First time to Europe and I have a few questions...
First time and here is our itinerary:
Dec 12 board the plan from Las Vegas to JFK to Dublin
Dec 13-16 Dublin
Dec 14-18 London
Dec 19-21 Amsterdam
Dec 22-25 Paris
Dec 26-28 Barcelona
Dec 29-30 Florence
Dec 31-Jan 2 Rome
Jan 3-6 Athens
I know we\'re rushing it...but for the most part, this will give us an idea and if we absolutley fall in love with one place...two of us have made the pact of continuing on after the trip has ended. We are doing this all on our own, no guide just four girls from Vegas who are going to navigate the Eurail and get from one place to another. However, we did book our hotels and flights through a travel agent... 😉
So a few questions:
Is a 100 Euros a day a good estimate of money to spend (our hotels include breakfast)?
For tours should we allow 100 Euros per city?
How is Christmas in Paris?
How is New Years in Rome?
Is it miserably cold or just slightly cold during these months that we\'re traveling?
Is travel insurace wise?
Well any insight that anyone can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks all!!!
Reply to this Hello Qngelique 😊
Is a 100 Euros a day a good estimate of money to spend (our hotels include breakfast)?
Do you mean each? Yes, that should be enough each but it also depends on what you do. A backpackers budget would be 30 to 60 Euros per day.
For tours should we allow 100 Euros per city?
That seems like enough to me. For example the Dublin hop on hop off bus tour costs less than 20 Euros. You should be able to do enough tours with 100 Euros per city.
How is Christmas in Paris?
How is New Years in Rome?
Book your hotels now, because many places close and those that dont may be all booked up if you leave it too late. But I think Paris should be beautiful at Christmas with all the Christmas decorations.
Is it miserably cold or just slightly cold during these months that we\'re traveling?
That depends on where you are. Dublin and South of Europe dont get very cold but Dublin can get very wet. Central Europe can get very cold but I dont think it would be considered miserable. Bring warm clothes and rain gear.
Do you have a copy of Europe on a Shoestring by Lonely Planet. That gives practical information from accomodation to safety to money to transport, to what to see, to restaurant suggestions.... It is available in most bookshops around the world for around 35 Euros.
Mel
Reply to this Thanks Mel...I sure appreciate the information. I'm going to shop online for the book!! =) How about travel insurance is it a waste?
Reply to this I only buy medical insurance when I travel if I am going to places where medial care is expensive. I dont bother to insure my stuff. I can replace anything that occassionally gets lost or stolen with the insurance money I have not spent over the years.
Mel
Reply to this About Barcelona: I strongly advice to take a Bus Turistic (hop on/off service). Catalonian capital is huge and many places of interests are far.
2 days ticket is 26 euro.
London: tube (underground) tickets are far cheaper after 9.30 am. The British Museum, the National Gallery and a few museums in Greenwich are free. In the Isles can be 5-10 Centigrade degrees, possibly rainy.
Reply to this Rafi,
Sorry for the delay...but thanks much for this helpful information. I believe that the Tate Modern is free too? Anyway, even if it’s not...I will be there b/c my favorite painting is there, The Lady of Shalott - John William Waterhouse.
Reply to this Yes, it's free. You only need to pay for some special exhibitions
Reply to this You're welcome, love. Also, when in London, you can think of a day out in Oxford. Coaches leave from Victoria station area (between train and coach stations) - a few every hour (the companies are Oxford Tube and Megabus).
If you haven;t book a hostel in Dublin, Jacob's Inn has a perfect, central location
Reply to this The weather in Dublin, London, Paris and Amsterdam can get very cold and wet at that time of the year! But Spain, Italy and Greece should be much better. But you never know, last year it was a very mild winter in London and then in spring it suddenly got freezing, snowed on Easter 😊
And a note on Eurail, for most of the international trains you need to reserve a seat in advance, at the time of the year that you are traveling, you should do that well in advance, particularly if you are traveling on a Eurail pass as they have limited seat allocations, I learned that one the hard way last summer!
Have Fun!
Reply to this You seem to have budgeted a fair amount, but one thing to keep in mind is that every trip will always cost more than you think.
Hidden things like taxes, phone cards, cab rides, souvies, etc really add up. So if you have budgeted 100 euros a day, try to come in around 80-90 to give yourself a cushion.
Just my 2 cents.
Reply to this 
