Hey, my fiance and I are getting married on 12th April 2008 and we%26#39;ve always dreamed of seeing europe for our honeymoon. We%26#39;ll be hopefully arriving in London 1st and from there on to Paris. From Paris we hope to travel to Italy, Germany, Switzerland and maybe Amsterdam. Can anyone recommend some cheap (really cheap) but good hotels, inns or hostels for us? And anyone have any idea how we can journey to all of these countries without having to book an expensive tour operator. We were thinking of trying the eurorail or buses. We%26#39;d really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!!!
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Congratulations on your wedding! My fiance and I traveled through Europe by eurorail. We did it totally on our own. We live in the US and my fiance consulted AAA before we left for some tips, but other than that, we winged it. It was a lot of fun, but definitely not a luxurious relaxing typical honeymoon type trip. Carrying lots of luggage, sleeping in cramped quarters, waking up early, moving from hotel to hotel. It was an unforgettable experience and one of the best trips of my life. Just figure out what your fiance%26#39;s expectations are and if they align with what I described, go for it!
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If you know for sure what cities you want to visit, do hotel searches on this site (for each city), and also searches within the forum for each city you hope to visit, and you will find many within your budget that are recommended by others who have stayed there. Then, you can do point-to-point rail tickets to get you from one place another. That will help you to lay out a logical order to the places you will visit.
Although Eurail is simple to use, two things to remember: (1) it is MUCH more expensive than booking on-line through the individual rail companies, and (2) for any train that has reserved seating (e.g., all the high speed lines) you will need a reservation separate from a rail pass, and it costs a modest amount extra. If you book well in advance for point-to-point tickets (you can do this only 90 days out) you generally can save a bundle. There are simple instructions on this forum (look under the FAQ permanent post up at the top for directions) plus there are many threads addressing people%26#39;s questions.
Have fun with the planning, and congratulations.
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I have to agree w/ both above posters, Yes, you can do it on your own and No, you don%26#39;t need a tour operator, maybe just a good travel agent. Interestingly enough, I was thinking just the same thing about buying point to point tickets.
For hotels, check the rankings on these pages for each city you choose to visit, there are normally several %26quot;budget%26quot; hotels that are highly rated and you can read reviews of each hotel regarding it%26#39;s pros %26amp; cons. You might not have to resort to hostels. Also, check Venere.com, you can seach by star rating or price, also read reviews and view travallers photos.
Question Berkley, how difficult is it to wait until you%26#39;ve arrived and then buy your train tickets? I know how much easier travelling by train is in Europe, but have you, or anyone you know, got left off of a train because they waited to buy their tickets their?
For Trinilawyer, Congratulations! But planning and arranging in wedding is stressful business! Unless you and your beloved have unlimted time for this trip, do yourselves a favor and get a good Europe guidebook. Sit down and agree on the most important places and put them in order of priority. Double the amount of time you want to spend in the top three choices and axe the others... limit the amount of %26quot;running around%26quot; from place to place. Since both of you have %26quot;dreamed%26quot; of honeymooning in Europe, I take it that neither have you have been to Europe before?
Don%26#39;t see your honeymoon as a mission in which to cram everything you want to see into - assume you%26#39;re going to miss a LOT, but also assume you%26#39;re going to return.
Congratulations and have a wonderful trip! You%26#39;ll be able to find something or someone here to help you plan your trip on almost any issue.
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sdjeff - I would recommend against waiting until arrival lin Europe to buy tickets, for several reasons. Often there are real bargains to be had, with deep discounts on a limited number of seats, but only if one books basically as soon as the fickets are available (usually 90 days in advance). Since these travelers clearly are budget minded, that will help them a lot. In addition, trains that are popular do regularly sell out, so on a busy day or at a generally busy travel time one could end up with no ticket at all, or with an extremely expensive ticket (compared to what advance purchase would have gotten).
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