A couple of friends and I are planning a small euro trip for about 2 weeks of time. We are not much of travelers , the best we have done is a weekend or a long weekend locally ; this would be the first time we fly out.... so we are pretty much clueless what europe has instore for us.
The budget is about 800 to 1000 GBP(Excluding air travel in & out)
The goal is simple and sweet : Sight seeing , culture and enjoying the night life. I am not sure if we can cover 3 countries. We do not want a rushed trip. It’s a vacation after all… ;)
Cities planned -
Amsterdam, NL
Barcelona, Spain*
Paris, France*
We are not sure if Barcelona is the place to visit in spain... and not sure if paris will even fit in.... open to options of cities in spain and 3rd slot is completely open...
I also would like to understand the feasibility of the trip…. Is such a trip possible on the given budget? I am not well versed with transportation , living , survival charges in and around Europe. So i am still scratching my head wondering if this can even be pulled off..
What is the best way to travel ? Amsterdam is missing on eurail :|
Where to get an insight on accommodation ?
Thanks for all your help!
Cheers!
[Edited by - _korg on August 8, 2010 5:38:37 PM]
Eurotrip : Shoestring budget
143
August 08, 2010 11:34 PM
All 3 of those countries are on the Euro now, get used to working that way. 800 pounds is about 960 euros (today, anyway) but you'll have to keep an eye on that. The pound hasn't been nearly as good on the mainland as it used to be.
On saving money getting there: If you're leaving from the UK, take a look at Easyjet -- I think it flies direct to Amsterdam/Schipol -- or Ryanair flights to Eindhoven. The train ride into Amsterdam isn't bad at all. I've heard the ferry over is nice but haven't tried it personally.
Take a look at hostels (hostelworld, etc) for your price. Depending on when you're going prices can range from <€10 to ~€30 a night. Figuring €30 to be safe, 2 weeks will be about €420. Take night trains and you can knock out paying for a bed that night. As I recall, the Paris-Amsterdam direct train is about 6 hours; over to Spain will be considerably longer. Discount airlines will probably be cheaper too. After beds, traveling from A to B will be your biggest (pre-figurable) expense.
Look into the free walking tours in most major cities (actual cost: whatever you tip). Whatever company runs them almost always has other paid tours through major local attractions and pub crawls at night. Ask what specials museums might have running, or read about the various tourist/museum passes to see if the price is worth it to you (usually includes several days of public transport).
Nightlife can get expensive in those cities -- I have more specific tips if you're interested. Luckily, food is cheap as long as you're happy with street vendors and supermarkets. Also, beer has calories! ;-)
That's just a bit off the top of my head. I spent several months bumming around Europe (on just a few thousand USD) about 2 years ago and have a few shorter trips to the continent since then. You can definitely afford to do it! Get used to the ideas of hostels (group bedding, anyway) and consider doing just one or two cities to save cash and see more.
Oh, avoid Eurail. You're better off getting point-to-point tickets for this trip, unless you want to go nuts and spend every other day on a train. Deutsch Bahn's website usually has good schedules.
On saving money getting there: If you're leaving from the UK, take a look at Easyjet -- I think it flies direct to Amsterdam/Schipol -- or Ryanair flights to Eindhoven. The train ride into Amsterdam isn't bad at all. I've heard the ferry over is nice but haven't tried it personally.
Take a look at hostels (hostelworld, etc) for your price. Depending on when you're going prices can range from <€10 to ~€30 a night. Figuring €30 to be safe, 2 weeks will be about €420. Take night trains and you can knock out paying for a bed that night. As I recall, the Paris-Amsterdam direct train is about 6 hours; over to Spain will be considerably longer. Discount airlines will probably be cheaper too. After beds, traveling from A to B will be your biggest (pre-figurable) expense.
Look into the free walking tours in most major cities (actual cost: whatever you tip). Whatever company runs them almost always has other paid tours through major local attractions and pub crawls at night. Ask what specials museums might have running, or read about the various tourist/museum passes to see if the price is worth it to you (usually includes several days of public transport).
Nightlife can get expensive in those cities -- I have more specific tips if you're interested. Luckily, food is cheap as long as you're happy with street vendors and supermarkets. Also, beer has calories! ;-)
That's just a bit off the top of my head. I spent several months bumming around Europe (on just a few thousand USD) about 2 years ago and have a few shorter trips to the continent since then. You can definitely afford to do it! Get used to the ideas of hostels (group bedding, anyway) and consider doing just one or two cities to save cash and see more.
Oh, avoid Eurail. You're better off getting point-to-point tickets for this trip, unless you want to go nuts and spend every other day on a train. Deutsch Bahn's website usually has good schedules.
465
August 09, 2010 06:46 PM
If you really want to do it on a shoestring check out couch surfing, I have never tried it, but my ex used to host people and it sounds like a pretty cool idea.
Amsterdam is on the whole an expensive city, but it is possible to save some money, so here's some tips for if you decide to come:
- There are free open air theatre productions in vondel park until the end of august
- Brouwerij Het Ij has the best beer in Amsterdam and for it's strength it's very reasonably priced.
- Cafe The Minds near Dam Square has very cheap pool at 50cents a game.
- In Leidseplein there are a few pizza places that do 5 euro pizzas.
- Camping is also a cheap option, with a few camping places dotted around Amsterdam.
- If you're planning on going to lots of museums, you can get an I amsterdam card, you get entrance to a load of musuems and free transport on the trams and buses.
- The Waterhole in leidseplein has live music every night, and it's only 1 euro entrance, with reduced price beer between 6 and 9.
- There is a 'free' (you are welcome to make a donation) boat trip
Amsterdam is on the whole an expensive city, but it is possible to save some money, so here's some tips for if you decide to come:
- There are free open air theatre productions in vondel park until the end of august
- Brouwerij Het Ij has the best beer in Amsterdam and for it's strength it's very reasonably priced.
- Cafe The Minds near Dam Square has very cheap pool at 50cents a game.
- In Leidseplein there are a few pizza places that do 5 euro pizzas.
- Camping is also a cheap option, with a few camping places dotted around Amsterdam.
- If you're planning on going to lots of museums, you can get an I amsterdam card, you get entrance to a load of musuems and free transport on the trams and buses.
- The Waterhole in leidseplein has live music every night, and it's only 1 euro entrance, with reduced price beer between 6 and 9.
- There is a 'free' (you are welcome to make a donation) boat trip
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