Traveling Across Europe After Studying Abroad

joexc07 · 03-09-2008, 01:24 AM

I will be studying abroad in France for the fall semester. My school is on the quarter system, so the study abroad program ends at the end of January, and spring quarter begins in the middle of March. So I have about 6 weeks in between. I was thinking about doing some traveling across Europe during some of that time, but I don't know how I would go about doing this. Has anyone done anything like this? What are some inexpensive ways to travel across Europe?

cupcake · 03-09-2008, 01:28 PM

inter rail.
InterRail - travel Europe by train

You buy a train pass for however many countries you want to visit, then just go wherever you want (but you MUST buy it before you leave home!).

The other alternatives are the budget airlines. These are quicker and can even be cheaper than the train. iot you want to spent several days in each place, and the places you want to visit are spread out, air travel; may be better.

try
airberlin.com - Your Airline. Flug online buchen
Ryanair.com - Book your cheap flight, hotels, car rental with ryanair.com
easyJet.com - book cheap flights, hotels and car hire online
Flybe - Cheap flights & budget flights

AUlostchick · 03-09-2008, 01:40 PM

Interrail is for Europeans, try Eurail instead. It's for Americans and Canadians. (eurail.com) I agree with the budget airlines part though.

swimcatsmom · 03-09-2008, 01:55 PM

We had eurail passes a couple of summers ago for a girl scout trip. Worked great. Travelled from the UK (not part of the Eurail pass) to Belgium, Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, Venice and Paris. It worked great. Student passed are available.

The discount airlines are good. A couple of things to keep in mind.
1.To get really cheap fares book well in advance.
2. The baggage and weight allowances are very low. If you go over the allowances the extra charges are very high.
3.The airports are frequently further out of the city than those used by the major airlines. Always check what airport they fly into. For instance I flew from Barcelona to London last October. Ryan air and easyjet both fly from Barcelona. Easyjet flies out of the actual Barcelona airport. Ryan air flies out of one quite a distance out of barcelona. They both fly to Stanstead which is further out of London than Gatwick or Heathrow.
3. Depending on the distances you are traveling take into account the extra time air travel may take - getting to the airport, having to be there so many hours in advance etc. So it may be worth the plane if the place you are going to is many hours away but not if it is just a few hours.

If you get a train pass make sure you activate it before you board your first train. Our train from Amsterdam to Koln someone had not done so (not in our group). When the ticket collector came he said they could pay a fine and he would activate it (it was high - something like 50 euros per ticket and it was a family of 4) or get off at the next station and activate it and wait for another train. Read the instructions.

Have a lot of fun. Do not do anything stupid like trying to sleep in a park in Rome. One of my daughters friends did that and got cloroformed and robbed.

joexc07 · 03-09-2008, 07:28 PM

What about lodging? I'll be going over by myself, unless I meet some kids who are also looking to travel.

swimcatsmom · 03-09-2008, 07:30 PM

There is a good system of youth hostels across Europe. Research in advance and check websites that have reviews. Tripadvisor has some hostel reviews. Also bugeurope has hostel reviews. The good thing is you are traveling off season so should have less problem finding accomodation than if you were traveling in summer. In Italy it is also possible to stay in some convents or monasteries at a reasonable price. In somewhere like Venice or Rome where hotels are very expensive this may be a good option.

nyumom · 03-09-2008, 10:24 PM

I posted this link on another thread, but I'm posting it again. Europe's Famous Hostels. The Top Hostels in the best locations in Europe for backpackers, students, families and budget travellers.
Also,Hostels in Europe - cheap hostels - budget accommodation - backpacking in Europe

Albeit · 03-11-2008, 05:52 PM

Hostels.com and hostelworld.com are also great sites with lots of reviews. The best way to travel depends on where you'd like to go. If you want to visit a few different cities in one trip train is certainly better. Railway stations are in the centre of the city mostly, so that's a plus. And distances between most European cities aren't that great so sometimes train might even be the fastest way to get somewhere. Another option which is probably cheapest but most uncomfortable is traveling by bus (eurolines).

AUlostchick · 03-11-2008, 11:49 PM

hostelworld is where we booked our hostel for amsterdam. Seems pretty legit. We booked our hostel for london through the hostel's actual website (powered by hostelworld, though, apparently?).
Also, I booked my eurostar ticket last night too! yay! I'm not sure why they charged me four dollars more than my friend when we booked within 15 minutes of each other, but whatever. It's still rather cheap (only $116-120).

joexc07 · 03-12-2008, 10:42 PM

these are all great suggestions. thank you. im thinking about going with the 15 days unlimited traveling pass from eurolines and staying in a hostel each place i visit. if anyone has traveled europe like this, if i get the 15 day pass, how many cities would be reasonable to try to visit?

AUlostchick · 03-13-2008, 12:26 AM

I'd plan on about two days in each city, more if there's alot of stuff you want to see (personally I'd spend more time in London or Paris but less time somewhere like Prague).

Albeit · 03-13-2008, 06:44 AM

I've been interrailing last summer and spend 2-3 days in most of the places I went to. That way you're able to get the feel of every city without having the time to get bored anywhere.