European Tours Thread 4

[letters_to_cleo]

Shegie!  Visit Salamanca too!  It´s possible to do a daytripper from Madrid, pero better to do overnight.  For me,  it is the prettiest  towns square ever!  I visited it before I went to Brussels, and comparable sila sa ganda ng Grand Place :-)

^ There's Grand Place (pronounced as Plas) in Brussels which is one of the most beautiful squares I've seen. My husband thinks so too and he'd been to loads of places - he's European  din. But then it's very small nga so a day trip or maybe just few hours and then just go to Brugges.

[ms_ldr]

@ms_ldr, correct me if I'm wrong but isa lang ang price ng short stay schengen visa fee which is EUR60. So anywhere you apply you'll be paying this amount lang in Euros. For PHP payments depende na lang yan sa conversion rate on the day of application.

 french consulate dito kasi appointed a visa application center so may additional service fee na around 26 euros. sa hungarian embassy i find it easier to book an appointment and closer to my location.

ill check the eurail map. thanks!

[letters_to_cleo]

^^^sisShygirlme,  yung usual na simcard with 1 GB data plan mga 10 € -20€.  Here in NL,  a telecom company,  www.lebara.nl  gives away free SIMs  you just have to load them at convenience stores.  They will send the SIM at your Eu address, but usually makita mo rin sila sa train stations etc.  So you can just ask.    BTW,  hindi mo naman kelangan naka wifi or 3G para magamit yung GPS functions ng tablets or phones.  What i usually do, I bookmark all the spots I´m going to beforehand, then kahit wala kang 3G makikita mo na sya sa google maps or imaps.  Hindi nga lang magsabi ng explicit directions (like turn left, turn right etc) but more or less makita mo na sa map kung tama ba ang direction na tinatahak mo.  I used this function everywhere in Europe and okay naman, kahit nga sa Pinas ginagamit ko itong function na ito eh :-)  Basta mabookmark mo na the places (through wifi),  pwede mo na macheck ang approximate directions solely through GPS maps :-)

[mama squeak!]

^^oh sorry I assumed you were applying direct at the embassies here in Manila. Wala kasing additional fee if you apply personally. Though some embassies here use 3rd party visa application centers like VIA meron processing fee, not sure lang how much since I don't use the service.

[bonzaigirl]

Mga sis ask ko lang nung nag travel kayo sa europe pano kayo nag avail ng mobile internet service nila? May maarkilahan ba? Gusto ko sana may internet kami lagi eh para kung maligaw may google maps hehe

Hi sis, you can ask maps from the hotel where your staying. Most of the time that's how we travel, the good old fashioned way.  Their maps are actually really detailed. Or you can try what the other sis had recommended wherein you can load it in google maps prior to leaving your hotel. Most hotels and B&B's in Europe have free wifi.  The UK, France and Germany have very good metro rail lines thus public transport was never a problem for us.  It just takes a while before it sinks in. Enjoy your holiday😄😄😄.

[shygirlme]

^thank you sis! Ganyan din dati ginagawa namin sa sg at hk. Nasanay lang kami sa Japan hehe. Hindi pa final trip namin naghahanap pa ko mura airline ticket. Tsaka magandang airbnb place.

[shegie_285]

Maps - you can also download load city guides ng TripAdvisor. May map na doon then  you can save your places. It works via the cellular site lang so you don't need to turn on data roaming. May blue circle din sa map to point your location so you generally kung san ka pupunta. Most European cities available sa TripAdvisor.

Sim - baka sayang kung sandali ka lang sa ibang Lugar dahil magpalit-palit la ng sim. May mga package na you can roam around EU but I thinks it's for post paid plan lang.

Letters_to_Cleo I want to go to Spain nga dahil I am currently learning Spanish. pag may time siguro pwede bumalik sa Spain.

[Noylabmay]

Sis me naka experience na ba ng trip sa Switzerland?

[silveronfire]

i noticed bumaba na price ng airfare tickets to europe for november. i've been putting off buying our airfare tickets for november pa, hoping na baka bumaba pa saying naman... girls, when is the best time to buy airfare tickets if our date of travel is in november?

[Chili1113]

^Sis I suggest you purchase your tickets soon since November is only 3 months away.  Or siguro you really have to purchase at least 2 months before, after that the prices will start going back up again as the month nears.

[shegie_285]

^^ Buy ka na nga as November is three months na nga lang. I was checking prices recently for last week of December (Europe to manila naman), every week tumataas.

I read recently kapag international travel best to book at least 5 months in advance.

[aranses]

i noticed bumaba na price ng airfare tickets to europe for november. i've been putting off buying our airfare tickets for november pa, hoping na baka bumaba pa saying naman... girls, when is the best time to buy airfare tickets if our date of travel is in november?

Nakasale Oman Air ngayon. My sister booked her roundtrip ticket to Frankfurt (november) umabot ng less than USD 600 stopover nga lang sa oman.

[silveronfire]

thanks sisses... i'll buy na before the month ends

[mama squeak!]

^Check mo offer ng CX sa Power Plant. Ongoing buy 1 get the 2nd ticket at $50.00 only tie-up with Citibank. Travel period until June2016. Their booth will be there until Sunday lang.   

[unwantedP]

^sis kelan start ng travel dun sa Citibank-Cathay Pacific ba yan na 2nd ticket at $50? I also got a text kasi, pero October na ang travel namin and wala pang visa so unsure ako if bibili na ba ng ticket or after na i-release ang visa

[shine1120]

Papatulong lang po sana feedback regarding our target IT.

We are not much into museums. Priority is Paris. For our honeymoon tour po.

Day
1 - 3           Amsterdam
4 - 10   Paris
11 - 14     Rome
14 - 17   Venice
17 - 21   Munich

Salamat =)

[mama squeak!]

^^sis, check mo online nilabas na nila. Travel period is Aug 31, 2015 to June 30, 2016.

[sparklingjewel]

This thread has made me the most excited so far! Researching for our Mar/ Apr / May 2016 honeymoon, just enough to give my fiance my mandatories and then sya na bahala to plan the logistics since he has been to Europe a lot more times, halos every year. But it's our first time travelling to Europe together.

So far, my mandatories would definitely include:
- Greece (Mykonos, Santorini)
- Italy (Rome, Venice)
- France (Paris)
- Spain (Madrid & sidetrips, Barcelona) -tentative

Not sure if we can still include Spain since we're only planning for a 3-week trip at most but it's my 4th choice. Same with you girls, hoping to score some promo tickets!

[bonzaigirl]

^hi sis sparklingjewel, based on your itinerary, you could go for:

Rome: 3 days 2 nights. Rome and the Vatican City is quite small. This was more than enough for us. Ours was even a shorter trip as biglaan lang yung trip namin hehe and all of us were on duty the following morning our short holiday (2nights 2 days). But we got to visit all the places we wanted to see in Rome and had our tour of the Vatican City Relaxed pa kami nyan . I read somewhere, na you can bring your wedding dress, and when the Pope gives mass, he will bless you guys or something. Or nasa Honeymoon thread ata yun. Note: bawal pala ang sleeveless and shorts/miniskirt sa Vatican City. But you are free to bring a shawl or cardigan or any coverups and just wear it when your about to go in.

Paris: 3 nights 4 days (or longer depends if you're pushing through with Spain)

Greece: one of our Greek surgeons advised us that Santorini is really expensive. We could spend an overnight there, and visit other islands like Mykonos, Crete, Skopelos (Mamma Mia) and others.  This would be where I would be focusing more time as traveling from 1 island to another  takes time via ferry.

So if you spend like 7 days in Greece, 3 days in Rome and 3-4 days in Paris, that would only give you about 2 weeks, you can still visit Spain, or extend your holiday in France and Italy, even Greece and/ or   visit other towns like Marseilles and Nice or any other town you fancy   I'm sure your fiance will be able to sort it out, best of luck 😊😊

[swit16garl]

Joining the thread! Here's my planned itinerary for November:

10/31 - 11/5: Paris
10/31 - Arrive at 3PM, River Seine night cruise
11/1 - Notre Dame, Louvre
11/2 - Rest, walk around Paris area
11/3 - Day tour to Versailles
11/4 - Rest, walk around Paris area
11/5 - Transit to Prague

11/5 - 8: Prague (Still to be finalised)
11/8 - 11: Basel, Switzerland (Still to be finalised)

11/11 - 11/21: Rome
11/12 - go to outlet in Florence (Space and The Mall)
11/13 - Day tour to Amalfi Coast, Naples and Pompeii
11/14 - Vatican
11/15 - Day tour to Florence
11/16 - Tuscany wine tour
11/17 - Rest, walk around
11/18 - Another tour
11/19 - Rest, walk around
11/20 - Rest, walk around
11/21 - Go home to Manila 

Any thoughts? Thanks!