Planning a trip to Europe. i need lots of help!

Hi Everyone. I've posted this before, and got a lot of great replies. Now that the time is closer, and I'm starting to look into transportation/hotels etc, i've realized that i need some more advice

I would like to go to Europe this springtime...hopefully around may. I plan to be there for 2 weeks, and have a budget of around 3k.

I've looked into Contiki tours, but I think that I would like more freedom to do what I want, when I want.

Here are the places I'd like to visit:

London, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, and Paris, where I would like to end the trip.

I've started to look at the flights from toronto to london, as I was told that it would be best to fly there first. flights are around 700 return trip.

I've been looking at flights around europe at www.easyjet.com & ryanair.com. They are fairly cheap. The problem is, I'm not sure if I should fly between places, or take the train someplaces. I also have no idea on how their train system runs. also, i should mention that I do not want to stay in hostels, and am going with another person.

I know that there are many people that have knowledge in this area, and i would appreciate any help at all. i really need to hear some experiences. also, if i'm missing any must-see places, let me hear it. and if you have suggestions on my route, and how i should travel, that would be great!

thanks everyone

ugh, i'm still awake!

i'm been planning the trip and have made up an order.

i would like to start in london, then amsterdam ->venice, rome, florence, paris, and then back to london for the flight home.

I've found a flight to london and back for about 700. then I found a flight from london -> amsterdam for about 50. I can't seem to find a way of going to italy afterward though...

are there any point-to-point rails? from amsterdam to italy? and how should i travel between the different places in italy?

okay, time to go to bed now

I've heard of a monthly rail pass which gives you unlimited use.

For train travel buy a 5 or 10 ride eurail pass. Check out the rates on their website . From my experience, airlines are the better way to go. However with the airlines you mite not get the airport of choice. They usually land at smaller airports that maybe a few miles out of town but u can almost always catch a transit bus to downtown.

With train schedules I wouldnt really worry. Just get a hold of their CS number and call ahead (use phonecards!) to request the timings for the trains that you might wanna catch. Alternatively you could always show up at the station with your Eurail pass and catch the first available one in the general direction of where you wanna go!

P.S - Always have you guidebook handy. It saved me money countless times and pays for itself within 2 days of being in Europe

Have a good trip.

two summers ago i went from toronto --> london --> paris --> avignon --> paris --> london --> toronto.

my transportation was as follows:
air canada from toronto to london
the eurostar (train) from london to paris
sncf (train) from paris to avignon and then back
the eurostar (train again) from paris to london
and then air canada again from london to toronto

i found cheap airplanes to be a little inconvenient if you're not working on a flexible schedule... the trains were fast, especially in france, though a tad expensive. if you book ahead you might be able to get cheaper fares.

if you're planning to travel all around europe i'd definitely recommend the train to allow for better flexibility. buy the train passes in canada as i think they are cheaper here than if you went over there to buy them. they have a very elaborate train system in europe... they're all connected. and there is an unlimited train pass for europe that might be useful for you.

http://www.eurorail.com

anyway, i stayed in hostels in france and with a friend in london. the hostels aren't bad if you know how to look for good ones.. read reviews and stuff. is there any particular reason why you don't want to stay in hostels? and.. if you're not going to, i assume you're going to stay in hotels? that'll be expensive and i don't know if you'll be able to stay under a $3k budget.

I just booked my Europe trip for mid-May for 2 weeks also. We're flying to/from Rome, and I booked flights from Rome -> Budapest, and from Prague -> Rome. From Budapest we'll travel by car (c/o relatives there) to Vienna, and then we'll take the train to Prague. The flights I booked were with SkyEurope for leg 1, and then smartwings.net (despite all the bad reviews I've read, it's the only choice we have) from Prague to Rome. Don't forget the taxes when you're looking at the cheap flights in Europe. In most cases, the taxes are almost the same as the flights themselves.

Let me know if you have any questions.

this forum may help, Graffiti Wall
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/plan_menu.htm

btw I was browsing through a book in the travel section in <a href=../autolink/redirectpage.php?linkid=32 target=_blank>Chapters</a>. It was a book listing all the monastaries you can stay for free in Europe. I would be willing to pay them anyhow for the seclusion and prayer chapels. Would love to see the rich architecture of their buildings too.

But over the holidays we did Toronto-Paris-Luzern-Munich-Paris-Toronto. We decided to go with Eurail, cause it gave us the flexibility of travelling to 3 countries in 1 month on any given day. It worked out well for what we wanted to do, but based on your itinerary you might be better off flying (as mentioned). Check out www.ryanair.com for good deals. Lot's of cheap stuff on there.

For Paris accomodations, try staying a bit outside of the central core of the city. We stayed in Montmartre which is the northern area, and it was fantastic. We were 2 min walk from the Pigalle subway which took us anywhere we wanted to go. Food in that area was cheaper as it is less touristy and has a more urban feel. In Montmartre is the Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur basilica and the "red light district" of Paris. Nothing compared to Amsterdam, but still interesting.

For lodging we booked through http://www.hostelseurope.com/ cause we wanted a mix of both hotels and hostels.

Have a great trip!

caps...

thanks everyone! i really appreciate the replies.

I'm having trouble finding a flight from Amsterdam to Venice. i've tried ryanair.com, easyjet.com, and flybmi. are there any other cheap airlines?

also, I would like to visit venice, rome, and possibly florence. how would i travel between these points? any help?

i also went to europe two summers ago. here are the places we went to:

toronto / london (via aircanada)
london / paris / barcelona (via easy jet)
barcelona / naples (via europebyair)
rome / florence / venice / munich / berlin / amsterdam / brussels (via eurail)
rotterdam / london (via europebyair)
london / toronto (via aircanada)

if you want to travel from amsterdam to rome you can get a flight through europebyair.com, which is $99USD. you can then take the eurail to florence and work your way up north to venice etc...

I went to europe last summer and spend 3K during my 3 weeks there... this was incl airfare and eurail pass.

For trips in between cities in Italy, it might be more worthwhile to just buy a ticket, instead of using the eurail pass, since it'd be a waste. Plan your route out so you can make the most of your eurail pass, ie, plan overnight trips after 6 so that it'll only count as one day's worth of travel.

Even though you said you'd like to end your trip in Paris, it might be more economical to reroute your trip, since there seem to be cheaper ways to get from London to Paris (ie flights via ryanair, easyjet). And then from Paris to Rome is an easy overnight train trip. Think train over flights!!

I had a fantastic time in Berlin... VERY interesting city! Definately worth checking out if you have time!

Edited cuz I'm a dummy and I forgot how long I *really* spent in Europe.. which was 3 weeks.

i appreciate the replies! i have a rough copy of my itinerary. i'm going to go over it again tonight/tomorrow and check for holes..then i'll post it. right now, it looks like the hotels/flights will cost around 4200 but split into 2, it's 2100. not too bad. Do you think 1000 is ok for spending money/food/fares/attractions? i sure hope so.

check out travelcuts and ISIC card just in case too

I think you get eurorail discounts that way too

also, I would like to visit venice, rome, and possibly florence. how would i travel between these points? any help?

In Italy, just buy normal point-to-point tickets. The Italian rail system is fast and cheap (roughly three hours between each city - just pray you don't travel on one of their regularly scheduled days when they go on strike!). In fact, you'll be riding Eurostar Italia high-speed trains between these three cities which are very comfortable.

I've been to all the cities you want to visit except for Amsterdam so feel free to ask any questions. To briefly sum them up:

London - easily the ugliest and dirtiest of the cities you'll be visiting but you won't care as this place just rocks. Forget the stodgy "tea with old ladies" image that you might have - London is dynamic and absolutely filled to the brim with things to see and do. I was there for four months and wasn't bored once. Truly a world capital in every sense.

Paris - just as gorgeous as you'd imagined. All the women are impeccably well-dressed and beautiful. Add to that all the cultural attractions and you will soon realize why it is the most visited city on Earth.

Rome - walking on the same marble floors and walkways that emperors used to walk on is so frickin' cool! Fantastic food and nightlife and everyone (even the homeless) look like supermodels.

Florence - known by the much cooler name of Firenze to the Italians. The greatest collection of Renaissance art in the world and located in the heart of Tuscany, the most famous and arguably the most beautiful part of Italy.

Venice - a fairytale city come to life. Cruising the Grand Canal admiring the palaces and cathedrals on each side with a light mist coming down is magical.

I'm planning a trip to Spain and Morocco later this fall (with a quick stop in London) so I'm open to any info as well.

$1000 for spending money/food, etc (if this is for 2 people) could be pretty tight.