Planning a trip to Europe

[rubecube]

Well I'm at the point where I have a bit of a travel itch. I'm planning on heading over to Europe for at least a year to broaden my horizons. It's looking like I'll head over there around the end of August or beginning of September, depending on when I can get my funds together. I have a British passport so my plan is to live and work in several different countries over the next year or two.

I have some tentative ideas of where I'd like to go and what I'd like to do but I was hoping CP could give me some tips on different places I should go and also some tips on what to bring with me. Also, places I should stay away from would be helpful.

Here are my tentative plans:

September to November:

- Base myself in Munich for work and living.
- Catch Oktoberfest
- Travel to some surrounding areas over this time (i.e. Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia)

November to January:

- Not sure but I'm thinking either France, Italy or Greece.
- Need suggestions

January to March:

- Going to head to the UK.
- Will probably base myself in either Liverpool or Edinburgh
- Plan to spend Robbie Burns day somewhere in Scotland
- Head to Ireland/N. Ireland some time towards the beginning of March to spend time in Newry and celebrate St. Patrick's Day

March to July

- Need suggestions here again. Will probably split this time between the two countries I didn't pick from November to January

July to September

- Spain/Portugal
- Plan to be in Pamplona for Running of the Bulls festival (July)
- Tomato fight in Bunol (August)
- Make some side trips to Portugal.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I'm planning on staying a year but could end up staying longer.

[CaptainCrunch]

You need to go to club supersexe. Make sure you get them to write down the safe word though.

[Sylvanfan]

Perhaps basing yourself in the Norway/Sweeden/Finland part of Scandinavia from March to July. From Munich you're still looking at a bit of a trip to those places. Might be better off to focus on going to the likes of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland instead when you're based in Munich, than station yourself up North to see those three countries later. From November to January, if you want to avoid winter, Greece/Italy is a good bet, should probably try to get to Dubrovnik Croatia too.

[troutman]

Make sure you talk to Aeneas.

I'm partial to France myself.

[Kybosh]

I would recommend starting in Montenegro or southern Croatia in March then slowly snake your way north to Slovenia and Austria. Maybe even start all the way at Greece and make your way north. You'll miss most of the crowds but should still have some nice weather. The Dalmatian coast of Croatia rules.

[Bagor]

I would definately try and make Glastonbury part of your plans. It's a one of a kind festival.

I'm also partial to France, particularly the Breton coast.

Ireland would be miserable in March weather wise.

[BlackEleven]

What kind of work will you be looking for? If its something specific that can have a impact on where you base yourself.

[MickMcGeough]

Sounds like an awesome trip, congrats man.

I lived in London for a year; worked half the time and traveled half the time. General stuff I learned:

Ryanair and Easyjet are an excellent way to travel if you aren't interested in stopping in every town between two destinations. I flew from London to Torino for the Olympics for 40 euro return, after taxes. When you are switching "legs" of your trip, say if you are finishing Nov-Jan in Greece and have to get to the UK, take a Ryanair flight instead of a train.

Jan/Feb in the UK won't be nice. I'd push that into April-ish if it fits with the rest of your trip.

Some places you never mentioned but I wouldn't miss:

Do not miss Switzerland; it was one of the highlights of my trip. Zurich is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. The people there are awesome. Trekking around the old city wall in Luzern was awesome too.

Poland: not exactly a tourist hot spot but it's still one of the cheaper places in Europe. Auschwitz remains one of the most important things I've seen in the world; I've never experienced anything quite like it. You can get a stein of beer and a steak dinner for about $7 CAN in Krakow.

Prague in the Czech Republic was incredible too. Don't order steak unless you like it as it's supposed to be cooked (rare). My girlfriend asked for well-done a couple of times and it's either insulting to the cook or an invitation to be messed with, because in both cases she got the bloodiest slab of meat I've ever seen.

Amsterdam is the best city on the planet (even if you don't smoke weed or buy sex). Nicest people, beautiful city & canal system, awesome nightlife, Riijksmuseum(sp?) and Van Gogh, not as expensive as London/Paris/etc.

London was a blast on New Year's, but Edinburgh looked like more fun.

Hostel prices aren't all that cheap in most places any longer. If you aren't traveling alone, it's often cheaper to split a B&B or hotel room. Go to hostels to meet people, party, and find groups of young people to do tours with. Go to cheap B&Bs or hotels for a cheap place to stay if you can share rooms.

Also, hostels are great for getting recommendations of stuff to do, see, places to stay, eat, etc. Learn from other travelers' mistakes and successes.

The theives in Spain & Italy in particular are scary good. Assume you'll be a target.

IMO, Canadians aren't the universally loved people they might have been 10 years ago. We're nowhere near the level of Americans but you'll run into people that like to push westerners buttons. Bring a lot of common sense with you.

I'll try to think of more later.

[FurnaceFace]

Staying in Munich and visiting Scandinavia is sort of like saying you're going to be based out of Ottawa and visit The Maritimes. Munich to Copenhagen is over 15 hrs by train.

If I was going for a year I'd try and hit some of the major sporting and other events. Try for some Tour de France, an F1 race - Monaco would be the pinnacle, hit up as many football matches as possible in as many countries as possible, maybe be in Helsinki for The Flames games, Cannes filmfest, Carnevale in Venice, that sort of thing.

Like many people I've done a month touring around "Western" Europe. I think it's hard not to pick good places to see. I've been to: France (see below), Brugges, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Aachen, Berlin, Heidelberg, Rhine vallley, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Geneva, Barcelona.

I've been to France a number of times and enjoy every minute there even the time spent in Paris. If you have any interest in war history, all the Normandy beaches, Deippe, Vimy, Flanders, etc are well worth the effort. I'll give you suggestions if you want them. Other places in France: Mont St Michel, St Malo, Brittany, The Loire Valley, French Riviera, and of course Paris....which I think I've been to 6 times now.

I also lived and worked in Finland for a few months and have travelled a bunch of Scandinavia. It's all fantastic, I don't think I've been to a bad place in Scandinavia. I've been to: Denmark - Copenhagen, Rosjilde, Fredricksburg, Sweden - Malmo, Stockholm, Umea, Gothenberg, Norway - Oslo, Bergen, Aulandsfjord, Sognefjord, Nordkapp (the top of Europe), Alta, Finland - Helsinki, Jyvaskyla, Tampere, Aland Islands, Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, Rovaniemi...Loki...I think that covers them all.

If you're in Helsinki I'd strongly recommend an overnight ferry ride to see Tallinn Estonia and as much of the Baltics as possible. Tallinn is a great place. I'd also suggest heading over to St Petersburg Russia...I think there are bus trips you can do from Helsinki. It's another awesome city that not everyone sees.

For The UK I've been to London, Stirling, and Edinburgh so I'm not a huge help there.

Any questions just ask away. I'm very jealous of your trip, enjoy it.

[rubecube]

How much money should I plan to bring if I'm going to be working? I don't need to stay at 5 star hotels but I'd like to be able to eat on a regular basis.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Amsterdam is the best city on the planet (even if you don't smoke weed or buy sex). Nicest people, beautiful city & canal system, awesome nightlife, Riijksmuseum(sp?) and Van Gogh, not as expensive as London/Paris/etc.

.

you know, I think you might be right on this (mind you there are many cities I've yet to experience). I love alot of European cities; Prague, London, Barcelona, Paris etc...but Amsterdam is incredible (and I didn't opt for any of the guilty pleasures either)

[Flame Of Liberty]

Looks like a great trip. I'd suggest that you should add a bit of central European flavour to it - Prague, Budapest, Viena, southern Poland around Krakow. I can give you more info if you want specifics. Croatia/Montenegro in the summer is a must.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

Looks like a great trip. I'd suggest that you should add a bit of central European flavour to it - Prague, Budapest, Viena, southern Poland around Krakow. I can give you more info if you want specifics. Croatia/Montenegro in the summer is a must.

agree, I would love to go to Croatia some day

have done Prague/Vienna+-Budapest a few times for various reasons and is time well spent

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by rubecube

How much money should I plan to bring if I'm going to be working? I don't need to stay at 5 star hotels but I'd like to be able to eat on a regular basis.

What kind of work we talking about? I think teaching english in a language school would be your best bet. I knew a bunch of girls from Florida in Prague, they came for a couple of months to teach, stayed for 2 years and counting.

As for eating out, in CE it would be around 5 EUR for lunch, 7-10 EUR for dinner in a decent place. Remember, beer is cheaper than water there! Not a word of lie, beer is often the cheapest drink in restaurants and pubs.

[Hustle]

Originally Posted by looooob

agree, I would love to go to Croatia some day

have done Prague/Vienna+-Budapest a few times for various reasons and is time well spent

If you ever get a chance.... make your way to Dubrovnik. Gorgeous place.

Good call on Prague too. Had the chance to go there this summer and was extremely impressed. My only complaint was the number of tourists (then again I was one too)... regardless that was a great place.

As for the OP, having done the Spain/Portugal deal in August/September... you'll enjoy yourself a bunch. I'll just leave it at that!

[3 Justin 3]

When travelling, just make sure to use Ryanair.com , or EasyJet. I can give you discounts on Easyjet for certain places, because I get emails from them all the time giving me discounts to places. I will give a ton more info. later, but right now I got to go to work.

[SteveToms]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

When travelling, just make sure to use Ryanair.com , or EasyJet. I can give you discounts on Easyjet for certain places, because I get emails from them all the time giving me discounts to places. I will give a ton more info. later, but right now I got to go to work.

Are you a big guy rube? Because you will feel like a a Sardine flying these guys, especially Ryanair. They are a great deal right now, but I have a feeling all prices might drop again soon, so you might luck in and fly Lufthansa, Swiss or the like.

[4X4]

As usual, I'll chime in with Italy advice... Do it in the spring. The weather is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Sunshiny.
Winter sucks in Italy. Since most of it is coastal, it's Vancouver all winter. Rain, rain and more rain. And then more rain. Every day, rain. From mid november to mid march, rain. And dacember and january are particularly miserable because the temp gets down to 5 degrees, which feels really damn cold when it's so humid and rainy.
But spring in Italy is amazing. The sun comes out in early march and the temperature suddnly shoots up to daily highs in the 20s and then into april and may it's high 20s, then june, july and aug will be in the 30s daily.

I highly recommend staying at hostels. Bounce around for the first few nights you're in a new city and find a hostel that will give you cheap long term rates. You'll learn to travel light and you'll discover that when your life revolves around work, exploration and meeting new people, you really don't need 'stuff'. An ipod, a cheap, losable cellphone, a small camera that you vigilantly upload your pics to a place like photobucket or whatever to store your pics in case your camera gets stolen... Really, for a trip like you're planning, your only precious item should be your passport.

All your clothes should fit into one checkable bag and one carry on bag. I did it with a traveling backpack and a regular backpack, but I was a bit jealous of the people that spent more money and got badass suitcases that clip together and have handles and wheels. On the other hand, alot of european cities have really uneven cobblestone sidewalks that will destroy those wheels pretty quick. For you, a travel backpack might be the better way to go.

Just don't forget to travel light. Clothes are disposable. You'll wear them out and buy new ones. Shoes are important. Save money on clothes and spend it on good shoes.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Are you a big guy rube? Because you will feel like a a Sardine flying these guys, especially Ryanair. They are a great deal right now, but I have a feeling all prices might drop again soon, so you might luck in and fly Lufthansa, Swiss or the like.

Kind of agree, since I'm a pretty tall guy. Rube is a little more 'compact'. The flights are so short, there's barely enough time to get uncomfortable. A couple/three hours tops.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Are you a big guy rube? Because you will feel like a a Sardine flying these guys, especially Ryanair. They are a great deal right now, but I have a feeling all prices might drop again soon, so you might luck in and fly Lufthansa, Swiss or the like.

I've got about 15 lbs and 2 inches on Martin St. Louis so finding a seat is usually not a problem for me.

With all the advice on here I might need to take two years over there. It may be a good idea since I can pretty well work anywhere I want for up to a year without needing a visa.

I definitely want to get to Estonia to catch some honey wrestling.