I will be visiting Europe for the 1st time this next July(2011) I have never been outside of the United States and was wondering if I could receive any helpful advice on travel, places of intrests, finances, etc... Plans as of now include flying into Paris, driving and visiting Switzerland, Germany, and flying back home from Amsterdam. The one thing that is hindering us a little bit is the fact that we have only 2 weeks for to be back home before I have to start work again since we only have a 2 week vacation... Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!
Reply to this What kind of accommodations were you planning on (camping, hostels, B&B, hotels)? Were you planning on renting a car in Paris and dropping it off in Amsterdam? If so, you will be paying a "drop fee" for leaving the car in a different country than the one you picked it up in. I did a quick search and the best rate I could find included a 155 fee for dropping the car off in Amsterdam if picked up in Paris.
Where in all those countries did you plan on going? Have you considered trains versus driving? If trains will not work, you might want to consider somehow driving back to Paris and taking a cheap flight to Amsterdam to finish up your trip.
In terms of other finance costs, what kind of food were you considering? Mostly grocery store shopping, or mainly eating out?
Reply to this Im not sure yet when it comes to accomodations... I am all new to this and would like some advice on which would be more sufficient as well as most convenient. I am assuming that we would travel by rail. And for food, we would most likely be eating out the entire time... Also, I was wondering if we could get a suggested dollar amout of how much a trip like that would run us (excluding airfare)?
Reply to this Also I was wondering if it would be better for us to go with a tour instead of just traveling blindly and not knowing where all the attractions are... If so, which tour would be the most recommended? Our age group is between the ages of 21-29 and we wouldn't mind an occasional party lol, but we would also want to see the main attractions... Is there a party tour that anyone would recommend?
Reply to this Hello,
You can find European train schedules and prices here: http://www.bahn.de
This way you can figure out if it's cheaper to rent a car or take public transport. From my experiences, as soon as you're travelling with 2-3 persons together in Western Europe, the car will be the cheaper option.
I would not recommend tours... Europe is easy and safe enough to visit on your own. Get yourself a good guidebook and print down some webpages, and you'll be allright.
greetings,
Nicolas
http://www.nicolasdecorte.be
Reply to this Hi,
I think that 2 weeks in Europe, first time... you should visit the best places! of course... this means that travelling by car between Paris, swiss germany holland... could be too dispersive. And not the best of Europe!
Anyway it depends which travel are you interested in.
My opinion is to fly with cheap flights in the best cities of Europe (if you are interested in visit cities)
There are good companies that flight allover europe for ridiculous fares. If you book your tikets in advance (and you have enough time to do it) you can visit the most important places of Europe. Sometimes I flew for 20 one way (Milan London)
visit www.ryanair.com for example.
You could spend your time in Paris Rome Barcelona London Amsterdam for example and you'll spend less money than to rent a car and pay gas (price of gas is not like in usa!!!) visiting less attractive places somewhere in the middle of Germany!
In the way I'm explaining you can plan your trip at home, book your tikets, hostels in cities (www.hostels.com) and then just enjoy Europe.
If you are interested in countryside this is not a good idea to travel! You need a car in that case.
A tour is not a good idea, in my opinion.
If you need any suggest about places to visit... I'm glad to help you.
I'm european (italian) and i've been almost everywhere in europe.
Ciao
Mic
Reply to this Cyprus is a beautiful Mediterranean island. It is considered the birth place of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite. It is situated at far eastern end of the Mediterranean. It has rich history and culture of its own. It is now considered to be one of the famous non-euro holiday destinations. It has now become a popular island for fun-loving people. It has a lot of things to offer to its visitors or the holiday makers and moreover your luxury holidays in north Cyprus will not cost you much and it will be cheap.
Reply to this The services here, it must be said that, revolve round the well being of the customers or the tourists. They give utmost importance to your presence. You will feel lucky to be in one of the hotels in North Cyprus. You can find hotels here with minimalist rooms or hotels with all-featured rooms. It depends on you how much you want to spend on your stay here. During your stay you can explore the surroundings in a peaceful fashion.
Reply to this The Rome Hop-on, Hop-off tour allows you to plan your perfect Rome sightseeing itinerary. All the major Rome landmarks such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are covered by the Rome Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour; there is also a convenient stop to visit the Vatican.
With your ticket you can hop on and off as much as you wish during a 24 or 48 hour period while on board audio-commentary in 6 languages ensures you do not miss a thing. You also have the option of adding a 24 hour Hop-On, Hop-Off Tiber River Cruise ticket.
What’s more your ticket also entitles you to a range of great discounts across Rome. Not only will you save at shops and restaurants but you will be entitled to one reduced entrance (saving up to 50%!)(MISSING) at one of Rome’s finest museums incuding the Musei Capitolini, the Museo di Roma and the Museo Napoleonico.This tour will give you very good comfort.You can check it out at hop on hop of rome bus tour.
Reply to this 
