# Need cheap Europe travel advice



## WestTexan87 (Dec 14, 2005)

I'm planning to go to Europe in late Dec/early Janwith a friend to just see as much as possible in about 2 weeks. The cheapest airfare I've found (out of Abilene TX) is $733 into Paris on AA. That's fine, but is there a cheaper way to see as much of Europe as possible than buying a Eurail pass? The unlimited one starts at $439 for 15 days. I've looked at easyJet and it seems promising, but a bit tiring riding planes over and over again. I'd rather see the land I'm crossing and go through as many countries as possible. Any advice? Tips? Places? Websites? Anything.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Hitchike, that's cheap.

Also there can be a big difference in general costs depending on what countries you want to visit, you'll get much more for your money in Slovakia compared to Switzerland for example.


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## MoreOrLess (Feb 17, 2005)

Since theres two of you what about car hire? would increase journey times but if you pick an area thats relatively compact(say London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels) that shouldnt be a problem.


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## KHS (Mar 13, 2007)

Come to the Adriatic coast. Croatia is very popular.:dj: 

*Some pictures....*http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=396469

Croatia, Island of Pag, Novalja, Zrče beach::rock: 
















Croatia, Island of Hvar, Hvar, Carpe Diem: :nocrook: 
















:dance:


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## Giorgio (Oct 9, 2004)

If your going to go all the way to Croatia, you may as well go to Greece and its Isles...


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

WestTexan87 said:


> I'm planning to go to Europe in late Dec/early Jan with a friend to just see as much as possible in about 2 weeks.


2 weeks in the middle of winter... hmm - you might want to stay in the south and come back for the north in the summer, when it's more suited and at it's best..

The cheapest way of getting around Europe is low budget airlines like Ryan Air and bus services like Eurolines

( http://www.ryanair.com/ - http://www.eurolines.com/ )

But personally I'd go with a member of Star Alliance or train

( http://www.staralliance.com/ - http://www.raileurope.com/ )

You can rent a car, but gas is about 2x to 3x the price of in the States and the prices around that range to, so even with two people it's certainly not the most ecoomical - plus in the winter chances are lots of rain and lousy conditions - especially in mountanous areas.. ( you have to be 18 to drive and will face extra fees until 21-25 )


If interested in Denmark I can inform you that at that point of time the days are short here.. ( 8am - 5pm ) and the temp is around 5C-15C around the clock with chances of high winds ( why you should come in the summer instead )
There's no snow ( that's not until late january ) but it does rain from time to time and sunny days are far apart at those temps ( the closer to 0C the better the chance of sun )..

The old town is decorated for Yule-time at that time and is very cozy - and New Years Eve is a blast with fireworks and booze is all directions.. ( celebrate it around the City Hall Square )

There's no drinking age here ( but 18 is normally required to enter clubs ) and alcohol can be injoyed in any form at any place...

For pics feel free to follow my signature - there you will also find a link to winter pics...


Just be aware that it's the "worst" time of years to visit and at that time only the most southern points will be pleasent, especially if comming from texas..


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## Federicoft (Sep 26, 2005)

^^
I'm not trying to be anal but... are you sure days in Denmark are 8am - 5pm during the winter?
That's more sunlight than we get over there.


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## KHS (Mar 13, 2007)

WestTexan87 said:


> I'm planning to go to Europe *in late Dec/early Jan*


Im sorry. I missed that one. Croatia or Greece are probably better during summer or spring. :cheers:


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## Troopchina (Oct 7, 2005)

WestTexan87 said:


> I'm planning to go to Europe in late Dec/early .


Not the best time of year to visit but nevertheless there's plenty to see. I suggest southern europe + Alps region.

Spain-southern France-Italy-Switserland-Austria


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## MoreOrLess (Feb 17, 2005)

Mr_Denmark said:


> You can rent a car, but gas is about 2x to 3x the price of in the States and the prices around that range to, so even with two people it's certainly not the most ecoomical - plus in the winter chances are lots of rain and lousy conditions - especially in mountanous areas.. ( you have to be 18 to drive and will face extra fees until 21-25 ).


Really depends how much and where your traveling I spose. If you want to look around 3-4 big cities with good public transport or travel long distances then train/plane is probabley the better option. If you want to visit alot of sities in a manageable area and have alot of freedom then car hire might well be.

Personal prefference I spose but I'v always found my favourite areas in places like France and Italy were away from the big cities so you needed a car to access them.


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## WestTexan87 (Dec 14, 2005)

Judging by your comments and my own common sense, I might just wait until the summer. I'm just impatient. I often forget that mostly all of Europe is north of me here in TX (though I hail originally from NY). I've been to Central Italy (Rome, Florence, Capri, Sorrento) and Greece (Delphi, Athens) and loved both. I wish to return to Florence and I'd love to see Pisa, Venice and Milan if possible. I have been surprised by how beautiful cities like Zagreb and Ljubljana look. I never thought of going to these places, but by the looks of them, they would be quite lovely and not quite so touristy. I would love to visit Spain, esp Barcelona and am hell-bent on touring GB. Other than that, I'd love to see Prague, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, the Nordic countries, and southern Germany. I don't know...I seem to want to do everything! I guess if I went next summer, I'd have more time to work with. I think that's the smartest thing, though my patience may not survive (haha). I'm so excited to return to Europe! I love the history, the culture, the architecture, etc etc etc. Thank you all so much for your responses. They are appreciated!


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

federicoft said:


> I'm not trying to be anal but... are you sure days in Denmark are 8am - 5pm during the winter?
> That's more sunlight than we get over there.


I was thinking more in the terms of daylight - not sun light... 


I looked it up and Dec 24 2008:

Sunrise: 08:38
Sunset: 15:50

Today:

Sunrise: 04:47
Sunset: 21:43


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

WestTexan87 said:


> I wish to return to Florence and I'd love to see Pisa, Venice and Milan if possible. I have been surprised by how beautiful cities like Zagreb and Ljubljana look. I never thought of going to these places, but by the looks of them, they would be quite lovely and not quite so touristy. I would love to visit Spain, esp Barcelona and am hell-bent on touring GB. Other than that, I'd love to see Prague, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, the Nordic countries, and southern Germany.


:lol: Sounds like you need to take 12 months off work to see all of that!


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## KHS (Mar 13, 2007)

WestTexan87 said:


> Judging by your comments and my own common sense, I might just wait until the summer.


That would be a good idea. 



WestTexan87 said:


> I have been surprised by how beautiful cities like Zagreb and Ljubljana look. I never thought of going to these places, but by the looks of them, they would be quite lovely and not quite so touristy.


You should definitely visit the coast if you come to Zagreb. It´s only 3 hour drive on new A1 motorway which passes thro some dramatic landscape. You wouldn´t have to worry about the money. It´s alot cheaper in Croatia then in Western Europe. 

*Here is a link of Zagreb Tourist Board and great movie...*http://www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr/?id=151&l=h

*And some A1 movies (they are really good)...*









































Last two are the best


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## KHS (Mar 13, 2007)

WestTexan87 said:


> Judging by your comments and my own common sense, I might just wait until the summer.


That would be a good idea. 



WestTexan87 said:


> I have been surprised by how beautiful cities like Zagreb and Ljubljana look. I never thought of going to these places, but by the looks of them, they would be quite lovely and not quite so touristy.


You should definitely visit the coast if you come to Zagreb. It´s only 3 hour drive on new A1 motorway which passes thro some dramatic landscape. You wouldn´t have to worry about the money. It´s alot cheaper in Croatia then in Western Europe. 

*Here is a link of Zagreb Tourist Board and great movie...*http://www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr/?id=151&l=h

*And some A1 movies (they are really good)...*









































Last two are the best


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## WestTexan87 (Dec 14, 2005)

Alright, so my friend and I have sat down and looked over our ideas and have decided that it would be smarter to spend more time in fewer countries than to try to visit everything all crammed together. Here's our tentative idea:

Fly into London, spend a couple days there, go visit Stonehenge (how does one get there without a car?), take a train up to the Lakes District, hike around some (any info on that area and good accomodations would be welcome), continue on the train north into Scotland, visit Edinburgh before heading back to London. Then we'll either train or plane our way to Paris (what's the cheapest way?) and spend a couple days there (any good hostels?) before taking the train to Italy (maybe through Switzerland) and switch in Milan east to get to Venice. We'll spend a couple days in Venice before backtracking, maybe heading north out of Verona through Innsbruck and western Germany to get up to Amsterdam for a day or two. Then We'll ride back to Paris, maybe spend another day there before getting back to London and flying home. What do you think?


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

The cheapest way is to avoid western europe at all. West from the "iron curtain" is expensive. Don't listen to people from there. Here,you can visit from Poland through south until bulgaria from the money you would spend in just paris.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

You are absolutly right... Scandinavia, UK, France, Italy, Spain... EXPENSIVE as hell!! I know it, I live in western Europe. But you also have to take care east of the Iron Curtain - Budapest, Prague, Moscow... got very expensive as well and have the same price level nowadays. Also Turkey and Greece are not cheap anymore. Maybe Bulgaria, Romania, Moldavia and Ukraine?


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## schmidt (Dec 5, 2002)

^^ Just say NOTHING in Europe is cheap anymore. 

Spain would be a nice place to start and it is NOT that expensive there. It was not for me, and the change here is 1 € = R$ 2,60, so if you earn in dollars well, not expensive at all. But on what concerns other countries, well, I've also been to Portugal, which is also cheap and Italy, which was surprisingly expensive.

If you want to go to Spain and if you are with a friend, then you should stay in some, as they say, HOSTAL, which are two-star hotels. The one I stayed in Madrid was very good and clean, 52 € a night.

Another tip, if you plan to visit many countries, you should try booking the tickets in advance TOGETHER with your intercontinental ticket, it makes everything cheaper. I travelled with TAP (which is not a low cost carrier) all though Europe and it cost me the same as if I just landed in Lisbon with them and travelled with some other low-cost airline. But I haven't tried the low-cost ones, so I cannot give you an opinion.

But I myself when went to Europe thought it would be all horribly expensive, and well, it's sometimes to a certain extent, but, for me, most of the prices were reasonable.

Oh, and go to the South, I dunno, the Center/North may get too chilly and overcast for days. During all my 2-week stay in Europe last Feb., all I saw was showers, showers and more showers for England, N. France and BeNeLux.


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## Apteryx (Apr 3, 2007)

If you pass through Milan here you can find some tips
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=504929

bye


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