Borinquena

My daughter will be studing in Edinburgh next semester. She will fly with a friend to London 15 days before classes start in order to visit Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris. They will then return to London and Edinburgh. They are looking into traveling by trains, using RyanAir, or maybe flying from the US to Rome via London and making the trip back using the trains. Please give us suggestions. We would also like to know if it's better to fly or to take the train from London to Edinburgh.

Christina

That is too many places to visit in only 14 days because they are so far apart, in difference directions, and all major cities. They should not do that. Maybe if they cut out Spain, it would work.

jenviolin

Some of the Ryanair/Easyjet/Basiqair prices are enticing, but keep in mind that most of the airports are not the most convenient to the cities and will cost extra time and money. Additionally, you need to book very early to get good rates. All fares have taxes figured separately, so what looks like a great deal may be disappointing. Sometimes you're lucky; other times not. If she's travelling with a friend, I'd recommend trains, and, specifically, a rail pass in combination with Thomas Cook. Freedom, convenience and savings!

flanneruk

Virtually everyone who regularly posts on this board will agree that it's simply potty to cram all this into 15 days - especially if you're likely to have another 70-odd years to see these places at a sensible pace.

But there's no telling some people. Sp hint to them to go to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en and www.flybudget.com and plot this planned journey. They should assume that every airport claiming to be in a city they've heard of is actually in a village they've never heard of, at least 2 hours from where they want to be.

Having discovered they're going to be spending their time watching salesgirls flogging them overpriced sandwiches at 35,000 ft, they'll decide to use those 15 days more productively. Their next step should be a map: Rome-Venice-Madrid-Barcelona-Paris-London is only marginally less dozy than starting the whole thing off from London.

If they want help in trimming their plans down, suggest to them they ask advice from here or the Lonely Planet site themselves.

suze

Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris (5 cities and 3 countries) is simply too much to be reasonable for a two week trip. It will be expensive, they will spend a LOT of their time on trains, in airports, getting between hotels and train stations, etc.

Using the standard formula of allowing 1/2 day to change locations (and that is optimistic with some of these distances) that leaves ~2 days to *see* each of these large major cities.

I suggest they skip either Italy or Spain entirely this trip.

sheila

If she HAS to fly to London to keep her friend company, that's fine. If not, why not have her come into Rome or Madrid, and spend a week in both countries travelling round by train.

She can then fly back from whereever she ends up (and I guess it would smart to plan this bit) straight into Edinburgh.

Then she can do a long weekend in London mid term or spend a week there on her way home at Christmas

suze

I also suggest they post and research for themselves. You're putting yourself in an akward situation of having to give motherly advice and rain on their (unreasonable) parade. Better they find out for themselves why this plan is a bit daft. Unless they in fact want to fly into Rome, basically get on a train, and start heading back to London via brief stops in these cites. They would do that in 2 weeks time.

www.lonelyplanet.com and their BB called The Thorn Tree, western europe branch is an excellent suggestion above.

ira

Hi B,

Good advice from suze.

If they are old enough to do this trip, they are old enough to plan it.

jay

my daughter just did the same trip but from london. that is way too many cities in 15 days. paris, rome, venice would be a nice 15 day trip. Email me and I can have my daughter contact you or your daughter via email. Don't forget that Ryan air always leaves from airports that are in the hinterlands which adds alot of time to the commute.

rex

Drop Spain or Italy. They need to check www.whichbudget.com for ravel to or from France (except for Paris-London - - but better that they fly Paris-Scotland on Ryanair to get back to Edinburgh). If not listed, the route Paris-Venice is on sale cheap at myair.com

Best wishes,

Rex

Intrepid1

If they end this thing in either Barcelona or Madrid they can fly to Paris (from Madrid) or from either back to various spots in the UK and leave from the regular airports, too, IF they use EasyJet instead of RyanAir.

janis

I won't repeat all the excellent advice in the above posts. Just that it is waaaaaaay too much in too short a time.

But another very inportant thing to consider -- if she is flying into London before a semester's stay in Edinburgh she will likely have a fair amount of luggage. All of the low fare airlines have very restrictive baggage allowances. Plus she will have to schlepp her stuff on any trains trips on the continent - NOT easy w/ a lot of luggage. And leaving her extra things in London before heading to the continent isn't that good an idea since each bag will cost £5.50 per day in left luggage. So even if she just leaves one suitcase - that will come to £82.50 or nearly $150 just for storage. multiply that for each add'l piece she stores.

Maybe she should register and come onto this thread herself so we can give her some reasonable alternatives . . . .

suze

Since she'll be studying a semester maybe she could save one part of the trip (Paris or the two cities of Spain) for anothr time?

nytraveler

In 15 days they should do either Paris and Rome/Venice or Paris and Madrid /Barcelona. Otherwise - esp if using budget travel - they will be spending most of their time in airports/planes, buses and trains - and will see very litttle of any of these cities.

Agree the thing for them to do is to sit down and do a day by day itinerary using real locations and fight times etc. It will soon show them how little time they have. (Many of these airports are so far from the cities they serve - and you must arrive so far in advance (and with so little luggage) that it will take an entire day to get from one city to another (checking out of hotel, making way to distant airport, checking in, waiting, flying, landing, finding transport to distant city, locating and checking into hotel will easily take 9/10 hours.)

tracys2cents

With low budget flights from Edinburgh...they should plan on doing some of this later on.

There are budget flights London to Rome, Rome to Barcelona, B to Madrid, M to Paris(Orly) and Paris to London(Luton)...but that's 5 of their 15 days just navigating in and out of airports. And that is skipping Venice altogether.

I'd try to talk them into London to Barcelona...to Madrid...to Paris and back to London I guess.

Borinquena

Thank you for all the advice. I sent her this thread. Their plan to stop in London is to get a better airfare from the US and to leave part of their luggage at a friend's home.
Could you tell me the price of the train from London to Edinburgh?