European Tours Thread 4

[^Vain_Chiq^]

Regarding ryanair, yes it's true na they don't weigh your handcarry, as long na your bag fits in the compartment then it will be fine. Make sure din na even if it's a handcarry, me lock pa din kasi they sometimes get handcarried bags and ilalagay nila together with the checked in luggages. Sa checkin, hindi pa naman kami nachacharge sa excess baggage but I heard they're really strict with the weight limits so better not risk instead.

[Happypreggo]

^Thank you sis. I've checked their check-in baggage price its 28€ for 20kg. We will have one big maleta lang about 20kg. Yung bagpack namin which contains the laptop and 3 cameras baka yun yung super mabigat.yay. but definitely hand carry namin sya.i'll try to separate na lang pag sakay ng plane para sure.

[vhanya]

I'll try to post the summary of my Europe trip soon in this thread. In the meantime, I just want to say that sooobrang saya ko when I went to Florence.

I hoarded a lot of bargain stuff from the outlet store The Mall. Tods flats from 85euros. Fendi bag from 1700 down to 1000euros. A lot of prada wallets at 200euros each. Bought some for mom, lola and dad.

There's Tods Miky bag at 350euros na Lang.

Hubby was able to buy Tods loafers too at 200euros. Prada loafers at 150euros. Grabe!!! I want to go on and on but bottom line, you have to spare half day for shopping here if you are in Florence!!!

Brands available are Tods, Burberry, Prada, Dior, Lanvin, Valentino, Gucci, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Hogan, Ferragamo, Moschino, Saint Laurent, etc

Www.themall.it

[little_princess]

^ That's a good deal na sis vhanya! We're targeting to go to Spain or Italy next year so this makes the picking harder!

Anybody tried taking domestic flights via Virgin Atlantic? How was it? We're traveling from UK to Scotland, tamad mag train or drive

[vhanya]

^naku spain and italy. Anjan lahat ng outlet stores hahahah! You'll enjoy it sis. Mom said nga kulang na lang iuwi ko ang mall. I bought some to resell as well esp the wallets and flats

If im in Spain, I would buy boxes of zara clothes from their outlet hihi

[maria_makiling2003]

ask ko lang mga sis i will be travelling to europe paris, brussels, barcelona, madrid and valencia saan ba murang bumili ng mga souveniers like t-shirt, key chain and magnet sa ref and may idea ba kayo kung magkano? thanks in advance 

[Happypreggo]

Hello mga sis.

Our client already booked us a ticket so makastart na din ako to book our accommodation. Not sure pa kasi before sa return flight.

Anyway, found this very nice bnb and affordable din sya https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/440390
tyaga talaga ako to read all the reviews just to make sure. Am just waiting for confirmation

We will be in Paris from Nov1-4, but in the morning ng 4 pa Amsterdam na kami and will be staying there hanggang Nov 5 ng gabi. My dilemma is it better to fly back Ams to Rome or Paris to Rome? Dun kasi exit namin. I thought ok na sa client namin Ams na exit namin mukhang nahirapan ata sa booking.

I don't want to fly back to Rome kasi ng same date ng departure namin ng Nov 6. kasi 10am ang flight. so am thinking gabi pa lang asa Rome Airport na kami. Would you know a cheap hotel near the airport or ok din ba sa airport na lang palipas ng gabi haha planning to book the latest flight out from Rome.

Thanks in advance.

[mama squeak!]

^I would suggest AMS-FCO so you won't be backtracking. I just checked your departure date from AMS and there is an Easyjet flight leaving on the 5th of Nov at 8PM arriving FCO at 10PM. Total fare for two without the extras is EUR131.00

If you're final na with your itinerary buy your air fares na since malapit na your departure date. The nearer the date the more expensive the fares can get.

[Happypreggo]

^i agree. Even our flight from florence to paris nagiba na din though di naman big difference still sayang.

Saw that same flight.will book na din.

Pag mga intercountries naman na plane same din?2hrs before the flight better be at the airport na din?

Our flight kasi from florence to Paris is at 8:55am.

[mama squeak!]

^domestic considered sa mga flights within schengen states so you'll be okay with 2 hours before ETD. Wala naman na immigration so you'll just have to deal with security checks. Kung pwede ka na mag-online check in do it na rin. Your travel dates are lean season naman so there won't be any big crowds sa airport. Well, unless meron mga cancelled or delayed flights.

 

[Happypreggo]

^ thanks so much. Praying no delayed and cancelled flights bilang am super excited haha thanks again. Looking forward for our trip. worth it na mag gtalk super! Ang helpful.

[vhanya]

In Amsterdam, there's this really good Indonesian resto near Museumplien. Best Indonesian food for me!

http://www.samasebo.nl/en/index.php?item=restaurant

We also ate in Season's restaurant. Its kinda pricey but if you reserve online, they have pala an early bird special if you eat there from 4-6pm. Parang 2 for the price of  1 for their 2 course meal =) It's really good here. I love their scallops hehe.

http://www.seasonsrestaurant.nl/en

I really enjoyed the Van Gogh museum. Make sure you go here.

[j.adore]

I'll ask here too. Hope to hear feedback

Which of these airlines would you recommend? All of them have 2 connecting flights going to Germany.

KLM
Eithad
Qatar
Emirates
Singapore

[caterpillar-girl]

^I've tried all those you mentioned except for Qatar. Ok naman lahat. Food is good, at least from how I remember it. And the service is good din naman. Pinakamahal for me was KLM though. For Europe flights I usually go with Emirates or Etihad.

Check din flight times. Ako I prefer arriving at night, para direcho pahinga from a long flight. Then morning na mag start to explore. Some prefer arriving in the morning para di sayang araw. Depends on your preferences and itinerary.

[j.adore]

Ya KLM is the most expensive one. Noted your inputs, thanks a lot!!

[vhanya]

I like SQ best. Make sure you pay extra for the seats near the exits so you have extra legroom and you can stretch anytime =)

[j.adore]

Heard some great feedback from them also though might get Emirates.
Thanks for the tip

[Clair de Lune]

My bf and I are planning to get married hopefully around 2 years from now, and we have decided that instead of spending for a wedding, we want a simple civil ceremony and splurge on my dream adventure of traveling to Europe. You see, we are just ordinary, average-earning employees so, if we want to do this, it has to be thoroughly planned out as early as now. This is a lifelong the dream I want to fulfill before I finally settle down beause realistically spaking, once I have kids, malabo na makapagsave to travel to Europe.

So, my first question is, generally how much would it cost us a relatively budgeted trip? Fortunately I am not into shopping so what we want to do is mostly sightseeing and foodtripping. I'm planning to visit 3 countries -- France (Paris), Italy (Rome, Venice, Pisa) and Greece (Santorini).. if we could squeeze in Barcelona Spain, that would be good too. And what do I need to prepare now for us to most likely get approved a visa aside from our employer's approval and bank accounts? Should I seek the help of a travel agency or DIY lang? I'm not too keen yet on how long the trip will be since I'm still focusuing on how we can financially prepare for this. Your suggestions will surely help!

[vhanya]

You need to determine how long your travel will be because hotel cost adds to the travel expenses. The longer you stay in Europe the higher your travel cost will be.

Finalize the cities you want to visit, the number of days etc and from there we can computer your travel expenses.

[i_miss_sleep]

^^ sis, first determine your priorities. Is it budget or must-visit places? If say for instance your budget for 2 is EU10K then you will have to adjust number of travel days, time of visit (Winter and Spring are off-peak), hotel costs and airfare according to budget. If you are targeting all the places you mentioned in just one trip, then your cost will really be greater than EU10K. Factor in entrance fees, transfers, food and shopping (although you mentioned you're not into shopping, I am already telling you, you cannot resist not spending for souvenirs or clothing in Europe).

If you are the adventurous, not afraid to ask person, then I suggest DIY planning for you. But if you want everything planned for you, go for a travel agency.

I suggest start with a budget and then go from there. Good luck!