European Tours Thread 3

[little_princess]

^ akala ko napamahal kami! haha but pwede na kasi london-paris 11am then paris to london 130pm. mura na for the times that we wanted sakto din when checking in and out of the hotel.

[shegie_285]

la vampira I live in Europe so we normally do weekend trips lang, ie - 3-4 days (2 full days lang normally dahil we take early flight to the destination on the first day  and last flight to go home last day.

i've only been to major cities of those countries (i recommend these three)- ie Paris, Rome and Barcelona and based on experience, Paris was so big for me for four days. it didnt help na we went on easter weekend so daming tourists, we didnt get to go inside the louvre and notredame because of the queue! we pre-booked na our eiffel tower, tagal din namin nag-antay! maybe a week is ideal, relaxed pace and you could also go to versailles.

Rome - 4 days was enough (3 days lang ata kmi we were able to go pa sa vatican and had the tour) i think you could go to another city or two  in Italy kung one week ka. So far Rome is my favourite city in Europe, highly recommnended. My hubby and I enjoyed it more and we thought it is more romantic than Paris. and cheaper than Paris din so we were able to dine at restaurants, we enjoyed the food there - 'Eat' talaga dito.

Barcelona - stayed 4 days with girl friends, its enough na din you could do another city. For me, this is the best for shopping din! Zara is so cheap. If you are into designers, mas mura dito sa Europe so you can buy sa Paris or Italy. I thought its cheap in Dubai, i was going to buy a gucci bag there, mas mahal pala. i asked the shops here when i came back and they said cheaper talaga dito.

Agree with bagaholicy chewy na if you decide to go to another country, i'd recommend go to a schengen state , hassle pa ang UK visa, ang mahal pa. Prague is very beautiful daw, that's next on my list.

[little_princess]

^ she, anong mura sa spain? My family is leaving tonight, super excited sila to shop instead of the sights. Hehe would you say barcelona is better than madrid? We're planning our post nup kasi there. Also, db you're from dublin? So no need na to apply for schengen visa to go to other countries or do you still have to? Hassle kasi i have UK family visit visa na but have to apply for schengen pa din everytime. We can't go on a whim lang.

[shegie_285]

Kim, puro zara and mango ang na-shop namin sa Spain. sale pa when we went, super mura Limited lang shopping kase i flew with a cheap airline so wala akong check-in bag. there's also H&M. I havent been to Madrid but hubby recommended Barcelona more. plus i really wanted to go to Barcelona because of Meteor garden soap before. hehe.

Yes I still need to get a schengen visa and even UK! hassle talaga hubby loves traveling and he realised when we started dating he couldnt that at a whim with me! not sure if you know, since we're now married to an EU citizen, the schengen visa should be free (and UK and Irish visa).  I havent tried this, i just applied for my NSO marriage cert.  I'll apply for a schengen visa after that and for a 2-5 years UK visa.

[little_princess]

^ happy na mom and sister ko sa zara and h&m haha They like high street clothes kasi but designer stuff is cheaper in Spain? My mom wants to pick a few pieces if considerably cheaper than London or Paris. Haha I will tell my mom about Meteor Garden, she loves Jerry Yan!

Oh shucks, Ireland pala has a different visa altogether! How did you find out na dapat free yung Schengen visa? Hubby and I are not settling in the UK (yet or maybe never) so when I applied for a 2 year family visit visa for the UK, we had to pay pa din. And I'm applying for a Schengen visa this April 2 and I have to pay pa din eh. Baka it's free when you settle in Europe?

OT: when are you getting your NSO marriage certificate? I have the official copy na from the city hall but I'm waiting after April to request para sure.

[mama squeak!]

OT: when are you getting your NSO marriage certificate? I have the official copy na from the city hall but I'm waiting after April to request para sure.

Just a reminder to please refrain from off topic posts. Please use the PM facility for your query.

Thanks!

[shegie_285]

^ sa parc guell sa barcelona, dun shinoot ang start ng MG2. and the fountain na dapat inuman ulit so you'd go back to barcelona is at the top (away from the beach part) of La Ramblas street. Not sure if designer is a lot cheaper in Spain. Gucci ang natanungan ko ha, the girl said dito sa Europe prices should be almost the same or probably just few euros cheaper sa pinanggalingan na country. Oh and UK depends on the FX rate.  I didnt actually notice ang mga designer shops sa Barcelona (which is not normal), maybe London and Paris are better for the range, mas malalaki shops dun.

Yes, the Republic of Ireland has a different visa, hassle. you can only go to Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. But funnily, there is no border control between the Republic and the Northern Ireland, its just a highway, you know lang you're in a different territory kase the sign colors are different.

[little_princess]

i told my mom na! she's super excited hehe sana they would find something nice or else sa akin papabili yan in paris or london. but i agree, the range is really good! but sometimes i find nice things in obscure places like poland.

ah oo nga, we wanted to go to dublin but that's a totally different visa pa. though we can go to northern ireland.. if highway lang and no border control, baka i can sneakily drive to ireland? haha

[shegie_285]

ah pwede naman lakasan ng loob wala naman nanghuhuli at nanghihingi ng passport. hihi... pero of course not recommended kase pag nahuli future visa application ang magsu-suffer sa atin..

hope your mom would find something nice sa spain.

[prettybarbie]

My husband and i are planning to go to Europe on September. Point of entry is London, we'll be visiting mom in Wales (1 week) then we want to go to Paris na din.

Here's my plan:

London- Paris via Eurostar Train
gusto ko sana mag stay ng 5 days sa Paris... so bale

London-Paris

Paris (5 days)

Paris-Lucerne- ...fly? to Zurich- Lucerne or Train? directly to Lucerne parang masyadong matagal.
 - the main reason we want to go to Lucerne is for Paragliding and to visit Mt. Titlis. (stay for 3 days)

Lucerne- Milan- Should i skip Milan? still not sure about this one

Milan- Venice (3 days)

Venice- Florence (3 days)

Florence- Rome/ Vatican City (3 days)

Back to HK (open jaw ticket)

What kind of eurail pass should i get, naguguluhan ako don... meron kasi don na for example select pass 5 days, ano yung 5 days na yon? good for 5 days mo lang ba pede gamitin yon or good for 5 train rides.

Tama ba yung pagkakasunod sunod ng itinerary ko? hindi ba ko magpapabalik balik? Doable ba to, kulang or sobra?

Any comments or suggestions? 

[mama squeak!]

^I wouldn't suggest a Eurail Pass since hindi naman extensive yung train travel ninyo. Plus you still will have to pay extra for reservations on the long haul/fast trains. I'd rather get point-to-point tickets that will include seat reservations na.

Paris to Switzerland you can do by TGV, probably take you less than 5 hours. Check the TGV site I gave in the France thread. Tickets go on sale 3 months prior to departure dates. Or check the low cost carriers like Easyjet for the Paris-Switzerland route. They sometimes come out cheaper than train travel.

On your Italy leg, okay naman your routing. But my preferred IT would be:

From Lucerne go to Florence for 5 whole days with some day trips in the Tuscan area (Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra). Some outlet shopping.

From Florence, train to Venice. Stay two nights. Then train for 3 hours to Rome.

You can visit both the France and Italy thread for added tips/comments on these places.

 

[chuzzle]

Back from Europe! And I already want to go back sooooon. I was able to visit Barcelona and many towns in Spain. I think mas diverse yung architecture sa Barcelona, but people in Mardid look better. =))) And oh lala Paris! I only had time (and money) to stay there for 3 days. I wasn't able to go inside all the museums because there were so many people. Kakafrustrate. I promise to go when I visit France later this year.

Next stop, ITALY!

[prettybarbie]

mama squeak yung train going to italy minsan may connecting, for example From Lucerne to Venice (Lucerne-interchange to Milan-Venice) tapos minsan yung pagitan ng interchange 10-15 mins lang, like

depart Lucerne 12:00 arrive Milan 2:00

interchange

depart Milan 2:15-  arrive Venice 4:15.... so halos 15 minutes lang pagitan para lumipat ng train, sapat na ba yon? Baka maiwanan ako ng connecting e first time ko don, kapag ba connecting magkatapat lang yung train na tipong lilipat ka lang sa kabilang side?

[mama squeak!]

^Pag ganyan lang ang connecting time medyo kabado ako since hindi ko din gamay. Plus isipin pa namin mga bagahe namin, mahirap rin akyat baba sa train. So, what I do every time I do a search, I set the transfer time to at least 30-45 minutes. Okay lang na mag-antay kesa naman naghahabol ka. Or if you can get a direct train much the better.

[prettybarbie]

pano i-set ang transfer time kasi nung nag search ako ang nakalagay lang kung ilang change.

example

LUCERNE-VENICE (1 change)

LUCERNE- VENICE (2 change)

Tapos diba since sa milan naman ang interchange, sinubukan ko na kumuha na lang ng 1 way to milan then another 1 way to venice yung hindi connecting para makapili ako ng oras na mas malaki ang gap, tapos ang lumabas sa search result wala pa din direct train sa milan biglang nagkaron pa din ng connecting ibang route naman, bat ganon.... masakit na sa ulo. I used the SBB website....

[mama squeak!]

^I use the DB Bahn website (German). It's more user-friendly. I just did a mock booking for your route and I was able to set the transfer time to 45 minutes at one transfer only (EuroCity and EuroStar Italia).

Though with DB Bahn, since there is no German route involved it will only give you the schedule. For the fares, depends on your location (you're in HKG, right?) it will most probably direct you to the RailEurope site.

***Edited*** I just did a mock booking on the SBB website using the advanced search. There's an option for the duration of transfer, I chose at least 30 minutes and it gave me the same train details as the one from the DB Bahn website wiht 45 minutes transfer time.

[prettybarbie]

thank you so much, check ko ulit.

[cinnam]

Ok ba sa tq travel solutions agency? They have kasi eu travel tours incl of airfare, $3.6k+, via emirates. Excl of airfare tax about $350.

[little_princess]

^ depends on the package and inclusions plus the type of food and hotel. I've heard of a couple of popular agencies like rajah, pan pacific, tours r us, profil holidays and travelers choice, you can try them

[riksy07]

Sisses! I just got back from my Eurotrip!! It was the best decision I ever made so far and I just fell in love with Europe that I am now planning on going back and maybe even working there. I went to London, Paris (with a day trip to Versailles), and Rome (with a daytrip to Florence) and I can say that my favorite city out of the three is Rome. I loved it there. Next is London and then lastly, Paris. I find Paris too mapanghi and some metro stations scare me, like the Musee d'Orsay station.

There were times when I'd walk myself to exhaustion and I would have to remind myself that I am on vacation and not Amazing Race and that I shouldn't be pressured to cover a lot of ground everyday. Free tours with Sandeman's were awesome. I basically froze in London while Paris was a tad bit warmer and Rome was just starting to blast the summer heat.

I only shopped for souvenirs since I'm not really much of a shopping girl. I kept on munching macarons. I ran a fever for a night in Rome and ended up missing my reservation at the Galleria Borghese. I think hostelling is fun (except when you end up having Korean roommates who, in my case, made my blood boil). Having really comfortable shoes (I had boots on all the time) is a must. I had fun speaking broken French and Italian and the locals probably had fun listening to me as well because I scored a discount in this one store I bought food from.

I didn't have any pickpocket/ thieving experiences but my Canadian roommate had her iPhone pickpockted from her at the Roman Forum area. The Tube was the best metro in my opinion, followed by the Rome Metro, and lastly, the Parisian metro which scared me.

All in all, it was fun and I would do it all over again if I could (packing lighter this time).