kgveteran

hello all ! As u can see we purchased two tickets and now we have to make plans.
where do we begin, i ask you, the travel Guru’s
we will be in europe for one week

janisj

>>where do we begin,<<

Get a guide book and decide where you want to go.

Will you be IN Europe a week - 7 days? That would be a 9 day trip including travel time. Or - is your trip a week -- meaning 4.5 days on the ground? Or - do your just mean you are thinking of 'about a week' but actual length not set?

If you do 7 days on the ground -- then obviously some time in Belgium and one other place would be possible. The easiest other places to combine w/ Antwerp wuld be Amsterdam, Paris or other towns in Belgium.

kgveteran

lenth not determined yet, but 7-9 is close enough for now. Yes, Amsterdam is another city on our list, ur a mind reader......

is there a travel insurance that’s recommended here on this board travel/ medical type ?

we will be flying out of Toronto and making that part of our trip, we live in NY.

I know people plan vacations in a week, we have 8 months to plan, but this is our first Europe destination, im a wreck :0)

janisj

How about something JUST Antwerp/Amsterdam. If the whole trip is 7 days you won't have much time on the ground so that would be about all you could squeeze in (including maybe a day trip out of Amsterdam).

Or something different like Antwerp and London - There is something for everyone in London.

PalenQ

Try for 9 days and do perhaps Paris and Amsterdam and Antwerp - land in Amsterdam - Antwerp - Paris by train - not sure when you must be in Antwerp and that makes a difference. Anyway fly into Paris or Amsterdam and fly out of the other. Paris 4 days - Antwerp - 1 - Amsterdam 4 maybe. Book trains early for nifty discounts on trains to/from Paris - www.thalys.com - www.seat61.com has loads on doing that yourselves online - general info trains and what to expect- BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Well that's just one scenario. Janis' suggestions nice too about London - Antwerp to London via train is just about 4 hours via Brussels. Land in Amsterdam - few days there - Antwerp and London. Fly out of London.

janisj

Pal's 9 days would actually be an eleven day trip including air travel.

We've morphed from 'a week', to 7-9 days to 11 days. So really, first of all you need to decide how long you can travel and then you'll have a better idea of what you can fit in.

hetismij2

If it's only 7 days total stay in Antwerp and do day trips to Brugge, Ghent, Brussels, Mechelen or any other Belgian city/town that appeals.

flowercreate

How about splitting your stay between Brugge and Antwerp?

Brugge is an easy day trip by train; however, I think it is magical in the quieter mornings and evenings after the day trippers have left. (Also, we nearly missed the last train to Antwerp because we were having too much fun chatting with people at the pub.) Amsterdam is also a fabulous choice and very easy by train. You can’t go wrong with either one; but, my choice would be Brugge due to its smaller scale (you’ll get your bearings quickly and feel comfortable in a shorter amount of time). We stayed at a wonderful B&B in Antwerp a couple of years ago, if you'd like an accommodation recommendation.

thibaut

Yes, Stay in Belgium.

2-3 nites in Anvers, 2-3 nites in Gand, and that is it. Daytrips to Bruxelles, Bruges, Lille (France) Aix La Chapelle (Germany) or Dinant to get a feel of a small walloon town.
Or Ieper and the flanders battlefields of WW1.
I would not spread myself too thin for a first trip.

Trains when not on strike are very efficient in Belgium (and europe in general).

hetismij2

thibaut, I think it would help if you used the English names for Belgian and German cities. I'm not sure how many people will recognise Anvers, Gand or Aix-la Chapelle.
I don't refer to Lille as Rijsel.

Tulips

If you only have a week (including travel days) then stick to 2 destinations; perhaps Amsterdam and Antwerp. Fly into and out of Amsterdam, as Antwerp is easy to get to from the airport by train. You can always take a daytrip from Antwerp to Brugge. Or fly to Brussel - train to Antwerp.
The Sportpaleis, where the concert will be, is on the outskirts of town, easily reached by tram. Stay in the center of town, somewhere near the Groenplaats or Markt. Don't stay near the Sportpaleis! It's not a very nice area (not unsafe, just not nice). I wouldn't add another city, with only one week.

PalenQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=midd...w=1267&bih=613

Middleheim Statue Park is just on the edge of Antwerp - trams go there - and is a famous esteemed modern art museum and outdoor statue park.

https://www.middelheimmuseum.be/en

And near it is Antwerp's uber famous street and section full of neat art-nouveau edifices:

https://www.visitantwerpen.be/en/cogelsosylei

https://www.google.com/search?q=coge...w=1280&bih=625

So there are a few really neat places outside of Antwerp's centrum.

kgveteran

Tomorrow we are having a sitdown to figure on flights, times and dates to have a solid airtravel plan. Once that is done, we will look over our time on the ground.
thank you folks so much for the great suggestions and travel philosophies, this idea came about after a few trips to Toronto to see stadium concerts like FooFighter and U2. I thought, why not see shows we missed Like EltonJohn, a dream come true, and 8 months to plan !!!!

i am concerned with travel insurance too, i have heard good things about it, and a real need to make it part of the budget upfront, so i’d rather take advice from flyer not articles about flyers Lol

Sassafrass

Tulips

You need travel insurance, at least to cover medical bills and repatriation in case of emergencies.
We have travel insurance through Amex.

thibaut

Sure. However I have no idea of most of English spelling and Anvers is used in Belgium, being a three languages country. I should have used Aachen, the local name, as I have no idea how English spell it actually.

PalenQ

Aachen in English too.

kimddd

I would combine Antwerp - Brussels and Amsterdam. Easily doable by high speed train. More than that would really be pushing it. Antwerp for 1-2 days should be good. Brussels and Amsterdam 2-3 days each.

Or you can just spend the week in Belgium: Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges will keep you busy and are really beautiful cities with a distinct atmosphere.

PalenQ

Brussels with time short would be low on mine and many others list - not that it does not have neat stuff just that it lacks the old-world charm Bruges, Gent and Amsterdam have - even though Amsterdam may be mobbed it is still a stunning sight just to see - like Venice - end there and start there - Schiphol Airport always one of most friendliest to use in many surveys.

kgveteran

We’ve begun at the beginning :0) There are redeye flights out of toronto to Lisbon Port, it has a 24hr layover, grab an BnB for the nite, spend a day in the city, its about 3hr flight into Brussels the next day where we could get a train (45min) to Antwerp..... $250 per ticket

my guess is we would plan out some good eateries, we enjoy our eats Lunch, Dinner, then breakfast before our departing flight....

these are the beginnings😊