So I've decided to go on a trip. Not sure how long, or where but in the general vicinity of Europe. I'll be starting in Germany for Oktoberfest but after that it's fair game. Places I'd like to see would be the French Riviera, Monaco, Northern Spain (Bilbao, Bisque area?) Austria, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Paris, London and who knows were else. Perhaps Rome. I will be buying a Eurail Pass so transportation is not a big issue. Thinking about 6 weeks.

Any EU counterparts on here that can give me an idea of what to see in certain cities? I don't want to just walk around taking pictures the whole time. As much fun as that can be. I am going alone FYI too...

 

Speak to TrickerZ, he took a eurotrip about a year ago.

 

Go visit Oscar.

 

Yes. We can play big spoon and little spoon.

 

Lol... Well it would be cool to meet up with some mt ers along the way... Maybe then I could see some actual cool **** rather than all the tourist trap stuff.

 

So I want to rent a car to drive the ring.. any other places than here that are not all super expensive?
http://www.rent4ring.de/en/info/rent...dschleife.html

This is the only one I've found with average cars. All the rest are like 911's, exiges etc. which I can't afford.

 

Silverstone?

 

What about Silverstone? I don't want to do a whole track day since that would cost a lot... just a few laps around the ring. Get the sticker/t-shirt and be on my way... lol. I want to go to the Ferarri and Porsche factories.

hehe... any EU members have any enduro races in Sept/Oct they need another driver for

 

So I think I've settled on doing this tour. It's on sale... lol

http://ca.contiki.com/destinations/e...european-vista

Then afterwards seeing which places I wish I had a bit more time to stay at and go re-visit and then stay for a week in Germany and visit Berlin and Munich or something for Oktoberfest.

 

What I will tell you is to NOT take a tour. You won't get your money's worth and you'll feel rushed. What I've always done when I've traveled is fly to my furthest destination and worked my way back (i.e. I flew to Prague and worked my way back west after fooling around in Eastern Europe for a few weeks).

I've got a definitive guide to Dublin because I lived there. PM me if you think you are capable of following my instructions and want to get laid.

 

The best thing to do is to rent a car and get into the mountains (France/Switzerland/Italy)











Your list of places do look good.

 

Yeah I've done some research now and seems like the Contiki tours are basically just a party bus. Which is not why I want to go to Europe. I am thinking of doing a short Germany and surrounding area tour with Gap Adventures which has much higher ratings (like 5-6 days and only 2-3 cities). They also only use public transports (IE: trains) which is way more appealing that sitting on a bus. Then spend a few weeks on my own with a eurail pass and my backpack. I will be starting either way in Frankfurt and Lake Constance to drop my brother off at a school where he will be for 8 months. Well not really "drop off" since he is 18 but go with him and then trek out from there.

I would really like to see Prauge, Budapest, Venice, Munich, Amsterdam, Marseille and a few others. I wasn't thinking of going to England or Ireland/Scottland but I'm open... Is it worth it as a acutal location to visit other than the portion of getting laid? lol.. I also may hit up Greece. It would be cool to roam around Athens and perhaps hop a few islands.

Any other cities you recommend?

 

If you do, let me know. I can hook you up with a 5* hotel for like $100 per night and we can go for some driving on some beautiful backroads, and do some photography.

 

I'm down. $100/night for 5* is cheap but I think a bit over my daily budget so far. We'll see how it goes. I may be able to pamper myself for one or two nights. Realistically I'm going to be staying in Hostels and cheap hotels/bed and breakfasts most of the time.

 

I don't post too terribly much on here but the few folks here that know me know how much time I spend on planes. I'd be glad to help you out. I've been to most of the cities you list, never on a tour, always booked everything myself and am usually alone (I work for a European company so I get sent over there for work a lot. According to my passport, 7 times but I can't keep the trips straight since I also do a ton of domestic).

Getting around Europe is very easy. I wouldn't do any sort of organized tour for any of the travel. It's too easy to grab train tickets and go. Hotels are not hard to find, most people are friendly.

So you're going to get started in October? It does get decently cold in many parts of Europe and even some of the places that look warm in pics, aren't.

Any specifics I can help with?

 

I'm leaving on the 22nd of Sept. The idea is to travel the more northern places first and then work my way south near the end. At this time of year, what can you recommend to bring (the small things you wouldn't really think of).? I'll be basically bringing one large backpack with a daypack integrated (removable). Would you recommend a HiHostel card or similar? Or just wing it and find independent places. Is the cost much different from Hostels to lower end hotels? And is a Eurail pass worth it, or should I just pay as I go?

Those are the basic questions I have so far...

 

I can't be of much help with hostels, I've never stayed in one. Hotels are all over the place. I've spent anywhere from 65 Euros on the coast of Italy to 400 GPB in London. The range is just amazing. If you plan on taking trains everywhere, the pass would be worth it but there are different levels and types so you'll need to somewhat pre-plan where you are going and how often you'll change cities to make sure you don't over buy or under buy.

I will say that some of the places that a lot of people overlook have been some of my favorites. Finland, I can't tell you how much I love Finland. It's safe, clean, even the most frail Finn can drink you under the table and it's just friendly and beautiful. I know that if you hike in Finland, there are a network of trails that have free sleeping huts built along them. Another fabulous place is Slovenia. It's a way to see the mountains and coast for a fraction of the cost. Croatia (which is right next door) also has an amazing coast.

The most valuable thing in my bag is my travel adapter for my laptop and phone charger. Not one that is huge and bulky, mine is this odd contraption that all plug together to form a cylinder and actually holds 5 or 6 different ends.

Oh, and a few noob tips. Do not every change money at the airport. Watch out for gypsies, especially in places like Paris. Tourists get robbed there constantly. Be on the lookout for free stuff. Pretty much all museums, attractions and even transit has reduced rates for younger people or free days. Almost all Museums in London are free. Don't step in puddles in Paris.


Also, I see you mentioned doing some factory tours. I've done Porsche and if you're in Stuttgart, make sure to tour Mercedes as well. Even if you may not love everything they have on the road right now, trust me on the museum. Just go. Porsche is awesome. Hell, even their little cafe was ridiculously good and had cute little Porsche napkins.

 

Thanks for the tips. So would you suggest Slovenia over Coratia? I think it may be a bit too cold for Finland given the time of year. Any other secret locations? Even small cities in major countries... places that arent going to be such a toursit trap.

So far my list goes, land in Munich.. train to Friedrichshafen to drop bro off at school. Ferry across Lake Constance, train to Geneva VIA Zurich. Geneva to ..... ?

I have a money belt which will hold all my valubles. For electronics I'll have my phone, ipad and camera. Why avoid changing money at the airport? And why skip puddle jumping in Paris?

As for my eurail pass, I can do 5 countries so I'm thinking Germany, Italy, France, Austria and I haven't picked the last one yet. If I want to see one city out of that 5 I can always get an individual trail ticket. I may use Greece as my last one and ferry from Italy to Greece. Check the islands out and Athens (visit Reverant)...

 

From Geneva you have lots of options, short hop to Stelvio, Monaco or the Italian Riviera (Cinque Terre is pretty cool).

Slovenia and Croatia are both gems. Slovenia is very diverse but Croatia might be warmer in september/oktober. In Croatia Split is a nice starting point. Pretty cool city center and ferry connections to just about every other place in Croatia and Italy. Easy to visit some of the islands.

 

Yeah I think Croatia is on my maybe list. I've heard a lot of great things about it. I think I am going to try to visit all the northern places first so when it gets into November I'll be in the south. I have family in Hamburg I am going to visit for a bit so I have to work that in somehow.

My 5 country eurail is now, Germany, Italy, Austria, France the last is Greece or Croatia/Slovenia (counts as one). Any other places I want to go to I can always get a cheap 40-70euro flight. Hell.. I checked... a flight from Helsinki to Rome for instance is 60e. Munich to Athens on one site was 9e. Once you add teh tax and whatnot it was like 40-50e for the 9$ one. But still not bad...