Where in the World to Go???

We have read 'thru the BD'; I'll get Europes Best. I don't have a favorite place in mind, that's the problem...I just want to go! We have been to Scotland and my husband to Rota, Spain; both for work. We'd like to do about 2 weeks (get our moneys worth on airfare); but other than that any place sounds good in the brochures/books!

Hi Cheryl, If you don't have a favorite place in mind, somewhere you've always wanted to go, then look where your interests lie. What are your favorite things to do? Determine what really turns you on, then narrow it down to the places that can offer the most of what you like. Perhaps you simply need to choose one general area with which to direct your focus and energies on. It sounds as though you're suffering from information overload. Get rid of the clutter, choose a country, and focus on just that and what it has to offer. Good luck!

If you can't narrow down a choice based on things that interest you, put names on a piece of paper and draw one: London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Berlin, etc. pick one and go there. Don't think it through too much, I'm sure you will enjoy wherever you end up.

I like Diane's and BG's replies. Overload and names in a hat. That should really get me started; probably leading to wanting to visit ? the next time due to talking, seeing, etc. Thanks!

Hi Cheryl,

I remember seeing a Travels in Europe episode in which Rick Steves visited a large bookstore (apparently near home there in Seattle). He perused the travel books - particularly those with lots of photos - to decide where to go (a dramatization maybe, but I think a good way to decide).

Perhaps later, you will let us all know what you decided. All the best, P.

Cheryl,

Some great tips so far! Hopefully they've given you some ideas?

Given your location, I'm sure you've seen Rick's shows on KCTS on numerous occasions. That's often how I get ideas on places to visit. If something looks like it might interest me, I add it to the list for future trips. Of course I also want to see many of Europe's great history and culture sites (the Louvre, Colosseum, etc.) and "back door sites such as Gimmelwald and the Cinque Terre, so those also got added to the list last time.

As the others have said, don't try to fit too many locations in, and allow adequate time for travel between locations.

Good luck with your decision!

Oct will be here soon. Start shopping on-line for low-cost flights to Europe. If something looks like a good deal and it's a place you'd like to visit or start from, then consider flying there and returning open-jaws from someplace else. For instance, into Paris and returning from Rome. Buy tix. Then find a place to stay your first and last nights. You can decide later your exact itinerary, before you go or as you travel. Using my example, you could spend a few nights each in Paris, Provence or Nice, Cinque Terre, and Rome. If you take a good travel book covering the countries you expect to visit, you will have resources with you for making decisions, reservations, etc. Rick Steves' books are great for the travel details; some other books have lots of pictures and descriptions. I was in your situation about 8 years ago and just decided to go to England and Ireland for three weeks. I've been honing my travel skills ever since. I'm off to S.England and Paris in October.

There is another question. How do I determine if the price is good? I have been looking through Kayak as they post flights from numerous airlines. It has worked for me stateside, would that be your advice?

Hi Cheryl,
We just booked NY to Franfurt and Munich to NY through Lufthansa for our trip this Oct. I had been checking Travelocity (we used them last year), Expedia, Orbitz and others for the last month. I always check the airlines websites to compare. This year there had been no real difference in price. I'm biased here as these areas are our favorites... but how about Bavaria/Austria? It's beautiful in Oct. (we've done this 4 times in the last 6 years), the crowds are minimal and the prices are reasonable. Just an opinion.

Paul

Paul and Kimmy: do you ever travel via Space A (military) or cruise then travel? Curious!

Thanks for all the timely input everyone; it really has me thinking and pinning down a destination. I am thinking of the RS Rome trip in Nov and the air is about $860; that's why I wasn't sure about 'good' prices.

Fife is a good drive from Edmonds, but if you can, start going to the Free Travel Classes under Whats New on the home page. We went to one on Ireland last saturday and it was the best one ever. They talk about Ricks tours, of course, but mostly its information for the independent traveler. More inspiration can be found around the corner at Europe Through The Back Door

The last trip we took was London and Paris, a week in each. There are plenty of flights to either city from the USA, and November is a great time to go. Our idea was that whichever city we would fly to, once we got there to take the Channel tunnel train to the other for a week, then travel back for the second week. We thought that since most flights get you there in the morning earlier than check-in times, why not just add three hours more travel time? It worked out pretty well. There's great train service from either airport to the Eurostar stations, and they leave frequently during the day.

Cheryl,
My husband and I did a 21 days R/S tour last year and it was great! You could do the shorter version. You see alot of different countries and have a great guide to show you the best way to get around. You then will know where you want to spend more time on your next vacation to Europe. I agree with Paul, I love Germany, Austria and Switzerland the most. We are returning in Oct. to these areas again for the 4th time too. Good luck, all of Europe is enjoyable so you really can't go wtong.

Go to some of the online travel sites:
www.go-today.com -
www.friendlyplanet.com -
www.gateonetravel.com
and look for their "specials." A couple of yrs. ago my husband & I got a trip to London (for our 15th anniversary) for a week, flight from Portland,OR, a week's hotel, free transport from the airport (a van) to our hotel for $1600 (for BOTH of us). It was in March, so it was cool, but it's easy to get around in London (underground, buses, etc.) and the hotel was great & centrally located. We had a blast.
in October of this yr. we took a tour with www.chinafocustravel.com to China - 15 days (pretty much all-inclusive) for $1999. per person. That's a great way to start traveling. Pick up a copy of "Budget Travel" (www.budgettravel.com)magazine & check out their "40 Best Deals" section. That's a GREAT way for newbie travelers to get arrangements made painlessly & we've had VERY good luck with the companies. Just make sure you check them out. Also, these are generally packages, not tours so you don't have to be at the mercy of a group.

Here are some of my favorite travel websites: (You can just copy/paste the following addresses into your browser)

www.go-today.com
http://www.go-today.com/site_gtweb/thailand-vacations.asp?p=3612
- www.travelzoo.com -
http://www.spurof.com/ -
http://www.friendlyplanet.com/index.html -
http://www.seatguru.com/index.php -
http://www.site59.com/index.html -
http://www.frommers.com/ -
www.chinafocustravel.com -
http://applevacations.com/index.do?command=showHome -
http://www.nwaworldvacations.com/home/index.do?rfr=NWHOME -
http://www.igougo.com/default.aspx -
http://justfares.com/ -
http://www.eurovacations.com/Evac/hotelsearch.jsp;jsessionid=D31F47C12A74AF2272DAE25973932574 -
http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/ -
http://www.southwestvacations.com/ -
http://www.usairwaysvacations.com/ -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Cheap_Vacations-g293915-Thailand.html -
http://www.gate1travel.com/southeast-asia/ -

I particularly LOVE www.travelzoo.com - not only are there deals, you can sign up for their Top 20 weekly newsletter sent to your inbox.