Advise need to backpack/F&E honeymoon to Europe for begineer

wanling

New Member
Me & my hubby are planning to go bacpack or F&E honeymoon to Europe for 2 week on coming October.

Anyone can give us an advise hence both we're new in backpack or F&E and never been Europe before.

Any couple here interest to join with us as well?

Cheers,
WanLing & KL
 


happy2

New Member
hi wanling & KL

i've heard from many others that F&E in europe is v expensive. hence, the other alternative to F&E + some guided tour in europe wld be to sign up with contiki for the 18s-35s which i've oredi did.

maybe u would like to find out more from www.contiki.com

i've got a few friends who been on this tour and they enjoyed very much as there were lotsa free time on their own even they are on a guided tour.
 

gtow

New Member
Hi Wanling and KL
You can go to Travelex and buy Eurail train passes if you are going to more than one country in Europe and they share borders.
B&Bs can cost as low as 50 euro per night for twin sharing (attached bath).
My best advice is to buy Rick Steve's guide books - you can find at Borders. It will tell you everything u need to know abt F&E travel in europe and how to save money.

Contiki is quite expensive but ok if you like group tours.

I and my hubby did a 2 week f&e europe tour incl Paris & Versailles (France), Brussels & Bruges (Belgium), Amsterdam & Haarlem (Netherlands), Bacharach and Baden-baden (Germany). We spent abt $3000 each including airfare, train fare, meals and accomodation.
 

miracle

New Member
Hi Wanling and KL,

Your posting reminds me of my fascinating tour in Europe. My hubby and I enjoy backpack free n easy so much. I agree with Grace, buy a good guide book and find out more abt the places before u go.

1st we decided on which countries to visit, bought the city maps, booked accommodations, train and flight tickets. Find out the weather and temperature and bring the rite clothings.

I did a lot of homework with the websites and Lonelyplanet city maps. Those maps were really good, showed the attractions and sight-seeing locations, and metro maps included as well. We depended on it most of the time. We did not stay in 345* hotels, but chose the cheap hostels instead. Such a good experience to stay in hostels as we had never done that b4. Met alot of funny funny young people there. I'm very Kia-se and kia-su, booked the hostel through internet in advance, unlike most of the angmohs backpackers walked in for lodgings, ended up fully booked and needed to search for elsewhere to stay. I think that's why we always see them carry sleeping bags on their backpacks.

My hubby and I toured cities of Rome, Paris and disneyland, Bercelona, Madrid, Portugal lisbao, Switzerland Geneva, Luxembourg, Belgium Brussels, Germany Berlin and Hamburg, Poland, London, Dublin, Manchester, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Denmark Copenhagen and Legoland, Sweden, Finland, Oslo, and.....Iceland.

Actually to go on Contiki tour or Backpack is up to individual. Of cos there are some pros and cons. For contiki tour, you don't have to do so much plannings, and it's safer to travel with more people. But prepare to travel by coach and limited visit time allowance for each attraction. Some places only pass by and dun even have the chance to get down the coach and explore. Must pay for optional tour. You must be alert if you go backpacking. It tend to catch a lot of attention for asian people like us. Few of my friends were pick-pocketed and robbed in Europe. My advise is never walk alone on the street. Despite of this, my hubby and I still prefer F&E. Dun have to rush, can see and feel more of the local life-styles, the arts and their cultures. Try out their public transports and the feeling is never the same as taking MRT and SBS. From the tour, it was a real eye-opener for us and we had learnt to be more independant. Also realised how fortunate we were to be in Spore.

Can send u some pix if u r interested. Email me: [email protected]

All the best!
 

blim

New Member
Hi All,
My hubby and I are also currently planning a F&E to Europe! Can anyone tell me what is the meaning of "Cold Breakfast"? We see this description in some of the hotels/motels we're targeting. Thanks.
 

nnyl

Member
hi Wanling and blim

My hubby and i backpacked 2 yrs back in Great britain, we covered England, part of wales and southern part of scotland. We stayed in B&Bs, which provided breakfast. Hot breakfast shld be those english breakfast, w ham, toast, eggs, mushroom and tomatoes (yummy), and hostels which normally provide cold breakfast, just toast and breakfast cereals. Average then was 20pounds per person per night. check the period u are going whether it happen to be festives or their bank holiday. we nearly got to sleep on street in edinburgh cos of bank holidays and it was their annual military tattoo last night. All hotels, B&Bs and hotels were fully booked!

We spent abt $3K each also but really saved on food, ie made sandwiches and ate fastfood for most of the days. Most of your expenses shld be spent on accomodation and transportation. We travelled via rail and walked most of the time since the coah timing is not tt regular unlike s'pore.

advice is that if u plan to travel in scotland, better to join daytour or drive. most of the places of interest is quite far from rail station, partly reason y we cover only southern part of scotland then. I walked average of 5km per day.

trick is to look for accomodation the moment u arrive at the place to dump your backpacks before moving around. Dun bring those luggages if u r not joining tour or self-drive, not easy to move around especially for gals.

Enjoy!
 

april1976

New Member
hi gals! me n hubby doing f&e in europe(munich, interlaken, paris & amsterdam) this june too!we r looking for budget accomodation of 60 euros...is it possible? we bot the eurail select pass from travelex and now looking @ accommodation....
Miracle & Grace, do you still have the names of the hostels and B&B you stayed @? Can share?
 

gtow

New Member
Hi Wanling,
Just had a minute so i'll post here. As the others have mentioned, a F&E trip can involve a LOT of planning if you are (like me) kiasu and kiasee. I spent a lot of time online reading up people's comments on travel sites and forums (like rick steves, frommers, etc) and also read a LOT of guidebooks b4 even deciding which country to visit.

Then after deciding what I wanted to see and eat and do, I wrote down the prices for everything (food, train fare, museum tickets, ferry tickets, souvenirs, postcards, laundry, internet, bus tickets) and budgeted to the very last detail. I still overspent a little bit (food is expensive and we didn't manage to picnic everyday).

If u search in this forum topic you can find my older postings about F&E in europe too.

I planned my trip in very great detail, almost down to the minute!! And yes, we managed to follow our schedule most of the time except when some of the trains got cancelled or delayed, and when there was a transport strike in Paris and we missed our plane back to SG. You have to make contingency plans for this kind of thing.

We ate extremely well even with our budget - many meals were 3 course incl wine or beer. Cost abt 20-40 euro per person (depends on city)!! We saved by making some of the meals ourselves - buy bread, sausages and eggs from grocery store and cook using hot water (I brought a heating element).

But if you are the happy go lucky type and nothing bothers or upsets you, go ahead and buy the airticket and train tickets and just wing it from there. It's so easy to get ard Europe, there are no physical borders between the countries, no need to go thru customs or immigration - just hop on and off trains. And yes, better to carry only backpacks. Train stations there don't have escalators or elevators like in Singapore. You'll get a hernia carrying a suitcase!

During off peak seasons it's also easy to find accomodations. Most of the central train stations have a tourist information booth (marked with a big "i") where you can get free maps, brochures etc and help with booking accomodation.
 

tanlea

New Member
hi grace

mind sharing your intinerary with us?

do singaporeans need visa to visit the different countries in europe?

my hubby and i intend to honeymoon in zurich, paris, edinburgh/glasgow and london ... is eurorail the best and cheapest mode of transport?
 

gtow

New Member
hi blueangel,

My itinerary (roughly):
Day 1-4: Paris (incl day trip to Versailles)
Day 5-6: Bruges, Belgium (with a stop at Brussels along the way)
Day 7-8: Haarlem, Netherlands (with day trips to Amsterdam)
Day 9-10: Bacharach, Rhine valley, Germany (cruises, castle visits)
Day 11-12: Baden Baden, Germany (bath/spa visit, hiking)
Day 13-14: Paris, then back to Singapore.

I traveled using a 6-day eurail saver pass for couples. This allowed us unlimited travel on trains and some cruises on 6separate days (i.e. need not be consecutive days). Costs us abt SGD $600+ per person. This does not include reservation fee for certain trains (e.g. Thalys) If you are below 27 you qualify for youth passes which are cheaper.

Singaporeans do not need a visa to European countries ( at least not those I visited. You may want to check with travel agent again)

Train fares bet London and Paris can be more expensive. Generally everything is more ex the further north you go.

Go to Travelex (Change alley) for trip planning advice on which is the best rail ticket to buy (there are many different types for different budgets and requirements).
 

gtow

New Member
hi again,
one reason we managed to have a small budget was we traveled during the Sars outbreak last year and airfare was rock bottom prices. My airfare (incl 3 nites accomodation in Paris) was $980!

Last time i checked the papers, it's abt $1,300 for similar F&E package.
 

tanlea

New Member
hi grace

thanks for your info.
happy.gif
me urm., pass 27 liao. ke ke. aiyah. aiyahhhhhhhhhh miss the age!

my hubby redeemed his kris flyer miles for 2 tickets to Zurich and fly back from london

so i guess i would sorta be moving in a circle

switzerland (start from zurich)
france (start from french alps)
scotland (start from glasgow)
london (last stop)
 

gtow

New Member
Blue Angel,
Wow that sounds fun! I wish i could go on a europe vacation right now but we are saving up for a condo... still not too sure if it's worth buying a property even at the current low prices -still so expensive! I rather take the money and go travel, keke!!

Yalor i also missed the 27 age limit. Sigh, before 27, no money to travel. After that, got money but have to spend extra, can never win one, i tell u!
happy.gif
 

muppy

New Member
Wah Grace, sounds like you had a great time!

Sniff sniff I also want to go ;( And by the time I have enough money, I will be over 27 liao. They should extend to age 30
sad.gif
 

kite~

Active Member
Hi,

Is it dangerous to go F&E in Europe? Safe?
Also, those of u who went F&E before in Europe, did u self drive? The driver seat is on the left unlike singapore is on the right rite? Thanks.
 

schnauzie

New Member
Here's my 2 cent's worth
It's relatively safe in Europe. But its better not to walk alone at night. We often walk late at night on the streets (3-4 person) no problem at all. In France however, think u should consider jaywalking rather than takin the underpass at night.
Usually in Europe, we do not drive but take rhe rail or coach or ship..;) Think its just personal preference coz parking and petrol is real steep in europe.
 

kite~

Active Member
Hi schnauzie,

I m very new to Europe. If you dont mind, do you have a rough itinerary to share with me? How about the language wise? got problem communicate as we dont know how to speak french. Thanks.
 

lkf

New Member
Hi kite

let me kaypo a bit. It's certainly not dangerous to go F&E in Europe. Just beware of pickpockets and avoid walking in parks, underpass or deserted places too late in the night. can also read up lonely planet or let's go guidebks on places to avoid.

we only drove once in UK. We either walk or take the public transport in cities (metro, tubes, trams etc) and make use of their rails or coaches to go to the suburbs or other towns.
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Kite

I would be going to Rome, Florence & Venice, F&E tour in Jul... extended one nite each in each cities... so coming to 3 days each...

How detail do you want the itinerary to be? to the exact sites we are visiting? Dun think can tell you that yet... still in the planning stage.. if u r also visiting the same place... let me know... can share wif u more then...
 

kite~

Active Member
Hi Yuki,

I m planning to go next year, still in the research stage, abit blur still.

Yes i would like to have some detailed itinerary. Thanks in advance. Btw how many days will u be travelling n how much budget u set aside? thanks.
 

bellebelle

New Member
kite,

I have an itinery that I did when I went to Switzerland and Italy F&E for 17 days. Email me if you're interested in taking a look.
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Kite

Details that I have now:
Rome
1 - Roman's ruins, eg. Roman Forums & Colosseum
2 - City tour, covering Trevi Fountain, Pantheon (provided)
3 - Vatican City
4 - Prepare to go to Florence
5 - Dome
6 - City Tour (Provided)
7 - Pisa
8 - Prepare to go to Venice
9 - Grand Canal Cruise & walking around
10 - St Mark's Square & Rialto Mkt
11 - Prepare to go back

Will be covering more sights but dun quite remember the sights' name now... all in foreign language...

I'm going for 11D9N, tour package is abt $6k, spending probably another 4k lor, so total $10k.. I think... but will try to save abit so that won't be 10k so much lah... but better to plan for more than less mah...
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Blush

Can share where u been to in Italy and how much u spend over there?

Need to do a rough guide also...
 

kite~

Active Member
Hi Yuki,

Thanks for typing out. i believe u are not going on a free & easy trip? join tour group rite? Hmm i was thinking of going free n easy.

Hi Blush,

Yes i would love to have a copy of your itinerary. I just PM u liao. Tks.
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Kite

It's F&E... there's a 3 hr city tour for Rome & Florence... sort of like an orientation tour kinda thing... the rest u r all on yr own...
 

kite~

Active Member
Hi yuki,

oic. i guess u book through tour for your F&E package right? 11D9N for $6k is for both person or 1 person? Tks.
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Kite

No intention to book any other tour for my F&E package, intend to walk on our own... $6k is for both of us... including the additional nite stay for each city...
 

bellebelle

New Member
Yuki,

I'm not sure exactly how much I spent in Italy as I went Switzerland as well. For the total of 17 days, the both of us spent about $7.5
 

bellebelle

New Member
Yuki,

Well, our tickets and first 2 nights hotel was about $2.5 then we went for budget accomodations, SO, no hotels and we don't have private bathrooms. This cut expenses. We also ate at their local cafes, have slices of pizzas on the go, bring our packet meals and eat on train rides.
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Blush

Ya lor, think it's more or less the same leh... mine for the first 2 nites is abt $2.7k... coz it's peak season... after I'll be going for budget accommodation but even that cost abt e70 without private bathrooms @ venice... check out quite a few and we selected the cheapest lor...

Our intention was to eat at the local cafes too... can't afford to eat @ restaurants... but dun u have to pay for the admission to the museums? or bus rides or metro rides around? Did u buy the 3 days ticket or do u buy per trip?

We are also hoping to keep the expenses within 8k lor...
 

bellebelle

New Member
We only bought the tickets for the bus/metro when we first reached Italy and stayed in Milan for about 2 days. Then we did most of the walking and sit 'pa wang che' as in didn't pay for the bus ticket but metro ticket still must buy. If you're interested to know how no need to pay, you can look at the thread for Italy, I mentioned I i did it ;p
 

yuki_ko

New Member
Hi Blush

was it the one abt buying per trip ticket and didn't get it validated or something like that?

soooo... that's u... hahaha..

wow seh... which one gotta Q for 1.5 hrs... i know some of the sites are very popular... so guess, must really know where to get the tickets ya...
 

bellebelle

New Member
The Uffizi (forgot spelling) Museum in FLorence I Q for 1.5hr. The Michaelangelo Museum ( the one that has the famous naked statue of 'David')I didn't Q as the Q was extremely long! but my colleague who was there earlier told me he Q for about 3hr

The entrance fees are expensive. Heartache! but husband want to see so no choice
 

yuki_ko

New Member
wow seh... did noe that Uffizi so popular... saw some pics on tourist guide book... thinking of going but if it's going to be 1.5 hr... think twice liao...

As for the Michaelangelo museum... not very interested since it's mostly scruptures lor...

Hahahahha.. think will cut down on the museum part... but will definitely go to a few MUST SEE kind lor..
 

bellebelle

New Member
Although we didn't go into the museum, but my husband dragged me up a hill early in the morning to see a duplicate of 'David' and also to see the view of Florence from the hill. Quite worth it. The view of FLorence was fantastic although he was more excited over David.
 

katgrrl

New Member
Nov isn't a good time to visit Europe generally. First off, the weather will be abysmal -short days, high chance of rain. Terrible. But on the other hand, u probably won't need to queue for sights, make advance bookings or pay a premium on accommodation. It all depends on what your agenda is...
 

germangirl

New Member
Hi Chelsey,

it all depends on which country you are going to visit. I wouldn´t go to central or northern Europe, but Spain for example is quite nice at that time and there won´t be so many tourists either. Greece can also be very nice in winter.
Or Italy - the more south you go, the better the weather. Korsika and Sardinia are great in winter as well.
 

smileysmiley

New Member
Hi Wanling,

Me and my hubby also intend to visit Europe in September by ourselves. We are planning on going for 3 weeks (doing only Italy and Paris, if we think its not too rush, we might do Switzerland).
So, Wanling, if u r interested, we can plan the trips and share with each other what the other has found. Hopefully, we can help each other this way.
Do email me if u r interested to share the findings @ [email protected]

If anyone could share wher I can purchase passes and suggest the transport that is most ideal for travelling within Italy and from Italy to Paris, it would be appreciated.

Thanks
Gillian
 


andromeda

New Member
hi,everyone. had just read abt the messages ya have posted. cos me and my partner are considering to go to europe. but do not know how to go abt it. wonder if it will be cheaper to back pack or go in group? was thinking of going to italy(venice - b4 it sinks hee..). main aim of going europe is to view thir beautiful buildings/churches. which has a rich history and will be beautiful for photo taking. any recommendation to the places to visit?
 

Top