To answer some of your questions:

When you book your hostel reservations depends on when you’re planning on going. If its in the busy summer months you may have a hard time getting into a place. In that case it may be wise to reserve hostels in advance, otherwise I would just suggest reserving them a day or two before. I went in May and made all of my reservations the day before or of, and never had a problem. Just don’t show up at a place without a reservation. (I learned the hard way about that) Doing that you leave yourself open to spontaneity.

I found my daypack to be invaluable. You want something to carry around the basics that you need, ie. guidebook, water, etc. Don’t go crazy because it can get heavy after carrying it around all day. I tore my guidebook in half to save weight/space! I had a messenger bag rather than a backpack. Its more convenient to access stuff, its easier to handle when you are sitting, and you can always have an eye on it (rather than a backpack out of view). Just leave your backpack locked up or secured somehow back at the hostel/train station or whereever.

Don’t bring travellers checks!! If you have any halfway decent VISA check card or something, you can lose it without fear of having your money stolen (fraud protection), plus they are really good about getting a new one fast. ATMS will also get you the best exchange rate because they do it in bulk (I think). To exchange traveller’s checks, there is usually a flat fee + a percentage fee + a crappy exchange rate. I had a travellers under the pants wallet thing so I had my card on me at all times, so there is no fear of losing it or getting pickpocketed.

Half of the hostels I stayed at had laundry. Its usually the larger nicer ones. You must realize though that to a certain degree you can’t always smell springtime fresh… its part of travelling. I tried washing pants in the sink and having them dry overnight, but they didn’t so I had to walk around with them hanging off my backpack! Laundromats are a waste of time and especially money (they are really expensive).

Don’t buy maps beforehand. Your travel guide has good enough maps to get around, and plus any tourist info stand or even your hostels should have a good map for free. Thats how I always did it. Plus its just added weight and space to bring them.

One more thing. When you’re getting ready to pack, get all your stuff together you think you need, then only pack half of it. Pack light!!!

Hope this all helps…

Well said with all that information pymm1, you left no stone unturned

I disagree about laundry.

The average cost for a load of laundry at a local European laundromat is about 8 Euros, and will be less in some places. For me, that’s an excellent use of money. That’s five days worth of clothes (I could stretch it longer if I tried). So for about 1.60 Euros per day, I have nice, clean clothes I enjoy wearing. Not a bad deal at all!

quote: Should I book all of my hostel/hotel rooms in advance or just the first few nights so I don’t have to worry about it?

Just book the first night. After that, either just show up somewhere and hope to find a place, or call the hostels a few days in advance. It depends on where/when you’re going, really.

quote:
I need some suggestions for carrying all my stuff around. Should I get like a nice backpack, and then like a smaller bookbag for snacks, food, etc. during the day?? Leave my backpack in the room locked up?

I have no idea what a bookbag is, but yes get a smaller daypack, what kind doesn’t matter.

quote:
Are travelers checks really necessary, or should I just stick to cash and using my debit/check card?

I’ve never used travellers’ cheques. I think you’d be having a hard time finding places to cash them.

quote:
Do all hostels have some sort of laundry facilities that I could use to keep my clothes clean?

No. Some do, but not all of them. You can wash your clothes by hand, or at a laundromat.

quote:
Should I purchase a map of each area I plan to visit here in the U.S., or just buy one there?

Doesn’t really mattter. I would buy one of the first city at home, and then buy the others there.

As far as booking hostels, here is my current itinerary. I was planning on flying into Edinburgh, then taking a train to Dublin, then a train/bus to London, then to Paris. I will fly back home from Paris. As of now, I plan on leaving May 17 and returning May 31. I have about 3-4 days in each place and I figured that would be a good enought time to see some stuff. Should I book my hostels now, or should I pick a few out that look decent before hand, and just show up to one of the ones I picked out?

What did kinda of luggage thing did you guys use to carry all your clothes and stuff? (different from the day back) Was it like a backpack thing or a regular luggage thing?

Does anyone know about how much a one-way rail ticket to some of these places would cost?

You are going to have to take a bus, fly or ferry as well if you want to make it to Dublin… London too.

You can fly with Easy Jet or Ryan air easily – Glasgow to Dub, Dub to London.

So would it be easier to just take a quick flight from Edinburgh to Dublin, and then from Dublin to London. Should I take the train from London to Paris, or fly? Also where is Glasgow in relation to Edinburgh?

I am trying to find the cheapest method of travel possible. I don’t mind taking an overnight train as I could sleep on it then.

Thanks

On such a short trip, maybe it is best to just book everything in advance. On the other hand, this will kill your flexibility, and I assume Dublin, London and Paris have millions of hostels. You can find out which budget airlines fly between these cities on www.whichbudget.com If you would rather travel by bus, check out www.eurolines.com It’s very unlikely train will be your cheapest option with this itinerary.

Which one would be my cheapest option then? Bus, quick flight, or train? Should I still plan all this in advance or just purchase my tickets as I go? I do still want some flexbility just in case I want to stay an extra day somewhere or something.

If you wanna fly, the earlier you book, the cheaper it’s gonna be.

OK I am having trouble finding a train ticket from Edinburgh to Dublin. I kinda did like an intinerary on railsaver, and it ended up costing almost 400 total. That is WAY to much money. I coould rent a car cheaper than that with gas. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to get from Edinburgh to dublin. I think I am ok from DUblin to London and London to Paris.

you do realise that there is water between edinburgh and dublin i presume?! not sure what kind of train will take u over water… anyway, i live in england and have been to all of the places u plan to visit, both edinburgh and dublin are pretty small so 3 days in each would be plenty of time in each, if i were you, i would fly between edinburgh and dublin, then fly between dublin and london and then fly to paris from there as u can get some really cheap flights. i suggest checking out: flybe.com (i know they fly from edinburgh but not sure if to dublin from there), easyjet.com (they could do the london to paris flight very cheaply), ryanair.co.uk (they are an irish budget airline so the dublin to london flight would be extremely cheap), let me know f have any questions, buffy x

Hey buffy those airline sites helped a bunch AND I found a flight from Edinburgh to Dublin on Ryanair. I do have a question though about airport locations in London. Where is London Gatwick in relation to Heatrow? I know my geography is a bit off, I’m sorry.

Since you live in that area, do you mind helping me kinda plan my itinerary so I can see some of sites worth seeing?

Gatwick and Heathrow are quite a distance apart.
The easiest way between them is the National Express bus, which you can catch at either airport to get to the other airport. http://www.nationale…

National Express does lots of other routes too.

cool, glad the airline sites helped. re itinerary, my personal favourite things to see in each of the places u plan to visit are as follows:

edinburgh
– the Royal Mile (a mile long hill packed full of traditional scottish shops and restaurants)
– Edinburgh Castle (this is at the top of the royal mile)
– Holyrood Palace (where the Queen stays when she is in Scotland)
– Arthurs Seat (near Holyrood Palace, this is a big hill that you can climb to get great views of edinburgh, i think it was created when there was a volcanic eruption or something like that 100s of years ago)
– Princes Street and the other streets around this area, (nice buildings, good shops)
– Covenanters Ghost Tour (i enjoyed doing this but was quite scared!!), this goes every night from the Parliament on the Royal Mile at around 8.00 i think, and a guide takes you into a graveyard where there are real poltergeists!!

am sure there are other cool things to do in edinburgh as well, just cant remember what they are! u need to get a guidebook probably. as for places to stay, check out hostels.com, i stayed in the Christophers Inn, very near Waverly Bridge where the airport shuttle drops you off. it was ok there.

DUBLIN

- Dublin Castle
– there is a famous bridge in Dublin, i cant remember what it is called tho, it’s near O-Connell St, any guidebook will feature it
– there are loads of statues in Dublin, they all have local slang names and are quite funny, eg. Tart with a Cart, Prick with a Stick etc! again, guidebook should mention these
– go to a traditional Irish Pub (drinks are VERY expensive tho), there are loads of them in one area but i cant remember what this area is called now, it is in the middle of town, near the famous bridge, easy to find
– Grafton St and O-Connell St (both very good for shopping)
– Trinity College

LONDON
– houses of parliament
– london eye
– buckingham palace
– leicester square
– oxford st
– knightsbridge (harvey nichols)
– Harrods
– you could see a show at one of the theatres
– madame tussauds
– the Tate modern etc, loads of art galleries if u like that kind of thing

PARIS
– eiffel tower (worth the queues), great views of Paris
– the Sacre Couer
– Arc de Triomphe (climb)
– Champs de Elysees

i went to paris over a year ago now, i cant remember what else i did there!

if u have time i would alse recommend a couple of days in Amsterdam, near to Paris, you can catch a train there, u can go to the Anne Frank house, go on the canals etc. i particularly enjoyed my visit to the Anne Frank house as I am interested in that period of history

hope this helps x

Thanks for the suggestions Buffy. Does Edinburgh have some cool pubs/bars to hang out in? I am debating leaving london out now so I can spend more time in the other cities. That and traveling b/t cities will take up time. If you had to leave out London or Dublin which one would you leave out? Paris and Edinburgh I really want to see, but I might skip over London.

Thanks
Cris

edinburgh has loads of bars, most of them are on the streets that branch off from the Royal Mile i think. As Dublin and Edinburgh are both fairly small places (I only spent 2 days in each of them) I would say that you still have time to do London (as well as Paris). Definitely dont leave out Paris as in my opinion that is the most interesting city that you plan to visit as well as the biggest. It is hard for me to be objective about choosing between Dublin and London if you do decide to skip one as i live in England and London is quite boring to me just because I have spent so much time there. I think if you really want to skip either Dublin or London, I would say skip Dublin because there is less to do there than in London. if you want somewhere with loads of bars then you would like Dublin but if you prefer clubs then London is better. buffy x

I acutally prefer bars over clubs, as American boy over here can’t dance at all. My main reasons for leaving out London would be to keep my transportation costs down, and so I don’t feel rushed so much.

Can you reccommend any nice hostels to stay at in Edinburgh and Dublin, maybe London if you have time?

Thanks
Cris

Re hostels, go to hostels.com (or hostelworld.com), you can book online and pay deposit, i always do this before I go on my trips (any time from 3 months before you plan to arrive) so that I am not worrying about where I am going to stay when I get there. I stayed in the St Christopher’s Inn in Edinburgh, this was ok, there is a pub attached to the hostel and it is in a very good location for arriving from airport on shuttle bus and right near Princes St, waling distance to everything. dont forget edinburgh is full of steep hills! it is all still walkable though, you dont need buses etc. I stayed in cheap hotels in Dublin and Paris, neither of which I would particularly recommend. in dublin you would want a hostel near Temple Bar or O Connell St or Grafton St. With Paris, i stayed in the Gare Du Nord area but it was a bit rubbish there, probably would want to stay nearer Champs De Elysees or Eiffel Tower maybe. Have never stayed in a hostel in London as I have friends that live there but in terms of location you would probably want a hostel near Leicester Square/Covent Garden/Trafalgar Square kind of areas. buffy x

Thanks again for the help buffy!! Are there any suprises I should be aware of when I check into a hostel? Any fees or anything? Did you bring your own sleep sheet, or use theirs?

How did you get around in the cities? Buses, taxis, etc…I am trying to figure out how much I need to budget for all of my transportation expenses.

i would say check out london if you have the chance
i think you do
don’t stay more than 3 days in london, it’s not that great
i envy you being able to see edinburgh and dublin
happy travels
check out bugeurope.com for hostel reviews

no probs! nope, there shouldn’t be any surprises at hostels in any of the places u plan to go, all you pay is what it says on the hostels website, no added fees etc. in some countries like Spain you have to pay taxes on top of room cost when u arrive but this doesnt apply to anywhere that u are going. if u havent stayed in a hostel before, be prepared for getting woken up during the night if u get noisy roomates, u can sometimes get a private room if u prefer not to stay in a dorm. you dont need to bring a sleep sheet, in fact most hostels will not let u use one if u do have it as it is unhygienic for them as they dont know where u have been!! all hostels will provide bedding altho not all provide towels.
in terms of getting around, i mostly walked, edinburgh and dublin are both small enough that this is definitely the best option (and free!). in london u will need to use the underground (tube), this is cheap, u can get a weekend Tube pass for £5, about $10. there are different zones so u need to plan which ones you are going to use and buy a ticket accordingly. Paris is the same, i used their Metro system to get around and also walked. i usually take the airport buses from airports into town, u can do this in edinburgh and dublin, not expensive. in london, if u fly into gatwick or heathrow u can take the underground from airport into town, in paris u can get a train from airport to Gare Du Nord.
buffy x

Wow the advice, im so at the begining of the planing stage, you have all helped me out soooo much! =)

Thanks,
Michelle

quote:
you do realise that there is water between edinburgh and dublin i presume?!

Not to be mean, but I was kind of wondering how long it would take someone to pick up on this…

Buffy…once again thanks for the advice. I think I am worring to much about getting around. I am sure it is not that difficult. I owe you a beer when I get over there.

By the way…how is the weather over there in the last half of May?

That’s ok! You will be fine, I have travelled all over the place in the last few months and am still in one piece! The worst thing that ever happened to me was when I got locked out of my hotel in Nice one night (from then on I decided to only stay in hostels with 24hr receptions!), other than that I have been ok. I get lost all the time but that is half the fun! Just make sure you plan ahead, get some guidebooks with maps in before u go, it will give u something to read on the plane anyway! if u have limited time, as i have usually had on my trips, i plan itineraries for each day so I am not wasting time deciding what to do. I know some people prefer to do the opposite and be more spontaneous but I prefer to make plans in advance. The weather in May will be fairly mild, probably quite sunny if lucky. Dublin gets more rain than England usually. yeah, i will hold u to that beer! i might be in london while u are there.. buffy x

cool deal buffy. I will just put the beer on the good old credit card. Of course by then, one beer in london would cost like 5 pounds, but after exhange rate, I would owe like $50….hahaha…

so what is some good beer over there?

[snip]

quote:
The worst thing that ever happened to me was when I got locked out of my hotel in Nice one night (from then on I decided to only stay in hostels with 24hr receptions!)

I haven’t been locked out, but I’ve come to the same conclusion. I’ve decided against some budget hotels that did not have 24-hour reception, just because such stories happen from time to time. I have gone to hostels that were locked up with no attendants where we had made prior arrangements for me to press a code and get in, but I don’t know if I’d do that again.

any suggestions?

Hey s2cmpugh
Just doing some late night trawling of the old forum and i noticed your question is unanswered…
Im from Scotland, live just outside Edinburgh, Here theres 3 choices of what beer to par-take in.
1)Local brew, namely Tennants(not too good, I wouldnt drink it unless I had to, quite cheap)
Belhaven Best(Pretty nice stuff, its a cross between stout and lager, like Stella Artois mixed with Guinness)
Ale(25+ varietys in the supermarkets, the cheapest beer you can buy in a bar too, not quite my cup of tea, but on occasion its fun to drink them cos you can ask for tasters of them all)
2)Mid band lager, you get your Kronenburg, Grolsch, the afore-mentioned Stella Artois, a couple others, I drink full pints in pubs here, not too dear, around £2 a pint, in Edinburgh you can pay anything up to 4 or 5 pounds…
3)Top quality brands such as Corona, Sol, Hoegarden(sp?), Leffe etc etc nice nice pilsner and lagers, but pretty pricey especially in clubs.

As for Bars in Edinburgh, there are heaps of them, absolutley heaps, you cant walk down any street without seeing one, Princes Street doesnt have many bars, mainly shops. One thing I want you to promise me is that you will try your hardest to spend a saturday in Edinburgh and go to a pub called "Harry’s Bar" Just hop into a taxi and ask him to take you to Harry’s Bar, live music(often jazz, blues and popular music) on saturdays from about 3pm right through to 7(or round about that time) But absolutly brilliant bar, best in Edinburgh id say.
Another great place to drink in Edinburgh is the Grassmarket, its an ancient part of Edinburgh, just off the royal mile, but the whole street is just pubs, "The Last Drop" being one of my fave in the Grassmarket. Don’t worry, your guarenteed to have a blast and "get off your tits" as we say here in Scotland when you come.
Bring some love to the table
Joe

quote: Top quality brands such as Corona

Never heard "top quality" and Corona in the same sentence.

Same with Sol. That’s some cheap shit!

Top quality = over priced

I just meant the dear beers you can buy, as far as bottles go in clubs, Sol and Corona are the dearest you’ll find, here in Scotland anyway, normally its just crappy Miller or Bud

Blecchh!

WOW thanks showtimestafford for reviving my thread. I prefer light beer over darker beer like guiness. I mean I can drink it, but not much on the flavor. got any suggestions for a lighter beer?

p.s. Please don’t flame me for asking