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Traveling to Europe this summer, looking for websites/help/insight/deals etc..
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| Mach X |
Not my first time traveling, been to the UK many times, popped around EU here and there. But I was young and want to do it all again in one go and do it semi proper (ie. not hosteling and backpacking the entire time, but also not doing full tours and Hilton and 5 course dinners each night). So the plan is this, this summer me and my little brother (student, 24yo) have to go to England for a wedding June 25th.
What we want to do is go to England for the wedding and a few more days then around Europe for a few weeks after. It's not gonna be a full on 2 week clubbin' and festivals, but a 2-3 week free for all. Checking out cities, towns, villages, and observe and enjoy the night life, history, the scenery, etc. No real itinerary, nothing really planned 100% besides a couple visits to some friends, I want to hit up Ibiza (or something similar and party beach like). A couple clubs etc... but that can all really be done on the go and decide and plan and choose as we go.
So, has anyone else done this before? Any tips or suggestions?
We're thinking getting the 15 day rail-pass (http://www.raileurope.ca/) for unlimited travel, you can go wherever and whenever, we can use overnight travel in place of hotels and stuff just get around Europe. We found a rail-passes for $620 CAD each with 15day unlimited 1st class travel as long as we both travel together. Good for all of Europe. I know there is some you can buy there as well, checked it out, similar pricing. I like this idea because we can come and go as we please, if we don't like a city, we move to another one, if we like one place more than the other, we can stay a bit longer.
For accommodations, besides staying with friends when we can, we figured we could just hotwire/priceline our away around, go with the cheapest as need be, maybe splurge and pimp it out a few nights depending on the place. Anyone have any suggestions for places to stay?
The budget is still be determined, we don't want to waste money, but we're not going to be counting pennies on our travels, we'll deal with costs during and after our trip. We'd have a budget between ourselves including cash and credit. What would you recommend as a good budget? I was thinking $3500 or so each including our travel (flight and rail). I know some of you have been to Germany for a week or Ibiza, how much $$$ did you spend?
Also, would you recommended getting a ISIC? Even though I am not in school? I heard you can save money on stuff and it's relatively easy to get without a student card here. But do you think it would be hassle over there, ie. they may want to see the student card? (http://www.isic.org/)
Sorry for the long post, just want to get the ball rolling and get some ideas and stuff going, looking for help or suggestions.
Thanks!
TL;DR - Going to Europe for 2 or 3 weeks this summer, looking for deals or cool ways to save money on travel and accommodations. ie. rail passes, hotel deals, etc... |
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| Mach X |
Also wondering what people have to recommend for cellular/mobile/data coverage while over there.
BlackBerry 9800s, probably need to get them unlocked and get a SIM or something from there. Is there a Euro SIM or something that would work best, ie. good deals and plans for a few weeks in all countries including data/voice?
Probably would need to sort that out prior to heading out in England. |
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| Jayx1 |
dont waste hundreds of dollars on rail...
Its all about ryanair!! www.ryanair.com |
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| Dr. Z |
| Hotels will pwn your wallet, so I suggest hostels where you can. They have hostels with private rooms as well, if you don't like sharing. Just make sure you book them ahead of time cuz they get full. Esp that time of the year. |
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| LightsOut |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mach X
Also wondering what people have to recommend for cellular/mobile/data coverage while over there.
BlackBerry 9800s, probably need to get them unlocked and get a SIM or something from there. Is there a Euro SIM or something that would work best, ie. good deals and plans for a few weeks in all countries including data/voice?
Probably would need to sort that out prior to heading out in England. |
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 Jayx1
dont waste hundreds of dollars on rail...
Its all about ryanair!! www.ryanair.com |
This.
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.
| quote: | Originally posted by Dr. Z
Hotels will pwn your wallet, so I suggest hostels where you can. They have hostels with private rooms as well, if you don't like sharing. Just make sure you book them ahead of time cuz they get full. Esp that time of the year. |
+1
I've seen some hostels that would put the Plaza to shame. |
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| *~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.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mach X
Probably would need to sort that out prior to heading out in England. |
No you don't. If your phone is unlocked just go to any store when you're there and get a SIM card. |
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| GGM |
| 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. |
Yup, and if it's not unlocked just buy one of the codes on ebay for a couple bucks. You just follow the instructions and add that in, much cleaner/easier/cheaper than playing around with the software. |
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| heavenisblue |
If you are thinking about going to Berlin or Germany in general I can give you a lot of advice. I was recently living in Berlin for 10 months and traveling Europe for another 2 months.
In general, I don't know how much advice I can give you, as I am the opposite of you, I was traveling on a tight budget and I am a big fan of planning.
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.
If you are thinking about hitting up 1 festival, I would recommend Fusion June 30th-July 3rd.
If you let me know where your friends live, which cities you want to go to, I can give you some input. |
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| Endlesswave |
Hostels DO have single rooms and some of the craziest I've stayed in were hands down better than a hotel. (as in my own apartment style). Try that.
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. |
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| Im_not_Jill |
I spent 2 weeks this past summer in italy alone. I stayed in hostels the entire time and had no problems what so ever.
I booked everything through hostelworld.com. I highly recommend this site.
Have fun!! |
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| *~LiSa-LoO~* |
| quote: | Originally posted by Endlesswave
Hostels DO have single rooms and some of the craziest I've stayed in were hands down better than a hotel. (as in my own apartment style). Try that.
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You pay a premium for the single rooms though and it ends up not being much of a savings compared to a hotel. |
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| Endlesswave |
| quote: | Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~*
You pay a premium for the single rooms though and it ends up not being much of a savings compared to a hotel. |
For a single probably. I should've mentioned it was with a friend and I'd say he's going with friends as well so... ;)
Also, I've used Hostel world as well and it's usually pretty good. Just go by ratings IF you are going to go that route... |
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