Queries on Europe Tour planning!

panggou

New Member
Hi all, our AD is in Dec this year. Planning to go Europe for a tour. May I know, is there any pros and cons with going this period?

Should we go Free & Easy or with tour packages from Singapore?

I have tried to do my homework like reading Dummies for Europe, website, and things like insight, trafalgar, contiki, cosmos...

is this recommended?

Sorry i am really lost. can someone please advise me?
 


sharon__joseph

New Member
winnie,
i m as lost as u & hope someone can help.. i plan to go during next lunar new year (29 Jan 2006) & think its winter then...
 

panggou

New Member
Hi Sharon, yeap i am very very lost, thus hoping that someone can help me about this. I dont even know if going from local package is cheaper or not.
 

lkf

New Member
Hi

It's winter during that period. The weather is gloomy and cold with short daylight. Sunset will be around 4 pm (it will look something like our 8,9 pm). I think places like spain and portugal could be slighly warmer than the eastern europe, UK and France.
 

panggou

New Member
Hi, lkf, yeap, i know, the weather may not be very good, but better the only time i can go is dec, sigh.

do you have any advice on tour package?
 

linksys

New Member
Hi all,
It's best to travel F & E, and if need be, join land tours when you get there. You can find tour info from the hotels so thats not a problem.
Otherwise, you can venture out on your own like what I always do. Just have a rough idea of where you want to go, what you want to see, and then ask around when you get to the hotel. That way, you will get a real experience of the country, and not just a "tourist" experience.

Sharon,
it's colder in Jan/ Feb as that is the later part of winter. However, winter is Europe is not too harsh, unless you are considering going to countries like Russia etc. France, Italy etc are pretty ok, i feel.
 

lkf

New Member
Hi Winnie

If you ask me, i wld prefer free & easy. I had only been on a group tour once (to eastern europe, in dec too). Like wat linksys has suggested, do more research. Because it's in winter season you will be travelling, the short daylight will kinda restrict your activities (museums/attraction usu close earlier) but this can be overcome by detail planning. accomodation will also be cheaper during the winter season.
 

butterkiss

New Member
Hi hi...
How will the weather be like in Sept/Oct?
Any advise on which European country is better (in terms of sight-seeing and food)?
 

linksys

New Member
hmm, dec shd be ard -5 to 5 deg or so, depending on the country. Also, some countries are more rainy than others during winter, so you might want to consider that when choosing which countries to visit too. I know England winters are gloomy and rainy, but its diff in ctries like Germany, Switzerland.

Hi butter,
sept/oct is a nice time to go travelling. Weather is cool, probly ard 10-20 deg. If you go towards late Oct, you will be able to see the autumn foliage. German food is not bad. Most European ctries have lots of soups and salads, so if you want something light, that shd work.
Sights- wise, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy are great. Just a note, Switzerland is the most expensive place tho.
Depending on how long you are gonna be away, you can actually go to all the ctries mentioned above, except mabbe italy. You can have bfast in germany and dinner in austria, for eg.
 

butterkiss

New Member
hi linksys,

Thank you for the tips! U seems to be very "expert" in these European countries!
I will keep what you say in mind... Going to NATAS fair this weekend. Can't go F&E coz this is my hubby and my first time going so far....
 

panggou

New Member
hi linksys, thanks, but the 5 degrees is really someting i have to consider hehehe cos i hate cold country!!
 

linksys

New Member
Butter,
no prob, glad to help out. No lah, i have been to Europe quite a number of times since i was young, with and without family, and I always travel F & E.

Winnie,
But i thought u want to go europe during dec? thats abt the average temp. 5 deg is not that bad. I personally prefer to travel in cold weather cos you'll feel less tired and lethargic. And walking around is more comfy too.
 

panggou

New Member
Hi Linksys, may I know your opinion on the Cosmos tour?

Yeap I wanted to go in Dec cos it is right after my AD, but the temperature really deters me, but i think still have to go when you still have the HM mood hehehe. i hate cold weather cos i am the opposite leh, i feel tired in cold weather and i can sleep and sleep and sleep hehehe.
 

linksys

New Member
Hi Winnie,

I dun know much abt Cosmos tour. Perhaps you can email them to find out more?

Dun like cold weather? What abt going to Aust or NZ instead?
 

panggou

New Member
Hi Linksys,thanks for the reply. Was thinking can leave NZ and Australia to the later trips with family since they are nearer. But i know dec is a good time to go NZ right?

sorry i am so contradicting.
 

och

New Member
hi,

hope u don't mind me joining in.

hi winnie,

i think it's quite common to have conflicting ideas during honeymoon planning.
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if u r worried abt the cold, italy, greece, spain n portugal r a bit warmer than the other countries. which countries r u considering now?

like linksys, i also like to travel in winter. the queues for most sights r shorter n accomodations r cheap n readily available.

btw, u can drop by national libraries to borrow the guidebooks there. they have a wealth of information about planning for european trips. i personally like rick steves and lonely planet guidebooks for europe lah, but there's a big selection lor.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi ladies

I think you don't have to fear travelling F&E in Europe coz most of them have great transportation system and are pretty tourist friendly. My first trip to europe was F&E (went to UK and Paris) and we got around just fine. Yeah I know in UK everybody speaks English so its not a problem, but we did survive Paris, and I know friends who did F&E in other European cities (like Spain, Italy, etc) and it wasn't a problem. The key is to do your homework before you go.

Guidebooks are good and all, but my main source of info was the internet. They have rail schedules, bus routes, city maps, plane schedules, tube/metro maps/schedules/routes, opening hrs of attractions and ticket prices etc ..everything you need to know! I tell ya...the internet is a god-send. A great travel website with a great forum to visit wld be

http://www.virtualtourist.com

People on this site are very friendly, and ever helpful in offering travel advice to all sorts of countries..even giving tips on accomodation, what places to visit, best restaurants etc

If looking for cheap rooms to stay in Europe, try

http://www.eurocheapo.com

This site constantly reviews 'cheap' accomodation in major european cities and don't gloss over their descriptions. What you read is what you get
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Still, with the horrifying exchange rate between the Euro & S$ now, finding cheap accomodation in a great location wld be fantastic.

When in Europe, book day trips. This will be great if you know what you want to see, places you want to visit. Its way better than getting a package deal and going to places that you have absolutely no interest in. Again, the internet will be able to provide names of companies who do day-trips...some require reservations in advance. The great thing abt this is that you may visit obscure places that you won't be able to in standard packaged tours.

Whether or not u want to do F&E is really dependent on how much you're willing to plan. And how much co-ordination work you'd like to do. The trick is to decide what you want out of your vacation..what do you want to see, experience etc..and plan ure own itinerary from there. Once u have an idea of what u wld like to do..then everything revolves ard this. Its not easy, and its alot of work...but if ure like me, and you love planning ure own dream vacation where you don't hafta be stuck w a bunch of singaporeans in a coach for most of ure trip..then F&E is the way to go.
 

panggou

New Member
Hi really thanks alot for all your replies! very informative. I will check on on the sites and take note of the differnt climate in the different countries.

truly speaking, i dont even know which country is worth visiting, thus when people ask mew which part i am going, i am blur, esp i dont take geography hehehe.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi Winnie

Yeah, its best if you know what you'd like to see..like scenary, or museums, or to experience the culture etc. Hubby and I are really into British history, hence the UK was a must on our travel list. If u don't like cold climates, it wld be best to go ard Jun/July...I was there in June and the weather was nice. Not too cold, and it can get really sunny and hot at times...yet not too hot that you'd feel uncomfortable. Late Spring or early Autumn shld be the nicest times to go.

If we ever scrounge up enough money to visit Europe again (the last trip cost us $8k altogether), we'd like to visit Italy, Southern France, Prague, Austria and definitely UK again. Sigh..so many places to go, but lack of funds :p
 

och

New Member
hi winnie,

hv fun planning. i agree with alhana, planning where to go is much easier if you know what u like to see.

the first time i went to europe, i simply listed out the cities that i hv always wanted to visit, for whatever reason. i loved reading heidi as a kid, so i insisted on visiting switzerland. i remembered the berlin wall falling, so i wanted to visit berlin. everybody tells me paris is romantic, so i wanted to go there. that was how me and my friends came up with an itinerary filled with places we read and dream about.
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n yup, i'm a f&e traveller, like alhana n linksys.

my first trip to europe was also in december. the coldest place we went to was vienna. it was below freezing and light snow was falling when we arrived on xmas eve. oh, but the celebrations was so sweet and quaint. heart-shaped lights hang on the trees in front of the city hall and at night, u see these red-coloured hearts suspended in the air. there were doll houses with soft music playing. it was quite a magical experience. we also got to hear the organ play in st stephens cathedral during the midnight mass n the organ plays so beautifully. v. v. lovely. i'm not a christian btw, n it was the first time i got into the xmas mood. despite the freezing weather (which i wans't really fond of), i thot that was one of the most magical stops in that trip.

i just came back from a trip to greece a month ago. in comparison to the rest of europe, greece is pretty warm, even in february. n the greek islands r very beautiful n practically deserted in winter.

hi alhana,

i'm trying to scrouge up enough money to visit italy n austria too!
 

alhana

New Member
Hi och

Yes, winter time can be very romantic too! Have a nice fire going in ure room, drink hot chocolate, walk in the snow etc....its certainly something unique to us Singaporeans
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The only downside is the shorter daylight hrs, and the shorter opening times. But cheaper rates and less crowds are big pluses too. Only thing is the cold can really give me a headache, and if backpacking (which is what we did), packing all that winter wear and lugging it ard wld be a major pain :p Prob not advisable to rough it out then
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Sigh..Europe is way too expensive for us right now. But its ok..I'm very happy spending my vacations in Bangkok and Thai beach resorts..hehehe. I miss Krabi so much!
 

och

New Member
hi alhana,

at least u could go to bangkok and krabi. i'm now posted to the US, so i'm experiencing all the minuses of winter u mentioned without the fun of travelling n enjoying less crowds.
crazy.gif


u backpack too? i backpack as well! i find backpacks v. convenient for f&e travel in europe. for me, the pluses of reduced crowds tend to overwhelm the minuses of travelling in winter.

but i agree with u, packing winter wear can be a pain. nowadays, i simply bring my winter coat with me onboard the plane n pack 2 sweaters. everything else r t-shirts, long-sleeve t's that i will layer n layer. the upside is that my backpack doesn't explode. the downside is that in pictures, pple only see my coat n either 1 of my sweaters. so when pple see my pictures, u can almost hear them asking "did she ... change?"
lame.gif
 

alhana

New Member
Heh..I dun really bother to change if in a cold climate. Don't sweat..so who cares! Hehehe.

Yeah, my friend in Toronto is grumbling about how he has had to shovel snow every other day. I was telling him 'so nice to see snow!' and he went 'not so nice when you hafta shovel them!'

Yeah backpacking was great for us, esp since we were budget travelling in Europe. I can't imagine taking trains, buses etc lugging the standard luggage cases ard..what a nitemare! SOme cheapo hotels don't even have elevators, and no bellhops .. even those carriers w wheels wld've been a pain.
 

panggou

New Member
Hi och and alhana, thanks alot for your replies. wah make me very tempted, but i know i must really sit down and plan liao. Is it difficult to arrange for transport from airport to hotel? and from one place to anotehr? worry about this part.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi Winnie

For us, it wasn't. We chose hotels that were easily accessed by public transport (like bus / train). Our Paris and London hotels were all near metro/tube stations..so it was very easy for us..and the station near our Paris hotel actually had an RER rail line direct to the airport. U can research this by reading up on info under transportation (Usually under headings like Getting Around, Getting There etc.) Have you decided which cities/countries you'd like to visit?
 

panggou

New Member
Hi alhana, thanks for your reply, i will take note of it.

i am still trying to figure out the map leh, to see how the route to be so that i wont go merry go round instead :p sorry very blur.

I am thinking of going paris, germany, switerland, spain, London. Is there one by the name prague?

er and if any of the above does not fall under Europe, please correct me, sorry i still very blur.
 

alhana

New Member
Heh...yes..all do fall under Europe. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, and I hear its really beautiful, very old European feel...romantic! Always wanted to visit that city. I love London! So rich in history, yet so cosmopolitan! If you need help with London & Paris, I'd be glad to offer any info as far as I can remember stuff
happy.gif
 

och

New Member
hi winnie,

european airports, train stations n sights r usually well-connected to public transportation, e.g. metro n subways. so getting around isn't difficult. between big cities, there r budget airlines n trains, so again, not difficult to get around.

i've been to prague, berlin (germany), munich (germany), london, paris, lucern (switzerland) n jungfrau (switzerland), so let me know if u need help with those. i love london too n i thot my stay in berlin was too short. how many days do u hv?
 

panggou

New Member
hi alhana and och, really thanks for the reply. May I know, if I want to go to prague, germany, london, paris, switerland, how should the flow of events be?

Hmm och, did not realised that after i narrowed down switerland, i still need to choose a place leh, really so chim.

I intend to go for around 12 - 15 days, is it sufficient? Is it possible to keep within 4k per person? inclusive of everything?

Thanks alot for all the help!
 

alhana

New Member
Winnie

12-15 days..depends on how much time you wanna spend in each country. I spent a week in London and it still felt too short! However, I spent another week in Paris and I felt that it was too long. Hehehe. Well, just to give you an idea..I spent 15 days in London, Edinburgh and Paris. We spent ard $8k in total (incl accomodation, flight, rail-took the Eurostar from London to Paris, transportation, shopping, food, attractions) For flight, we went on SQ's 2-to-go promo which included 2N accomodation in a city of your choice. London is especially costly coz of the sterling pound. For 12-15 days, I dunno if you'd want to visit so many countries. You may wanna spend more days in 1 country coz there can be alot to see. Like the UK. I cld've spent all my 15 days there, going up to Scotland, or to other English cities like York, Bath etc. Maybe you can tell us what you'd like to do in Europe? What are you guys really keen on? Its easier to plan that way.
 

panggou

New Member
Hi alhana, it is more of sightseeing in Europe, no special interest in specific area. just like to go round to view the nice scenery and the environment.
 

alhana

New Member
Eh..its abit hard to suggest if you don't have any special interests :p What I can suggest is...get a copy of the Insight/Cosmos/Trafalgar Tour books. They offer pretty detailed itineraries on all their european land tours. After flipping thru different tour packages, perhaps you'd get a better idea of what you want to see, where you'd like to go.
 

och

New Member
hi winnie,

it will be quite a rushed trip if u want to cover so many countries, especially since they r quite far apart. my multi-city european itinerary last time was london (no time spent there) - brussels, belgium (2 nites) - amsterdam, holland (3 nites) - berlin, germany (3 nites) - prague, czech (2 nites) - vienna, austria (2 nites) - munich, germany (2 nites) - lucerne, switzerland (2 nites) - jungfrau, switzerland (1 nite) - paris, france (3 nites) then back to london. i thot it was quite rushed n we were all pretty tired by the time we arrived in berlin. 2 nites usually means we have abt 1.5 days in the city, minus all the travelling. london was just the place we land (we couldn't get cheap tickets to other cities). i visited london as part of my honeymoon a few years later n spent 5 days there.

5 days for london was too short for me n i spent all my time in the city only. maybe i'm just a lazy traveller, i don't like to rush around. i thot the berlin stay was way too short too. firstly, we got to berlin via an overnight train, so we were tired when we arrived n there was so much to see! i highly recommend the insider walking tour. the guides r knowledgeable n it's a good introduction to the city. if we had more time, we will venture out of munich to the black forest n to see the neuschwanstein castle (which disney based the cinderalla castle on). i was quite bored with prague after 2D/1N, but i think it's bcos we didn't take tours out of the city. i thot the switzerland legs were just nice, relaxing n enjoyable. try to take day trains between swiss cities. the scenery is usually so nice that it deserves all the admiration it can get. like alhana, i'm not a big fan of paris, so i thot 3 nites was abt ok, a bit rushed, n we had to miss a couple of musuems, but since it was the end of our tour, we were suffering from musuem fatigue.
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so we actually didn't mind missing musuems.

maybe u can select 3 countries? 3 countries in 2 weeks will be quite enjoyable i think. it might even be possible to visit 2 cities in each country. btw, i find these 2 sites quite useful: www.lonelyplanet.com n www.raileurope.com. lonelyplanet has the map of europe n it also tells u the attractions in each country n why they r interesting. it will be useful for u when shortlisting which cities to visit. raileurope will be useful if u decide to go f&e. it lists the prices for rail passes n it also lists the schedules, so u can check out the amount of time it takes to travel from one city to another.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi och

Heh..i suffered from Palace fatigue by the time I got to Paris. Museums were nvr our cuppa tea, but we went to the Louvre of coz, and the British Museum (entry is free! but you're encouraged to make a donation) I wld love to see Neuschwanstein too...the history of the king who built it (Lugwig II i believe) is quite a tragic one. For me, its always so amazing to know that you're standing in a room where a famous King/Queen used to live in.

Winnie

If you like castles, palaces, you can explore the Loire valley in France. The region is well known for their chateaux and the scenery is beautiful too. I've nvr been there, but I've always wanted to.
 

och

New Member
welcome winnie. forgot to add that on the lonelyplanet site, the link u want is the worldguide.
 

peeper

New Member
hi everyone,

i'm trying to plan to go to Spain, France and Prague in Jul or Aug. With my limited research, I can't seem to find a way from France to Prague (its very expensive to go via air and seems to have no direct rail route). Heard fm a fren that there's an Euro carrier that provides the link b/w france and prague. anyone has any idea which carrier/airline is tat?

also, och and alhana... or anyone else, can share wif me where are the places of interest tat i shld try not to miss for these 3 countries? thanks.. i've yet to really read up the books and the weblinks but am so excited, so wan to learn of some places to visit...

tks! =)
 

och

New Member
hi peeper,

i'm not sure what the best way between france n prague is, but i think u can connect via air through london on easyjet. by train, the most direct route is paris-frankfurt-prague n u will need to spend a night on the train. there r also direct trains fr berlin to prague.

as for places of interest, i'm not a good person to ask, since i've only been to paris, toulouse n prague n i pretty much stayed within the cities.
lame.gif
. sorry abt that.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi no-time

I've not been to Spain or Prague (wld love to tho!) and have only been to Paris. Paris, IMHO, is over-rated. I believe if you venture to other parts of France, it'd be more enjoyable. Places I had wanted to visit (but had neither time nor money :p) in France : Loire Valley, Nice, Marseilles, Cannes, Rennes-le-chateau, Carcassonne..most of which is in southern France. Loire valley has many castles and the scenery is supposedly very beautiful.

As for airline info, try out this forum : http://forum.virtualtourist.com and select Prague
The people on this website are very friendly, and are great at providing info to would-be travellers. As it's an international website, you'll probably get the most accurate info from people who are actually living in that region/country or who are regular travellers. The website also has travel guides where you can get great info on food, accomodation, travel modes etc. Have fun planning!
 

starfruit

New Member
Hi no-time,

maybe u might wanna check with the french travel agent to see if they can get u on a cheap flight to prauge using a charted airline instead of international airline.

Prague is beautiful, i was there for 5 days last day. highly recommened.. think its one of the mroe beautiful european cities i have visited, And its not expensive too.

its much easier to get to prague from austria or germany.. maybe u might need to have a connecting train to get to prague from france.. wither passing through germany or passing through switzerland and austria.
 

shirley98

New Member
Hi Alhana,

Can i know which hotel you booked in London and Paris?
happy.gif
Me planning for my trip for my honeymoon in coming Dec/Jan. Thanks.

i found some hotels in victoria stations, which have good comment for good location. Is't correct? Is victoria stations a good location to stay for travellers?
 

yoji

Member
Hi all,

I am having my AD in mid of dec and intend to go to EUROPE as well for my honeymoon during dec. I agree that it will be indeed romantic cause snowing.

I am planning for less colder places like Paris, Italy. Free and Easy will be best for me cause you do not want to be rushing throughout your honeymoon and then think it is ruined cause you do not have time spending with one another and what you are doing is watching your time everyday in terms of sightseeing places and eating time.

Just wondering if anyone planning to go to PARIS and italy like me?
FOund any good discount sites for those local tour ? Advise?
 

yule

New Member
Dear gal:
I only look for local tours when I arrive at the destination. I don't bother booking before my trip though I do some research to shortlist those Must-see places.

Note that local tour schedules are different and fewer beginning from late Sep thru Easter. The summer schedules are longer and offers more varieties. Many sites are shut for maintenance or renovation in Dec, which is the lull holiday period in Europe.

Once you're there, pick up those flyers either at the airport or hotel lobby. The first stop you need to go is the Tourist Info Office. Just follow the signages and you'll find your way there. They will have loads of tour packages to nearby sites. Or simply go to the museum, castle or tower where they will have docents to provide guided tours for you.
 



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