Semester break from England

Posted by gibbyjr on 01/07/14 01:29 AM

My daughter will be attending school in England and has a semester break for one week from March 14th til March 23rd. She wants to go to Italy to see the Vatican and some historical sites and then, wants to travel to Amsterdam and to see Paris. I felt since she is going to be in England for 3 months, she will have plenty of opportunities to see Paris. And maybe we should concentrate on traveling the farthest out, first, to Rome and then, possibly to see Amsterdam briefly . Or maybe, we should concentrate on just Rome and the surrounding areas? Being that she only has 10 days for her semester break. What would you recommend for her and i to do? I was going to join her during her break. I was hoping we could join one of your tour groups going to these locations, but the dates do not work out. Is it possible to have a tour guide for the days we are in these cities or city? What do you recommend? Thank you so much We LOVE YOUR SHOWS!!!

Mrs. R Gibson

Posted by Sam

Green Bay

01/07/14 02:39 AM

21370 posts

We are just all a bunch of opinionated volunteers who like to travel when we're not watching football. Rick set this site up so we could pretend to be experts. All comments and advice come without warrantee. I'd agree that Paris AND Amsterdam are close enough to Blighty (does anybody use that term anymore?) that she could visit on her own on the weekends. Rome, Florence, and Venice make a good cultural circuit that can be knocked off in 9 days from the UK. Rick has lots of guide recommendations in his Italy guide book as well as his city guides.

Posted by David

Huntsville, AL, USA

01/07/14 03:10 AM

8371 posts

I agree with Sam. You don't say where your daughter will be coming from in England.

Your daughter can fly on EasyJet from Gatwick to Rome-Fiumicino and from Venice to Gatwick. Those flights are downright cheap if she buys the tickets well ahead of time. My advice is for your daughter to learn to travel light, as only one carry on bag is allowed.

Walking tours are available in Rome, Florence and Venice, but not absolutely required. It's so easy to study up on all European cities online before visiting.

Paris via Eurostar is just a 2 1/2 hour ride from London, and is a great long weekend trip. Amsterdam is another popular weekend trip for those out of the U.K. on Easyjet.

Posted by Robert

Liberty, Missouri

01/07/14 03:37 AM

265 posts

Rick's son Andy Steves has his own travel business called Student Weekend Adventures. It has a link on Rick's home page. It may be just the thing she is looking for.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

01/07/14 10:43 AM

34335 posts

Is she in school or university?

Posted by Kristen

Chicago

01/07/14 07:22 PM

792 posts

Sam, that made me laugh out loud!

I think for 10 days, stay in Italy. I think you could easily spend all 10 days in Rome especially if you want to do the Vatican thoroughly. A lot of people also choose to do a Rome/Florence/Venice combo in that time frame. It depends on what you want to see and your preference for the pace of the trip. You didn't mention what other historical sites she wants to see.

Maybe she could do Paris and Amsterdam at the end of her semester? OR if she has some long weekends, do them at that time? Obviously, you need more than a weekend to appreciate both of those cities but it is shorter travel time from the UK and she could at least get a taste.

If you get Rick's Italy guidebook (and I use his guidebooks and this website when I travel), he recommends several guides in each city. The guide he recommends in Rome is Francesca Caruso. If you google her name, you will get her website. He also mentions several others but she is just the name I remember.

Whatever you do, decide soon. Airfare and hotels are going to start booking up fast. You can always book airfare and hotels and decide your day to day itinerary later.

Posted by Southam

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

01/08/14 01:23 PM

4096 posts

Useful tools:
www.seat61.com for all rail travel.
www.skyscanner.com or www.whichbudget.com for budget airlines.
Your young student need not cram all of Europe into a school break with mom. With planning, she and her new school chums can take three-day weekends, a city at a time. The only drawback is that cheap flights are not cheap at the last minute. Flights and long train rides must be booked far in advance to be bargains.