Hello Everyone!
How long are you planning on being away?
Cheers,
Terry
How long are you planning on being away?
Cheers,
Terry
We plan on backing for two months!
Okay... now don't take this the wrong way (because everyone's travel style is different) but trying to maintain a pace of barely over 3 days per city INCLUDING travel time for two solid months through 17 countries is my absolute definition of hell. I can't imagine rushing blindly at top speed every day for two months in order to pack in that much travel. It's incomprehensible.
That said, everyone travels at a different pace. Some people are happy being on a tight schedule covering a lot of ground and never stopping anywhere to settle in with the locals, others (like me) travel at a pace that would bore your socks off.
All the best with your research... but honestly... please consider cutting out a few countries/cities...
Cheers,
Terry
In this part of the world I don't think you will have many problems with racism - it is more of an issue in Russia and eastern Europe so maybe some places like Krakow Budapest Warsaw but I don't really think so.
Sometimes seeing the city is not seeing the country. Please don't go to Scotland and only visit Edinburgh - better to take a tour of the highlands for four or five days and see what Scotland is about. Edinburgh is just another city but with a few bagpipes for the tourists.
Terry has a good point about scaling down your list a bit. Personally I don't think Marrakech and Split are worth the detours. Warsaw has not much authentic left to see - a lot is rebuilt fakes by the Soviets. Rome would be on my list. So would Moscow and St Petersburg but they are harder to add.
In this part of the world I don't think you will have many problems with racism - it is more of an issue in Russia and eastern Europe so maybe some places like Krakow Budapest Warsaw but I don't really think so.
Sometimes seeing the city is not seeing the country. Please don't go to Scotland and only visit Edinburgh - better to take a tour of the highlands for four or five days and see what Scotland is about. Edinburgh is just another city but with a few bagpipes for the tourists.
Terry has a good point about scaling down your list a bit. Personally I don't think Marrakech and Split are worth the detours. Warsaw has not much authentic left to see - a lot is rebuilt fakes by the Soviets. Rome would be on my list. So would Moscow and St Petersburg but they are harder to add.
So we have actually scaled down our list to 13 countries and cities:
Stockholm
Berlin
Prague
Krakow
Budapest
Istanbul
Split
Geneva
Marrakesh
Paris
London
Dublin
Amsterdam
Hopefully we can enjoy each city in a span of 2 months!
Your plans are still too ambitious with an itinerary that covers a lot of territory, which means you'll probably have to include some flights. You can save some money by sleeping on overnight trains. But that can be exhausting. Some of the cities you're visiting are among the most expensive in the world. Check on the Web to get an idea on how much hostels cost in each city. Summer is peak season, so prices are likely to be higher. There are alternatives, such as university dorms that open during summer. Morocco and Turkey are out of the way from the rest of your itinerary. You'll be wasting your money to get there only to spend three days each in Marrakesh and Istanbul. Culturally, those countries also are different from the others on your itinerary. Stockholm also is somewhat out of the way. Why not concentrate on Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London and Eastern Europe? The lower costs of the latter will help offset the higher prices of the former. That will help your budget. London has free museums, but you'll pay up for other things. To estimate travel time between cities, consult the German railways Web site, which has schedules for trains throughout Europe. Many European railways, such as Austria's OBB, offer discounts on fares and tours. Add some flexibility to your itinerary. Otherwise, you'll be harried; and you won't be able to linger in a place that turns out to be fabulous. Hope this helps.
Dear Thalia,
Ditto Andy & Berner... you're getting some good advice here.
By the way, what's your budget? Berner makes a very good observation regarding the costs in some of the cities you have listed...
Cheers,
Terry
Your plans are still too ambitious with an itinerary that covers a lot of territory, which means you'll probably have to include some flights. You can save some money by sleeping on overnight trains. But that can be exhausting. Some of the cities you're visiting are among the most expensive in the world. Check on the Web to get an idea on how much hostels cost in each city. Summer is peak season, so prices are likely to be higher. There are alternatives, such as university dorms that open during summer. Morocco and Turkey are out of the way from the rest of your itinerary. You'll be wasting your money to get there only to spend three days each in Marrakesh and Istanbul. Culturally, those countries also are different from the others on your itinerary. Stockholm also is somewhat out of the way. Why not concentrate on Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London and Eastern Europe? The lower costs of the latter will help offset the higher prices of the former. That will help your budget. London has free museums, but you'll pay up for other things. To estimate travel time between cities, consult the German railways Web site, which has schedules for trains throughout Europe. Many European railways, such as Austria's OBB, offer discounts on fares and tours. Add some flexibility to your itinerary. Otherwise, you'll be harried; and you won't be able to linger in a place that turns out to be fabulous. Hope this helps.
Thanks Berner for the advice!
The main reasoning for flying into Stockholm is the ticket price is $600 and some change compared to flying into other major cities where the ticket cost is $1000+. Also, I've always really wanted to go to Marrakech because of the colorful architecture! I have checked ticket prices from Geneva or Split to Marrakech and they are no more than $40 but I do see what your saying. I also have checked hostel prices for summer and it was $1900 and some change for flight and accommodations WITH THE FIRST LIST OF CITIES I had. So I can imagine the cost would be lower now since we have scaled down and might me scaling down even more. I appreciate your advice and will definitely take it into consideration. Also, Terry, our budget ranges from 3 to 5 thousand dollars.
Hi
Sounds pretty good actually.
The Stockholm flight deal - good move. Copenhagen fitted well with that, and it's an interesting city so a shame to see it dropped.
Re Marrakech - you're quite right to keep your must see items whatever the cost and if you've found cheap flights then great!
In general I think eastern Europe is about a third of the cost of western, so if you can maximize your time there then that will help the budget. Good luck and I hope you have a fabulous trip! :-)
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