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Traveling to Europe this summer, looking for websites/help/insight/deals etc.. (pg. 2)
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| Nebulosa |
As I'm too lazy to read the posts word for word I just skimmed them, so forgive me if I'm saying something that was already mentioned. Sorry, I'm just terribly sick :(
If you are going to be there at the end of the July, I'd highly recommend Tomorrowland. It's in Belgium... last year it was in Boom. Just go to google and type in Tomorrowland for the website. Last year, tickets ran me around 100 dollars EUR (at least this is what I remember... I'm sure the prices are online). I probably had the most fun I've had in my life. Also, since the Gentse Feesten is usually the week before, I'd hit up Ghent and see that. The whole downtown area of Ghent basically transforms into a big party/festival, with beer tents, attractions, music, festivities, etc. People from all around Belgium come to Ghent just for the festival. Oh and, it's free. You just pay for stuff you buy... drinks, food, etc :)
The only problem I had at Tomorrowland, was with my cellphone. I unlocked my phone and just bought a simcard from one of the providers but for some reason everyone's phone was glitching and taking a long time to send/receive any messages or calls. I'd assume that because of the volume of people there, their network couldn't handle all the traffic being sent and received from that area.
Obviously you can notice some bias in my post, because well I've been there myself haha. I traveled around Belgium by train, as my friend got a 10 ride pass for cheaper because he was a citizen of the country. But I definitely agree with the posts above; flying is by far economically cheaper with the prices of flights around Europe these days.
But, if you're not going to be down there at the end of July, then well, disregard my post :p |
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| MissK |
| quote: | Originally posted by heavenisblue
If you are thinking about hitting up 1 festival, I would recommend Fusion June 30th-July 3rd.
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So this festival sounded amazing until I read it's SOLD OUT! Am I reading something wrong? Please tell me I'm wrong, I would love to hit this up!
http://www.fusion-festival.de/en/x/tickets/ |
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| MissK |
| 55,000 SOLD tickets in 48 hrs!! |
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| Endlesswave |
| quote: | Originally posted by MissK
55,000 SOLD tickets in 48 hrs!! |
Wow. :D |
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| heavenisblue |
The same thing happened last year - it sold out but then they sold all these tickets in April through a Ticket Bingo. When tickets go on sale - you just reserve them, you don't have to pay with a credit card, you can transfer the money from your bank account. They give you 4 weeks or so to do this. So all these people reserve tickets but never end up paying for them, so then in April they take all the unpaid for tickets and have a lottery for people who still want tickets.
You enter for two tickets - so if you and the friend you are going with both enter, chances are one of your will get a chance to buy tickets. That is how it was last year. Out of 5 pairs of friends who I know entered, at least one got a chance to buy a pair of tickets.
Plus there were people selling tickets at cost outside the festival on Friday evening.
I don't have tickets for this year yet as well and I am 99% confident I will be there. |
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| MissK |
| quote: | Originally posted by heavenisblue
The same thing happened last year - it sold out but then they sold all these tickets in April through a Ticket Bingo. When tickets go on sale - you just reserve them, you don't have to pay with a credit card, you can transfer the money from your bank account. They give you 4 weeks or so to do this. So all these people reserve tickets but never end up paying for them, so then in April they take all the unpaid for tickets and have a lottery for people who still want tickets.
You enter for two tickets - so if you and the friend you are going with both enter, chances are one of your will get a chance to buy tickets. That is how it was last year. Out of 5 pairs of friends who I know entered, at least one got a chance to buy a pair of tickets.
Plus there were people selling tickets at cost outside the festival on Friday evening.
I don't have tickets for this year yet as well and I am 99% confident I will be there. |
Thank you Thank you! This is fabulous news!!! :D :D |
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| techno_addict |
Fly with ryannair or easyjet, if you book a little in advance, it will be sooooo cheap...
Like to connect big clubbing places like London/Berlin/Barcelona/Ibiza etc etc... on average 50 dollars each flight, sometimes 20 dollars.
about the festivals, there are so many like really depend of your taste. Then again, about the money, it really depend what cities but for example, a week of clubing in Berlin will cost 3-4 times less than a week in Ibiza. |
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| Stilez |
As already mentioned above, RyanAir & EasyJet for sure. Throw in KLM in there because they tend to also have reasonable prices for last minute flights, plus they connect to many of the more popular places.
As for phone service, I'd go with Chris' suggestion & just get your phone unlocked or buy a cheap ass phone over there & pop in a Pay As You Go Sim card. Best thing about EU plans is that you get unlimited incoming txt msgs & phone calls to your # that remains the same wherever you are in Europe. You can even buy one from the vending machines at Heathrow or Gatwick. It's best to buy it in London as the Pound is more valuable than the $ or Euro & the charges won't be as much when in Europe. Free wifi is everywhere in Europe I found, except for smaller towns/regions and Rome lol.
As far as where to stay is concerned, hostels are amazing in all of Europe. Hotels will rape your wallet as already mentioned, but there are a few really good motel chains that are located in great areas in all the popular destinations & are reasonably priced especially if you're with +1 or more (Hotel Petit Palace) comes to mind.
Regarding festivals, Europe & UK are so stacked with tons of amazing festivals, that I'd say which ever one you choose to go to, you'll love.
Enjoy! |
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| chinamon |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
dont waste hundreds of dollars on rail...
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hes already wasted way more than that on rails. dont judge. |
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| Mach X |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
dont waste hundreds of dollars on rail...
Its all about ryanair!! www.ryanair.com |
Yeah, I know they are cheap, maybe use that to get from mainland UK into Europe...
BUT...
| quote: | Originally posted by LightsOut
Or EasyJet, or Air Berlin. Discount airlines are the new trains lol.
You can fly literally anywhere in Europe for as little as 10 euro. Just don't bring any baggage with you except your carry-on, that's where they get you ;)
I personally love the train and if you have the money I'd still do the pass, nothing beats rail travel in Europe. But in terms of cost, flying is actually much more economical these days. |
This makes sense to, I want to bring my luggage, it's not going to be ALOT, but still have a backpack carry on or something with laptop and camera etc, then another one for my clothes, weather it be a giant duffel or something like a travel suitcase.
And then you gotta book them in semi advance, not on a whim like trains. Airports are located outside of the city usually and then it's getting to the airport. While train stations are usually in the town.
Train may be more expensive, but has other pros IMO. Train I can see Europe while traveling, the scenery, landscape etc. I can rest/sleep on the train, especially if it's an overnight trip (which would save on lodging that night as well). And again, the carefree of it being unlimited and just jump on is sweet.
| quote: | Originally posted by heavenisblue
Although the Euro rail passes are very convenient, unless you plan on using them a lot it can be cheaper to just buy individual rail tickets/plane tickets, of course depending on which countries you are in. But how many cities are you really going to want to go to in 15 days? Give it some thought. |
I priced it out, did a random 5 city itinerary, covering pretty much most of Europe, and the price for the tickets were more than the pass.
| quote: | Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~*
When/where are you going? I am going back at the end of June/early July for 3 weeks. Haven't decided which countries I'm going to yet, but will definitely be hitting up England and Italy. |
That's exactly when I am going, end of June till end of July or so. We should plan something out if you're there too! :)
| quote: | Originally posted by LightsOut
I always just add international data through rogers. It's ing expensive though, I went through about 2gb in March when I was over for two weeks.
The problem with blackberries in Europe is its a massive bitch to get prepaid BIS. From my experience the only two companies that offer it are Wind in Italy and Orange in the UK. Orange will kill you with roaming fees when your traveling, and good luck getting someone from wind that speaks English lol. Best thing to do is call rogers customer relations, schmooze them up a bit, and get them to give you a bit of a deal on some travel packs.
However if you don't care about BIS and just want a phone with some data, you can get a sim at any airport when you land and be set up in a few minutes, no need to plan ahead. |
| quote: | | Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~* No you don't. If your phone is unlocked just go to any store when you're there and get a SIM card. |
| quote: | Originally posted by Endlesswave
As for sim cards, just go with a pay as you go SIM with one of the largest providers like Vodaphone and I'd say your pricing should be ok. Probably because if it were me I'd just be buying pay as you go cards from that company in each country I'd be in. |
| quote: | Originally posted by Stilez
As for phone service, I'd go with Chris' suggestion & just get your phone unlocked or buy a cheap ass phone over there & pop in a Pay As You Go Sim card. Best thing about EU plans is that you get unlimited incoming txt msgs & phone calls to your # that remains the same wherever you are in Europe. You can even buy one from the vending machines at Heathrow or Gatwick. It's best to buy it in London as the Pound is more valuable than the $ or Euro & the charges won't be as much when in Europe. Free wifi is everywhere in Europe I found, except for smaller towns/regions and Rome lol. |
Getting my phone unlocked is not a problem. I would prefer to just use one number for the entire duration of my trip as well. Can't be bothered to grab a SIM in each country.
My BlackBerry is going to be everything to me while there essentially, not just for communicating, but my GPS, itinerary, translator, calendar, web for quickly looking up , maps, etc, etc...
So I would definitely want data, BIS would be great so I can still use BBM and emails etc, but I could go with just data if need be.
Basically for the trip, to make is simpler, I would rather pay once for one plan that could cover me everywhere witht he most bang for my buck without the hassle of constantly changing SIM cards and changing numbers etc.
Same goes for the reason I like the train, pay once, don't have to worry for the trip of booking on time, paying each individual time etc. Just have a pass and go.
For those luxuries, i'm willing to pay a bit more, less stress and hassle.
Thanks for all the suggestion, I am going to look more into the hostels, perhaps that is the way to go. I would want a private room preferably, someplace to just go and drop stuff off, get ready and hit the town etc.
I have no problem with hostels, especially when i know I’m just going to sleep there for the night and that's all. But some other nights I may just want to relax, have a good shower, etc and decide that night is a hotel night lol.
Lots of ideas here, it's a good starting point for me to get some of the planning in motion.
| quote: | Originally posted by heavenisblue
If you are thinking about hitting up 1 festival, I would recommend Fusion June 30th-July 3rd. |
| quote: | Originally posted by MissK
So this festival sounded amazing until I read it's SOLD OUT! Am I reading something wrong? Please tell me I'm wrong, I would love to hit this up!
http://www.fusion-festival.de/en/x/tickets/ |
Am I blind, or do I not see a line-up or anything? Sounds awesome! Shame it's sold otu already tho...
| quote: | Originally posted by chinamon
hes already wasted way more than that on rails. dont judge. |
Har Har! :haha: |
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| MissK |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mach X
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Live dangerously..............go without a phone. I am :) And TBH I'm kinda excited about it. |
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| *~LiSa-LoO~* |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mach X
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I haven't secured my dates yet b/c I have to figure out when the best time would be to go considering Ian and I have to look for an apartment so we can move August 1st. I'll keep you updated though, it would be awesome to meet up :)
| quote: | Originally posted by MissK
Live dangerously..............go without a phone. I am :) And TBH I'm kinda excited about it. |
I just got back from the Caribbean a few weeks ago and I didn't bring my phone with me. I can't tell you how relaxing it was to not have it with me. At first it sucked, but I got used to it quickly. It's funny how people (even myself) think it's essential to have it attached to their hand. |
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