Alright, so I've been planning for quite some time now to head over to the UK and catch my favorite band, Depeche Mode, in Manchester and London, all of which was supposed to take place over a week at the end of March. So far, so good.

Well today, I was talking to my boss and got the OK to go away for an extra week since I didn't get my long-awaited junket to paris next week. That and the ticket turned out to be waaaaay cheaper that way. So I'll also be hitting up another destination after London, location TBA. Currently under consideration is Prague, before it gets too expensive and because one of my friends wants to go there as well..

Otherwise, I'm open to ANY suggestions for places that are cheap to get to from London, the only qualification being that I haven't been there before - I want a new stamp for the ol' passaporte.

Sofia?

Dude. DUH. Bavaria and the freakin' ALPS, man!!! :stoked:

depeche mode is your favourite band?? Ok well i can always meet up in Manchester with you for a coffee if your interested?

when is DP playing in march? they are definetly in my top five.

hey, and don't forget that there are a few meet-ups happening in the UK involving anthon and i between march 10th and march 21st. tecia might even be there. when are you heading over?

According to Pollstar, they're in Manchester on March 30th and Birmingham the night after, March 31st.

I'd make a suggestion, omi, but 1. I haven't been many places to know where to suggest yet...and 2. I don't know what stamps are already in your passport!

I'd head to the Alps if you haven't been there Omi, or Portugal :cheers:

I'll be getting to Manchester on the 29th, then into London on April 1st.

Bri - what's this "coffee" thing you speak of? Around here, we only drink BEER! Liverpuddle's only about an hour away by train, right? Perhaps I can sneak out there for a day trip.

As far as stamps I already have, not that many: Ireland, France, Spain, Netherlands - so it's pretty wide open. I've been thinking more and more about the old eastern bloc countries, just out of economical reasons, but somewhere relatively warm doesn't sound half bad either. Hrmmmmmm.

If you're looking to party, I had plenty of people recommend Riga, Latvia to me...there's a hostel there called Fun Friendly Frank's - beer upon arrival and all that jazz ;) Plenty of people on these boards have also sang the praises of Poland. For warmth, I think the Adriatic coast could be good, but of course Prague is a decent choice as well.

Thanks... Yeah, I've been looking at Riga and Tallinn as well... cold, but cheap and great party locales!

When I was there in the middle of January, it actually wasn't cold at all. Granted, that may be different now.

Also, if Tallinn, I definitely recommend the Old Town Backpacker's. Their new location, while they still have some minor kinks to work out, is pretty damn sweet. The biggest downside is that there is "technically" one shower, but there are also two sauna showers upstairs. The flat itself though is very lavish.

Very cool! I missed Depeche Mode in Atlanta and I am still mad about it....

That is great you are getting to travel again so soon after your last big trip!

I haven`t been to eastern Europe yet so cannot advise. I guess if money is a big issue that would make the most sense...I highly recommend Portugal but it might be better when it`s warmer....

Omi, I just got an e-mail from easyjet the other day, saying they're running a big sale for travel through March. Pull up their web page and see what destinations jump out at you...although it's hard to argue with Prague. That'd definitely be a good choice. Plus, you'll see it in more of an off season if you're going in March!

worldwidemike

Im trying to live down my "Beer" reputation ha ha...yeah it's about 40 mins away on the train/bus dont forget to check out national express because you may be able to get a return on the coach for £2

I would definately recommend fun friendly franks or as i liked to call it when i was there "fun-time frankies"...and you can fly from Liverpool

Being an Eastern Europe lover, I'd suggest the Baltics, Budapest, Krakow, Prague or Budapest, all Easyjet destinations. And like you said yourself, go before it gets as expensive as in the west, and I'd add before the eastern spirit disapear. It turned already very westernized since the fall of the Iron Curtain...

Omi, that's so awesome! Huzzah!
As for a cheap trip to get stamps, why not just go to ryanair, watch for them to do one of their crazy one pound flights+tax, pick a random ass city that you've never heard of and cant pronounce, and just go. I always meant to do that when I lived in london but never quite found the time. You'll not have the faintest idea where you're arriving, it would be so much fun. Anyway Im going to do it at least once or twice...

Hrmm.. not a bad idea, Steph. As long as I'm back in London a week later to catch my flight home, I guess it doesn't really matter where I go, eh? Definitely something to consider, though I also kind of like to study up on places and learn the language before I hit anywhere new. Yes, I am a freakin' nerd.

I second bellelass's suggestion. If you can't find a return Ryan air flight for £30 all in, i will be shocked. So ridiculously cheap, normally because they dont fly you to the city airport, rather a disused soviet airbase complete with crop sprayers and dilapidated 1950's aircraft. Well worth it i reckon, just make sure the taxi drivers don't mug you off when you leave the airport........which is almost kind of inevitable while travelling in the eastern bloc. Still will be a good laugh though!

Budapest. I loved it and you can con Bri into going with you ;) She loves it there! Its a very cool place and CHEAP. Whatever you decide, enjoy!

Foo

:cheers:

Vilnius is awesome, but harder to get to - Ryanair fly into Riga or Kaunas (from Fkft-Hahn), but then you have to hop on a bus. Well worth it, I think, but maybe I'm biased.

Prague in March would be good - not warm but not swarming, either. Won't be much that actually qualifies as "warm", anywhere in Europe, I don't think. We spent a week in Greece last year, and a week in southern Spain the year before, and while it was definitely an improvement on Lithuania, it really wasn't bask-on-the-beach weather. Fine for sightseeing, and a nice break from rain or snow, though. What about Malta? They've just started up a low fare carrier - I think it starts as of March 1, actually. Might be a little nicer there.

I like the show up at the airport and catch the cheapest flight approach, too.

:tumbleweed: