European Tours Thread 4

[mama squeak!]

^I love reading your blog too Mama Squeak! =) especially your posts about Bagan and your Orient Express experience.

Thanks sis! Those are two of my memorable experiences as well. Hoping to make more Godwilling.

@clueless_bride, sis check mo the Spain thread. Si letters_to_cleo used to live there and marami syang tips/advices that you can use.

@bibsibs , how old is your grandma if you don't mind my asking. If she's still sprightly naman maybe you can DIY your trip? For 8.6K for both of you, that will go a long way. Marami tutulong sa yo dito to make an itinerary. Tyagaan lang talaga on your part. But if you'd rather go the package tour route, you can check Rajah Tours and compare mo with the other tour package you saw.

Re the tour duration of two weeks, IMO nakakapagod yung itinerary na 7 countries. Parang puro travel na lang kayo. But if you prefer to travel ala Amazing Race I guess to each his own. Balitaan mo kami what you opted for. Good luck!

 

[rowan]

@chili1113 for the st mark's campanille, did you buy your tickets online?

[Chili1113]

Rowan: Nope we just bought tickets there and the line was short in May, perhaps about 15 min wait. It is our favorite campanille climb because there is an elevator so it is very convenient and easy! Oh yeah, the Doge's Palace tour is also nice but takes a long time to tour. The campanille was a very short activity but was totally worth it. Here is a sample from the view above: http://irvinggfm.deviantart.com/art/Venice-View-from-St-Mark-s-Campanile-467633773

[rowan]

thanks chili1113! im going there mid october. as much as i want to buy tickets in advance, we are only staying there for one night so schedule flexibility is a factor:)

[bibsibs]

@mama squeak! She's 67 Okay lang din naman for 3 weeks. I want to DIY this trip nga sana kaso my concern if we DIY this trip is the transfers, the tours and the transportation. Mahihirapan siguro grandma ko mag hila ng luggage niya hehe. Baka kasi mahirap mag hanap ng hotels and how to get from point a to point b. Eh my sister wants to go pa pala to Athens and Olympia. Her budget daw for us 3 is 13.5k for the airfare, hotels, transportations and tours.

[Chili1113]

^bibsibs, if youre travelling with your grandma it might be better if you book a tour. Will it just be the both of you travelling together? If you will be in a big group you can DIY and book a private driver, or even rent a car. But I do not recommend this it is just the 2 of you as it will be costly per head.

 My parents are a bit younger than your grandma but since they are now senior citizens they really prefer to travel on a tour. The only time we will try to travel DIY with my parents in Europe is this October, because we will be hiring a car/mini bus to drive us from one city to another. We can only afford to do this because we are a group of 11 and I think it might even be cheaper for us to hire a private minibus than to join a tour heheh But if it is just the 2 of you, it is better to join a tour.

You can try Cosmos, Globus, or Trafalgar Tours. For more high-end tours you can check out InSight Vacations Tours.

[mama squeak!]

^^You have a point with the luggage especially if you will be taking trains where you will have to take them on board yourselves.    Better nga to extend your trip to 3 weeks para naman hindi nakakapagod maski pa naka-tour group kayo.

As Chili1113 have mentioned try to check out the following tours. Tip ko lang, book with a local travel agent and not online. This is one instance where you can save a little because you can ask your travel agent (if you already have one) for a discount especially if you will be traveling as a group since these tour companies give discounted rate packages to travel agencies as incentive to sell their tours. You can negotiate with your agent especially if you will also be booking air fares with them plus the tour package of course.

[bibsibs]

@Chili1113 I've looked at those sites na and called them. Cosmos doesn't do a personalized tour eh. Okay sana yung what you're going to do na mag rent ng van. We have a problem lang with it kasi my aunt and her friends are going on the third week of august while my grandma wants to go there between first week of june and 2nd week of august because pasukan na ng sister ko mga 3rd week of aug. Eh my aunt doesn't want to move their trip because may cheaper daw if aalis sila ng 3rd week of aug to sept.

@mama squeak! yes I'm looking for an agency wherein we can personalize our trip para yung mga cities lang na gusto namin puntahan yung kasama hehe. I'll update you guys kung ano na decision after. Sana magbago isip ng aunt ko and her friends para dun kami makasabay kasi yung friend niya is a constant traveller in EU so she can tour us 

Thanks for your help!

[juana_antonia]

Those visiting Milan Italy who are into designer stuff, do not forget to drop by at designer bars and caffes- Armani, Gucci and D&G. It is a nice experience.

[ileina]

Hi everyone! I have my UK visa approved and waiting for our Schengen visa. Italian Embassy asked us to go to their main office (we submitted through VIA but they asked for personal appearance). I think wala namang issue with getting our visa but it is taking a while. 3 weeks na so far.

Anyway, my question is on roaming/internet. Did you have your sims (I'm on Globe postpaid) put on roaming? We'll need data plan kasi while in Europe and think maybe it's best to buy a travel sim there?

Leigh

[bzbee]

changed itinerary again. we've decided to focus on just 3 cities instead. this way we get to spend more time on each city and we wont have to drag our luggages that often.

manila to london
4 nights in london
train from london to paris
4 nights in paris
fly from paris to rome
4 nights in rome
rome to manila

medyo sad lang kasi we wanted to visit more places like venice, florence or swiss alps. we'll add na lang in case we get more time off from work. or siguro pag balik na lang

[shygirlme]

Ilang hours train ride from paris to london? Wanna visit london kasi super fanatic ng harry potter husband ko. But for now our plan is to visit paris italy norway and austria. di ko pa lang alam pano ko gagawan ng itinerary.matagal pa naman hopefully on December.

[bzbee]

^ sis london to paris is just over 2 hours via eurostar. ours is march or april 2016 pa but we're planning it now. excited lang

[gj1206]

Anyway, my question is on roaming/internet. Did you have your sims (I'm on Globe postpaid) put on roaming? We'll need data plan kasi while in Europe and think maybe it's best to buy a travel sim there?

Leigh

I don't know what the rates are for roaming with Globe, but I usually find that it's cheaper and less stressful (ie, I'm not worrying about the bill when getting back) to buy a local prepay sim for data. Research what the best mobile providers are in Europe and what packages they offer for data. Otherwise, I use the wifi from wherever I'm staying to save maps data before setting off, and just always ask if there's wifi at all the restaurants/bars/cafes I go into for meals.

[letters_to_cleo]

For prepaid simcard, here´s my suggestion. I live in Eu,  and I use Lebara for my prepaid sim card.  They usually giveaway free simcards at train stations, and then you can load them up at convenience store or in my case, I automatically load a certain amount per month via debit.  Roaming within EU countries is not that expensive if you have an EU simcard (I think 5-10 Euros lang ang 1 GB data plan na roaming) so it is  a good investment,  20 Euros will serve you well na for that purpose.  Plus Lebara has super cheap rates for calls made to Pinas.  So you may consider this. 

[Chili1113]

Hello! I have finally caved and agreed with my fiance to go to Europe for our honeymoon instead of South Africa for a safari. =) We decided that it might be more fun to go on a safari together with a family or friends. Plus, I have to really consider his wishes especially since he will be shouldering the expenses of the honeymoon.

Here is our 2016 Honeymoon Itinerary:

1. Santorini, Greece  5N
2. Athens, Greece - 4N
3. Dubrovnik, Croatia - 5N
....... 1 Day Trip Tour to Kotor and Budva, Montenegro
....... 1 Day Trip Tour to Mostar and Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina
4. Zagreb, Croatia - 2N
5. Istanbul, Turkey - 5N
6. Cappadocia, Turkey - 4N




We will be flying between each city =) I can't wait! Super excited to just laze around especially in Santorini.
   

[ileina]

Thank you letters to cleo and gj! I agree, I'll probably get a new sim for me and hubby while in Europe

[ileina]

changed itinerary again. we've decided to focus on just 3 cities instead. this way we get to spend more time on each city and we wont have to drag our luggages that often.

manila to london
4 nights in london
train from london to paris
4 nights in paris
fly from paris to rome
4 nights in rome
rome to manila

medyo sad lang kasi we wanted to visit more places like venice, florence or swiss alps. we'll add na lang in case we get more time off from work. or siguro pag balik na lang

Hi sis, we have almost the same itinerary. Except that I have 1 additional week so I am visiting Venice (2 days) and staying longer in London. You shouldn't definitely pack a lot of countries/cities in your trip if it's less than 2 weeks. Let me know if you need any help with the itinerary. I'm almost done with mine as we're leaving in 2.5 weeks

[bzbee]

^ thanks sis! glad to know we have almost same itinerary. i'd love to hear about your trip! right now im searching for things we can do in each city for 5-ish days. may I know which hotel/apartment you're staying? buti ka pa you're leaving soon. have fun!!!

[charm0220]

7 days to go before our trip/honeymoon.

May minor changes sa itinerary namen. We will stay additional day in Venice kaya cut short yung Florence namen. We have an Italian friend kasi whose family lives in Venice. he asked us to stay 1 more day pra umakyat ng mountain.

May 1-5 Paris - we will allot 1 day for our postnup shoot.
May 5-7 Venice
May 7- 10 - Florence with side trip in Siena, Chianti, Pisa and San Gimignano
May 10-11 - Vernazza, Cinque Terre
May 11-16 -Rome

Super excited na. Di nako makapagwork heheh.