Italy Travel Guide

[chinita8]

^hi, got it only for usd 992/pax nett, open jaw ticket  replied to your pm as well  when are your travel dates sis and where in Italy? So I can let u know if I find out of other promos too 

[papemelroti]

hi sis its may 26-june 10. i researched about the promo and i couldn't book it anyway pals coz I'm not flexible on the dates. 1-2 days before or after lang ok=(

I'm looking into manila-rome then venice-manila. looking at qatar airlines and klm=)

decided to go with backpacking too so I don't need to carry a lot of heavy luggages in transit.

[chinita8]

^ok sis, i'll let u know if I find out of any other airlines with promos on your dates  don't worry, you'll snag one I'm sure, pang-add din sa shopping money young masesave mo!

[shololauy]

plan ko pumunta ng Paris next year...ano bang mas ok, Italy muna tapos Paris? hays, nagbabasa pa lang ako, ang dami ko pang dapat basahin, at visa muna dapat, hehe

[mom_G]

^ for me, ok na last stop ang paris kasi that's where you might end up shopping a lot!  that way, di mo dala-dala everywhere yung mga pinamili mo

[mama squeak!]

That's what I'm doing again next year, uunahin namin ang Italy and last stop is Paris for some shopping.

@shololauy, since your plan is to visit Italy and France you apply for your schengen visa at the embassy of the country where you will be staying the longest. If equal number of days ang stay mo between the two countries, you apply at the embassy of the country of your first stop.

Suggest ko lang basing on melodymedley's experience with the Italian embassy kasi similar ang travel profile ninyo, try to apply at the French embassy. That means make your stay in France longer than in Italy. Sa Italian embassy kasi it's non-appearance meaning you just submit all your documentation walang interview-interview. So the consul will just base his approval or denial on the documents you submit. You can read more on melodymedley's experience in the Schengen visa thread here:

http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,142956.msg6630312.html#msg6630312

 

[papemelroti]

^sis mama squeak how far in advance should you buy airfare? i was planning4. 5 months before the trip but my sister said to wait until 3 months before for lower airfare deals. so confused now...

[chicgurl]

ang saya ng travel ko sa italy & paris last month.. cant wait to go back again.. parang kelan lang andun ako

[mama squeak!]

^^sis, depends din kasi. There are some airlines that offer promo fares way in advance. An average round trip economy airfare to Europe among airlines flying from Manila is around USD1200 (inclusive of taxes). If you can get promo fares for below USD1000 (economy round trip with taxes) get it na because it won't get any cheaper than that.

[shololauy]

@mama squeak and mom_G: thanks for the reply dami ko pa ngang tanong kinoconsolidate ko lang, hehe, kakalito pa kasi e...

may USD1000 RT pala kpag nagppromo, wow, sana makakuha ako non, hehe, kaso RT po to no, hindi siya open jaw tickets?

layo pa naman ng plan ko, pero kaka-excite magbasa at mag-ayos ng iti

[melodymedley]

^@shololauy. Yeap! I got my RT tix MNL-AMS-MNL via Cathay Pacific for only USD 1,000. They offer promos din sa open jaw tix but when I checked the sked, antagal tagal tagal ng stopover time nung naka promo na flight - parang almost or past 24 hours na yata. I tried booking MNL-AMS and Paris-MNL flight back then. Amsterdam is 3 hours away from Paris via train so okay na rin na bumalik ako sa AMS. And Schipol airport was very very nice. 

[shololauy]

^wow! Aabangan ko yan,though nagsubscribe na din naman ako sa mga possible airlines,kaso minsan late kasi dumadating,pa-inform na lang din ha kaka-excite naman,parang ngayon pa lamg gusto ko mg pumunta

[Cheesecak3]

Plano din namin ni hubby magjoin sa Europe Pilgrimage next year. Since first time namin, yokong mag DIY kasi baka masayang lang ang oras namin. May nga nakatry na ba ng Pilgrimage tour?

[foxymom]

kami naman baliktad -- paris first then venice and italy we are leaving after christmas!

i got our tickets from klm because they are the only one (i think) who can offer a full refund in case we get denied. to those who will get promo tickets in advance, just make sure you will be able to get a schengen visa, otherwise your money will go down the drain.

as for shopping, i already made arrangements to send a box from paris and rome, hehe. i really wish though i will be able to shop! baka sa mahal ng mga gamit dun wala din pala ako mapadala

[chinita8]

@mama squeak and mom_G: thanks for the reply dami ko pa ngang tanong kinoconsolidate ko lang, hehe, kakalito pa kasi e...

may USD1000 RT pala kpag nagppromo, wow, sana makakuha ako non, hehe, kaso RT po to no, hindi siya open jaw tickets?

layo pa naman ng plan ko, pero kaka-excite magbasa at mag-ayos ng iti

Hi sis, I got an open jaw ticket via Qatar Airways at only $992 nett, travel spring next year, Manila-Rome-Milan-Manila. Was able to snag a promo last month. 

[shololauy]

^wow, saya naman nyan sis, spring time this month lang kasi ako nagpplan, kaya hindi ako nakatutok sa mga airlines, and besides, hindi ko lam yung mga airlines na papunta sa Europe, hehe, KLM lang, recently ko lang nalaman thru my officemate and backreading....saya naman, kahit pala open jaw tickets, kala ko, kapag open jaw, mas mahal e, e from previous reply ni mamasqueak pwede din nga din daw sis chnita, post mo din experience mo ha, kahit na mdyo mga ilang months pa yun

[chinita8]

^will surely do sis 

[shololauy]

^thanks sis

question pala, nalito ako don sa eurail pass, hehe, worth it ba to kung 1wk ka lang magttour? o may iba pa kayong ginagamit sa transpo? hindi ko lam kung tama yung tanong ko o dapat sa europe thread ata

[mom_G]

^ sis, it depends on which places you want to go to.  if one week lang vacation mo, chances are konti lang ang mapupuntahan mo and malamang hindi sulit yung eurail pass.  if, for example, you plan to concentrate in italy, then use trenitalia.   

[mama squeak!]

I agree with mom_G. Use the Eurail Pass only if you will be using the train system extensively otherwise buy point-to-point train tickets.

And how do you know if the Eurail Pass will be advantageous or not. Well, that's where your planning comes in. You will have to know your IT first. Then how do you propose to get from point A to point B, etc. Tapos compute mo ngayon yung magagastos mong train tickets as against the Eurail Pass.

You can check the earlier European thread 1 and the current thread 2 as this has been discussed there too.

Good luck in your planning!