European Tours Thread 3

[owlspectator]

Everytime I read through this thread, naaalala ko yung childhood ko na nanonood ng "Passport To Europe by Samantha Brown" dreaming na someday makapunta ko sa Europe. I always feel excited whenever I see a post saying they're going to Europe next month or next year, as if I'll be with them on their travel. Thank you mamasqueak for making my dream alive always! Ive been planning to go on a tour after my graduation, to think na 3 years ahead pa yun, Im already doing mock bookings ng planes and hotels, and planning my itinerary. Haaaay!

[mama squeak!]

^You're welcome sis! Glad to help keep the dream alive    What you're doing right now is good, long range planning. Here's another link that can help you plan Hostel International . During my early work years when I started travelling on my own expense this was one option I considered. Though I was never able to avail of their membership since my airline hotel discounts came out cheaper but for non-travel industry staff this would be a good option.

On another note, here's an update of my IT this coming September. I just did the first half (10 days) since we are still waiting for hubby's remaining VL swap.

Day 1  -  Arrive Amsterdam at 7AM. We will be staying at Sunhead of 1617. This B&B is owned by a Pinoy and was recommended to us by good friends. Whole day sight seeing. Red light district at night.

Day 2 -  Amsterdam/Madurodam (time permitting)

Day 3 - Whole day Amsterdam.

Decided to take the night train to save on one night hotel/air fare for two. Night train to Prague at 7PM. Cost for a double deluxe sleeper compartment with shower/WC at EUR318. The fare includes breakfast served inside our own compartment. 

Day 4 - Arrive Prague at 9AM. We will be staying at the Hotel Century Old Town Prague hotel for 4 nights. Got a good deal with airline discount at EUR53/night only.

Day 5 - Prague

Day 6 - Prague

Day 7 - Prague

Day 8 - Overnight stay at Cesky Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage town. Bus takes 2.5 hours from Prague and costs EUR13.80 for two. Still looking for a place to stay here.

Day 9 - Still open waiting for hubby's other half VL otherwise go back to Prague for flight back to Amsterdam. In case we get the other 10 days approved, we take the train to Salzburg or revisit Munich (still deciding). Stay 3 nights then fly to Paris for the rest of the IT.

 

[foxymom]

^ooohhh mama squeak! i'm so looking forward to your trip!

do you think its better to spend 4 full days in prague or barcelona?

[mama squeak!]

^I am too! Excited na nga    I am hoping and praying hubby's VL swap will be approved asap since we still have to apply for a visa.

I haven't been to both Prague and Barcelona yet but I would suggest to spend 4 whole days each to give them justice. There are so much to see and do in both cities! Probably you can do this in your IT:

Dec 26-Jan1  -  London

Jan 2-5         -  Barcelona. Try to get an early morning flight out of London to Barcelona to maximize your time.

Jan 6-9        -   Prague. Again try to get an early morning flight out of Barcelona to maximize your time.

Jan 10-12     -  You can either take the night train from Prague to Amsterdam (13 hours) on the 9th Jan and arrive in the morning of the 10th in Amsterdam. Or take the earliest flight out of Prague to Amsterdam on the 10th.
                       If you want to go to Vienna instead of Amsterdam and fly out from there to go back home pwede din. At least Vienna is just less than 5 hours by train from Prague.

    

[foxymom]

^thank you mama squeak! we are dropping amsterdam already and just concentrate on london - prague - barcelona. we are doing it this way because flights are fares are lower and available

so we plan on doing it like this

dec.26-jan.3 London (we arrive London morning of 27th)
jan.3-7 Prague
jan.7-12 Barcelona

I am not sure if i should put the 1 day in barcelona or prague...

[mooncake and leaves]

mama_squeak and melodymedley: thanks so much for the input we'll skip the catacombs, methinks. it feels like it's out of the way kasi and requires too much effort (waking up early, queuing for an hour or more, etc.)

i was thinking of skipping the lourve too. ewan ko. i can't get excited about it.

^ inggit na inggit lang ako. if it were up to me, i'd do spain and austria too. my dream destinations are barcelona and toledo. in austria naman, the lakeside town of hallstatt.

nakakainis ang europe minsan. there's just way too many places to explore and it's a little heartbreaking when you know you can't see them all in one go.

[foxymom]

^hahahaha, that's true! but just put it this way... you have more chances to visit!

europe is so ideal for us now. especially since airfare to europe is cheaper than going to the states! happinesss x10!

[melvel]

How long before the actual trip is the ideal time to book tickets?  I want to get the tickets out of the way na, but I want to get the best deals possible.

Right now kasi, Manila-London Paris-Manila multi-city booking on Etihad for the dates we want next year is $1,364.62, for KLM it's $1,400.13.  We budgeted $1,500.00 for plane fare so those are within budget, but I want to get lower rates pa sana.

Both KLM and Etihad allow cancellation in case (hope not) we don't get approved for Visas, right?

[mama squeak!]

The fares will always depend on the season. Peak season equals higher fares. Ex MNL that would be travel dates from April to June and during the Christmas holidays. Expect around USD100-200 additional surcharge during these period.

To get the best travel deals, try to visit the regular travel expos where major international airlines participate. Deals offered are usually on a book and buy basis. During the last travel expo (July 21-22, I think), CX offered USD650++ round trip to Europe which would come out to less than USD1K. Their regular online all-in Europe round trip fares range from USD1084 (Milan) to USD1260 (London). For multi-city fares, it will be a little bit higher.

As for KLM, you can get RT fares as low as USD1100 all-in depending on the season. For multi-city/open jaw fares an additional USD200-300  will be added up.

For Middle East carriers, they do offer low rates but the downside is the length of travel/transit time at their respective hubs. But if this is not an issue with you, the ME carriers are a good choice in terms of low fares.


 

[melvel]

Thanks, mama squeak!  Since we're travelling June 2013 (which is summer, I guess peak season in Europe?) and we're getting open jaw tickets, I guess the $1300-1400 ticket price is fair.  I'm constantly checking CX, KLM and Etihad.   

Another question:  For my other trips (mostly US), I've always paid for the ticket online since visa is not an issue.  Should I do the same for this Europe trip, even if I don't have a visa yet? You mentioned previously that I can just book and pay in full when the visa has been granted, but I'd have to do this through a travel agent (not online), right? 

[little_princess]

^ we always course our tickets through our travel agent kasi they can reserve the ticket and they have a set date wherein you can renew it or purchase the ticket. like our london tickets, they were on reserve for 3 months until we had to purchase them because the taxes were going to increase na. our malta honeymoon tickets are also in reserve mode but it seems like that the fare is not going to change na.

when we applied for our UK visa, we purchased the ticket na because the prices were going to increase the next day so we took the risk and bought it and thankfully our visa was approved. it's not that hard to get a Schengen or UK visa compared to US

[mama squeak!]

^^you can make bookings with any travel agent or directly with the airline. Both can give you ticketing options meaning they can set a deadline for you when to buy the tickets. Unfortunately for online bookings it's always on a book and buy basis specially if it's a promo fare.

It is still too early to book your tickets for 2013 much less buy them. But if you're kinda worried of seats running out you can always ask your trusted travel agent or better yet somebody direct with the airline of your choice to book you on the lowest fare possible. Then 2-3 months before your travel dates, check with them in case there are promo fares available.

[^Vain_Chiq^]

I'm currently in Strasbourg, Alsace in France and it's such a lovely and picturesque town specially Petite France. Tomorrow, we will be heading naman to Trier in Germany.

[mama squeak!]

^I was looking at that route too! The Alsace Wine Road! Any chance of you going to Colmar and Eguisheim?   

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^Sis we went to Marlenheim, Molsheim, Rolsheim and Obernai which are part of the Alsace Wine Road and went into a vineyard unguided. LOL. As in lakad lakad lang and explore the place yourself which is way better. We are now in Trier, Germany where we will also visit a cava tomorrow and attend the wine festival on the 3rd. It's such a relaxing experience.

[mama squeak!]

^Nice! That's my type of trip Did you have a car with you or did you take the train? We're still trying to decide if we do Strasbourg and the Alsace Wine route or go straight to Paris for a week and do day trips after the Czech Republic.

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^Yes mama squeak we went there by car and we also brought foldable bikes so we can cycle around the city centre. We stayed in Strasbourg and then just went to the Alsace wine route by car although there are also local hotels located there. For us kasi  it's better to stay sa Strasbourg because madaming shops and restaurants located within the area and hindi ka mabobore. The Alsace wine towns takes about 20-45 minutes drive lang from Strasbourg.

[mama squeak!]

^Sounds like fun!  I'm still tweaking our IT, I hope I can include Strasbourg and Eguisheim.

For the ladies who want to buy Euros, I just bought from Czarinas. Prevailing exchange rate right now is PHP51.55 to EUR1.00 Just make sure you give them a call at least 2-3 days ahead of time since Euros is not readily available unlike USD.

[Mhoirae]

Anyone can recommend a nice hotel in Barcelona that is not too expensive?

And also great places to eat in Paris and Barcelona.

Thanks !

[foxymom]

^for paris I love Angelina's! i love their duck meal (i forgot the exact name, canard confit something), the hot choco is a must of course, and their mont blanc desert is heaven. we also liked george restaurant in pompidou centre