Hi!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. Been crazy busy with school.

This is what I've got for my trip to Europe. Looking at about 45 days +/- 2.

Begin in Ireland - I have family there was thinking of staying there for a week to five days.
England - London - I have friends there. May stay in hostel though. week to five days.
France - Paris - week to 5 days
Italy - Seina, Rome Florence and Venice 12 days
Austria - Vienna - 2 days
Czech Republic - Prague - 2 days
Germany for the remainer or till cash runs low.
Back to Ireland.

I was thinking of getting a Euroselect pass - four countries - France, Italy, Austria and Germany. I'm going to call my family in Belfast this week to see what transport may be like there. I may be able to travel with them free - which would be cool. From there to London is extra expense, as is London to Paris and back in both cases and to Prague. I was thinking I may hit the Dalmation Coast in Croatia for some fun in the sun.

I'm looking at about $3000 Canadian or 2000 Euros. whaddaya think?

I think the finances work out...but you're not going to Spain!

Looks like a solid plan.. and somehow I think you'll wind up spending more time in Prague before heading to Deutschland!

I, too, question the omission of Spain. Spain RAWKS.

I would like to go to Spain but it wasn't on my top ten. Do you think I may be able to squeeze it in somewhere? And where would be the best place to go? I don't drink at all, so a super party town isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Perhaps, I could hit Madrid and maybe a nice beach and then moving on. I'm not a great beach person. I like it for a day or two, but would much rather be meeting people, exploring culture and taking in the sights both natural and artistic than lying on a beach. However, on the other hand, with this continual movement perhaps a break would be welcome.

So, I have three questions. I was orginially looking a the Euroselect pass for four countries which comes out to about 700 CDN but I have budgetted for 2 grand for flight and transport. I'm confident I can get a round trip flight for under 800 which leaves me with 1200 CDN for transport within Europe.

This is the thing. I would like to try and see smaller places not all big cities like the Romantic Road in Germany and maybe a coastal town in France. Would it be best for me to just get a Europass for a month rather than a select pass? Mind you I'm there for a month and a half and my dilemma is simply that I want the most freedom I can get but I don't want to pay more than I have to because the money I have in my pocket the happier I'll be. What would be my best bet?

My second question is Have any of you subletted before? I'm subletting my apartment, but I don't know if I should ask for the full two months up front or have them pay it directly instead.

My third question has completely deserted my brain. Crap. Lemme get back on that one.

Oh yes! Here it is! A friend of mine told me that any plane ticket that is over a two week period is considered an open-ended ticket and that if I wanted I could extend my trip by a week or two. Is that true? Obviously that may effect my decision regarding a europass. I thought that if that were the case, I would see what my finances were like by the month mark and possibly stay a bit longer. Not too much longer though because although I have my bills covered for July, I would need to find a job and make some money for for August and September. Okay. I think thats' it. Any advice would be more than welcome.

Thank you for your help.

Proserpine =)

Absolutely, 100% untrue. If anything, I'd start doing research on flights now and think about booking soon while airlines are running their specials. Some of them are good through near the end of the year.

As far as Spain goes, Madrid is pretty party-hearty, but then again, I'd say the rest of the country is, too. If you want neither party nor beach, two of the great offerings on tap there, you might want to look at southern Spain for its moorish beauty, or the Costa Brava region (between Barcelona and France) for all the natural beauty and art.

Spain is awesome, but if it's not in your top 10 and you're not going for the beaches/parties, I think you're fine with your original plan - having a 5-7 days/place is a great luxury, and the opposite of the usual 1-2 days most people plan. There are plenty of other options for beaches and I don't think you'd feel too stressed by the pace you're setting, especially as you're planning on lower-key things, like the Romantic Road.

If you did want to have a relaxing escape, I'd plan on visiting a small village (we stayed in a pension in a gorgeous, tiny village called Grobming, en route between Vienna and Salzburg, and loved it so much we tacked on a couple of extra days there.) There are lots of small guesthouses that offer rooms for pretty cheap (30 Euros for example) which make a nice change from shared rooms in hostels, and a welcome bit of luxury and relaxation. Sometimes they have swimming pools, saunas and such as well as walks in the woods or whatnot, so it can wind up being quite a pleasant experience. And a lot of the hosts will treat you as family, mothering you a bit when that might feel pretty good!

Definitely picking some of the smaller towns is a great option - in France, the Breton coast is not ideal for sunning and swimming, but it is a really cool part of the country. Mont St. Michel is a stunning monument, though very crowded in summer. Up north, I think Canadians should visit Vimy, near Arras. Even if you have little interest/knowledge in WWI, if you've read "All Quiet on the Western Front", the whole thing gets put into the most incredible perspective. And the people in the villages around there still love Canadians.

Not sure when you're planning to travel, but I assume in summer. I agree you'll probably want to spend a little longer in Prague - it's an amazing place, but you'll spend a lot of time in lines waiting to see stuff, because everybody else knows it's awesome, too. It would be frustrating to get just a glimpse and have to move on, because it really is a treasure trove.

One other thing, Germany is going to be a mad house during the world cup, so keep that in mind if your dates overlap the games, and also, the Rhineland-Pfalz is hosting the annual "Deutsch Wandertag" (no idea on the spelling!) this year, which is a huge hiking event - so that could limit your hostel/hotel options along the Romantic Road if your dates conflict with that. The little hotel in our village has been sold out for nearly two years during that time, and you can bet that all the other budget options will be similarly booked. I think that's the middle two weeks of June, but you can check on line if that coincides with your dates.

:tumbleweed:

I'm sure you know this if you're in a Canadian University...but in case you don't know.... book your flights from Travelcuts....they have the best prices and are owned by teh CFS (Canadian Federation of Students)
www.travelcuts.ca

About subletting... I would say getting the money ahead of time would be optimal. In the case that you find that people aren't able to do that- then I would settle for month by month payment.