Our First Euro Trip 2009

If you have any advice as you view my plans please feel free to say anything and give any advice! I am a Virgin to Europe!

A good amount of time! What countries are you interested in seeing?

Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, UK, Vatican City,…..I want to go to very many which is why Im trying to take that much time to go around.

Any comments or advice on my plans so far?

It is possible to do all the countries you have mentioned. Try entering the city’s in the application so you and other’s can get a better idea of the route you are taking.

I think those are all feasible. Like Davy said, enter some cities in those countries into the application and it will give you a great idea about what route to take and how many days.

OK I entered a few but I know I am missing places….I didn’t even know that application was there! Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

I would not go all the way to Scandinavia just to see Stockholm, You would be best fitting in at least a couple of other city’s with your spare day’s to make it worthwhile. I also think your budget may be too low for Scandinavia as it is extremely expensive. When down and about Greece get out to some island’s. I would also try to fit in some place’s between Greece and Stockholm/Berlin

Good call…there is a lot of empty space between Greece and Berlin which Im sure I could fill in a bit better. This is just a rough draft of the trip for now throwing out the places on the top of my head. Im not even sure if I will for sure spend 3 days in each..but it does seem like nice time for now to get somewhat of a full breath of what each place has.

I think Greece is a little out of the way if all you’re going for is Athens. Maybe head out to some of the islands for a while.
You’ve got all that extra time sitting up there, ought to fill it up with something. Otherwise you may as well just cut your trip 4 weeks shorter.

Yes I am going to, as I stated that was just a rough draft and there is more that I am going out to see. I am planning on seeing some islands in Greece but I just didn’t put all the names up on there. And as for the 3 days a piece…well that’s all estimated time as well

Plus, the friend who I am traveling with is already in London as of March doing a study abroad with AIU through her school from Tampa, so I am also leaving room for her suggestion since she is already out there and will have a better idea for herself as well..

Hmm…so I have a question I just thought of. My friend wanted to try and do some work to live programs while we were out there like picking fruit and farm work and etc. for room and board type exchange. Do you know if I will need a Visa for all that? I know she has one for her study abroad but I am not a student so I don’t know if I would need one.

You need a work visa for any type of work in Europe. Under the table is a different story, although I’m not sure how many jobs would be available with the recession and all…

mim is absolutely right, Europe is not the best place to find temporary work while travelling, With the current financial problem’s and thousand’s of people losing there job’s daily it will be even harder. The best bet is working in hostels that may require summer staff and then they will probably want a few week’s work rather than a few day’s as you have in each place. Your best bet is to have enougth funds before you go.

Ya….I really have no idea how long I will be spending in these places..so I guess its hard to gauge out. I was just wondering in general if it would be in best interest to just have a work Visa in case something comes up….Thanks for the insight!

Can anyone tell me anything about this site and how good it works?

http://www.hitchhike…

My friend and I were thinking to try and use this verse taking the train everywhere to try and save some monies…

I haven’t heard of this site so I can’t attest to it, but it does seem interesting. Sort of like couch surfing in the car? If you find out any other info, let us know!

I will do!

Ok so I attempted to revamp my route around Europe. Let me know what you think of the new version and any comments you have on it

I like it with a couple of exception’s, don’t think there’s a need for 5 day’s in Brussels’s, Consider Prague/Bratislava when doing Berlin/Munich/Vienna, What’s your plan for getting from Istanbul to Athens?, Forget about Milan/ Marseilles think about Florence / Nice.

Whatever you decide it looks good.

I wanted more time in Brussels to do a Brewery hop around the city. My favorite beers are from Belgium . I haven’t yet checked into transport from Istanbul to Athens but I will get on that. Whats the preference to Florence/Nice over Milan/Marseilles?

I didn’t include some places so that instead of spending days and money in them we would just bypass for other areas in which we would rather spend our days and to try and save money that way.

Ah well beer that’s a good reason!

I found Milan to Be a dirty city, full of graffiti, very industrial and not much of interest unless you like fashion. I have to confess i have never been to Florence but heard great things about it, loads of history, birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and the most important city in Europe for over 200 years helping to end the dark age’s. As for Nice / Marseilles, Nice is more pleasing to the eye and also within distance of Monaco if you want to take a few hours there to see the place, Marseilles is more famous for being a large port town than anything else.

Thanks for sharing that and making sure Im seeing some beauty!

I just bought my tickets to land in Dublin and to fly out of London. It was very cheap considering how close from the date I booked it and compared to other booking sites. I went to Aer Lingus. Cost me 267 to go to Dublin and 355 to leave from London to Chicago.. The best price I have found since I have been checking prices!

Good to hear, just the waiting now!

It almost seems that the waiting is the hardest part of it! I am so anxious just to get my funds in order and get out there! I guess the time is nice to me though, it allows me time to connect with people overseas and make friends before I jump into it

So we have decided to take Denmark and Sweden out of our trip. It was a sad decision but we had to do it. Ashley is Swedish and we decided that a trip out there specifically for Sweden would be made in the future so we can have more time to roam about
This left more time for Greece and our camping on the islands and whatnot which I am very happy about

I think that was a good choice.

Anywhere you will be in August, I would book ahead. august is when Europeans all go on vacation… at the same time… plus massive amounts of tourists as well. Especially since you are planning on some Greek islands and stuff with beaches, and Italy, at this time.

Hmm…You have a good point Kayling, I guess I never figured how many people travel during the summer.. I am just in such a daze about me tromping around and seeing such greatness..I will look into your advice

Although i agree it is great advice, try to be flexible on as long a trip as this and not book too far ahead.

My preference when on a longer trip is to book ahead a few day’s in advance when on the road. It gives you freedom to pick and choose but also the security of having somewhere to stay on arrival.

We made this route on Eurotrip to have something to go off of and as time passes we have been making sure that we both know we are going to be flexible with out dates and places. We are both novice to all of this and are aware that things will happen and come up out of the blue I guess that’s what makes the trip even more exciting!
I would love to take you up on that advice Davy but do you think a couple days in advance is enough when as Kayling says there are soo many people booking in Europe alone none the less outside travelers ?

I never had a problem when doing similar at that time of the year. The only slight annoyance was having to stay in two different hostel’s when in Barcelona for three day’s. It’s up to yourself what you plan to do but most of the place’s you have listed have a large quota of beds that more than meets demand outside of date’s when national event’s are being held. Allot of people argue in eastern Europe that you get a better deal at the train station or ferry port

Thanks for boosting my confindence in my plans for my trip Davy! I have also heard that people in Europe tend to be nice than in America anyway, and that as long as you arent a begger asking for money and whatnot, people are willing to give you direction and advice.
I also heard its not uncommon for one hitchhike. Are these things true?

From my experience the majority of people in Europe will go out there way to help you as long as you are friendly enough and show there country due respect. Some of the best experience’s can be meeting locals who are complete stranger’s. Don’t know about the hitch-hiking part it’s not something I have ever done or known anyone else to have done.

From my experience, people in Europe are very nice, even the French (which I’m sure you know, have a reputation among Americans as jerks). The Dutch are just amazingly nice. Just be polite, attempt some of the language, and you should be fine (aka don’t be an ugly American). There are rude people everywhere but don’t let one bad experience color your view of a place.

Apparently hitch-hiking is very safe in Europe compared to the US, but I don’t know if I would try it anyway. Especially as a girl. Also, in some places in Europe hitch-hiking is illegal. I know it is in Belgium, and some other places too (so says Let’s Go Europe 2009 anyway). So you don’t want to get caught doing this in places where you may not know it’s illegal and get into trouble.

Would you reccomend Lets Go Europe 2009 as a good to use as a reference for all around Europe travel? I have tried to find a multi language book for translating but I havent found any as of yet. Does anyone have any titles for me?

Let’s go is good for the student/backpacker travel style. they list pretty much only hostels in their lodging and talk about nightlife, drinking, plus sights and things like that. I don’t have my book on me at the moment (I’m at the beach on vacation!) but I always liked the details it gives on stuff. Pretty much all the countries you will be visiting are listed in the Europe 2009 volume except maybe Morocco. It is not quite as detailed for some countries as others though. (more stuff on more frequented countries, such as France, Britain, etc)

I do like Let’s Go. They have pretty decent maps and the reviews are pretty accurate.

Sweet I will have to check it out. I have 40 days left to get all corners together and then I’m off! I’m so excited

So I have more ?s……….ok so it is seriously muggy and hot in Chicago…so how is the weather going to compare to the states? Cause I wanna know if I need to bring linen type clothes that will be light and airy mostly or heavier stuff…the way I feel out here I would rather have like linen cargos…and such….

It’s going to vary. Greece, Italy, and Spain will be very hot, while the UK will be moist and chances are it can get pretty cool. So I would pack light, but also bring a light jacket and maybe a sweater for the more northern cities.

Hmm…well if you can see I am going to spend most of my time South, so I have a pair of Chacos that I just got, 3 pairs of socks, 3/4 shorts, a pair of dress pants, 5 shirts, a sweater, bathroom stuff, first aid kit….and thats it for the most part…sound like I am missing anything?

sounds good to me

Nice….it was easy to pack..I have been a nomad in the States since I was 20 so trying to bring nothing with me and living out of a pack is nothing new just a diff continent!

For clothes…Is linen the best fabric?