Planning Help Needed

[wphsmike]

My friend and I are going to Europe for a month, we are leaving from Florida in June 06 and coming home July 06. We have been looking through books and such, but we just don't know what is the best thing to do. Where should we go in a month, what should we do, where should we sleep, where do we eat? I want to be able to sleep in private rooms at hostels, I just don't feel great about sleeping in a room full of strangers. I love to meet new people, just not sleep in the same room as them. We are flying into Dublin. That a good idea? Bed and Breakfasts, are they pretty cheap?

Any and every suggestion is welcome. Any links are welcome too.

Thank you.

[Jen05]

Hey and welcome! Seeing as you have a month, it's hard to see absolutely all of Western Europe, obviously. Ireland's great, and Dublin's tons of fun! From there, I'd check out flights from ryanair where if you book early enough, you can get really cheap fares to England, Spain, France...lots of places! That'll also maybe give you an idea of what else you want to see. There's different types of eurail passes also that make getting around pretty easy! Bed and Breakfasts can get expensive, but some hostels offer private rooms. You might also look into budget hotels. I usually stayed in multi-bed hostel rooms, but in Paris my friend and I stayed in a budget hotel with two beds and it was about 20 euros each. Hope this helps!

[chelseafc05]

welcome

can i ask why you so worried about sleeping in a room full of other backpackers?

[bluepea]

I wasn't too fond of sleeping in a room full of other people either. Still am not, but whatever to save money. I understand the privacy thing and such. It's not quite that bad. If you're going with your friend, you can probably find cheap hotels (split the cost) for about the same/a little bit more, or else get private rooms in hostels.

For Eurail passes, check out www.eurail.com.

For food - the cheap way to do it is to stop at a grocery store and pick up stuff. Sandwich food (crackers, cheese, bread and tuna go a long way), snack food (nuts), and soft drinks are pretty cheap and versatile. You can also buy simple stuff to cook in the hostel kitchen (most hostels have full service kitchens). Always take advantage of free breakfasts. You'll probably want to eat out occasionally - shop around to save money, go a street or two off the major tourist spots (you'd be surprised how much of a different a few blocks make), look for specials.

Flying into Dublin is a fine idea. Dublin's a great city. Ireland has a lot to see and it's pretty easy/cheap to get around via bus. Since it's not a huge country, you can easily go to the west side. You can fly Ryanair.com (or easyjet, aer lingus, any budget airline) into the mainland for cheap. Book ahead.

Start watching prices on airlines and stuff now. I've always seen the best price around 4 months in advance. Aer Lingus has phenomenol prices,even during summer months, but I'm not sure if they fly out of Florida.

It's recommended you leave about 2-3 days per city. Pick out cities you want to see and you can start to build an itinerary or just play it all by ear when you get there.

Of course you'll be going during the peak season (well, it gets worse in August ), so make sure to try to book your rooms a day or two (if you have a loose itinerary) in advance to make sure you'll have a place to sleep.

All the companies I've given have websites that are the name stated dot com. Just too lazy to do hyperlinks.

Good luck. Feel free to bombard us with questions. Read through a lot of the old posts and you'll find some valuable information.

[wphsmike]

wow, thanks guys! I'll keep you posted soon with my plans. Thanks, any other info or suggestions are also very welcome.

[elfmaiden]

Yeah alot of hostels have private little rooms. They are more expensive and I've stayed in both. Oddly enough the private rooms were way more tiny that the big dorms! Not something I had expected. I like my privacy but I never had trouble sleeping in a dorm.

Think about things you've always wanted to see or do. Even if they are little things! Something like having a coffee at a cafe is paris can spawn it's own little adventure. Check out a few tourist sites and see what really interests you. It's alot easier to plan a trip when you know what you want. Although it's always awesome to leave room for side trips you never would have seen before you actually arrive.

The food advice is awesome. Grocery stores over there can be so cheap and tasting the local cuisine is awesome. Nothing like watching tourist eat their way through a countries macdonalds, never once trying something new! eeeek!

Jenn

[beergal]

i would try to spend 2/3 days max in ireland even for a brit i find Dublin expensive. Other airlines to try out flying from Dublin are Aerlingus and Transavia.
If you want to save money just as the others have said buy your essentials such as bread, cheese,beer (god help those on atkins!) at the local supermarket.