PalenQ

that said if on a budget certain parts of Europe are much cheaper than others - Easter Europe - Portugal, Greece - basket bases economically and places like Italy, France, Germany generally more expensive than at home and places like Switzerland, Norway and Sweden, Finland outrageously expensive across the board - even IME with the decline of the U S dollar - oh forgot Britain - London is very expensive but other parts of Britain not so much - begats a point - tourist meccas like Paris, London, Rome, Venice, etc always more expensive than more ordinary parts of those countries.

rubbersoul

@dwdvagamundo Yes, the idea is very tempting but as I said, if I make such a big trip, I want to visit at least 4 countries. I think I'll explore Italy more in depth in a few years

@PalenQ Thanks for your advice! I have read many reviews about Contiki Tours in different places and everyone seems to be disappointed about the excesive partying/drinking and the bad quality of the explanations during the guided visits. And.. I'm a girl haha so the idea of being with many other girls doesn't appeal much to me, especially because they tend to act silly when they are in big groups.
I'm of Spanish descent but I'm really not interested in Spain. I have heard it is beautiful but I wouldn't spend my money in it now. I don't care much about the heat, I actually enjoy it but I'll proably travel during european winter/autumn because I'm on the south hemisphere and our holidays are between October and March. Italy and England are places I really, like REALLY want to visit but, as I stated before, it's a shame to be in Europe and not get to visit some other places. I also want to travel to Scandinavia (the other side of my family is of Finnish/Swedish descent) but I'm aware of how expensive it is, I'll definitely leave that places for a future trip. I hadn't considered Portugal and I heard it's a nice place so I'll think about it! Greece seemed a great idea from the beginning but I'm a bit worried about their idiom, their alphabet is very different too.. is it difficult to interact with local people?

@nytraveler I know! Maybe I didn't word it properly.. You do have to pay the full price of the trip before departing but you can make your payments over time with small deposits / various credit cards.

@elizzie4000 You're right, maybe I'll shorten the itinerary or extend my holidays!

Thank you all for replying and giving your opinions, it's really helpful

kja

"I want to visit at least 4 countries" Why?

rubbersoul

@kja I just realized you left two replies and I didn't thank you, I'm sorry. I'll certainly start to read guidebooks, I think it's a good idea to identify what you want to do or where you want to go.. I hadn't thought about it. Also I have just bookmarked that link, it looks very useful! Thank you very much!

rubbersoul

Well.. I had mentioned it before, actually it's a very sad reason haha. Europe is very far from where I live and also it's very expensive to go there, even to the cheapest places (at least for me).

South american economy in general, and argentinian economy in particular, are really unstable. Our money is getting devalued everyday and for every international purchase I make I have to pay a tax of 35% and that makes everything more difficult. I'll put a lot of effort into making this trip so I want to visit a good amount of places.. Since the economic outlook doesn't look birhgt, I really don't know if I'll be able to travel again in the near future and while I want to have a good-quality trip, I don't want to visit just a few places

kja

But why 4 countries? What is it that you hope to see or experience that makes you want to visit 4 countries?

kja

I ask because you won't necessary see more diverse things by visiting 4 countries than by visiting fewer countries. But maybe that's not your reason?

justineparis

My 18 yr old nephew took a Contiki Tour.

He loved it.. but he did in fact drink and party his way through most of the tour.. as did most on the tour.. and I have seen the photos that prove it..lol The tours are very fast paced .. so he doesn't really remember a ton of what he saw.. it went by so fast. .but he enjoyed the other tour members. .


Your comment about other girls is kind of weird.. so I will try and ignore it .

It sounds like you are on a bit of a budget.. you do realize the more you move the more you spend on transport. A youth railpass is rarely a good deal nowadays.. they were 30 years ago when some posters were young.. things have changed. Inter europeon flights.. if booked well in advance can be VERY cheap,, and point to point train tickets can be cheap too.. but book well in advance.
Switzerland is expensive. Everything about it.. lol

I think you have way too many things on your wish list. I think you need to say to yourself.. if two nights in a place only equals ONE full day to see the place,, is it really worth it to me to spend the money and time to get to a place I only think is worth ONE day?

So to me three nights it the minimum one should stay in a place.. any place worth spending money and time on should be worth seeing for two days don't you think?

For a month I would say 5 places is reasonable.. maybe 6. For only 3 weeks.. I would only do 4,, maybe 5 places.

I would eliminate places that are far from all your other choices.

rubbersoul

@kja I want to do and see a lot of things, and many of them are in different countries.
I want to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Fontana de Trevi, Tower of Pisa, Pantheon, Venice's canals and gondolas (Italy)
I want to cross Abbey Road and see the Tower Bridge, Big Ben and London city in general. Also I plan to travel to Liverpool and take a beatle-themed tour and, if posible, go to Scotland and visit some castles (UK)
I want to see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Champs Élysées and Notre Dame Cathedral (France)
I want to visit the Acropolis and Parthenon and spend some time in a greek island (Greece)
These are my main interests but I'd also enjoy going to Berlin, Munich and the Swiss Alps.

@justineparis Yes, I know someone who took a Contiki tour as well and I noticed that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make an offensive statement at all but at least here, it happens a lot (it applies to boys too, but I said that because these tours are full of girls).
You're right, even though it will be more expensive I think I'll try to spend one month there.

Considering the main places I want to visit, how much is this trip likely to cost?

kja

OK -- so you aren't simply looking to go to 4 countries, you are hoping to see specific things? Then again, my advice is to hit the guidebooks and plot your options on a calendar. Personally, I would NOT want to cram all the things you list into a single trip of the length you are contemplating -- WAY too much travel time, WAY too little time to actually see anything. AND the more you move around, the more you are likely to add to your costs.... But it's YOUR trip and you need to figure out for yourself whether it is do-able in a way that meets YOUR needs.

Time to do your homework, rubbersoul! ;-)

mariha2912

"Greece seemed a great idea from the beginning but I'm a bit worried about their idiom, their alphabet is very different too.. is it difficult to interact with local people?"

Do you find it difficult to interact with me??? lol As I mentioned on a previous post, people on the tourism industry speak English as a second language and other languages as their third or fourth or even fifth language. On most tourism destinations, highways and ecently populated places street signs are both in Greek and English and people are keen to get out of their way to help a visitor. Even on rural areas where people and/or older generation may not speak English, if you use body language you will be fine. I see you do not plan to be anywhere off ther beatten track though.

"I'll proably travel during european winter/autumn because I'm on the south hemisphere and our holidays are between October and March."

"I want to visit the Acropolis and Parthenon and spend some time in a greek island (Greece)"

Greece has an autumn and a winter and visiting a Greek island off season is not always the best idea. Acropolis is a Greek word coming from Akri (Edge, Top of) and Polis (City) . Parthenon temple is part of the Athens Acropolis. More likely on winter timetable will mean it will be open for visitors from 8am to 3pm .

As kja said, it is Time to do your homework! Do not try to plan a trip by spotanneous information you get on line. Take your time and sit down with a guidebook or two. The more research you do, the more things will come into place and a basic itinerary will be formed. You may latter come back here to help you fill in the gaps and trim the details. Planning the trip is often half the Enjoyment of the Trip idea itsself. Enjoy!

PalenQ

Greece seemed a great idea from the beginning but I'm a bit worried about their idiom, their alphabet is very different too..>

no problem - the letters translate very easily into English or Spanish letters - mainly needed with maps - but it is IME very easy to translate yourself - letter to letter - not a problem unless you want to read newspapers, etc. Lots of tourist info is also in English script.

Greece is cheaper too, a plus.

dwdvagamundo

PalenQ--

I feel a need to defend my comment from yours of April 9 at 5:55 p.m. I quoted what rubbersoul said one of her previous posts, because I've learned that in general our first thoughts are on target.

Almost all of us think that she's planning to go to too many places, and we're all trying to help her narrow down her plans.

rubbersoul--you've mentioned a couple of times your concern over language. Your Spanish and English will get you through. Once in Italy, before I'd learned a little Italian, I used a Spanish term for something because the person I was talking with didn't know what the English word I used meant; the person I was talking with said "That's Spanish" (meaning "not Italian") but he knew what I meant. You'll do fine wherever you go, as long as you don't get off the "beaten tourist track," which, given your proposed voyage, you won't have time to do.

PalenQ

I feel a need to defend my comment from yours of April 9 at 5:55 p.m. I quoted what rubbersoul said one of her previous posts, because I've learned that in general our first thoughts are on target.>

OK - I of course just read your comment and not the other's.

nytraveler

As far as costs you do ned to realize that the tour cost is only part of what you have to spend. They will usually not include lunches, snacks, entrances to places you go in free time, local transit to/in the cities you will be - as well as any nightlife - which can be very expensive.

Language is not a problem in most of europe (barring small towns) - but I think you are seriously underestimating your costs.

Also, if you think all young women are "silly" - then you need to find some different friends. My DDs and their friends are anything but silly - they are fun-loving - but all are serious about their studies and their careers.

PalenQ

smart people can act silly on trips like Contiki or in Europe - I took over 1,000 college students on European tours and they did some of the most silly stuff at times!