My Europe trip. May-July 07 - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**raoulduke** · 03-01-2007, 03:17 AM

Hey guys as my trip gets nearer I figured I'd let you all know my plans. I'm hoping at this point for a 3 month trip, longer if I can afford it. This is my first big trip so the details are still a bit rough.

I'm leaving May 2nd with a mate and have a 4 day stopover in Dubai, I'm staying free at a friends place, and hoping to check out, among other things, the Wild Wadi water park.

After this I'm off to London from where I will embark on a 14 day 'European Highlights' Contiki tour, I'm not entirely keen on this kind of tour but I'm sure it will still be a blast. After the tour I will have around a week to explore some more Europe before saying goodbye to my mate and going it alone.

I plan to carry on for another two months after this however my itinery is still up in the air. The only concrete things I have is a Chemical Brothers concert in A'Dam at the end of June and a running of the bulls tour which leaves from London.

Please help me out by posting suggestions on places to visit in the time I have free (pretty much all of June and the second half of July) If anyone wants to recommend a rough itinery for me to follow I will certainly consider it.

Also at this stage I don't plan on getting a Eurail pass as they seem very expensive compared to using low cost airlines, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Well if you've made it this far thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any and all advice and suggestions.

**Esterina** · 03-01-2007, 07:51 AM

That sounds great already !

There is so much to see and do in Europe, so in order to narrow it down to fit your expectations, we need to know more about your preferences and budget limitations. Do you want to stick around Western Europe or would like to travel further south (Greece, Turkey), north (Sweden, Norway), or east (Hungary, Romania) ? What kind of activities do you have in mind: extreme sports, outdoors, partying, arts and culture, beaches, people spotting,... ?

And I have a personal request : will you please tell us about Dubai, since you'll be the first tpunk (active that is) to spend time there.

p.s. I moved the thread into another forum to get more replies, since it's not only a departure announcement.

**lost in texas** · 03-01-2007, 09:10 AM

Good luck with everything, and have a great time. Dubai is amazing, by the way. It's one of the cleanest, most modern cities I've ever visited. I'm sure your friends will show you around, but be sure to check out the indoor ski mountain at the Mall of the Emirates-- the country has way too much oil money.

**raoulduke** · 03-01-2007, 04:52 PM

Thanks guys I will definitely share my Dubai experiences here. Hopefully I can get my hands on some of that oil money.

Atchoum I think I'll be focusing on Western Europe this time. I have friends who I might be able to crash with in Cork so I'll do that if I can get out there cheap. I will be going to Prague though and am not against going further East if it's something worth checking out and will stretch my dollar a bit further.

I'm always up for a party and will probably have at least a couple of extreme sports experiences. Friends have told me I MUST go to Interlaken so I'll probably do it there.

I think at some point I will find somewhere beachy to relax for a while and restore some energy. Perhaps San Fermin if it's not too busy after the Bulls.

Also I'd like to check out the Salvador Dali museum (probably after the running of the bulls) and the M.C Escher museum in The Hague (?) probably after my chemical brothers concert.

I also want to check out some WW2 sites including Auschwitz, I'm also very keen to see the Berlin Wall, so Germany will have to be on my list.

Sorry for my rambling but it's really helping my planning by just typing my random thoughts and ideas.

**marc873** · 03-01-2007, 09:14 PM

Ya know, you could catch a plane from Prague to Croatia, maybe go to Dubrovinik or Split. Things seem extremely good there for travelers now. Its on our list next summer. I know Air Lingus has flights in and out of Croatia at good rates.

I didn't know about the Escher museum in the Hague. You just intrigued me with that. Any idea how far it is from the train station or just where it is in general.

Oh yeah, have you found anywhere in A dam to stay yet? Still gotta get that meat up happening. I know theres a bar in the place we are staying close to the concert hall.

**raoulduke** · 03-01-2007, 09:26 PM

I think I'm just going to set myself up at the flying pig downtown. Not sure how far it is from the music hall but I can't go to A'dam without giving it ago. I need to get a credit card next week so I can start booking some flights and hostels. Don't worry the meet up will happen, even if it's just so I don't have to find my way there by myself.

Not sure about the Escher museum specifics yet sorry the site is here but it conveniently in Dutch. There was a wikipedia article about it that I stumbled across which might give some more clues.

Thanks for the tip I'll look into Croatia and such.

**freespiritz** · 03-01-2007, 09:32 PM

Sounds like you'll have fun. Not much advice from me on this end, but hey.

Good luck and let us know how it goes....I say go to Eastern Europe if you can, but that's just because I'd love to check it out.

**raoulduke** · 03-01-2007, 09:42 PM

Well it's sweet of you to be so kind since I was so cruel to you in your thread. It's not every day I get the chance to go somewhere you haven't been. Eastern Europe is on!

**raoulduke** · 03-02-2007, 01:46 AM

And apologies I said previously I would like to spend a week in San Fermin. This obviously isn't a place but the name of the festival. I of course meant to say San Sebastion.

Inside · 03-02-2007, 04:35 AM

Im heading over in may aswell, you never know we may just cross paths in places such as pamplona

**marc873** · 03-02-2007, 05:42 AM

Hey raoulduke, on the Escher page, upper left corner there is a tab to get the page in english. You will find that most dutch pages have an english option since they all speak it, you just kinda have to hunt around the page for it. The Escher page has directions from the train station and all that good stuff. I hear ya on the flying pig, we'll just have to meet for pre show beers!!! I'm thinking there will be other Tpunks as well

**florencia9699** · 03-02-2007, 06:46 AM

Haha, I will assume you meant San Sebastián??

Check ur PMs!

**Maineartist** · 03-02-2007, 10:53 AM

Hey Raoulduke sounds like a great trip. I suggest visiting Cornwall's Coast in England because it is beautiful coastline. In France take a helicopter tour to Versailles, the beaches of Normandy etc.

**freespiritz** · 03-02-2007, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raoulduke

Well it's sweet of you to be so kind since I was so cruel to you in your thread. It's not every day I get the chance to go somewhere you haven't been. Eastern Europe is on!

I'm nice, what can I say.

And I really haven't been to *that* many places!

**raoulduke** · 03-04-2007, 02:11 AM

Thanks for the tip Marc. I knew the English button would be there somewhere. Beers sounds good. Especially if we can get some more TPunkers there.

Also thanks Maineartist. I definitely want to visit both Versailles and the beaches of Normandy, I think a helicopter will be a bit beyond my budget though.

I'm thinking about getting a 10 day/2 month eurail pass as well as booking a couple of flights.

If anyone wants to recommend a rough itinery for it will be greatly appreciated.

Oh and Flo, PM me back and let me know what your plans are!

alpinesumo · 03-14-2007, 11:14 AM

I love beers. And will be through Amsterdam in may. My plan is into Cologne May 1, out May 30, and that's as far as I've gotten. So...let me know what you guys decide on that beer thing haha

**Canadian Bacon** · 03-14-2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raoulduke

Please help me out by posting suggestions on places to visit in the time I have free (pretty much all of June and the second half of July) If anyone wants to recommend a rough itinery for me to follow I will certainly consider it.

Dude, why don't you hit up Running of the Bulls from 7-14 of July! Yes, we can have a meet up and our very own tent!

**raoulduke** · 03-14-2007, 11:19 PM

I've got a tour booked for the running. It goes from 4th-8th but I might hang around longer.

I'll check out the TPunk camp site don't worry about that!

**Brookers13** · 03-15-2007, 08:31 PM

San Sebastian is a gorgeous place...but I found hostels quite expensive there or I would have stayed longer...great place tho..full of aussies...

**florencia9699** · 03-16-2007, 01:39 PM

Sooooo..... how long until you board the plane??

I have 42 days!!!