How long can I stay

[Delaney]

I am planning a trip to Europe in March and would like to stay until August. Depending on how good I am at budgeting (and staying home on the weekends ), I should have between 4500 and 5000 dollars after I buy plane tickets and a Eurail pass. Do you think this will be sufficient? Any thoughts on the order of which countries to hit? I am starting in Ireland (visiting a friends) and don't know whether to head east/north or south to portugal and spain. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[joanofarc]

i'd say 3.5 months (@ $45 per day). no longer, surely.

[space virgin]

yep, I agree with joan-- I'd say right around 3 months. March to August would be pretty damn difficult on 5k.

[Delaney]

Thanks for the advice. So I am headed to Ireland and would def. like to see Spain, Prague, Germany, and Greece. What else is a must see? How much time in each place? Which cities should I spend the most time in?

I really appreciate all of the knowledgeable advice.

[space virgin]

For Spain I think Barcelona is an absolute must. Prague is supposed to be wonderful too. Greece... well, Athens is probably a must-see, but then bug out of there and get yourself over to the islands where the *real* fun is to be had. I think Moc recommends Santorini, and there's lots of partying to be had at the Pink Palace on Corfu. Joanie and I both recommend Munich/Bavaria for Germany, but I haven't really been out of Bavaria. Berlin might be fab too. And try not to miss Paris! But don't just take our words for it, you should try to figure out what appeals to *you* and go from there.

I would try to spend at least a week in each city. If you're going to be over there for 3 months you might as well give them 10 days, that way you won't feel rushed. And if you end up not liking a place, just leave. That's the best thing about travel!

[joanofarc]

i didn't like berlin - it was huge, and very daunting. i'll only return now with someone who can show me around, preferably a german. visit the blackforest region too, it's very beautiful and i can recommend a cozy, very non-touristed pension with lots of hiking opportunities and easily reachable by s-bahn.

[Delaney]

So, I am not going to plan out my trip exactly, but I want to have an idea of where I am going to go (so I don't miss anything I really want to see). I am leaving out Paris because I have already been twice so I would rather see someplace new.

Country/city Days
Ireland 14
Scotland 10
A-dam 5
Germany 14
Prague 7
Hungary 7
Greece 14
Italy 7
Spain 12

What do you guys think? That is 90 days so if I have more money (ha!) at the end of the trip I can just extend my stay in Spain or go to Portugal for a few days.

[space virgin]

That's a really good plan, especially how it's organized in a circular pattern. You may or may not want to spend 5 whole days in A-dam, it just depends on what you're going there for, haha. Unless of course you've been before and you know you *can* use up 5 days there.

[Delaney]

Thanks much SV! I will look into A-dam more and see if I could spend 5 days there. Otherwise I will just spend more time in Spain. I appreciate your help, you guys are great!!!

Now I have to open another thread regarding transportation!

[Delaney]

Originally posted by joanofarc@Jun 23 2004, 04:32 PM
visit the blackforest region too, it's very beautiful and i can recommend a cozy, very non-touristed pension with lots of hiking opportunities and easily reachable by s-bahn.

Joan~ I would love a recommendation of the pension, do you know the cost as well? Thank you!

[joanofarc]

the place was great, like i said - if you meet anyone it will be holidaying german families there. the town is called kirchzarten, and the pension is called 'gasthaus lowen' - you can easily walk there from the train station. just take the train to freiburg and then get off at that train station and hop on the s-bahn to kirchzarten, it'll be easy to find on the s-bahn maps in the station. now, they don't have a web site for you to book ahead, but i'm sure they never fill up - and there a few other pensions in town too. the family runs a great restaurant where you should take dinner - great coupes too. 60 or 70 euro for a double with breakfast. i do like to splurge in europe though. you can easily visit lake titisee from there too. good luck!

[Delaney]

Thanks, I will keep the information and look into it! 60-70 euros is a bit more than I was looking to spend but I was also planning on splurging one or two nights, so maybe this can be some of those nights.

[skidrage]

Delaney

As mentioned earlier, you might want to cut down Amsterdam depending on what you are going there for. I spent time living near there, and while the city offers a lot to do, it is also a place that people either love or hate. You could take day trips to close towns such as Utrecht and Haarlem. Otherwise, three full days and nights should give you a fill of the city.
Where do you plan to go to in Hungary? I think seven days might be too much, because it is a small country and I don't think there is too much outside of Budapest that might not be better spent with more days added to Spain. Spain is pretty big, and a lot of the interesting cities are spread out from each other. I think adding at least a few more days to your Spain portion would be good.

[Delaney]

Thanks Skidrage... I am definitely going to cut down time in A-dam and add days to Spain. I have so much time in Hungary because 1. I want to see Budapest and 2. I work for a soil science lab at school and I have processed some samples from a Hungarian forest. I am going to go take a look at the forest and spend some time at the university over there looking and learning about there soil science department. Call me nerdy, I know! Do you think I could cover Budapest in 2 days? If so, I don't need to be in Hungary a week and could spend a couple more nights in Spain.

[skidrage]

Delaney

I spent three full nights and days in Budapest this year, and you could do it in two, but that might be pushing it. I spent one day checking out the major sights, another day taking a day trip and relaxing, and the final day just wondering around and going to the bath houses that are famous there.

You might want to stick to three nights. Since you will be on a long trip, you might want to just relax for a few days and go to some of the bath houses like I did. This was right in the middle of my vacation and it was good to do something relaxing for a change.

[Delaney]

Great idea... I will stick to three nights for Budapest then. Though, even as I plan all of this out I know that where I stay and how long will probably depend on how I feel when I get there!

[skidrage]

You are right, it all depends on how you feel in the city. I had a rough itinerary made up for my last trip for about twelve cities to visit. By the end of my trip, about four cities on the original itinerary were dropped and about six others were added. I just tend to go with the flow of the trip and if I like a city a lot, I don't mind spending a week there. But if I don't like it, I am not afraid to cut out of town early.

[Delaney]

It is nice knowing that traveling can be so flexible. That way you can go with the flow and see what you love!

[voyd]

What is a "pension?"

[joanofarc]

^ loose definition: a hotel with added charm