European Tours Thread 4

[foxymom]

^thank you for the tip! can we skip florence altogether then? and just stay in milan to nearby places? can we do a day trip to lake como?

our itinerary is frankfurt - prague - vienna - budapest - florence / milan  dapat...

thank you for the tip re budapest! what are the must see there? the tourist bust pass gives you unlimited ride on their public transport?

[mama squeak!]

@foxymom, what's your IT again? Baka you can tweak your IT in such a way that you won't be back tracking.

Aside from Wizzair, Ryanair also flies direct from Budapest to Milan although landing in Bergamo. It's an airport an hour away from Milan's city center. If you go this route you can catch the regular airport shuttle which will cost you around EUR5/one way to get you into the city center.

You mentioned you will be going to Florence from Milan? My best bet would still be to go via night train. I just made a mock booking (for June since October bookings are not yet available) for Budapest to Florence in first class. There is a train leaving at 4PM (or earlier if you want a longer connection) arriving Vienna at 6:45PM to connect to the Euronight train leaving at 7PM for Florence. The train arrives Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station at 6AM the following day. The cost if you can get the promo fare in 1st class will set you back around EUR300-350 for two persons na.

Another suggestion is fly Budapest to Rome, then train Rome to Florence. At least with Rome (FCO) it is a bigger airport so you more choices from low cost to premium carriers flying the route. To name a few, Vueling, Alitalia, Wizzair, Ryanair and Iberia. The train travel from FCO to Florence via Roma Termini is roughly 2.5 to 3 hours (depending on the train).

 

[vhanya]

Foxymom

You can visit Lake Como for a day. What we did is sign up for a Viator day tour to Lake Como - all in na including bus and ferry ride We saw George Clooney's villa and that famous villa from Star Wars/Casino Royale movies. Also, you HAVE to visit the Last Supper. It won't be there forever.

Florence is an entirely different experience. It depends on how
many days you have left kasi. It's just 1.5-2 hours train ride from Milan. You can do 3 days in Florence for the must sees and of course the wine tasting experience

In Budapest they have the unlimited hop on hop off (HOHO) bus ride. This is more economical and really cheap than taking the cab and tram. All must see places are covered by the HOHO stops including the panorama view of the Hungarian Parliament and the Buda Castle. These two sights for me are the must visit places and of course the public baths and Fisherman Bastion all covered by the HOHO tour bus.

[foxymom]

thank you!!

@mama squeak -- this is our planned 17 day itinerary, we are taking cathay pacific by the way

1. frankfurt - 1 day arriving at 6:35am overnight stay. we will stay overnight since Czech air
                 flight to Prague departs at 9:25am. im worried to get the same flight since we still
                  need to get our luggage, clear customs, and checkin again
2. prague - via plane from frankfurt
3. vienna -  via train from prague
4. budapest - via train from vienna
5. florence
6. milan

this is our ideal route. we have 2 full days budapest & vienna (is that too short?). my sister & i really want to passby florence for the shopping and well the sights (pero shopping talaga). but if its too much of a hassle, im just thinking of dropping florence, add days to vienna & budapest, stay longer in milan and visit lake como.

suggestions?

[vhanya]

For me too short yung 2 full days for Vienna and Budapest. Super bitin. We did 4 days in Budapest and 3 full days in Vienna.

Milan, you can do 1 day for the city and Last Supper visit and then another 1 full day for Lake Como tour.

Another option would be to go straight to Florence from the Malpensa airport in Milan. There's a direct train but limited time OR you can take the train from the airport to Milano Centrale and then take the train to Florence.

http://www.trenitalia.com/homepage_en.html

[foxymom]

@vhanya

thank you for the tips! if you dont mind, how long was the viatour trip and cost? how many people in the tour group?

in budapest, i was able to get an apartment in the middle (hopefully) very close to the chain bridge. is that an ideal location? are the places you mentioned near that area?

[vhanya]

foxymom

We were 20 in the tour group. Not too many and it's well-paced naman. This is the tour we took:

http://www.viator.com/tours/Milan/Lake-Como-Day-Trip-from-Milan/d512-2872ZV07

If you are near the Chain Bridge, that's very central. Madaming stops jan yung HOHO bus =) Btw, we took the Big Bus Tours. Marami kasing bus tour companies yan. Big Bus is newer and has a lot of buses. This is the bus route:

http://eng.bigbustours.com/UploadedFiles/Budapest_Map_Jan_15_201501120515.pdf

[mama squeak!]

@foxymom, I'll tweak your itinerary a little ha. Here's how I'll do a 17-day trip:

Day 1    Arrive FRA and stay overnight at a hotel near the airport.
            After checking in at your hotel, hop on the train to see a little bit of the city.

Day 2    FRA-PRG via Czech Air
Day 3    Prague
Day 4    Prague
Day 5    Prague (whole day).
            Take the overnight train EuroNight at 11PM to Budapest. A 2-bed sleeper compartment with
            private washing facility will cost you approximately EUR150 for two persons.

Total: 4 full days in Prague

Day 6    Arrive Budapest at 6AM.
Day 7    Budapest
Day 8    Budapest

Total: 3 full days in Budapest

Day 9    Take morning train to Vienna. Train travel from Budapest to Vienna is roughly 3 hours.
             Arrive Vienna in time for lunch.
Day 10   Vienna
Day 11   Vienna
Day 12   Vienna. Take the overnight train to Florence at 9PM (connecting at Venezia Sta. Lucia Mestre).

Total: 3 full days in Vienna

Day 13   Arrive in Florence at 10AM.
Day 14   Florence
Day 15   Florence
Day 16   Florence to Milan via train. Train travel is roughly 2 hours.
             Overnight at a hotel near the airport.

Total: 3.5 days in Florence

Day 17   MXP-MNL


It's a little bit too hectic for my style of travel but definitely doable. I haven't been to Budapest yet but vhanya is correct ideally try to spend at least 4 full days there so you get to visit most of the attractions. I heard there is a certain old statue there that looks like Woody Harrelson.

Vienna, I love Vienna! I was fortunate enough to visit for a little over a week when hubby was on training. For me ha medyo bitin pa ako sa one week but if you just want to see the major sights pwede na 3 full days. Don't miss the Belvedere where you'll find Klimt's painting The Kiss. On shopping, if you like Swarovski, this is where you can hoard since it's from there.

I bypassed Milan altogether since your concern is to get to Florence (for the shopping!!!). You have 2 full days to see the city while one whole day to go to the outlets. Or skip the city and just shop! Haha! Kidding aside, you have to see Florence. It's a sin to go there and not visit the attractions.

I'm so inggit! No Europe trip for us this year   Hopefully next year.   

Enjoy your planning!

 

[foxymom]

thank you mama squeak!! ooohh mukhang okay ang itinerary mo if we will stay in florence... actually this trip is the most hectic we will ever have, we usually stick with 3 cities... i hope im not making a mistake!

i checked vhanya's suggestion re lake como -- parang ang ganda nga! so i tweaked also our orig itinerary and this time skipped florence since its such a hassle to go to. are the overnight trains safe and comfortable? im travelling with my mom... and a friend was robbed before thats why im scared to try it

my tweaked itinerary
OPTION 2         
DAYS   OCTOBER      
1   15   leave manila   
2   16   arrive frankfurt (overnight)   
3   17   leave frankfurt / go to prague    
4   18   prague   
5   19   leave prague / go to vienna   
6   20   vienna   
7   21   vienna   
8   22   vienna   
9   23   leave vienna / go to budapest   
10   24   budapest   
11   25   budapest   
12   26   budapest   
13   27   leave budapest / go to milan   
14   28   milan - city tour / last supper   
15   29   milan - lake como   
16   30   milan - outlet mall   
17   31   leave milan / go manila   

[foxymom]

^oh we've been to prague already and will just take my mother & sis to see the sto.nino almost 2 full days seems enough crossing the charles bridge and see the castle

[vhanya]

mama squeak

We are going back to Europe next year! I can't this year coz I'm pregnant so Asian destinations lang ako for safety and convenience =)

Here's our itinerary (not yet final)

London - Madrid - Barcelona - Florence - Lucerne - Zurich - Munich - Frankfurt - Luxembourg - Paris - London

Target month would be April-May 2015. That would be a month-long trip again hehe. We're just going to shop in Florence since naikot na namin last Sept. So baka overnight lang siya. =)

foxymom

My fave cities are Prague, Budapest and Amsterdam. Prague is really small and very walkalble. You can do 2 full days lang if just for the castle kasi nakarating na pala kayo before =)

[Redshey07]

Hi foxymom where do you plan to take the overnight trains ba? Budapest-Vienna-Prague ba? last summer I've been in these three euro capitals including Bratislava.. umaga palagi kami nag travel non. In my humble opinion you better take a bus, kase mas mura at mas mabilis kase non-stop siya. Nagtrain Lang ako from Bratislava- Vienna it took only 30 minutes to reach the Austrian capital. Suggest ko yung site ng bus na sinakyan ko mura kase kapag maaga mag book or kamukha saken last minute siya as in the day when i was supposed to travel na from Vienna to Prague .

http://www.studentagencybus.com/

For 3-4 hours travel sa bus 9 euros lang ticket ko. mura diba. Usually 29 pinakamura .kapag train naman nasa 60-100 euros.
Sa italy safe mag overnight train lalo na kung yung mga bagong train ang sasakyan mo like Eurostars Frecciarossa trains or Italo Treno trains. mabilis mga yan kaya don't skip Florence sayang from Milan to Florence nasa 1.5 hours lang ang travel time. Kayang kaya.. Sa Como Lake pwede mo na isama sa Milan Tour mo yun.  malapit lang yan sobra at half day kasya na.. sakay kayo ng bangka or cable punta sa taas ng Como kung san makikita niyo ang Italian/Switzerland Alps at ang Switzerland boundary.

Buon viaggio

[mama squeak!]

@vhanya, congratulations on your soon to be addition! Lots of shopping for baby stuff! 

Same with you, hubby and I are doing Asia this year. I'm excited for your month long European vacation. Balitaan mo kami ha. Hopefully next year we'll do Eastern Europe. I've always been wanting to visit Romania and Slovenia. Crossing our fingers!


@foxymom That would work too.    I would add one day in Prague and minus one day from Vienna though.

As to safety, so far we felt safe naman in our compartment during the trip. For overnight trains, we always get the 1st-class 2-berth sleeper compartment para solo namin yung compartment. For the 1st-class sleeper compartments the cabin attendant is always present to check if everything's okay. Of course naka-lock lagi yung door namin and hinaharang namin our big bags against the door for added security.

As to comfort, definitely more comfortable yung mga berths compared to the reclining seats. As to sleep quality, kami okay kami since para kang dinuduyan.

 

[foxymom]

thank thank you for the tips!!

@mama squeak - i will show my family our 2 options so that we can all decide if florence is worth the trip thank you again and will message you again ha!

@vhanya - naku same tayo! prague is my fave city, and i am hoping budapest will be as good as they say can i ask for a list of top destinations there? is the prada space / the mall outlet really worth the trip? have you been to the seravalle outlet / foxtown outlet near milan? is valentino there? hehe

@redshey07 - thank you for the tips! will check on the bus trips you mentioned

[vhanya]

foxymom

I've never been to the Seravalle outlet but I've been to The Mall outlet in Florence and nagwala ako dun! 1 maleta full of bargains from shoes, to bags, to wallets lols! We are going back next year.

Budapest is as magnificent as Prague but bigger!! Make sure you go to the top of the hill so you can get a panoramic view of the Buda castle and Hungarian Parliament along Danube river =)

[foxymom]

^acckkkk.... !!!

[cream_puff11]

Hello sisses! Sharing my (and hubby's) iti haha. Ouf flight is on saturday na hihi

March 21 Manila-Paris
March 22-25: Paris
25-27: Amsterdam (siningit lang because I have relatives in Netherlands and they insisted na sundo nila kami Paris at itour; so from 25-29, care of ang aming tour)
[25- Day trip to Bruges (stopover on our way to AMS)]
28 - Day trip to Rotterdam
29- Day trip to Antwerp then Thalys back to Paris at night (grabe to dahil nga biglaan lang ang mahal tuloy ng nabook naming train hmpf)
30-31 Paris (shopping then late train to Venice)
31-April 2 - Venice (then afterlunch train to Florence)
April 2-4 - Florence (late night train in Rome)
April 5-7 - Rome
April 8 - early flight back to Manila


First time!!! So excited! Sa shopping!! haha kasi ang baba ng euros. Where to buy Chanel kaya mga sisses? Paris or Italy? Yung mas madali mag tax refund hehe

[vhanya]

^Paris for Chanel although I would go there as soon as the boutiques open. Ubusan kasi because of the Chinese tourists. They go by groups and they snatch items from you  😣😣

I would also visit Chanel in Florence. Good luck with your trip! Ang baba ng euro ngayon dami ko napabili from my cousin who just arrived from their winter Europe trip 😊☺️

Happy shopping!!!

[cream_puff11]

^ thank you sis vhanya i already got my first chanel, its a classic jumbo flap shw for 3950 eur and the sa told me magtataas sila after 10 days ng 1000 eur for the classic.

I am really enjoying this european trip haha. So far nasusunod ang itinerary. But I dont like paris. I like netherlands more. later shopping ulit. Shopping lang ata masaya dito. We did not also enter museums, we find it boring.

Surprisingly, konti ang chinese (no offense). Wala pa rin kami naencounter so far na masasamang loob. Pero wag na sana all through out. Nagenjoy kami manood and makinig sa mga street performers hehe.

Netherlands is really breathtaking and mababait ang mga tao they also speak good english i like it there. Sana pala amsterdam na lang binook ko for December. Okay narin paris para makapagshopping haha pero ayaw na ni hubby dami ko na raw nabili. Nakaamoy din ako ng cannabis sa Amsterdam (which is common) lakas eh haha. Ang bango pala hahaha! We also encounter pretty and ugly prostitutes sa red light district. Pinupush ko si hubby itry 50 eur lang e bwahahaha! Kaso ayaw niya kainis!

[letters_to_cleo]

^Uy I saw your iti today is Rotterdam, hello! I live here in Rotterdam!  I am not sure if naabutan mo but may weekend market sa Blaak near the Cube Houses. Enjoy!  And go try Dudok's famed Apple Pie! (Their resto-bar is in Beurs, sa shopping street but meron ding Dudok shops sa Rott Centraal Station. Enjoy NL!  Maulan ngayong weekend though, bedweather talaga haha!