European Tours Thread 4

[shegie_285]

I'd pick Paris because it's Paris. That's the first city I've actually visited when I came to live here in Europe. Nakaka-wow ang Eiffel Tower. siguro dream ko lang kasi dati ang Paris. Rome because it's beautiful too and I love the food! Ang sarap ng pasta kahit bacon at tomato sauce lang ang nasa pasta. I think you can do France and Italy and just visit few cities in those two countries.

[vainbutpretty]

hi sisssws

doable ba to travel to paris and rome if dolo traveller ka on a DYI and firdt timer in europe?

[melodymedley]

Wow Thread 4 na! 

So here I am again, planning a DIY Europe take 3 happening for 3 weeks from mid-June to early July. Summer and peak season but I don't have a lot of choice kasi yun na ang summer break sa school din. I plan to tour Central Europe naman.

Here's my planned itinerary so far:
Day 0 - Depart Manila
Day 1 - Arrive in Budapest, Hungary. Rest. Some walking then dinner.
Day 2 - Budapest: Royal Palace, Buda Castle, Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, Chain Bridge
Day 3 - Budapest: Parliament, thermal baths, etc. etc.
Day 4 - Budapest: everything else, some shopping, late afternoon travel to Vienna, Austria (2h45 by train). Overnight in Vienna.
Day 5 - Vienna: Old Town,  U-Bahn to Stephansplatz
Day 6 - Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace
Day 7 - Vienna: Ringstrasse Tram & Walking Tour, everything else. Train travel to Salzburg-3 hours
Day 8 - Salzburg: Mozart's Salzburg
Day 9 - Salzburg: The Sound of Music Salzburg. Train travel to Munich, Germany-2 hours
Day 10- Munich (copy mama squeak's Munich IT in the Germany thread)
Day 11- Munich (copy mama squeak's Munich IT in the Germany thread)
Day 12- Munich (copy mama squeak's Munich IT in the Germany thread)
Day 13- Munich to Interlaken, Switzerland (or Lauterbrunnen?) - 7 hours. Explore Lautebrunnen or Grindewald.
Day 14 - Interlaken to Jungfraujoch. Explore Jungfraujoch.
Day 15 - More exploring. Interlaken to Lucerne - 1 hour. Overnight Lucerne.
Day 16 - Lucerne to ?
Day 17 - Switzerland vs. Germany
Day 18 - Switzerland vs. Germany
Day 19 - Switzerland vs. Germany
Day 20 - Switzerland vs. Germany
Day 21 Depart Europe
Day 22 Home sweet home

I need your thoughts from Day 16-20. I've been reading about Switzerland vs. the Frankfurt area in Germany and andami masyado na options. Decision paralysis nako. In Germany, I'd like to explore Heidelburg and Frankfurt. In Switzerland, ummm, ewan ko. I've read about Geneva, Bern and Basel but nothing is appealing to me. Thoughts? Anyone who has done both?

Sa ngayon, nasa $2,300 to $2,500 ang budget ko excluding airfare and pasalubong. Included na yung intra-city trains, local transpo, accommodation, tickets, meals and misc. I haven't done cost comparison on passes pa.

@sis vainbutpretty: Pwede! Ginawa ko ang DIY Europe na solo (and very first solo trip ko) and this thread has been so helpful as a support group din. Tiyagaan lang ng planning and preps talaga.

[ninglovesturquoise]

Hi melodymedley, read your itinerary, and it's very similar to us, at least for the Budapest - Vienna - Salzburg route, after that, we are going to Prague. We are planning to go late March to early April. We've done Germany and Switzerland in 2014 but we were part of a packaged tour. We also went to Heidelberg. Personally I'd prefer Germany but we also enjoyed Switzerland because of the alps and the snow. Siguro you just need to stay a day or two in Switzerland but of course, it depends on what your interests are and activities you prefer. May I ask what airlines you have taken to Europe? Have tried Emirates before, so-so and it seems much pricier ang fare niya compared sa iba. We're considering Etihad, Qatar or KLM. So far, KLM seems to have the best fare and schedule kaya lang parang ang daming negative reviews sa FB page nila so am thinking twice. Hopefully others would share their thoughts.

[Chili1113]

After weeks of finding connecting flights and and reasonable costs I have finally come up with an itinerary that my fiance is OK with. Since it will be our honeymoon, our pace will be much slower than the usual. I had a difficult time finding direct flights, and some flights are just offered 1-2x per week and some are so expensive! But this is what Ive come up with so far:



I- SANTORINI-5 Nights
1-Arrive at hotel in Oia. Sunset and drinks on balcony, dinner and drinks in Oia
2- Hike down and have lunch in Amoudi Bay
3- Catamaran Sailing
4- Akrotiri Ruins and Fira
5- Santo Winery

II-ATHENS- 2 Nights
1. Arrive in Athens, dinner and drinks
2. Acropolis Area

III DUBROVNIK - 6 Nights - Athens x Belgrade x Dubrovnik
1. Arrive in Dubrovnik in Afternoon, Dinner in Old Town
2. Old City: Walls and Cable Car
3. Day Trip: Kotor and Montenegro - Budva
4. Day Trip: Bosnia and Hergezovina - Mostar
5. Day Trip: Lokrum
6. Optional: Day Trip: Korcula

IV BERLIN - 7 Nights - including Day Trips to Potsdam and Dresden

V REYKJAVIK - 7 Nights - including Silfra Snorkeling, Blue Lagoon, Northern Lights, Gullfoss Waterfall, Glacier Park etc.

VI OSLO - 3 Nights --relax and rest before going back to Manila

[melodymedley]

@ninglovesturquoise. Thanks for the feedback sis. I am leaning towards Germany din eh. I'm spending 3 days naman sa Alps so I guess that will suffice - I am not a fan of cold weather. Did you explore other cities in Switzerland?

I used Cathay, KLM and Emirates (not for Europe but for Jordan) - lahat economy. I prefer the service of Cathay. KLM does not have bad service naman but better lang ang Cathay. I think I'm gonna use Emirates, Etihad or KLM for this one kasi 1 stopover lang for my route.

[mama squeak!]

^looking forward to your trip! My next trip will be central and eastern Europe too. Embargo lang ako on long haul flights now as we are undertaking a big project right now. I'll just have to content myself in reading your posts after your trip.

Good luck!

@ninglovesturquoise, I've tried all the airline you've mentioned plus CX of course. I'm biased with CX since I retired from the company unfortunately KLM has the more extensive connection out of Europe. Or you can do a point-to-point origin/destination then take the trains in Europe. Much more fun in my experience

[Chili1113]

mama squeak, I read your blog and saw that you drove through the Romantic Road in Germany!
You think this would be ideal for us to do on our honeymoon in between Dubrovnik and Reykjavik, instead of going to Berlin?

Would you recommend this for us, given that we have already visited Fussen and Neuschwansein Castle in 2012? Or should we go to Berlin which we haven't seen before? I am thinking though that the Romantic road would be nice for our honeymoon, and we can stay in quaint B&Bs and stay in small towns. Although we might be tired of small towns by then as we will be coming from Santorini and Dubrovnik, then going to Reykjavik after.

[luckypal]

Joining in please my husband and I are taking our long-awaited honeymoon this year. We got married in 2014 pa and we were supposed to go to Europe last year but he couldn't get the time off from work, so 2016 is the year we celebrate

We're also doing it DIY style and I found a wonderful website that makes it easier to plan for the trip. Just google route perfect and it can help you build a route across Europe according to your preferences and budget. It's also linked to tripadvisor for the hotels, so you can see the reviews as well.

This is the route I have planned out for mid-Sept to mid-Oct:

1. Madrid, Spain - 3 nights
2. Barcelona, Spain - 5 nights
3. Carcassonne, France - 1 night
4. Arles, France - 3 nights
5. Nice, France - 3 nights
6. Milan, Italy - 2 nights
7. Venice, Italy - 1 night
8. Florence, Italy - 4 nights
9. Rome, Italy - 5 nights

It's not yet set in stone but I think this is pretty much it. We just plan to take the train to go everywhere and I have to read up more on what to do in each area but it seems easy enough to travel around Europe using the rail pass.

[mama squeak!]

Hi, Chili1113,

Yes, the Romantic Road tour was something else! It was such a fun trip for us.

Looking at your itinerary and seeing that you have been to Neuschwanstein probably you can look at doing the Fairy Tale Route instead? Since you intend to visit Berlin, you can drive to Hannover and pick up the route from there. You end your tour either in Bremen or Hamburg and get a flight to Reykjavik from there. The Romantic Road tour is a bit out of the way as it starts in Wurzburg and goes south all the way to Munich.

@luckypal, we loved Carcassonne! You can actually do it as a day trip from Toulouse (if you haven't been there yet). Carcassonne is small lang and you can see the walled city in half a day. If you really want to spend a night there, get the whole experience by staying inside the city walls. The Hotel de la Cite Carcassonne is a nice hotel. Oh, and say hi to the big, fat ginger cat in one of the artisan shops there.

 

[luckypal]

^mama squeak! thanks for your suggestion! This is why I join forums because I get so much awesome advice from members who are so generous with their knowledge and experience 

how many days do you suggest we stay at Toulouse? Is it better to stay in Toulouse instead of Carcasonne?  Also, I was thinking of staying in Avignon instead of Arles... still debating though. This is our first trip to Europe so any suggestion is very much welcome thank you very much!

[ninglovesturquoise]

@melodymedley, for Switzerland, we only went to Lucerne and Mt. Titlis. Okay naman, it was our first time to see snow haha so that was a memorable experience although I felt Switzerland was the priciest of all the cities we went to. Happy planning! Thanks for the feedback on the airlines. Agree with you and mama squeak, Cathay is still the premium airline. I haven't tried it for long haul wala kasing direct in some of the routes.                                                                                                                                                                 @mama squeak, thanks for sharing your thoughts, agree with CX but seems not an option for the route we want to take and since I'm travelling with my parents, best ang less transfers, gusto nga nila sana point to point Okay na sa akin kahit na hindi best service as long as I get there on time, worried lang ako sa connecting time ng KLM Mla to Budapest via Amsterdam, 1hr and 50 mins transfer in Amsterdam, although the agent said that's enough time since they're in the same terminal. Do you think it's a good idea to buy the ticket na? Haha, USD1,045/pax Mla-Budapest then Prague-Manila, sayang kasi but we don't have a visa yet just fnished the interview today.                                   

[melodymedley]

^IMO, I think 1h50m is enough for transfer in Amsterdam airport. Ganun din yun sa trip ko dati, kaya naman.  Yung mga maps sa airport nila, pinakamatagal na estimated walking time is 25 minutes from one terminal to another. Pero very distracting sakin ang mga shop sa AMS airport - andami! hehe. I hoard the stroopwafels sa mga stores doon.

[Chili1113]

mama squeak: Thank you so so much for the advice!! =)  I am so excited to explore the possibility!!!! This is fantastic. I checked skyscanner and found a flight from Hamburg to Reykjavik on the day we are due to arrive there. The airfare is a bit expensive though. But I really love the idea of driving to Hamburg from Berlin via the Fairy Tale Route you suggested.

Thank you!! I really appreciate the help!

[shygirlme]

^IMO, I think 1h50m is enough for transfer in Amsterdam airport. Ganun din yun sa trip ko dati, kaya naman.  Yung mga maps sa airport nila, pinakamatagal na estimated walking time is 25 minutes from one terminal to another. Pero very distracting sakin ang mga shop sa AMS airport - andami! hehe. I hoard the stroopwafels sa mga stores doon.

pareho tayo nakakadistract ang shops sa Amsterdam! sis good time na yan ganyan din dati time ko pero nakapamili pa ko ng perfume (ang sarap mag hoard ng 40euros for 2 na perfumes!), raybans at longchamp sa ganyan time haha! pagpasok ko ng gate boarding time na ninja moves daw ako sabi ng officemates ko hahaha! TIP sa mag KLM kuha kayo ng flying blue. big help sya lalo pag matagal pa next flight mo free use sa lounge tapos priority lane pa. masarap mauna sa plane.

[mama squeak!]

@luckypal, at least two nights based in Toulouse so you can do a half day trip in Carcassonne. Would you be interested in visiting Lourdes? If you are, I would suggest the following itinerary in order of cities to be visited:

3 nights Madrid
3 nights Barcelona
3 nights Toulouse with day trips to Carcassonne and Lourdes
3 nights Arles with day trip to Avignon
2 nights Nice
2 nights Milan
2 nights Venice
4 nights Florence
5 nights Rome

It's a bit tight for my preference but doable naman. Try to compare also the cost of point to point train tickets as compared to a rail pass. With rail passes kasi you will still have to book and pay for seat reservations for specific trains i.e. speed or overnight trains.

@ninglovesturquoise, answered your PM   Re connecting times between flights, the standard minimum connecting time (MCT) in AMS for flights within Europe is 40 minutes. So the 1h50m is more than enough  time. Wag ka lang ma-distract sa shopping! Lol!

Try to check out the upcoming travel expo at SMX on Feb5-7. You might find good deals there.

@Chili1113, excited for your trip! Let us know how it went. Good luck!

@melodymedley, ako naman walang kamatayan na cheese! But I buy on my way home na.

[ninglovesturquoise]

@melodymedley and @shygirlme, thanks for the feedback, much appreciated, at least mas kampante na ako. Heard nga Amsterdam has one of the biggest airports in Europe. Ang funny ng kuwento mo @shygirlme, ninja moves nga! Coming back 5.5 hours ang stopover sa Amsterdam so puwedeng mag-shopping! Thanks so tip sa flying blue, nag-sign up ako doon dahil excited to buy the ticket haha..oh well.

Nakaka-tempt na kunin yung ticket pero wala pang visa ... sana the price is still the same next week.

[shygirlme]

^^naku sis ako ginagawa ko chinecheck ko online nakasale sa Amsterdam airport para alam ko na bibilhin ko lagi kasi pabango target ko don. tsaka rayban shades hehe. ok lang yan sis ayos pag may flying blue eh

[mama squeak!]

^you probably have Flying Blue elite status (Silver and up) or you flew on business class? For entry level (Ivory) Flying Blue members, you don't get free access to the lounge nor priority boarding.

[shygirlme]

^I always fly economy lang sa KLM. I have flying blue petroleum. 2x ko sya na gamit sa lounge.