Europe - Backpack or Package Tour??

[gtow]

Hi gals,

Like Alhana, I also dun have patience to lug things around slowly or wait for luggage! Most of all, I heard all these horror stories about pickpockets and luggage thieves in Europe, so we thot it would be better peace of mind to just bring as little as possible.

It's so fun to travel light, once you've done it you will never want to go back to suitcases! In fact I just gave away 2 brand-new hard-case Delsey suitcases which were taking up all the precious space in my store room!

Re: preventing thieves from opening the zippers on your backpack - you can use a combination lock, or else just a split ring (the type on keychains), which is much much lighter than a lock but sufficient deterrent to petty theft. Even if you have nothing valuable, it can be quite a pain to lose something you need such as a map or your travel journal.

 

[gtow]

Hi again,
Just wanted to share some useful tip re: travel journal.

Have you ever met a foreigner who said they had visited your country before, and then when you asked them what places they visited, they couldn't remember (or worse, didn't even know at that time) the names of the places? Or didn't know the names of the food they ate?

If you have a travel journal you can avoid becoming this kind of traveler. Write down the names of the places you visit, your impressions, describe your meals, the wines that you tried, list your expenses... etc etc. The advantage is that it will help you remember lots of things even on the journey itself.

After several whirlwind sightseeing days you may even forget what you did the first day, how much you spent and wonder what happened to all your cash!

 

[aries]

hi gals,

any idea which travel agency is famous for the europe package tour? I'm deciding between trade winds and Chan brothers. Any idea? Please comment. Thanks and have a good day at work..

 

[shook]

Alhana

Initially I oso dun feel comfortable checking in our luggage @ the train station. Like wat u said, I learned fm the postings in the forum dat someone's luggage gone missing b4. When we were there, we saw many people checked in their luggage. So we thot luggage might gone missing depending on one's luck. We oso heard tales of luggage gone missing in some International airport too.

We were lucky on dat incident. My hubby wz v persistent. He kept knocking on the glass of the baggage check in counter. The kinder guy advised us to look for the porter to try our luck. He is actually working @ the counter, not in charge of collecting n releasing luggage. We can't find the porter n my hubby kept pastering dat guy. In the n he gave in, opened the gate n gave us our luggages. If he din help us, we gonna spent a 9 wif wat we wore only. Phew... dat wz close....

We oso met another kind soul @ the train station. We missed a train we supposed to take. My friend (another couple) juz tried her luck n asked dat fellow when is the next train leaving to the plc we wanna go. He said the train he is in charge of, which wz on the opposite platform fm where we were. The train wz leaving in a minute's time. He asked us to run across quickly, he will wait for us.

It wz the 1st time my hubby planned for a free N easy trip (if not due to SARs we would have gone on a package trip). So we wanted something more relaxing. Especially a honeymoon trip. Well, we really enjoyed v much

 

[shook]

Serene

Personally prefer the itinerary fm tradewind compare to Chan Brothers. Find Chan Brothers has too many shopping activities. Well if u like shopping, then choose Chan Brothers.

SA oso not bad. Check it out

 

[gtow]

hi shook,
when did you go on the trip? I went in May, also during SARs outbreak. I wuz very kiasu and printed out all the train schedules ahead of time and made lots of contingency plans.

Even so, there was one day where a train was actually canceled and the station announcer said to take another train to some city and change trains there. Couldn't understand what they were saying (in German) so we had to run around the station and find a conductor to confirm whether we heard correctly or not! But we did get on the right train and reached our eventual destination in time. I think their system is really well run, and most of the intercity trains were v punctual and dependable.

Serene,
Sorry can't really help you cos I have no experience w/ Europe package tours, tho from their itineraries I believe most of them are not worth the money. Too many places, too short a time. You can check the Chan bros website http://www.chanbrothers.com to see what they have.

 

[shook]

Grace

I went in June. Actually booked a package tour leaving in May but many people withdrew due to SARs outbreak. The tour agent gave us a choice to withdraw @ 100% refund or postpone to June. When my hubby checked wif the tour agent early June, there is still not enuff people to form a gp 4 departure. It happened dat another couple I know fm tis forum cancelled their honeymoon to Canada (due to serious SARs outbreak there). They decided to go to Europe. So 4 of us went together in June. Also bcoz of the promotion fm SIA dat we bought the ticket n went free & easy. It wz a last minute decision. Boy, my hubby n me stayed till after midnight everyday for solid 2 wks to study info n plan 4 tis trip. My hubby put in more effort than me

My hubby oso printed all the train schedules. He spent a lot of time doing manual cut n paste on the train schedules. It really came in v useful.

My colleague told me dat the weather in May wz beautiful. Heatwave started to strike Europe in Jun. I cursed n swore on the terrible weather when I wz there.

 

[gtow]

Shook,
Yes the weather in May was quite good (Paris, Benelux, Germany) - nice and cool and sometimes even a bit sunny - but as usual, rain rain rain every couple of days or so. Lucky rain there not like rain in Singapore, otherwise we'd be drowned ducks! There it's just feathery drizzle. Can wear a hat or carry liteweight umbrella - enough liao, heh heh.

Where did your hubby get the train schedules? I went to the Deutsch bahn website. No need to do cut and paste becos they have a very good query form there, just enter date, time range, start point and destination, and voila, got instant PDF which can just print out.

 

[freshpoison77]

hi serene,

i've booked my europe tour wif chan bros for yr end as i found their prices reasonable. my tour departure has since been confirmed and it's filling up fast, perhaps u might wanna check it out but of course, travelling F&E is more relaxing as package tour tend to be a bit of a rush. but my hubby and i both r extremely lazy to plan our holiday and prefer to leave everything to the agency.
i dunno about tradewinds but sa uic and CTC dun hav the same package as chan bros and we r used to travelling wif chan bros plus i find them more helpful and friendly than sa and ctc.
jus my personal opinions.

 

[shook]

Grace

My hubby went to Eurorail website to get the train schedules. We dun have a PDF, dat's y he gotta do manual cut n paste

U r v lucky dat u went to Europe in May. In june, the weather wz hotter than Singapore. Somemore the weather is v dry, so imagine how scorching the sun can b. My lips cracked n bled. Can c fm my pictures dat my hubby, me n my friends r burnt, especially me, v burnt

 

[cherubies]

Hi shook,
I agree with you. I just came back from europe.
rome was so hot that any spot without the sun, the whole tour group would find their way there.

Hi Grace,
yup, travel journal is a must. now when i read back what i wrote, i may have forgotten many places if i did not write them down.

Hi Alhana,
thanks for all the tips for london!

we went to tower of london only and didn't visit hampton court as we didn't want to venture too far and I had bad jet lag (or rather lack of sleep}. But we really enjoyed london. one of the better places we visited in europe.

 

[shook]

Cherubies

U went on package tour?

Guess it is hotter now in Europe than in June. abt 10,000 people died due to heatwave in Paris. Scary....

 

[alhana]

Hi cherubies!

No probs. Glad u enjoyed London...I miss that city

Did you follow the Beefeaters' tour during the trip to the Tower of London? Their accounts of the tower's history is both interesting n humorous. Still remember what our Beefeater said abt Ann Boleyn's coffin. It was too short for her (even w/o her head!) and they really had to squash her body in! The tower must really be creepy at nite, altho they dun do nite tours.

What other places did u visit in London? Visited any flea markets?

 

[gtow]

Hi alhana
I also followed the Beefeater's tour! The beefeater wasn't too friendly tho. He was scowling in the photo that we took tog with him.

My hubby and I stopped by in London only 2 short days (after 1 week in Hungary for a choir competition) some years back. We crammed in as much as we could - the tower of london, harrods, a musical, star wars exhibition, caught a free lunchtime concert at st-martin-in-the-fields, visited Peter Pan in Kensington Gdns...bought a leather jacket at flea mkt from a Pakistani for 50 pounds. Heh heh.

Shook,
The large death toll was across the whole of France, not Paris alone, i think! Can't be so high for just Paris right? But still, the count in Paris of unclaimed bodies was I think 300 the last I heard, which was a week ago. I find it quite shocking to hear that people leave their old folks behind when they go on holiday, and even when they die they don't come back to claim the body and have funeral until their holiday is good and over. The morgues have to keep the unclaimed bodies for 2 weeks before burying, so they are all full to overflowing. Ugh. What's wrong w/ these people anyway!

 

[shook]

Grace
Perhaps I din hear the news properly. I heard something like in France Paris ....... but the news reported dat 300 is offical reported case, unreported case is abt 10,000.... The French r v upset over their govt for not doing something abt it.
Ya boy, how cld those French have such bo chap attitude...

 

[alhana]

Hi Grace

Hehe...we had a v nice Beefeater..he was smiley and joking alot. We joined him for the walkabout coz only the Beefeater will allow you access to the chapel on the tower grounds. Wow, u guys managed to cover alot in 2 Days! We were in London for 7, but only in the city itself for 4..the other 3 days were spent on day tours to Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Stratford, Windsor, HAmpton....v nice. In London, we didn't manage to go to Harrods! Anyway hubby and I weren't really into shopping...we're more into English history so u'll see us visiting all the historical landmarks. We went to Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, Portobello, St James Park and some other flea mkt (can't remember the name now)...really walked till my feet ached! If it weren't so bloody expensive to go to London, I wld definitely go again.

 

[tanlea]

Hi

I am visiting Zurich, Paris, Glasgow/Edinburgh and London in July. Hows the weather like? How do I pack ? And .. how do I get from Zurich to Paris in the cheapest and most convenient way possible ? And the same goes for from Paris to Glasgow and from Glasgow to London?

Thanks for your advice ...

 

[vine]

Hello,

Anybody going for Free and Easy pacakage in Eastern Europe?

 

[icebaby0]

hi vineyard,

I was trying to plan for a trip to eastern europe too and am trying hard to know where to start.

 

[scobido]

Hi icebaby

maybe u can discuss with your spouse and see where both of u want to begin your tour?

honeymoon is suppose to be sweet like honey.

 

[icebaby0]

moo,

already discussed. Finally have a location.
We intend to go Italy and Paris.

So how now? Hahaha. I trying hard to look see..most probably will go next June after my exams before my next module start.

 

[icebaby0]

Any recommendation for cheap bed and breakfast (double with bath) or hostel (double with bath) in Rome, Florence and Venice?
If have, do let me knwo the name of the place, I can check for the pricing later...thanks so much.

 

[tamarind]

icebaby,
Try this website. There are many customer reviews for the hostel, so you can pick the best ones.

http://www.hostels.com/en/findabed.php?ChosenCity=Florence&ChosenCountry=Italy

I have been to Rome, Florence and Venice a few years back, absolutely love these places. I also backpack and stayed in hostels, which I think are excellent, but I can't remember the names of the hostels now.

 

[alhana]

Hi icebaby

Try this website: http://www.eurocheapo.com

They recommend cheap hotels to stay at for all major European cities. You can't make bookings via this website though..they will give you the hotel's website, email addy or telephone numbers for you to make your own arrangments.

 

[seanranger]

icebaby,

i just came back from Italy(Venice,Rome,Florence,Cinque Terre) , Greece(Athens,Santorini) , France(Paris). If you need furthur info, I be glad to help. Just PM your email.

 

[icebaby0]

Hi sean,

You have yet to set ur PM to receive any msges.
My email is [email protected]

Do email me.

Thanks.

 

[novia]

Hi sean, I'll be going to those places you mentioned too! Would you please send me information as well? My email's [email protected]

Thank you!

 

[pinkblusher]

Hi Sean

Do you think you can email me the information as well? [email protected]

Cheers

 

[zoeanne27]

Hi

I am also just back from honeymoon 1 week plus ago. Went Switzerland, Austria and Italy...for 17days.. Backpacking style...

Still very in the mood of travelling... hee hee.. maybe i can also share some info too with friends here

We did not book any hotels / hostels at any cities.. Just when we reached, we went to the tourist info counter n asked for a booklet of all hotels etc.. This book has all the good info.. With it, we searched and selected about 5 hotels, requested to see their room . Many hotels there are actually family owned..& surprisingly, we can still bargain abit. Our budget is to stay at just 2 or 3 stars only.. with private toilet

Ranging from EUR 60-90 per room per night with breakfast...

** it may seem risky to fly there without any booking of the hotels, however, i find it good as we can 1st see the location.

Somemore, i realised, the internet price n walk in price is the same

 

[icebaby0]

Zoeanne,

That's interesting.
Mind sharing with us where u actually stayed? So that we can gauge?

Do u still have the booklet?

 

[zoeanne27]

Hi Icebaby
We threw away the booklet at the hotel already. Cos it too heavy to carry and no point bring home as they will update yearly.

Let me recall the price and the hotel we stay...
Some names are simply hard to remember especially in Italian n Germans langs.. hee hee

 

[pinkblusher]

Hi Sean

Thanks for the details information! You've been a great help so far...

So you reckon I should give Paris a miss huh? I'm still very interested in Rome and Prague actually =) You've managed to convince me to add Venice into my itinerary although you also mentioned that it's one of the most expensive cities

 

[seanranger]

Hi pinkblusher

Have you finalise on where you're going ?
Which airline you taking ?

 

[novia]

Hi sean,

Thank you so much for your email! So helpful! I won't be going to paris anymore. Think we're sticking with italy (rome, florence, venice) and greece (athens, mykonos, santorini and crete). You've been a great help! Esp with your website on the trains and ferries! I had so much difficulty getting the prices. Will prob go on a cosmos/trafalgar tour in italy and then take a flight/ferry/train from rome(bari) to athens(patras). But we'll prob take a flight cos the price is just a little bit more than the ferry plus, we will only take 2 hrs to get there compared to 15+hours on the ferry! Then we won't need to worry about getting from patras to athens...

 

[pinkblusher]

Hi Sean

I'm still in the planning process... looks like I'll most likely go in April where the weather is much better for sightseeing, no point going in Winter as I'm afraid of cold and the days are so short. Don't want to spend my holiday all covered up from head to toe

 

[jaspanda]

hi, i'm new here. I'm planning to go Europe on a package tours offered by CB, SA, CTC... any comments which is better?

 

[cuclainne]

I suppose it would be up to individual preference on whether to travel on your own or on a package. Some prefer travelling on tours because it frees them from having to worry about getting from Point A to Point B, having meals/ accommodation provided for, etc and yet there are some who prefers backpacking as it leaves them with the freedom of doing things at their own pace.

 

[haru]

hi there,
am hoping to go to europe later this year prob in oct (which shld be autumn?) with hubby. i would rather go F&E on our own, just nt too sure if its safe and much cheaper that way? heard some backpackers even book the hotel only when they get there?...am considering Prague, Spain, Italy and Scotland/Uk....any tips?

 

[cheery_gal]

Hi Sean,
Am thinking of gg Italy (Rome,Florence, Venice, Pisa and Cinque Terre) in May. But I read that Cinque Terre is not the normal touristy place, hence, it's not so accessible. How do you get to Cinque Terre? is the place safe? I heard southern Italy is not safe.
You can email me at [email protected]
thanks

 

[racoon]

Hi Sean,

M new here. Seems like u have lots of info about Italy and Greece, mind if u can send more infos about the 2 places to me?? My email [email protected]

Can also pls advice how much was spent?

We intend to go for honeymoon, backpacking during end Oct / early Nov, any advice?

 

[wcharmaine]

Hi Sean,

I would like to go those places you mentioned..

Can u please email me those information.

My Email: [email protected]

Thanks!

 

[dotty]

Hi Sean,

What's wrong with paris? was thinking of going, but it seems from the msg above that it is not worth going. please share.

thanks

 

[seanranger]

There's nothing wrong with Paris. I was just sharing my personal opinion with some of them. It's another big hectic city. Maybe stay 1 or 2 days,it's about Lourve museum, eiffel tower and shopping for branded stuff. My wife and I agree that it's not that romantic there, a bit overated. Heard that southern france is much nicer.

wcharmaine, racoon & cheery gal,
I'll compile some useful materials and email to u in a couple of days.

 

[princess_jasmine]

Hi Sean,

Could you email information on the places you have mentioned.

Tot of gg there..but need to do more research on the place as hubby wants to go with F&E..

My email: [email protected]

Thanks lots!!

 

[racoon]

hi sean,

thanx in advance...

Hi Zoeanne,

can you still recall how much you spent?

Also to both, do you think to go end Oct early Nov is good?

Was actually thinking of going 2 Greece and Italy F & E, how much do you all think needed for about 14 days? We are thinking of DIY...

 

[jozy]

Hi people,

have any of you been to Eastern Europe tour before? What is there to buy from there?

Am undecided between eastern europe and spain & portugal

 

[jozy]

Hi people,

have any of you been to Eastern Europe tour before? What is there to buy from there?

Am undecided between eastern europe and spain & portugal

 

[rtan]

Sorry, I disagree about Paris being unromantic. I think we shouldn't bring along our preconceived notions and expectations. Paris is romantic only if you are there with your wife.

Ok ok mushy stuff aside, we went to Paris for 3 days in May last year, and we loved it. We would have stayed a week if possible. The key is besides spending time at the usual must-see touristy places, take some time to also walk down smaller streets, eat in the St Michel area, explore around. There are many hidden knooks and crannies. We found a store named "No Problemo" with a nice store front; all of us took turns posing there. I hear that a cruise on the River Seine is a great introduction to the City of Lights.

So Paris is romantic only if you venture off the beaten track.

 

[piggersorous]

Hi Raymond

where did u stay in paris? u went free n easy or by package?

Cheers

 

[rtan]

Hi Piggersorous,

We went free and easy; I would never ever ever go on a sardine tour package to Europe. I think those "10 countries in 15 days" packages are crazy, not to mention, expensive.

We stayed at a Formule 1 hotel, because there were 4 of us, and none of us were on our honeymoon.

It is a budget motel chain with basic functional triple rooms and shared toilets / bathrooms.

The next step up is the ETAP motel chain, which has also only triple rooms but your own private toilet and bathroom.

For honeymoons, I recommend the next further step up, which is the IBIS chain of hotels. They consist of standard double rooms with toilet and bathroom. All information on these hotels can be found at http://www.accorhotels.com

I highly recommend that you stay within walking distance from a metro station. If you want to save cost, stay at the outskirts; since metro tickets cost the same whether you travel 1 stop or 20 stops. Naturally, hotels at the centre of Paris are more costly.

The western side of Paris is more upmarket, higher class, and thus "safer". The east and north is slightly more dingy; though we did stay in the eastern suburb and had no problems. We had a Carrefour right below us which we only discovered on our 2nd day; after which, we bought all the nice cheap and good French stuff for our breakfast (think baguettes, croissants, bon maman jam, pate, cheese, etc. etc. yummy!). Southern part of Paris is also fine; there is a large chinese population there so you might feel more comfortable; we did not stay there as the Formule 1 was opposite a cemetry.

For me, I would probably choose to stay at Hotel IBIS La Defense Centre:

http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/ibi/0771/fiche_hotel.shtml

Disclaimer: I haven't stayed there before, but based on my experience in an IBIS hotel in the town of Gap, and knowing that west Paris is the more chic and upmarket place, and it is near the Metro... I think it is a good bet. Better still; if you go between 13/7/06 and 27/8/06, it only costs 59 Euros per room per night! That's really cheap; the normal price is 109 or 115 Euros.

They also allow you to cancel anytime, so you can always make a booking first, and cancel later without any charge.

For the metro, I recommend buying a carnet of 10 tickets for EUR10.50 (EUR 1.05 per ticket). Each ticket allows you unlimited travel distance. It's the cheapest way of getting around the metro; don't fall for those day passes; for most people, the carnet is the cheapest option.

Hope this helps. Do post here further if you have questions on the wonderful city of Paris.

PS: The Louvre (http://www.louvre.fr) charges 8.50 EUR per entry, valid for the entire day. Certain days (Fridays) have late closing times; that gives you more time to wander around its wonderful art galleries. 8.50 EUR is a steal, considering some local museum in Singapore charges you SGD8.00. Note that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. Don't bother to go for the "free" day which happens on the first Sunday of every month; the effort is not worth it (think walking from Orchard MRT to Takashimaya via Wisma on Christmas Eve).