It's booked! NY - London...December 19th - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

xanthuos · 12-08-2005, 02:44 PM

Well, today was the day. I booked my flight (one-way) on Virgin from New York (Newark) to London (Heathrow). The total was a lovely $280 all-in. For my return, I'll be booking an Aer Lingus flight Dublin - New York, $200 all-in.

My trip itinerary is roughly thus:
December 19th - Fly NY - London
December 20th - Arrive London in the morning, spend the day in London proper, fly to Tampere (Finland) in the evening. Arrive Tampere and take the train to Helsinki.
December 21st - Board Silja Line cruise to Stockholm.
December 22nd - Arrive in Stockholm in the morning. Spend the day in Stockholm. Board the cruise back in the evening.
December 23rd - Arrive back in Helsinki.
December 26th or 27th - Fly to London. Spend a few days in London, then return to Helsinki around December 30th. (Still tentative)
January 15th - Take the ferry from Helsinki - Tallinn and spend the night in Tallinn, Estonia.
January 16th - Fly from Tallinn back to London. Spend some time in the UK & Ireland (exact dates and places undecided).
January 22nd - Fly back to New York from Dublin, Ireland.

I haven't yet booked my return from Dublin yet, but it looks as though it'll be that Sunday, January 22nd. Between the 16th and the 22nd, I'm hoping to plan London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Dublin. It'll probably be 2 in London, 1 in Birmingham, 1 in Edinburgh, and 2 in Dublin. It'll just depend on what I get for flights or coaches and such.

So there is my first international trip (other than my usual trips to between the US and Canada) I've planned and started to book since discovering Travelpunk!

What do you guys think?

Anyone up for a meet-up?

**U2fan** · 12-08-2005, 02:55 PM

Very VERY cool! Sounds like an amazing first trip!!!!!!!!!

I have always wanted to go to Scandinavia and you will see that, the UK, Ireland AND Estonia?!!!!

Just out of curiosity, why are you going back to London on 26 Dec. and then returning to Helsinki?

**omisan** · 12-08-2005, 03:08 PM

Looks nice!

My only concern is that other than Talinn, you're going to some of the most expensive places around. You loaded or something???

xanthuos · 12-08-2005, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by omisan@Dec 8 2005, 07:08 PM
Looks nice!

My only concern is that other than Talinn, you're going to some of the most expensive places around. You loaded or something???

[snapback]91780[/snapback]

Isn't that the truth! That long in Helsinki would not be possible without being able to stay with a friend there. No accomodation costs!

Lauren - the trip to London would be with a friend

though I'm not sure I want to spend the money for that...

**bluepea** · 12-08-2005, 05:26 PM

Sounds awesome Xanthous. That'll be a lot of fun. Good prices to boot.

chelseafc05 · 12-08-2005, 05:40 PM

i thought you were gonna be in europe in june?

anyway sounds good

**space virgin** · 12-08-2005, 09:39 PM

Congrats!!!

Wow, that's an awful lot of travel in your first few days.

Also, one thing you should know about Birmingham is that there are NO hostels.

There's talk of opening at least one eventually, but for now you'd have to either stay with someone you know or grab a hotel room. FYI.

**beergal** · 12-09-2005, 03:07 AM

there is a hostel in liverpool...if you fancy a tpunk meet-up?

xanthuos · 12-09-2005, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chelseafc05+Dec 8 2005, 09:40 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chelseafc05 @ Dec 8 2005, 09:40 PM)</div>

Quote:

i thought you were gonna be in europe in june?

anyway sounds good

[snapback]91826[/snapback]
[/b]

I was/am. I was planning two trips. This is only for the holidays. I was/am planning to go back for 4-5 months during the late spring/summer/fall. Those plans have become more tentative, though, because of a recent development here in NYC.

Quote:

Originally posted by space virgin@Dec 9 2005, 01:39 AM
Congrats!!!* * Wow, that's an awful lot of travel in your first few days.* *

Also, one thing you should know about Birmingham is that there are NO hostels.* * There's talk of opening at least one eventually, but for now you'd have to either stay with someone you know or grab a hotel room.* FYI.*

[snapback]91870[/snapback]

If I go to Birmingham, it will be to visit a friend. Thanks for the warning though, SV...I'd probably have figured out there wasn't a hostel when I went looking to book into one, but it's good to have the information now.

<!--QuoteBegin-beergal1@Dec 9 2005, 07:07 AM
there is a hostel in liverpool...if you fancy a tpunk meet-up?

[snapback]91893[/snapback]

I just might! As I said in the chat last night...if my friend and I go to London between Christmas and New Year's, then I may spend the end of my trip everywhere else in the British Isles.

**kingcrazylegs** · 12-10-2005, 02:39 PM

Awesome dude!

**Diorama** · 12-10-2005, 02:51 PM

Nice!! can't believe how cheap that flight is between newark and london! If you do happen to stay in Liverpool then make sure you stay at the embassie hostel. Sweet place. Very chilled out. Upon arrival they sit you down in the kitchen and have tea and biscuits with you and have a chat. Not money hungry at all.

xanthuos · 12-13-2005, 04:04 PM

Well, I had to modify the plans just a touch. I won't have a day in London because I've had all sorts of problems trying to book my flight on Ryanair with their website...so I broke down and was prepared to book a $260 flight from London to Helsinki to make sure I arrived so that I could still take the cruise to Stockholm (my friend's sister won it, so the dates have already been booked). Well, Orbitz is a wonderful thing and as I booked the flight, it said it found a lower fare - now only $160. It ended up being cheaper than the Ryanair flight I intended to take (which was 79 pounds when I first tried to book it, and 129 pounds when I ended up booking the Orbitz flight).
So now, I'll be flying from Tallinn to London on the 16th of January and will book my flight Dublin to the US for sometime after, the 22nd at the latest. I think in between the 16-22nd, I'm going to do at least London, Liverpool, and Dublin. I think I'm going to skip Birmingham and Edinburgh and cover those sometime later in 2006 when I hope to be back!