European Tours Thread 3

[gracei_sg]

Hi,sisses! I'm planning on a DIY trip for our next year trip (husband)? Would you be kind to please help me with my itinerary... By the way, this will be our first time in Europe...

Basically, we want to visit four countries

1. Italy
Rome - 5 days
Venice - 2 days
Florence - 1 day

2. France
Paris - 4 days
Lourdes - 2 days, 1 night
Lisieux - day trip

3. London - 3 days

4. Prague - 4 days


So, it would like --- Phil - France-Italy-Prague - London - Auckland (we are based)
Is that ok?

I'm planning we start in Paris -- since I think it's much cheaper Phil - Paris? Anyway, I would love to start either in Paris or Rome? But really I'm still undecided... Suggestions are highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[little_princess]

You can start either paris or rome and work your way down or up. Check na lang the airfare rates as to what will be cheaper. I think though 3 days in London is very bitin tapos separate visa fee pa. 

[kinderlola]

hi mga sis,

parecommend naman po ng itinerary for 17 days. i want to visit sana paris, barcelona, italy (rome, venice, verona, ano po bang iba pang recommended cities to see?) plan po is 17 days trip, enough po ba ito or dapat iklian or bawasan ang places?

TIA!

btw, ilang days po ang release ng schengen visa via french embassy ngayon from day of appointment?

[mama squeak!]

^sis, please do some backreading on this thread and the previous threads. Marami na mga sample itineraries posted. There is also an existing Schengen Visa thread that you can backread on.

After you've done backreading and you still have some more Qs then post them here.

 

[little_princess]

^^ mine too about 1 week to be released

[k_go]

hi mama squeak! may i seek your suggestion for an itinerary? we got tickets already hkg-cdg, paris aug 21 and cdg, paris-hkg sept 15.  we hope to spend a longer time in france for us to get the visa from french embassy but we also want to visit rome, florence and milan, for italy and barcelona in spain. we want the trip relaxed as this is our honeymoon thanks in advance

[prettybarbie]

^ hi sis, suggest ko lang aside from back reading you can check this, just to give you an idea

http://monograms.com/Booking/Monograms/Product.aspx?trip=3DRV

[shegie_285]

hi girls... parang wala naman Spain thread lang no? i tried to search. anyway, hubby and I are going to Spain for a wedding in September, so we decided to stay na for 9 days, bakasyon na din and our very-late-sort-of-honeymoon.  Wedding place is 40 minutes away from Madrid. We plan to stay longer either in Seville or Barcelona (the latter if FC Barcelona has a match). Question, did you like Madrid - hubby kase said its not maganda daw and he wanted to stay lang for a day just for me to see.  He prefers to stay in Seville because he hasn't been here. For those who've been to three or two of these places what's your favourite and why? I've only been to Barcelona. ok lang sa akin walang shopping, i have separate shopping trips. we want this trip to be relaxed lang so we're thinking going to three places is too much! plus me wedding pa nga. Thanks in advance!

[mama squeak!]

^Yes, there is a dedicated Spain thread. Post your Qs here.

 

[shegie_285]

Thanks mama squeak! hindi lumabas ang thread ng nag-search ako...

[khriseeee]

Has anyone been to Budapest? What's there to do there? I quickly searched on the net and there doesn't seem to be much....I may potentially travel there for business and will have a weekend over there.

[little_princess]

^ spent a few days in budapest as part of our Eastern Europe tour, you can explore the different bridges dividing the Buda and Pest side. For nice views of the city, head towards the Fisherman's Bastion. You can also check the Hero's Square, the Millenium Monument and the Parliament Building. There is also a Danube River Cruise similar to that of Paris and Amsterdam.

We also did some shopping there

[khriseeee]

^thanks! I wonder if it's easy to get around by public transpo...I did see the central market and seems worth visiting too! Is shopping good in budapest?

[little_princess]

^ didn't use the public transpo as we were in a coach but there seems to be an efficient bus service. not sure about the metro lang. shopping wise, they have most of the high street brands like zara, mango, h&m, pull and bear, bershka, c&a, etc. i did seem some high end brands but then we did our shopping in poland and were not able to compare the price.

[prettybarbie]

^ did you join the tour sis? What company?

[little_princess]

^ yup! joined traveler's choice, PM me if you want the contact details. it was an eastern europe tour that included berlin, dresden, prague, czestochowa, warsaw, krakow, wieliczka, banska bystrica, budapest, bratislava and vienna

[prettybarbie]

How's the experience? Okay ba ang service nila? Parang iniisip ko na mag join na lang din ng tour group, pero nagdadalawang isip pa din ako.

[little_princess]

my family prefers tours kasi my parents want a hassle free vacation na wala ng iisipin on how to get to a place or what. ok naman siya, you get to see a lot in a short time frame because their time is limited lang. but there are always pros and cons and it depends on what you like or what you are looking for. pag tours, there is a time frame that has to be followed and a lot of coach rides pero you dont have to worry about anything na, even the meals and where to go kasi prepared na for you.

[prettybarbie]

ilang days yung tour nyo sis? im eyeing monogram tours, para hindi masyado nagmamadali .... would you mind sharing how much you spent on your trip?

[mama squeak!]

^sis, if you must really do a tour for comparison purposes Insight Tours offers easy, pace tours much like monogram tours. Tour prices range from USD3K to USD8K per person on double sharing. Di pa kasama airfare dyan ha. Tours lasts from 8 days up to 20 days.

Now if you're 35 below, the cheaper alternative to Insight is Contiki. Tour prices range from USD1.5K to USD3K on double sharing.

If I were you and matagal pa naman you're planning to visit Europe, try to decide first on what kind of a traveler you are. Are you the type na you want everything prepared for you? No planning and leave it to the experts kind of thing? Or are you the type to take control and plan the things you want to see and do? Are you the type to stick to schedules or would you rather take your time, smell the coffee and decide what you want your day to be?

For me second na lang yung expenses kasi alam natin lahat na talagang gagastos ka if you want to go to Europe. As to how much nasa sa iyo na yun. What's important is what you want to get out of the trip, the things you want to experience during your trip. Di ba nga sabi ni Mastercard, "memories/experiences are priceless".