help with this.

I would try to cut down on destinations as suggested and/or focus on a region so you can see more of a particular country than its major city. For example, you could focus on England, Holland, Spain, and France and do all or most of the travel by train and choose the cities you most want to see (e.g., London, Cambridge, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville, Barcelona, Lisbon (Portugal), Paris, Avignon, Marseilles, Nice) and organize them into connecting train trips.

Of course if you don't see yourself having an opportunity to return to Europe any time soon you could consider joining a "Best of Europe" kind of tour that includes a number of your prioritized sights and let them figure out your connections and accommodations for a set price within your budget and just focus on enjoying yourself. STA Travel, Rick Steves, and Contiki are a few of the options, just make sure you watch out for what all is included in the price (meals, sight entrance fees, etc.) and what is not. Some of these are college student oriented and might be a good choice if you really want to see as many highlights as possible but will eliminate all the flights and travel headaches for you.

-Jess