European Tours II

[mama squeak!]

@DocShe, the 2eme arr is pretty busy during the day since it is a business district. Depends na lang sa location of your hotel/apartment you can still find mom&pop stores, cafes, etc. Apartments can come out cheaper if you will be staying for more than 3 nights plus most landlords will only rent out for a minimum of 3 nights anyway.

To quote my earlier post way back in 2010 based on my personal preference:

"Personally, I prefer the Latin Quarter (5eme) and the St. Germain de Pres (6eme) areas. Lots to see and do even at night, got a lot of cheap eats too. The Marais district (4eme) comes in second, though it's known as the Gay district. There are some affordable rooms there. The Louvre area (1ere) is a bit too quiet for me though great if you're main priority is to see the Louvre and Tuilleries garden. Last on my list is the Eiffel tower (7eme) area and the Champs Elysees (8eme)

Must warn you though the hotels in these areas don't go lower than EUR100/night (unless you plan to stay during the middle of summer (August) when you can get good deals). So if you want to save some money, get hotels on the outer district and buy a Metro Pass. It will take you a 15-20 minute ride to get to the tourist spots."

[DocShe_713]

Mama squeak-http://www.myparisvisit.com/rental-studio-apartment-palais-royal-paris-25.html 
Is this a good location and deal? Will be there in April for 6 days. Need your advise. Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^Cute apartment! Typical tiny French flat     The location is fine, walking distance to rue St. Honore (shopping!!!) . But are you okay with a EUR200 security deposit?

[DocShe_713]

Actually they are asking for a 450 euro refundable security deposit. Does the other rental requires that?

[mama squeak!]

^Not all rentals require security deposits. That's why I choose rentals that don't require one. I'm really not comfortable with that kind of arrangement kasi. Plus I only go for rentals that accept credit card payments for safety and convenience.

[d_zialcita]

hi everyone!
am planning our honeymoon.
i am thinking of march 2013.

(is this ok? i want it to be cold but not too cold naman)

places to visit:rome, venice,innsbruck,vaduz,lucerne,mt titlis,rhinefalls,titisee,heidelburg,st goar, boppard, amsterdam, brussels and paris

this is with a travel agency... packaged tour.

would be going to italy 2 days ahead of the group to tour by ourselves and staying 2-3 days in paris too at the end of the tour.

i know that diy is better  but am not that confident. (still deciding though)

my questions are (hope you can help me)

1. is  march okay? cold, but not too cold? outfit: trench coat and boots are ok but hopefully no need for thermals na?

2. am really interested with santorini too, if i go to santorini before heading to italy, that's by plane? are there other options? around how much would that be?

thank you all!


diana
2.
 

[mama squeak!]

^March is still cold so you're covered there. If you're thinking of just wearing a trench coat over your street clothes baka di ka makatagal. Depends on your cold tolerance you still might need thin thermals or do layering. Bring a travel umbrella and waterproof boots as it can be wet during this month.

You can get to Santorini from Rome by plane. Some of the airlines flying this route are Aegean, Olympic Air, Easyjet and Alitalia. Or you can go to Athens and take a plane or ferry. Since March is a low season travel month fares can be affordable. Try to make a mock booking on the websites of the air carriers I mentioned.

Happy planning!

[d_zialcita]

thank you mama squeak!

how about april? still wet? i don't really like the rainy season. :s

thank you for your help!

[mama squeak!]

^It's not naman rainy season as compared to ours here. You have wet and dry spells. April is still cool and can be wet too. Swertehan na lang when it comes to weather talaga during those months. If you want it dry then travel during the summer months yun lang ang init!

No matter what month you go to Europe is still the best time to go. It all boils down to the experience of exploring a place   

[d_zialcita]

finally done reading all the pages of the 2 threads...

am getting really inspired to diy the trip. less countries but at least we'll have a more relaxed honeymoon. plus we'll really get a feel of the places..


here are the places i want to visit.


santorini...

italy: rome, venice, milan

spain: barcelona

france: paris


is this doable? we only have 14-16 days max.

around how much would airfare be from manila-santorini-italy?

from italy, we could trin to spain then france right? around how much would that be? how many hours?

we are working with a small budget. around how much is this whole trip going to be? as in the most tipid possible?

if ever this is too expensive.., am ok with removing spain and saving it for another trip...

(i've actually bee to the spain, france and italy. but this will be my husband's first trip to europe.

wow, am seeing how hard diy is. but with your help here am sure it is doable!

target travel date is end of march 2013.

thank you!

[mama squeak!]

^sis, if you want a relaxed honeymoon you won't get that with your intended itinerary and max number of days. You basically have less than two weeks exclusive of travel time. Suggest concentrate on two countries lang if you want to really have a relaxed honeymoon. You can either do Santorini, Greece and Italy or Italy and France or Spain and France.

[d_zialcita]

hi again mamasqueak!

i think medjo nasad ako cause ou said 2 countries nalang..

but you are right.


maybe we'll do italy and paris nalang.

can you suggest an itinerary for me?

in italy: florence, venice and rome....

for france, just paris.

i already found apartments that are good and affordable in paris. from th website you suggested.

itinerary please?

14 day trip?

thank you so much!

[melodymedley]

@sis d_zialcita: Would like share my DIY itinerary for Italy-France which covers 16 days. Some days in my IT are jam-packed with tourist spots while others end up having a leisurely pace.

2 nights Venice (flew in from Germany via Ryanair)
4 nights Florence (2 days Florence, 1 day trip to Cinque Terre and 1 day trip to Sienna +San Gimignano)
3 nights Rome (flew to Paris via easyJet)
5 nights Paris

If you have to trim it down to 14 days, you take out a night somewhere depends on what you guys would like to see in each city. Churches, museums, parks?

You can entry/exit point would Rome or Paris I guess. Paris is a good final stop for shopping. Rome has LBC so you can ship off some stuff back to the PH before you fly out.

DIY is painfully timeconsuming but ultimately a good option, I believe. Honeymoon nyo pa so it is good na hawak nyo yung time. I agree with mama squeak on concentrating on two countries para ma-enjoy nyo talaga.

[mama squeak!]

@d_zialcita, sis, melodymedley gave a good itinerary you can follow. If you were to cut a day or two from your itinerary, suggest one night Rome and one night Paris. But of course it would really depend on your and your hubby's interest.

Where will you be coming from? MNL? You can do an open jaw routing either starting from Rome and ending in Paris or vice versa. Try to get a flight that will arrive at your first destination in the morning to maximise your time. Cathay Pacific (CX) has flights to FCO (Fiumicino) and CDG (Charles de Gaulle) that will arrive around 7AM.

By the way, in case you do a mock booking on CX's website using the multiple destination as an option it will give you a very high fare. Don't be alarmed and get in touch with their reservations office to get the "real" fare. A round trip fare can be used for the routing "MNL/FCO arunk CDG/MNL" or vice versa. Estimate fare on economy for this routing would range from USD1K to USD1.2K. For next year the fares may go up a little because of the taxes.

Try to backread on this thread and the first one plus the How much is a trip to Paris and Italy threads to get some tips on how to plan your trip.

Happy planning! 

[d_zialcita]

hi melodymedley!

thank you for your answer.
i've actually been reading your blog for a couple of days now.
also been trying to convince my husband to copy your entire itinerary.
too bad he can't leave work for that long.
please write about paris already!
am so excited to read about your trip.
your tips are very helpful!
makes me so excited to start our honeymoon!


hi mamasqueak!
thank you for replying!
yes the open jaw is a really good idea, so that we don't waste time.
we will be coming from manila.
when do you think i should book our tickets to have the cheapest fare possible?
my husband is korean... does he need a visa?
am filipino, so yes i need a visa. :s
when is the earliest time that i can apply for that?

also, yes yes i've read the italy and paris threads. your posts there are so helpful.
makes europe not seem so expensive.



thank you both dears!!

[melodymedley]

@sis d_zialcita: Thanks for visiting my blog. Hehe.
GT was a very important tool in planning my EU IT, so I'd like to give back to this thread as much as I can. Biruin mo, nakapag-DIY ako using the websites listed in the EU I and II thread. Got some really valuable tips too - From itinerary to outfit planning. You can make your own IT too! That was my version of the "ultimate itinerary". I wouldn't change anything since I had fun everyday. I believe that traveling in Europe is a really good experience - no matter what city you choose.

@sis mama squeak: Aaaaahhh! Pwede pala yuuuun! I am doing some mock bookings na open jaw in CX's website (just recently, in the enhanced website) and the cost is... almost the cost of my entire trip. Haha! Next time, next time. Sayang, walang CX flights to Spain (for next time  ). I think that USD 1.2 for an open jaw flight is a really good deal.

@sis twinks: Parang nagkakatotoo kapag na-plan talaga. Mga May last year ako nag-start, and my trip was on the third week of September. Good to start planning now!

[mama squeak!]

@d_zialcita, since you plan to travel in March you can start looking out for promo fares around Oct or Nov. That's when airlines come out with off season fares. Yes, March is considered off season. You might be able to get open jaw tickets for as low as USD1K all-in. 

As for schengen visas, if I'm not mistaken SK nationals don't need one for a visit to a maximum of 90 days. But to be sure ask na rin when you apply for yours. Since you will be staying longer in Italy, you will have to apply with the Italian embassy. You can only apply for your visa 3 months before your estimated departure date. Not earlier. There is an existing thread on Shengen visa application that you can read on. Search it na lang. 

@melodymedley, yup! Tyaga ka lang to call their reservations  CX has started flying to Zaragoza, Spain. Cargo freighter nga lang That is the first step, next na ang passengers. So, soon you might be taking CX on your trip to Spain.

@twinks, there is nothing more rewarding than DIYing your trip. You get to set your own budget plus hawak mo oras mo. Happy planning!

[Thelay]

Hi All,

Got my Visa na sa France!!! =) We will leave on April 4 to 14

Now ang problem ko is my itinerary and ticket. May mga questions lang ako

1. ano po ang open jaw ticket
2. we will be in paris and my mom want to go to lourdes. what is the best way to go there
3. france & italy lang ang plan naming puntahan. ano mas ok train or ryanair?
4. within italy, ano po means of transportation dun?

Thank you

[mama squeak!]

^

1. Open jaw routing - you arrive in one place and depart from another place. For example, flight will arrive in Paris and return will be from Rome.

2. You can either take a flight or take the train. We took the overnight train to Lourdes that left Paris at 10PM and arrived in Lourdes at 6AM. We stayed overnight at the Best Western just across the train station. Very convenient. Bus fare to the cathedral is EUR2.00 round trip, while EUR1.50 one way. It takes around 5 minutes by bus to get from the train station to the cathedral. Or you can take a leisurely 20 minute walk.

If you're doing the baths, the schedule is only twice a day. 10AM and 2PM. Separate lines for males and females. Be sure to get in line at least 2-3 hours before the schedule as the lines get to be very loooong!
Holy water is free and is dispensed from the side of the church near the grotto. Better if you bring your own water bottle so you can take as much holy water as you want.

3. Better take a flight since you only have a limited time. Also check Easyjet.

4. Cheaper taking trains. More expensive option are cabs.


Backread on this thread and the old one plus the How much is a trip to Paris and Italy threads to get more tips.

Good luck on your planning!

[m_lim]

so far eto na ang itinerary namin:

5nights Paris
2nights ?? (suggestions please?)
2nights Venice
3nights Rome
11nights CRUISE (Civitavecchia-Sicily-Mesina-Athens-Piraeus-Ephesus-Kusadasi-Rhodes-Santorini-Mykonos-Napes-Civitavecchia)
1night Rome before going home

pag check out, mga 10PM pa ang flight namin pabalik ng Manila.

i have several questions.. sana may makatulong sakin:

--saan ba maganda pumunta for 2Nights from Paris before going to Venice?
--anong area sa Venice maganda maghanap ng apartment?yung malapit sa tourist spots since 2nights lang kami. i prefer using AirBnB.
--anong transpo options namin from Paris to (suggested place) to Venice to Rome?