My son and his friends are studying in Madrid and have Fri, Sat and Sun's off. They are on a limited budget but would like to take trips on the weekends. They have booked a train to Milan. Any suggestions on what to do and where to stay? Also given a student budget, where else should they go? They have been to Barcelona and Seville! Any help would be appreciated. Any money saving tips would be a life saver.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
What a great opportunity! If they are willing to go to Milan (a long train trip), then they could definitely go on a night train trip to Gimmelwald, Switzerland. They would take a night train to Interlaken, Switz. and then on to Gimmelwald--check out the info in Steves' Switzerland book or type in Gimmelwald in the upper right corner of this web page and click on the search button. In Gimmelwald there is a mountain hostel that is supposed to be a great experience. The kids just need to do this trip while the weather is good--not sure how long that is. This trip would give them a totally new perspective and fun experience.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
they can bus it to Seville and Granada in Spain. Also Portugal lisbon, Sintra etc is nearby by bus and cheaper than Italy , Switzerland etc. ck www.eurolines.com to start
Posted by
OP
Fayetteville, GA, United States
15 posts
The kids chose Milan because they couldn't get cheaper fare by bus or plane to Lisbon! They've already been to Seville, but are definitely going to Granada. I'm not sure why Lisbon was so expensive!
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Check vueling.com...air fare Madrid-Lisbon as low as 40 Euro each way. Bus or train to Lisbon are only overnight runs, and loooong. Bus to Granada is cheap and almost as fast as the train. vueling, easyjet, Air Europa, and My Air all fly Madrid-Milan, as low as 18 Euro if they book far enough in advance. It'll save them hours on their weekends, and allow them more time to see the sights. For discount air fares out of Madrid, check whichbudget.com. Trains to Milan probably take 24 hours or longer....way too long!
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Wait, wait, wait! They want to go to MILAN for a weekend? That's way too far for a weekend. Am I misunderstanding your question?
Posted by
OP
Fayetteville, GA, United States
15 posts
They actually have 3 days, Fri, Sat and Sun and got airfare for 80 euro round trip. So they aren't taking a train or bus there. So yes, they are going for a long weekend! I thought they were going by train, but found out it was by air after I posted this!