Travel to Europe

Also, you will be fine speaking Latin American Spanish in Spain. Yes, the accent and some of the words are different, but you will be able to take care of the basics (buying a train ticket or ordering dinner, etc.).

Have you been to Europe before? How old are the three of you --- any children or teens? Do any of you speak a foreign language? What are you interested in seeing and doing?

I went to Europe last summer. Are ages will be 23, 22, and 17. The other two people have never been so I want to see new things while showing them some places I enjoyed. I went to England, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, basically seeing all the main cities. Next summer I really want to go to Ireland but other then that I don't really care.

Summer travel will provide two things: the most crowds and higher prices. If this in the only time of the year the 3 of you can go so be it. simply budget accordingly. Since you desire to see Eire why not fly into Shannon see Ireland, leave Dublin and fly to the continent. What are your friends interests? Maybe fly to London, see it, then Eurostar to Paris, see it, then....If you're ALL serious about this buy a RS Europe through the Backdoor guide, each of you read it then convene to decide amongst your selves what you ALL want to explore. Off track might be something you like but what about your friends.

First, go to your local library and get all the travel books and DVDs you can find on places that interest you. You need to build a background so that you can get a rough idea of what you would like to see and do. 1. The best time to go is late September, October. If you have go in summer months try as early as you can - late May to mid June. 2. There is no significant difference between cities in central Europe. Obviously those further away might be a bit more expensive like Athens. 3. There are no off track places. As soon as someone publishes an off track place it becomes an on track place. There are some areas less touristy than others but you probably want to go to the touristy place which are all the significant places in Europe.

Your question about best cities to fly into and out of puts the cart before the horse. Your first step should be to figure out where you want to go and what the most efficient itinerary will be to connect your dots. You'll then know your start and finish. Very rarely, perhaps, flying into our out of some place that is not on your route will save you money. It will always cost you time on the ground and money to get to your preferred starting point. You can shop for air fares online and compare costs once you know what your travel priorities are. Don't forget to include the cost, in money and time, of traveling from cheap airport to preferred destination. If you really don't care what you see then perhaps your friends do. Have a great trip!

Danielle: Suppose someone said to you, "I'm planning a trip to the US next summer. I have 2 1/2 weeks. What cities should I fly in and out of, and do you know of any off the track places?" What would your answer be? Most likely, "I need a LOT more information before I can even begin answering your questions." Well, it's the same here. The above posts are all spot-on. You need to start with research, to figure out what places you want to go, and if you have any special interests. If you can't get to a library or bookstore right away, you can start by looking at Rick Steves's travel shows on Hulu or YouTube. Once you have some more specific questions, post a new thread, so people can give answers. The more specific your questions, the better the answers you'll get.

Well, "tex-mex" spanish - or any kind of new world spanish doesn't work well in Barcelona because the language there is not spanish but cataluna. but if you speak decent new world spanish you would be understood in say, madrid. you might have problems understanding, however, because of that infernal lisping. anyway 2 to 2 1/2 weeks isn't that long of a time, so i could try to figure out a general geographical area that you really want to see and stick to it instead of planning an overly ambitious trip where you will spend half your time in transit. for example: southern germany/austria/switzerland, or london/normandy/brittany/paris. you get the idea. with 2 1/2 weeks i'd want to "base" out of 3-4 locations with no more than say total travel time of 5-7 hours between them. that's total travel time, not just 'train time' or 'flight time'. make sense?

Best time to go? Frank is right about this one. Late Spring or Fall, but watch out for August. The Europeans close up shop and pack their Speedos and sun hats for weeks on the coast. Fly in and out based on where you decide to travel. Your final itinerary will determine this. Off the track? Well, you could go to Rothenburg, Cinque Terre, and Colmar. They've only been recently unearthed and is accessible through a magical wardrobe. If those are too obscure, I do love Cassis on the south coast of France and St. Malo up in Brittany. Strasbourg is anything but a backwater, but it's so worth seeing. The Rhine river valley is stunning and traveling through region by boat can be cheap and give you the opportunity to explore one of the most scenic regions in Europe. Since the group is young, Berlin is one heck of a party city. The eastern part of the city has more clubs and bars per square kilometer than should be possible. I know it's not off the beaten path as it's a European capital, but American tourists often avoid it as it's not a quaint Bavarian town. Keep usdated as your plans come more into focus. Good luck and happy travels.

Most of the advice you have received is good. Get a map of Europe, sit down with your friends and figure out where you want to go. Two and a half weeks is not very long. Maybe you can add a little time to that. Either way, the more spread out your destinations, the more time you will spend moving around and the more it will cost you. I think of travel in terms of how many nights I will be in each place. Example: 2 nights = 1 full day, etc. If you want to go to a major city such as London or Paris, you should plan on at least 3 or 4 nights. There is a lot to see in places like that and in my opinion it is not worth bothering for only 2 nights (1 day) unless it is a repeat trip. If you want to start in Ireland, fly there. Don't waste time flying into another country and then having to fly again to get to where you really want to go. You need to come back here with more information to get any real help.

When it comes to spending multiple nights in major cities, I think Andrea is dead on. Too many people budget one or two nights in the big cities and there's no way to see what you should in that time. You can have a great trip with a few cities and plenty of time spent in each.

As to the other point, I don't think there's anything wise about a "blitz" tour no matter your age. The more places you go, the more time you spend in transit . This is both expensive and a bad value for your vacation time/money ratio in general. Why spend thousands to get to Europe to spend half your time on a train? It's just not logical. If you're young and fine with one night stays, cool, but at least don't spend hours traveling inbetween the one night stays because all you'll be seeing of Europe is train stations and the countryside through a window. It's pointless. That's why I suggest staying largely in one geographical area where you can logically 'loop' around between sights that aren't too far apart, or flying 'open jaw' and following a natural route. if you really want to see places far away from each other, focus on maybe two maximum for a trip of this length and fly inbetween them. Who cares about passport stamps (not that you get them in Europe anyway now)? It's a weird way to travel. What are you getting out of the "sights" if you are seeing them so quickly without an understanding of the contextual significance? My mom did one of those "10 countries in 20 days" bus tours a few years back. She can't tell me almost anything she saw or where she was, it lost all meaning because of the speed and pace of the trip.

Danielle, I've been to Ireland twice and hope to go again next fall. If I had 2 or 2.5 weeks I'd just stay in Ireland. Since we're neighbors, PM me if you wish and I'll try to steer you as best I can.

Danielle, I most definitely agree with the suggestions you've received in the previous replies. However, a few comments..... 1.) The best time (IMHO) is one of the "shoulder seasons" (May-June or Sept.-Oct). 2.) As someone else mentioned, you won't be able to decide the "best" cities until you know which countries you'll be visiting. 3.) It's difficult to recommend "off the track places" without knowing which countries you'll choose. With only a very short 2.5 weeks, you'll be limited in what you can realistically fit in. Once you have more specific details, I'm sure the group here will have lots of great suggestions. Good luck with your planning!

Danielle, If the max time you have is 2.5 weeks, then I would recommend "regional" traveling, otherwise the trip becomes too hectic. If I were stuck with 2.5 weeks, I would do this regional travel too, even though I don't believe in it. With at least 4 full weeks, you won't be limited to doing regional traveling. Best time to go depends what you're willing to put up with, heat, air fares, crowds, higher hotel rates because of trade shows, events like Oktoberfest, etc. True, about the eastern part of Berlin, Americans, as a whole, don't go to that area...to Köpenick (that famous Rathaus) or Karlshorst, or from Alexanderplatz to Ostbahnhof.

I know you want to get off the beaten track, but that generally means travelling outside of cities. From the ages you've given for your group, doesn't appear anyone is old enough to rent a car so you will need to stay someplace served by train or bus. For 2.5 weeks, I'd look into flying from the US to Shannon if you want to include Ireland. Spend 1 week in Republic of Ireland. Base in Galway first 4 nights. It's not off beaten track but it is a university town so good nightlife & easy access to day tours to get outside of Galway and see places like Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, Connemara, The Burren, etc. Train or bus to Dublin & spend 2 nights then fly to your next destination from Dublin. You could easily spend 2.5 weeks in Ireland and Northern Ireland (Belfast, Derry, Antrim Coast) if you don't want to move around so much. With a short trip, I'd be reluctant to revisit some cities I've already been to and would want to try a completely new location with your friends if you do decide to move on for Week 2.

The whole point of this post is to simply get ideas. I know 2 1/2 weeks is a short time. I went to Europe last year for over a month and wanted to stay longer. That's why Im trying to get ideas to have the best experience in that short time period. So if you have positive points please let me know if not don't bother to respond. Thank you to those that have been helpful.

If you can go in June or September that would be better than July or August. But is not, those months are fine too, just might drive you in a different direction. You could start in Ireland and spend 5-6 days there. Ferry to Wales and spend a few days working your way to London. Now you are about ten days in. Take the Eurostar to Paris and spend a few days. Then choose either Switzerland, Alsace, or maybe the Netherlands for your last 4-5 days. That would be a fairly compact trip with a lot of variety. Fly out of Paris, Zurich, or Amsterdam.

1) If you can go anytime, I really like shoulder season. May/September north of the Alps, and April/October south of the Alps. That's given me pretty reliable weather, managable crowds, and savings on airfare and lodging. That said, we went to Spain in April and had pretty horrible weather. Europe had a really cold winter and they just hadn't snapped out of it before we got there. If you're going far north (Scandinavia), July/August is your best bet. 2) So much depends on where you are going. For England, Gatwick is the better choice than Heathrow. Ireland airports (Dublin, Shannon) let you clear customs/immigration before your flight home, so can save time at your home airport. Amsterdam and Frankfurt are always worth checking. I don't think you should start your planning with airports. I usually have several trips in the planning stage at a time, and may jump on one if I see a particularly good airfare. I usually fly open-jaw but sometimes it can make sense to fly out of the same airport both ways. 3) Tons, but my places may not be your places. Northern Germany is great and you don't get many American tourists. Poland is still a real travel bargain. It's hard to create a list without knowing where you're going.

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Danielle; Pretend you met someone in Europe who said "I have 2 weeks to see the USA. Where should I go?" The first thought that should cross your mind is that it's insane to expect to see the United States in two weeks. The person would have to limit themselves to one relatively small portion of the country. The second thought that should cross your mind is that you could not possibly make any helpful suggestion to them without getting to know what their likes/interests are at least a little. Europe (depending on how you define it) is roughly the same size as the US48 states, but it is arguably packed much more densely with interesting sights. So the problem exposed above only gets harder in Europe. It is almost universally agreed that the best times to go most places is in the "shoulder" seasons, except in the far north. Their are probably 100 cities with major airports. Most of the airports are pretty much the same. I think you have to decide where you want to go and then pick the nearest 3-4 cities and search for airfares to/from there for the best deals. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of "off track" places that each person finds appealing for their own personal reasons that often don't transfer well for others. It's probably best to choose a rational grouping of well-known sites and then either come back with a specific location and ask for secret spot suggestions, or simply venture off on your own for a day or two and see what secrets you uncover on your own. My only suggestion is to avoid the temptation of thinking you can see something in every corner of Europe. You can't do that in 2 1/2 weeks and keep your itinerary sane. Pick one region and stick to it, assuming that you can see another region another time, and so on. We have spent 21 weeks in Europe so far and we still have not made it to several countries.

Danielle, If you could provide some indication of the places you're considering visiting, it would help in formulating some type of travel plan. With only 2.5 weeks, limiting your trip to the continent would provide better "bang for the buck", as you have an enormous number of possibilities to choose from, and transportation between locations is relatively easy by train (depending on what you choose). Cheers!