Traveling To Europe

[verin]

Hello,

Me and a buddy are planning a trip to Europe for the summer of 2013. We are trying to formulate a budget and exact destinations. Suggestions would be great. Also if anyone knows more about costs their input would be highly valued. We expect the two week trip including flights to run us about 3k each. We are planning to travel from Canada to Switzerland and then travel around using a europass.

[oystergirl]

Hey, this might not be applicable to you, but I ran a trip for 30 girl scouts to london, paris and lucerne area in switzerland and the absolute best deal to see the most at the most economical cost was using EF tours....google them and see if they are a fit. Its pretty scheduled but the guides will go for MORE or less depending on your ability to move and your excitement. we almost doubled what we were going to do when we got out there....a life changing experience for the girls and for us! either way, have a BLAST! and for what it's worth, switzerland is heaven here on earth! go to mount pilates if you can--so amazing!

[Guest guest4729]

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[verin]

June/july? Germany 2013? why not. I went on an EF tour to Egypt and enjoyed it. However I want to back pack through the countries and i know my friend wants that too. Not sure if EF would be the best in that regard. I've also been to Europe once before and switzerland is amazing! Looking at Norway

[cline]

Switzerland is really expensive but so worth it. Ride the trains everywhere. We've used these guys a lot: http://www.raileurope.com/index.html

Save money for Switzerland. Sometimes local trains are cheaper than using a pass. Price it all out before you go. When you are in Switzerland, try to see both the German side and the French side. Also, check out the north face -just to say you did it. The Olympic museum is kind of cool. And trekking is the national sport - plan to spend some time doing it.

Eastern European countries are much cheaper. Poland is one of my favorite countries. Kracow is awesome. Budapest is one of the most truly beautiful cities in Europe and also much cheaper. Found Prague nice but over rated. Budapest was better. Bucharest - not so much.

Germany is fun and reasonably priced. France and England are both very expensive. Netherlands = awesomeness and Belgium is nice.

In two weeks, I might do Germany (esp. Munich), fly to Warsaw and do Warsaw and Krakow, then off to Budapest.

An alternate itinerary might be Belgium (Brussels, Brugges), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Haarlem, other little towns), Germany. If you are really itching for Paris, you can ride the chunnel ($$$$).

[scarletleavy]

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[verin]

So far we're looking at Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark. What is Budapest like?

[scarletleavy]

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[cline]

Awesome! I loved Budapest when I was there a few years ago. I'd also suggest Warsaw if you're interested in Eastern Europe. In my opinion Prague is a bit overrated though.

Agreed. Scandinavia is expensive . Budapest is glorious old city w tons of history, a big river w small walkable bridges, and great food. It's really beautiful. Everything you want old Europe to be. Same w krakow. Warsaw was rebuilt and is amazing. The history is really impressive. I also went to Zacopane which is a big winter sports area in the tatre mountains. Is awesome. Buses go from the city there.

Eastern Europe is much more affordable.

That being said, I loved Switzerland and London remains one of my favorite cities. Oh, and Italy is great

[Divo]

So far we're looking at Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark. What is Budapest like?

If you're considering Norway I would recommend skipping the capital-region and go straight to the western-highlands (around Bergen). That’s the postcard version of Norway with the fjords and mountains. Places like Voss, Geiranger and Sogndal are stunningly beautiful. It is expensive over here though

I haven’t travelled extensively in Switzerland, but the Italian speaking region in the south (around Lugano) was amazing. It’s a small county and you should consider renting a car.

Germany is big, so you would have to decide what to do in advance. The cities are exciting, but if you want outdoor experiences check out the area around Dresden – especially Bad Schandau. Or drive a car from Switzerland to Munich, through Austria for some spectacular scenery. The Rhine valley is also quite beautiful.

Denmark is flat…literally. Copenhagen is your best bet.

Budapest is one of the Donau-Capitals. It’s a beautiful city and quite cheap. Take a river cruise to Wienna or Bratislava. Also, go to one of the many Spa’s 7 am in the morning. Great cure for hangovers

Let me know if you have any questions about Norway.

[cline]

Budapest is one of the Donau-Capitals. It’s a beautiful city and quite cheap. Take a river cruise to Wienna or Bratislava. Also, go to one of the many Spa’s 7 am in the morning. Great cure for hangovers

Let me know if you have any questions about Norway.

Oh the spas! AWESOME! We went to the one downtown in the middle of the huge park for outdoor soaks in the warm mineral pool. It was so great. Surrounded by the park, surround by locals (there are built in chess boards in the pool), and then it started to snow. Perfect.

[toothpick]

Second what others said, Eastern Europe is way more affordable. You managed to pick the most expensive countries

The Balkan countries are warm, cheap, and have both beautiful nature and old cities (although a couple of them are a teensy tiny bit war-torn). Croatia especially is very open to travellers. And the food is fantastic.

I loved Prague, but the centre is incredibly touristy. If you're in a habit of early mornings you'll enjoy it more. All the people on beer tours will be sleeping off their hangovers then

[Morrigainz]

Just to add my 2 cents, I really enjoyed Austria. The Austrian Alps are pretty freaking sweet (the Grossglocknerstrasse is particularly awesome) and all the little lake towns are quite charming. I haven't done much traveling in Europe other than that, so I'm not sure if Austria's small towns are representative of the rest of the continent.

[Guest guest4729]

If you're considering Norway I would recommend skipping the capital-region and go straight to the western-highlands (around Bergen). That’s the postcard version of Norway with the fjords and mountains. Places like Voss, Geiranger and Sogndal are stunningly beautiful. It is expensive over here though

I haven’t travelled extensively in Switzerland, but the Italian speaking region in the south (around Lugano) was amazing. It’s a small county and you should consider renting a car.

Germany is big, so you would have to decide what to do in advance. The cities are exciting, but if you want outdoor experiences check out the area around Dresden – especially Bad Schandau. Or drive a car from Switzerland to Munich, through Austria for some spectacular scenery. The Rhine valley is also quite beautiful.

Denmark is flat…literally. Copenhagen is your best bet.

Budapest is one of the Donau-Capitals. It’s a beautiful city and quite cheap. Take a river cruise to Wienna or Bratislava. Also, go to one of the many Spa’s 7 am in the morning. Great cure for hangovers

Let me know if you have any questions about Norway.

I would absolutely love to go to Norway. Bring me there plx?

Norway, Sweden and Finland are totes on my bucket list of places to go.

[verin]

I would absolutely love to go to Norway. Bring me there plx?

Norway, Sweden and Finland are totes on my bucket list of places to go.

You're more than welcome to come along

['Roos]

I have heard you can get cheap berths on the mail boat in Norway, and people use it as a slow-moving cruise ship without the luxury - it's something I'd love to do. Belgium - I would go back just for the beer and waffles and I am not even kidding. I would do a 7 hr flight each way to spend a few days with those unholy waffles. The islands in Denmark are pretty, and hamlet's castle (in the northern-most northern north tip of Denmark) is pretty nifty.

That said, I ALWAYS tell people to go to venice, if they are anywhere near. It's tourisy- yeah, but OMG there is literally no other place like it in the world.

[gugi9000]

I loved Prague. You can go location hunting - it's no mission impossible ;-)

I don't know about Denmark. I just live here :-)

Tell me what you are looking for and I'll tell you where to go.

[bildungsroman]

Come visit me in Poland!

Seriously, though, I do recommend Poland if you want a proper European experience that's also affordable. I agree that Prague is overrated (but still pretty), Budapest is awesome, and I highly recommend Croatia if you want to see gorgeous beaches like in southern France or Italy for a fraction of the price. Croatia is by far the most beautiful European country I've been to, and I've been to most of them. I also recommend Berlin (cheap and awesome), Copenhagen (not cheap, but awesome as well) and London if you can swing it. In Switzerland itself, Geneva is my favorite, but Zurich is beautiful as well and it's a bit easier to communicate in English there (though generally that's not a problem in any of the places I mentioned).

[TheCountOfMonteFisto]

Go to Prague, great city! I love Sweden too. I lived in Germany for a while, could really recommend it!

[ErikAndress]

I totally have to recommend Paris. I spent a little while living there, while taking a break from school, and it was awesome. If you go, you totally gotta check out the Parisian catacombs. Its an insane underground graveyard with bones stacked to the ceiling for miles! Crazy guided tour. Also the black sand beaches around Cinque Terre in the Italian riviera were just wonderful and relaxing. Best of luck in your travels!

[usarmydoc]

Figured I would put in my $ 0.02 here since I currently have been living in Germany for about 4 years on and off (damn deployments). Prague is a bit over-rated, but still fun and not that expensive. Berlin is awesome, so is Munich in Germany. Poland was pretty for outdoorsey stuff, Latvia was fun, Riga being that capital(lots of stuff to see here). Amsterdam you could do in a day or two if you plan on going.

A good way to backpack around Europe and save a ton of money is by using a site call busabout.com. they have bus loops that you could buy, stay as long as you want in each city and then simply catch the bus and go to the next on the loop. Travel guides are awesome and very knowledgable. Yeah you stay in hostels but it isn't all that bad. accomidations are on you though, it is not included in the price.

Will be actually using this site for my Greece trip here in July, doing 4 islands in 9 days and all for about 500 bucks for the ferries and some nights out and stuff like that. with accomidations it was about 700 bucks.

Lemme know if this helped. Happy Tavels!

Ross

[Weazley]

Also if you do go to Copenhagen (which I highly recommend!), you could also do a day trip to Malmö (Sweden) via the train.

But happy travels! Sounds like it is going to be an awesome trip and I'm insanely jealous!

[Anneski]

In Norway there is a great train ride (fantastic view out the window) between Bergen and Oslo if you want to take the standard tourist trip (6.5 to 7.5 hours depending on which train you take). From Oslo you can get a 6 hour train to Stockholm - always pay the tiny bit extra to book a seat - the train fills up and I have watched mothers and children stand for 6 hours.

The cheapest way to fly into the country is via Ryanair, into Rygge or Torp, but then keep in mind it is a 2 hour bus ride from Torp to Oslo city center, and an hour from Rygge, with the added cost of a bus ticket each way. If you fly into the main Oslo airport, Gardermoen, you will still have to pay for a train or bus ticket for the 30-40 minute ride into the city.

Norway is extremely expensive - the cheapest hostel I've found in Oslo costs about US$35 per night per person, however I know quite a few people involved in the couch surfing community in Norway.

It's possible to eat and drink relatively affordably in Norway - you just have to know the right people. Also, people have asked me to recommend "cheap authentic Norwegian food" which is an oxymoron.

Depending on the kind of activities you want to do, I can recommend various parts of Norway that you should focus on - all the foreign tourists opt for the easy trip to Bergen, but it's a big country with all kinds of things to see.

I live in Oslo - let me know if you have any questions.