me and my husband is planning 11 day trip to multiple countries,,, Liverpool England, Paris,Germany and Italy.
We would like to do the planning on our own.. any suggestion on first country to another country? we would like to take the eurotrain from one country to another.. pls. suggestion on were to stay.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23296 posts
Assume this is in 2012. First, you have to do homework. Go to your library - check out guide books, DVDs, etc. until you have some idea of what you want to see and do. Rick Steves. Europe through the Backdoor is a good starting point. Look at a map. Looonnnnnngggg ways from Liverpool to Rome. Cannot do it in 11 days. And there is no such thing as a Eurotrains -- just trains in each country. Use an open jaw ticket and limited to three major cities or four at the most and two countries. Otherwise you spend all time and money traveling and seeing nothing.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
If you live in Edmonds go to the Rick Steves office and start looking at books there. You can also get help from their office with trains, etc. and other advice.
So much to see... but you need to figure out what is the most important on this trip and see if it will work logistically with the time you have. Very exciting to be planning European travel.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32214 posts
theresa, Given your home location and the fact that this appears to be your first trip, I'd suggest arranging a personal travel consultation at Europe Through The Back Door. The office is located at 130-4th Avenue North in Edmonds phone (425) 771-8303. The small cost for the consultation will most likely save you a LOT of money. While at ETBD, you can use the free Library of Guidebooks to obtain information on Hotels, restaurants, transportation, etc. (it's open during normal office hours AFAIK). I suspect it's going to be difficult (if not impossible) to visit four countries that are so "distant" from each other in a space of only 11-days. Is there any possibility you could extend the trip to at least two weeks? When is this trip taking place? The first thing you'll need to do is read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door as that will provide lots of information on how to travel in Europe. Good luck with your planning!
Posted by
OP
edmonds, wa, usa
2 posts
thank you for all the tips... i will check out the library, and i guess we can skip England for now... our plan is to go this September 2011.. i will keep checking.. thanks again...
Posted by
Texan in CA
4407 posts
Ooh - you live IN Edmonds?!? Absolutely go to ETBD! Here's the info page from this website: http://www.ricksteves.com/about/travelcenter.htm And FWIW, Sept 2011 isn't as far away as it seems; hotels are starting to book up...
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
My first trip to Europe, many years ago, was with a Rick Steves tour (Best of Europe in 21 Days). I am so glad that I took that tour as it gave me an oversight of traveling in Europe as well as exposure to the RS Headquarters in Edmonds, WA, which I now use every year in planning my yearly trips to Europe. I do buy his guide books, helps support this web site, for whatever area I am traveling to the next year. I made my reservations for places to stay in Europe this coming August several months ago and I would suggest that you get that type of decision made quickly as Europe does get more crowed in the summer and into September. Good luck and happy travels.