European Tours Thread 4

[^Vain_Chiq^]

Dahil lock na ang thread 3, I'll start na thread 4  . Anyway, I just came back from a week trip in Tuscany and it was great. We stayed in Lucca and went to other cities like Florence, Pisa and also visited places like Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and Barberino Outlet Mall. We are staying a bit far from Chianti and Siena so we didn't get to visit them but we're planning to return to Tuscany and stay in Chianti next year maybe. Lucca is a small medieval-like city and it's fun cycling within the walls. The city center feels like you're walking in a different world. Hehe. Regarding Barberino Outlet, it's a big place but the deals are not so good, siguro sa susunod we'll try The Mall or Space, maybe they have better deals. Nakakatakot lang to drive around in Italy, especially in the mountainside (my bf drove) because most of them are wreckless  so you have to be really careful. We did wine tasting, hunting for good leather (madami na daw peke sa Florence so I was scared to get one there, I got mine in Lucca and they make their bags within the premises , and lots of coffee and food tripping. Hehe.

[mama squeak!]

Yay! You did a Tuscany road trip too? Meron na naman akong matatanungan. Hehe... Forever ko na yatang ginagawa itong IT namin ni hubby. Sana naman next trip to Europe this will be it na. I'm also planning a one-week road trip around Tuscany. Since mostly about Tuscany yung Qs ko I'll just post it in the Italy thread.

 

[^Vain_Chiq^]

Yes mama squeak! and we had so much fun. We promise to come back for Siena and Chianti maybe next year. Dapat sa agriturismo in Chianti kami magstay but bf changed his mind the last minute because of the mixed reviews regarding the place we booked so napadpad kami sa kasuluksulukan ng  Lucca  . Sure you can ask me in the Italy thread regarding the Tuscany and hope I could answer some of your questions  .

[i_miss_sleep]

Joining. I'm also doing my IT for next year. Can't decide if land or cruise so guess what? We'll do both! I got to squeeze my must see in 21 days. This is my first time so really excited. For cruise, we'll do Greece and Turkey for 10 days. Then squeeze Italy, France, Switzerland for land. I already bought Rick Steve's Europe Through the Back door handbook, so lotsa reading and syempre lurk sa mga GT travelers for precious tips!

[gas6183]

 hi , i'm planning na mag Europe but because solo traveler ako nag decide ako na sumama sa bus tour.... okay ba ang expat explore??? kasi ayoko naman na magkaligaw ligaw ako para kahit paano stress free ako. sa may 2014 plan ko okay kaya yun?

[shegie_285]

Just got back from Brussels (with a day trip to Bruges) - I looove Brussels. Grand Place is a very beautiful square. Ganda ng mga buildings, as in.  Definitely one of my fave places. Sarap tumambay sa mga restaurants sa paligid with a beer.

I tried the girly beers as sis ^vain_Chiq^ said sa previous thread. I think the most common is their cherry beer  but my favourite is the mango beer then next is hoegardeen rose. But masarap silang lahat.

Sa chocolates naman - we tried neuhaus and Mary's. As I said hindi ako mahilig sa chocolates, I wasn't impressed with neuhaus but I like Mary's.

Pierre Marcolini we only tried the macaroons masarap sya pero Hubby and I prefer Laduree.

Nakakataba dun chocolates, Belgian waffles and beers! buti na lang puro lakad so may pang-offset.

We went to Atomium din, ok naman - weird to think nasa loob ka nga mga 'atoms.'  There is a restaurant on the top kaso mahal daw and not sulit so we skipped that.

Bruges is also a nice city. recommended din. Their square maganda din but coming from Grand Place, 2nd na lang talaga ang square sa Bruges. internet said train journey is 1 hour from Brussels, pero 1 1/2 hours journey namin both papunta and pabalik.

I love both cities' cobbled streets.

Kaso closed pala mga shops (normal shops, the tourist shops always open) pag Sunday!! Hindi ako sanay, they said Dublin is like that before pero now open na mga shops dito ng Sunday from 11/12 noon to 6pm! And most of the cities naman here in Europe na napuntahan ko bukas ang shops ng sunday.

Hubby and I really enjoyed the trip.

[pret_ty68]

Pag nag avail ba nang tour package gaya nung sa trafalgar tumutulong ba ang travel agency sa pagkuha nang schengen visa?

[cassie]

Hi, planning a Europe trip with my husband for next year. Greece and Italy are my non-negotiables. Sya naman, tutal andun na rin daw kami banda, might as well visit Paris and probably, Spain. Is this a doable itinerary? What's the most logical order that we should visit these countries? I'm thinking Italy (because I saw some MNL-ROME flights na less than 40k roundtrip), Greece, Spain, and France (France last because it's not included in the Eurail select pass. Pero parang mas malapit yung Barcelona, Spain to Rome, if we're leaving Europe from Rome din.. :s

[letters_to_cleo]

^Barcelona is closer to France than Italy sis. How many days do you have for the tour pala?  I live in Madrid, but for quick visits to Spain, better siguro ang Barcelona as it has a lot more of the "known" attractions, Madrid kasi has only the Museums but medyo not too touristy ang vibe sa Madrid, so mas madaling maging feeling local :-)

[cassie]

Siguro mga 1.5-2weeks lang I have a super draft itinerary, would appreciate comments. This will be my first time in Europe
 
From Manila:
ITALY (4 days)
- Rome
- Vatican
- possible side-trips: Tuscany and Florence (should I make time for these 2 cities?)
- Venice
- Rome
I plan to get an Italy eurail pass.

Fly from Rome to Athens.

GREECE (3 days)
- Athens
- Santorini (I plan to take an RT flight ATH-SANTORINI-ATH)
- Athens

Fly from Athens to Barcelona

SPAIN (2 days)
- Barcelona

Take the TGV (train) from Barcelona to Paris (6 hrs)

FRANCE (2 days)
- Paris

Take the TGV back from Paris to Barcelona.

Fly back from Barcelona to Rome, as I saw some cheap flights via this route through Vueling or EasyJet.

My husband also mentioned Crete sana but saw that Crete is tecnically a whole other country to explore, so baka hindi na lang. I also want Mykonos but saw some posts in TripAdvisor that if you're not into the party scene, ok na to skip Mykonos.

[mama squeak!]

^sis, sorry to dash your excitement but with your IT 2 weeks is not enough unless you and your husband are the Amazing Race type of travelers. Too many places to see but too short a time. Usap kayo ulit ni hubby mo kung ano talaga yung must-see priority ninyo. Don't get trapped in the "since nandun na tayo let's go to ......" mind-set otherwise you'll get disappointed lang if you won't be able to enjoy your trip since lagi kayo naghahabol ng oras.

Right now I am planning another Europe trip for me and my hubby and we will only have 2 weeks off since baka yan lang mabigay na leave kay hubby. Hopefully matuloy na our Tuscany road trip then a 2 day stop in Paris before heading back home.

 

[caterpillar-girl]

^For me bitin yung 4 days in Italy if you want to cover all those places. At the very minimum, I think you should spend 3 days in Rome (1 full day in Rome, 1 full day for the Vatican tour), 2 days in Florence (with side trip to Tuscan countryside), and overnight in Venice. Something like:

Arrive Rome from Manila
Day 1 Rome
Day 2 Vatican tour
Day 3 Rome to Florence
Day 4 Tuscany day tour
Day 5 Florence to Venice, overnight Venice
Day 6 Venice to next destination

Or you could make Venice a day trip lang but I don't suggest that. For only 4 days, I would choose only 2 cities, maybe Rome and Florence. That gives you some time to enjoy the cities, walk around, and not just rush from one "must see" place to the next.

Also try making Paris at least 3 full days. I can't comment on Spain and Greece because I've never been there. 

I think your trip sounds doable, but the pace is really rushed.

Good luck!

[cassie]

Thank you mama squeak and caterpillar girl!!! Sadly, I think this is a once in a blue moon kind of trip bec of budget constraints, so I want to cover as much ground as possible but yes, ayaw ko rin naman yung sobrang rushed kami. I'll talk it through with my husband again

[mama squeak!]

^You're welcome, sis! Just a suggestion if you will be visiting big cities/towns with lots of interesting/must-see tourist attractions try to stay a minimum of 3 nights or 4 whole days. Medyo bitin pa yan but if that's the only time you can spare at least you will be able to take in most of the top tourist attractions.

You mentioned your non-negotiable countries, Greece and Italy? Might as well concentrate on the two first. I am positive there will be a next Euro trip for you and your hubby. Might not be as soon as your first one but definitely in the future.

Have fun planning your trip! Good luck!

[glacy_rein]

hi mama squeak! i remember i asked sa last thread or maybe sa Amsterdam thread yung tungkol sa IT dun but everything's changed since itong si sister ko eh gusto magikot.. we plan to go by oct-nov maybe 4weeks max kaya, kaya?

originally kasi sasama dapat sa pilgrimage europe tour pero gusto puntahan din ang london due to harry potter and sherlock stuff so non-negotiable to maybe 5days-week to kasi london-cardiff and maybe liverpool ang plan and dahil familiar nadin ako dito..

now now sa europe tour gusto kasi namen yung places na like museums and churches.. mas makakatipid kame sa "backpacking" style than "tour" diba? kasi nasa 240k/pax din 3weeks lang yata din to sa nakita ko.. possible kaya??

tickets will be by asiamiles, actually tatanungin din kita pano mag-request ng "reserved booking" palang para sa visa purpose and sa accomodations sa wimdu ang balak namen.. magwork kaya??

Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^Sorry sis can you refresh my memory? What's your planned IT again?

If you have 4 weeks, allot mo na one week for the UK para sulit visa mo. Then the 3 weeks allot mo for continental Europe. That would be more than enough if you'll be visiting 3-4 cities na hindi nagmamadali.
For me I still prefer DIY travel compared to packaged tours kasi hawak ko oras and budget.

For Asiamiles booking, unfortunately they imposed rebooking charges starting last October unlike before na libre pa. Once you book your flights with them, that's it na. Any changes in your bookings, you pay a corresponding fee. So if you just need a dummy booking for visa purposes I suggest get in touch directly with your airline of choice to request for an initial flight booking for visa purposes. Some may charge a fee (minimal) some don't.

For Wimdu, I haven't used this pa but if it's anything like airbnb depende na lang sa T&Cs ng owner/landlord ng apartment if they will charge you for cancellations. Ensure you read the T&Cs carefully before booking. For accommodation bookings, I suggest book muna with a big chain hotel like Marriott, Accor, etc. that don't charge any booking nor cancellation fees. After you get your visa, you can just cancel your bookings without spending a dime.

 

[caterpillar-girl]

I dunno where to post this so dito nalang: aabot ba kami if we want to go to Europe by April kung ngayon palang kami kukuha ng visas for the following: Schengen, UK, Ireland. And Scotland ba separate visa? It's for our honeymoon sana. Naging busy kami super sa wedding preps di na namin ito naasikaso and now it's Jan already. I have had a Schengen and Irish visa before, while my fiance has been to Ireland twice. Abot kaya or gahol na sa oras?

[mama squeak!]

^you will have to get 3 different visas: Schengen, UK (England, Scotland, Wales) and an Irish visa. If you schedule them within this month and Feb aabot pa kayo.

We have separate threads for the schengen and UK visas while there is also an Ireland thread. You may want to check those threads for further info and tips.

 

[glacy_rein]

RE: Amsterdam i asked if sulit lang to combine it with Paris with tight budget.. was planning to go with a friend but anyway baka sa 2015 nalang since im pretty busy and may planned tour din kame ni sister

Going back to the topic..

oo nga pala sayang ang visa kung less than a week so ok 1week na for UK. 

for europe naman my sister's top countries France, Italy, Spain.. ako naman I want to add Greece and Netherlands doable ba to mama squeak? or ubusang pera at nakakapagod? hahaha! we can extend ng 4weeks max for that so total time is 5weeks.. longer than that mahihirapan nako to get back to work dahil by end of dec target is to go to Australia naman.. (Mid-Oct to Nov planned date)

RE: Asiamiles, oo nga sis eh may rebooking fees na.. teka lipat ako sa Asiamiles thread regarding my inquiry here

RE: Hotel, mock booking un sis??

thanks!!

[mama squeak!]

Sis you didn't mention ilang cities per country balak nyo puntahan in your 4 weeks. But if you plan to visit yung mga 1-2 top cities/tourist attractions per country doable sya. Yun lang ubusan pera kasi yung pamasahe na lang hopping from one country to the other medyo mapapamahal kayo. But it's still your trip and if you can afford it why not?

You mentioned you plan to go back in 2015? Why not defer the rest of the countries you want to visit for that time? Maybe do the UK (2 weeks), France and Spain (3 weeks) this year. Italy, the Netherlands and Greece in 2015. Or your preferred combination.

Ideally try to allot 4-5 whole days for the big cities like Paris. Of course the longer the better since there are a lot of things to see here. I'm being a bit biased here since I keep coming back to Paris every time I'm in Europe. My recent trip last October my sisters and I spent two weeks in Paris and yet feel ko hindi ko pa rin naiikot talaga ng husto.

For Italy depends where you want to go. Right now my tentative IT here for March is one week just for our Tuscany tour (Siena, Chianti, San Gimignano, Volterra, Pisa, Lucca), 3 full days in Florence, 2 full days in Venice. Dito pa lang kulang-kulang 2 weeks na kami. So it really depends kung anong gusto nyong puntahan ng sister mo.

Suggest ko usap kayo ulit ni sister kung ano yung mga cities/towns na priority ninyong puntahan. As much as possible try to group the places na malalapit para hindi masyadong mahal ang train or air fares ninyo. Plus if you stay longer in one place you can save more by staying in apartments and you can negotiate a lower rent. 

Here's a Eurail map that can help you plan.