Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with europe and trip

Tips for a student going to Europe?

speek — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:06:49 -0800

What's a cheap way to survive in Europe over the summer? A few friends and I (three of us total, two guys and a girl; the girl and one of the guys are in a relationship) were planning on going to go to Europe over the summer this year. We want to go to Sweden, England, France, and The Netherlands. We've gotten an invitation to stay on Copenhagen on a friend's boat for a week, so we might end up doing that too.

We're all in college and pretty much broke.

We want to spend a week in each country (probably Stockholm, London, Paris, and Amsterdam respectively), but we're not sure how we'll be able to afford the trip.

We don't exactly want to backpack across Europe and stay in hostels, so any suggestions for other stuff would be nice.

Also, stuff to do that's not touristy in those countries would be nice as well.

What would be an expensive way to get from Boston to the other side of the pond? Do people still do courier exchange-luggage-for-a-package things anymore?

Thanks for the input and Happy New Year!

Where to go in Europe?

alona — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:23:02 -0800

EuropeFilter: Two teens about to spend up to 10 days in Europe. Suggestions on where to go and how to keep it cheap? So we're 17, he's finished high school and I'm just before my senior year, and we're planning a 7-10 day trip in Europe in mid to late August. I know it's the most expensive season to travel but we really have no other time. Our parents are paying airfare (yay for parents) but as for me, I'm paying for everything else. That includes lodging, food, travel within Europe, entrance fees to various places and various other expenses. A rough estimate tells me I'll have betwen $700 - $1000 USD (not much. but if needed I know I can get more).
We're not completely sure about where we're going to be yet. We were thinking of doing a few days in Amsterdam, a few days in Ghent, Belgium (which I've heard is far more interesting for young people than Bruxelle) and then something like two days in Paris (because it's the most expensive).
We've both already been to London, so that's not necessary, and we both really want to go to Amsterdam. From there, we'd like places that aren't incredibly far (we don't want to waste time on travel) and preferably as cheap as possible.
Advice on which places are a must-see in any city is much appreciated as well :)

Help with travel!!!! (berlin - prague - Munich)

monkeyagent — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:30:56 -0800

Hey I'm travelling to Europe this summer and want to go from Berlin to Prague. I found a previous post on it but it's from 2005 and the info is a little outdated so i was wondering if anyone had a good suggestion for going about getting to prague? I'm travelling with my Girlfriend and we'll be going from Prague to Munich after our stay there. Does anyone know if we can use our Eurail passes in Germany (from say berlin to dresden then switch trains to prague) or book a roundtrip ticket that will take us into Prague and then on to Munich? All help would be appreciated! Thanks

Help plan a honeymoon!

Becko — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:41:14 -0800

Help me figure out how to plan this honeymoon... My fiance and I are getting married July 5 next year, and we wanted to go to London for our honeymoon. However, while we are there we also think it would be awesome to go to as many other countries as possible, within reason. I'd like to have a decent amount of time in any location, and I'd also like to be able to take trains or buses wherever we go, I don't want to fly except for the trip there and back. We'd like to spend a day or two in Brighton as well. If we were only going to go to one other place I think we'd like it to be Scotland, but we also like the idea of going to Paris if possible. We are pretty open on how long it can be, I will have at least 10 days vacation time from work, and there will be weekends in there, so it could potentially be a couple weeks. However, I'd like to keep travel/hotel under $5,000.

So what are some suggestions on the best way to plan this trip? I'm confused how to go about booking a multiple destination trip like this. I am also not sure which country would be the best to fly into, pricewise. I have quite a bit of time to plan this, but I'd rather figure it out sooner rather than later. It's a lot of information for me to try to sort out, so help is greatly appreciated.

Combining mini European city breaks into one great two week holiday

trashcan — Sat, 19 May 2007 01:12:51 -0800

Hi, I am trying to put together a series of city breaks in Europe so that I end up with one great summer holiday of around two weeks long. I'm thinking of using easyjet or some other low cost carrier so that I can spend most of the budget on romantic and well located hotels in the best cities Europe has to offer.

The trip is for my wife and I; we are from the UK and have previously been to Paris, Barcelona and know the UK cities well so these are off the list.

These are the cities I have in mind so far:

Rome
Prague
Amsterdam

I think three is about right, we could maybe manage 4 but imagine 3/4 nights at each of these would be perfect.

What do we like? Really varied - live music (rock), art galleries, inspiring history (the Colosseum is at the top of our list at the moment), food and awesome scenery.

I am not averse to hiring a car as well as flying, but what I guess I am asking is:

are there any better (?) cities,
more inspiring destinations that I haven't considered
better methods of travel
most logical order (thinking hectic at the start and gentle at the end?)
which hotels we should consider (location, romance, pool?)
we really want to be proud of our holiday....we only get a short time off and we want to look back and think, that was cool :o)

Help us buy a van in Spain!

Acey — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:19:37 -0800

Have you bought a vehicle in Spain before? Some friends and I are looking to buy a van in Spain with which to travel around Europe, and we need your help! The trip starts in just over two months, around the 25th May. The intention is to buy a van in Spain, drive across Europe for three weeks, and leave the van with friends in Belgium. We will then retrieve the van later in the summer and sell it. The cost of the van and the insurance will be split between 5 people. We decided against rental as we have no way of getting it back to Spain straight away, plus, I believe you must be over 21 to drive a rented van in Europe.

Now here's the problem: we need to purchase a van in Spain for the start, but my friend whose house we are starting from (in Murcia) has no way to get back before then to arrange it. We need to know whether you can buy a vehicle remotely from another country and do the paperwork, or if someone needs to be there. Also, many of the vans we have looked at are in another province, which might throw up other paperwork issues. It is possible that we can arrange for someone we know in Spain to purchase on our behalf, and take a look at what we are buying. Still, this might raise other problems.

We have two drivers: one is 25 and licenced to drive in Europe, one is 20 and may or may not be licenced to drive a van of a certain size. Then there's the issue of insurance - is it possible to insure for only two months? Can that be done remotely too?

I'll be available to respond with further information for a few hours and again tomorrow, but any help you can give would be very much appreciated.

Thank you hive mind!

Fear and Loathing in Western Europe

Acey — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:55:11 -0800

I'm planning a summer tour around Western Europe and would love recommendations: which places are not-to-be-missed? The trip will begin in Murcia in southern Spain and pass through Barcalona, Andorra, Nice, Geneva, Milan, Venice and Munich, finishing in Amsterdam. It will take place across three weeks this June. We will be travelling in a van and staying with friends and in hostels along the way.

I know there are hundreds of wonderful places along our route, and we don't want to miss them. It's a kind of anti-tourist's tour, and we want to get a feel for what the places we pass through and people we meet are genuinely like. Language shouldn't be a problem; several members of the group are multilingual and most Europeans speak English. Culture is a must.

Any and all suggestions are welcome: natural beauty, interesting towns, landmarks, good places to stay/stop, things to do. Budget is tight, as is time. Any places that are to be avoided might be worth a mention too. We have an avid appreciation of the surreal, plus we love to take photos, so anything that might appeal to us in that way would be perfect.

Related questions: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Thanks in advance!

What do I need to know for 1-week trip to Vienna, Austria?

sirion — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:08:46 -0800

I'm visiting Vienna for spring break (And London for a day). What should I know? Going with my father to check out the music conservatory there (Konservatorium Wien). What should I be aware of while I'm planning this trip? While I have some questions, I'm more concerned about the questions I haven't yet considered asking.

Questions:
-Weather: Looks like March sees temperatures from 30-50°F and a decent amount of rain. What clothes should I bring? (I'm from California with little experience in cold climates)
-Food: Must-eat locations?
-Sights: Working out of Rick Steves' guide to Austria/Germany, but could certainly use some supplemental advice. Any particularly good day trips out of the city? My father's knee is a bit messed up, so really neat experiences that don't involve miles of walking are definitely a plus.
-Electronics: I have a couple cheap APC Universal Plug Adapters. Can I assume they have a 120->220 VAC transformer inside? If I plug my Powerbook charger into it, will it explode? My cell phone charger?
-Cell phone: Should I get a European sim card here? there? where do I get them?
-Any good Money Belt/under-shirt storage thingy recommendations?

-What am I missing?

Where are the cheap Eurostar tickets?

k8t — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 18:11:50 -0800

How can I get really cheap Eurostar tickets (London-Paris and back)? I'm taking my sister to London. I want her to see a bit of Europe too. We're going to Rome for a few days, but she is dying for Paris. I'm going to do a day trip, as described in EssexJan's post.

I want to go on Sunday, September 17, but am willing to go on Saturday, September 16.

Where are the top secret cheapo tickets?

Where can we go from London for a few days in Europe?

k8t — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:24:43 -0800

[EuroTripFilter]What European city can we go to CHEAPLY for a few days from London? I lived in London for a year, but now I'm back in the States. I'm going back to London for 10 days [September 8-18]. I'm bringing my never-left-the-US twin sister with me. I know that this may very well be the last time that she ever travels at all. As such, I'd like us to leave London for a few days to see something on the continent. Paris or Brussels via Eurostar is the obvious destination, but I was there just last month, so I'm not all that interested. I'd love to go to Rome, Florence, or Prague. She does want to see Paris though. (And I'm willing to do 24 hours there.) So, Hive Mind, how can we get from London to Paris and then onto Rome (or Florence or Prague) cheaply? Would taking the Eurostar to Paris and then flying or taking the train to the next city work? Should we just skip Paris altogether and wait for cheap flights to other European cities? Which would be cheapest? Advise for cheap travels preferred!

From Modena to Trondheim - on a student's budget

divabat — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 17:34:02 -0800

I'd like to go to Modena, Italy in early December to meet some friends. I'd also like to attend a student festival in Trondheim, Norway, in mid-February. What else can I do between December and February? I'm right now planning a mostly-hypothetical European trip in my head.

I'd like to go to Modena, Italy around Dec 8 - Dec 11 2006 to visit some friends.
I'd also like to attend ISFiT 2007 in Trondheim, Norway from Feb 16 - Feb 25 2007.

I have all this time in between and I'm not sure what to do with it. I'd like to participate in youth/student-oriented activities (though a music festival every week would be rather overkill). Anything creative, out-of-the-box, and international is great.

I would be departing from either Brisbane or Sydney, Australia, or Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, depending on my visa situation. I have a Bangladesh passport (with Malaysian permanent residency), and I need a visa for nearly everywhere. I'm not sure if the European embassies in Australia (I'll be studying in Brisbane come July) will let me apply for a visa there, or if I have to go back to KL and get it done there instead. A Schengen visa would allow me to go to a lot of places at once, so that would be the most convenient.

(I'll be flying straight back to Brisbane, probably through Sydney.)

There is a slight possibility that I might pop over to the US for a bit in January for a meeting/some volunteer stuff (I have a US visa so that's not a problem) but it's not a priority, just a "maybe".

Questions:

1. Aus/KL -> Modena -> ????? -> Trondheim -> Brisbane. What goes in the "?????" slot? I've been to The Netherlands, Belgium (loved both places), Germany, France, and elsewhere in Italy. I've also been to Switzerland and the UK, though I'd rather not factor that into my tour because I need separate visas for those.

2. Do I get the Schengen visa from the Italian embassy (first stop) or the Norwegian embassy (longest stay, but last stop, possible sponsorship)?

3. How do I get to Modena from Rome and Trondheim from Oslo?

4. I haven't a lot of money. Really. Malaysian ringgit does not travel far, and I don't know how much Australian dollars I'll be able to earn. How do I keep within a really low budget? Are there places that would pay me to travel, or sponsor me? (I might get something for ISFiT, but I need to be accepted first).

Any ideas, thoughts, etc would be good. It would be my first fully independent trip (well, save my 2 week trip to Denver this April, which I still owe my parents money for - they bought tix) and anything helps!