I am trying to plan a vacation next summer in Europe. It's for my daughter's senior year. I usually do all the planning, but this one seems out of my wheelhouse. We'd like to start in London and see Germany, Belgium, and Austria. Does anyone have a good travel agent that would be helpful or have any other suggestions on planning this trip?
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European Vacation
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Last: 5 yr ago by davido
My wife would buy a book (Rick Steves) about each city or country that we wanted to visit
I would watch youtube videos of the city or country
Fly to London take train to other cities, fly home from last city
I would watch youtube videos of the city or country
Fly to London take train to other cities, fly home from last city
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1. How much time are you allowing for on the trip?
2. What do you want to see? (Museums, Nature, Cultural events, Architecture, etc.)
2. What do you want to see? (Museums, Nature, Cultural events, Architecture, etc.)
Train system in Europe is really good, I would throw in Paris if you can, easy train trip from London.
www.tripmasters.com
Used several times and its awesome
Used several times and its awesome
I like the other's advice but I would add, don't try to do too much. The last thing you want to do is spend a bunch of time checking in/out of hotels, packing, waiting for trains, etc...
If you're going for a couple of weeks, pick maybe 3 locations and spend more time in each.
If you're going for a couple of weeks, pick maybe 3 locations and spend more time in each.
I'm happy to price out flights for you if you like - I can sometimes save my clients quite a bit of money (not always). I'm probably not the best person to do the rest of the trip, I've only done a few counties over there. With that said, a great website is seat61 dot com. He has a wealth of information about how to travel all over Europe (and other parts of the world). He is how I planned my entire trip (before I became a TA).
A lot to see in Europe. Depending on your time allowance and what the family interests are (e.g: history, nature, cities, museums, mountains, coast, etc) I would pick 2-3 key areas to cover and take your time. The Italian coast could consume two weeks easily and you haven't even made it to the Italian lakes or alps district.
Ask your daughter what her top 3 things she wants to see and we can help put a quick itinerary together.
Ask your daughter what her top 3 things she wants to see and we can help put a quick itinerary together.
Rick Steves' books are great for your first trip to Europe. He breaks things down and makes it very easy to understand. I used his guide to Italy religiously the first couple of times I went. Now, I'm comfortable just winging it without a guide book, but I highly recommend him!nonameag99 said:
My wife would buy a book (Rick Steves) about each city or country that we wanted to visit
I would watch youtube videos of the city or country
Fly to London take train to other cities, fly home from last city
I've found books like Lonely Planet overwhelming because they try to cover everything and it ends up not as useful.
Thank you all. I think we all need to discuss it further to make sure what we want to do. Our focus is Germany. London and Belgium are really to see people we know briefly. We will see if that changes. I am also weary just thinking about checking in and out of hotels constantly.
How long will this European junket last? Three weeks is great for crossing the continent. Two weeks is great to spend in a region (Portugal/Spain/France for example). One week is great for seeing a major city and the surrounding area.
aggmaroon said:
Thank you all. I think we all need to discuss it further to make sure what we want to do. Our focus is Germany. London and Belgium are really to see people we know briefly. We will see if that changes. I am also weary just thinking about checking in and out of hotels constantly.
Amsterdam is pretty close to Belgium and is an amazing city. I'd seriously consider subtracting some time from Germany and making time for Amsterdam if you don't intend on going back in that area.
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Rick Steve's app has legit walking tours. His louvre tour is clutch
We should have 11 nights in Europe all together if my husband agrees to the dates. My plan is to leave July 9th (evening flight) and return on July 21st. It look like with the time difference etc., that is very doable. I have a lot more vacation than my husband. I'd love to do an entire two weeks, but it's not feasible for him.
I will definitely ask about pricing flights when we are more sure. I'm hoping to solidify that in the next month or so. I don't want to wait too long.
I will definitely ask about pricing flights when we are more sure. I'm hoping to solidify that in the next month or so. I don't want to wait too long.
We took our daughter to Italy for 3 weeks after her TAMU grad. There were 3 of us & it was our first trip to Europe. We started planning about 8 months in advance so there was plenty of time to tweak things. We travel a lot but for some reason I felt pretty overwhelmed. My daughter bought the Rick Steves book & that helped. She also did a lot of the planning & I just reviewed all & made a few changes. Our son lived in Italy for about 5 months & kept a blog so that was helpful. I rented apartments thru AirBnb. It was cheaper, we had more space, sometimes a washer, & felt more like a local. I told my daughter I didn't want to stay anywhere for less than 2 nts but our schedule worked out for us to mostly stay for 3 nts & one stop was 5 nts. We had an itinerary that we departed each city in the am. My daughter planned our daily itinerary & she did a fabulous job. We traveled by train for the entire time.
I second the thought about using airbnb for parts. Saves money long term just due to the fact of having a wash machine, and being able to cook your own food. We have done both car and train and honestly I enjoy driving. It allows you to get to places that are less touristy. You could also mix it up a bit and do parts on train then drive for parts. The North west area close to NL and Germany probably are faster by train. Once you get down past Munich then driving becomes the quickest and cheapest mode of transportation to different attractions.
Top places that our family has enjoyed in area you are looking at:
Amsterdam A very chill (no surprise) and relaxing place to walk and bike around to the different attractions. I would stay close to the canal district. If you possible you can go up to Zaandam to tour the Windmills. Actually was pretty interesting.
Munich Good place to fly to if you want to enjoy the alps. The downtown is very Bavarian but to us felt a little too touristy. The flight museum there is great and a hidden gem. Also it's a bit sobering but worth going to Dachau.
German Austrian border
We enjoy this region the best and can stay here for 2 weeks straight. The only downside is that as soon as we land the wife cranks up the sound of music soundtrack for hours
Zugspitze typically we land in Munich and head straight down to this region. Car is the easiest way to get around. Zugspitze is the tallest peak in Germany and has a cogwheel train or cable car that can take you to the top. At the peak you are able to snow sled in the summer and there is a nice cafe / restaurant with one of a kind view.
Next to the Zugspitze is a small town of Garmisch which has a great Bavarian vibe and is great to visit. Also if you like to do a small 2 hr hike go to the Partnach gorge it has a small fee to enter but worth it.
In the Zugspitze area we typically stay just on the other side of the border in Austria. More bang for the buck and you can have an Austrian experience. Our fav is staying at Ansitz felsenheim holiday apartments in Lermoos (you won't be disappointed). From there you can get to Garmisch and Schwangau (Neuschwanstein castle) with a 30 min drive.
Schwangau Both Neuschwanstein castle and Hohenschwangau castle are here. Very touristy but worth it. You can do both castles in one day.
Konigsee / Eagles nest - a two hour drive from Zugspitze gets you to this area. You can stay in Salzburg or Berchtesgaden while here. If you like WWII history then eagles nest is a must and is self-explanatory. Konigsee is considered the cleanest lake in Germany with mountains on 3 sides. You can take an electric boat ferry to St Bartholomew's church and the Bavarian kings' old hunting lodge. Great place to take in the scenery and leisurely hike the area.
Salzburg, AT One of the best city centers we visited. There is always some kind of symphony concerts going on here due to being the birthplace of Mozart. There is a fortress you can go up to and have dinner while watching the sunset.
Hope this gives you some ideas to work with.
Top places that our family has enjoyed in area you are looking at:
Amsterdam A very chill (no surprise) and relaxing place to walk and bike around to the different attractions. I would stay close to the canal district. If you possible you can go up to Zaandam to tour the Windmills. Actually was pretty interesting.
Munich Good place to fly to if you want to enjoy the alps. The downtown is very Bavarian but to us felt a little too touristy. The flight museum there is great and a hidden gem. Also it's a bit sobering but worth going to Dachau.
German Austrian border
We enjoy this region the best and can stay here for 2 weeks straight. The only downside is that as soon as we land the wife cranks up the sound of music soundtrack for hours
Zugspitze typically we land in Munich and head straight down to this region. Car is the easiest way to get around. Zugspitze is the tallest peak in Germany and has a cogwheel train or cable car that can take you to the top. At the peak you are able to snow sled in the summer and there is a nice cafe / restaurant with one of a kind view.
Next to the Zugspitze is a small town of Garmisch which has a great Bavarian vibe and is great to visit. Also if you like to do a small 2 hr hike go to the Partnach gorge it has a small fee to enter but worth it.
In the Zugspitze area we typically stay just on the other side of the border in Austria. More bang for the buck and you can have an Austrian experience. Our fav is staying at Ansitz felsenheim holiday apartments in Lermoos (you won't be disappointed). From there you can get to Garmisch and Schwangau (Neuschwanstein castle) with a 30 min drive.
Schwangau Both Neuschwanstein castle and Hohenschwangau castle are here. Very touristy but worth it. You can do both castles in one day.
Konigsee / Eagles nest - a two hour drive from Zugspitze gets you to this area. You can stay in Salzburg or Berchtesgaden while here. If you like WWII history then eagles nest is a must and is self-explanatory. Konigsee is considered the cleanest lake in Germany with mountains on 3 sides. You can take an electric boat ferry to St Bartholomew's church and the Bavarian kings' old hunting lodge. Great place to take in the scenery and leisurely hike the area.
Salzburg, AT One of the best city centers we visited. There is always some kind of symphony concerts going on here due to being the birthplace of Mozart. There is a fortress you can go up to and have dinner while watching the sunset.
Hope this gives you some ideas to work with.
I would spend a minimum of two weeks and concentrate on one area such as Germany and Benelux.
London and Paris are really great, but I think the European treasures are some of the mid-size and small
towns.
London and Paris are really great, but I think the European treasures are some of the mid-size and small
towns.
Use kiwi.com to schedule your flights. If you're open ended about travel days, its the best all in one place to search with variable start and end dates, variable departure and arrival locations, and filter through the carriers you don't like.
Got a steal of a deal flying Norwegian Airlines out of Austin on a brand new 787 to London this past summer. 485 round trip.
Also, Scottscheapflights.com is great if you're a little more passive and willing to let the deals come to you in the form of weekly emails. They had a United flight priced from Houston to Madrid for $365 round trip that I still hold it against my traveling group for not getting the rears in gear and jumping on it fast enough.
Got a steal of a deal flying Norwegian Airlines out of Austin on a brand new 787 to London this past summer. 485 round trip.
Also, Scottscheapflights.com is great if you're a little more passive and willing to let the deals come to you in the form of weekly emails. They had a United flight priced from Houston to Madrid for $365 round trip that I still hold it against my traveling group for not getting the rears in gear and jumping on it fast enough.
We have our flights and are starting to plan more of our trip. We have decided we would like to drive in Belgium and Germany. I wanted to know if you have driven in Germany, how did you get around. Essentially, did you use GPS on your phone? Did you rent a GPS from the rental company? Did you use printed maps? I just want to be prepared if we need to buy or print maps. I have read about driving there and it looks pretty easy and straightforward. I am just very used to using my phone at this point. Lol
If you have good international data coverage on your phone, use Waze. If not, download offline Google maps before you depart and use that. Waze is definitely preferable since it incorporates real-time traffic data.
If you don't have one, pick up a cheap mount (I like the ones that clip to the A/C vents) and a car charger.
If you don't have one, pick up a cheap mount (I like the ones that clip to the A/C vents) and a car charger.
Wow, I don't think I've seen a Clark W Griswold reference yet!
We're not driving in London. From what I've read, Germany has really good roads and highways. Belgium is questionable, but it seems the issue is mostly traffic related. We are not getting a car until Sunday, and we are actually traveling out of Belgium to the Netherlands and then Germany. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Download Google maps before. On multiple phones. But also, reserve an automatic transmission car. Europe still very much uses standards and automatics are considered an upgrade. Because of this, the rental company will likely have to upgrade your car (for free) just to get you an automatic. Often, this comes with free built in navigation. Or, you know, you could rent a car with navigation.
Study the road signs before you go. Some are definitely confusing. Follow the speed limit. Stay as far to the right as possible unless passing. Do both pass on the right side. Basically, do what everyone else is doing.
I love driving in Germany. It's very relaxing compared to the US. Don't have much experience in Belgium, but it wasn't noticeably different from Germany.
Oh, also, while the Autobahn is fun and fast, take the scenic route every now and then.
Study the road signs before you go. Some are definitely confusing. Follow the speed limit. Stay as far to the right as possible unless passing. Do both pass on the right side. Basically, do what everyone else is doing.
I love driving in Germany. It's very relaxing compared to the US. Don't have much experience in Belgium, but it wasn't noticeably different from Germany.
Oh, also, while the Autobahn is fun and fast, take the scenic route every now and then.
Driving isn't an issue. I've used my phone and took my own dashboard gps (downloaded European maps stateside), I vastly prefer the dashboard gps over the phone. There are speed limits on the autobahns around cities or construction, three slash marks mean haul ass. Belgium and the Netherlands have traffic cameras, do not speed, the ticket is 150 and you will get it in the mail.
The cars are bigger and faster in Germany, make sure you rent there. The Netherlands and Belgium the average size of cars is Ford Fiesta size, while in Germany the Passat size is normal. Look at a few brands before you go. I really liked the larger Peugeot 508 which is also a Citroen C5. Always opt for diesel, the upgrade will pay for itself. I have found the sedans to have more room and power than the little SUV's. I agree on upgrading the car, but nothing is free. Nothing worse than tooting along at 90 mph in a VW Polo and getting blown off the road by the sedans. Get a Passat size car at the minimum, mainly for the trunk room. Make sure your bags fit before you leave the rental place, this sound like a no $@!& statement, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pulling out in the cheap economy rental with extra bags piled in their laps.
Most of all have fun. I have found driving in Europe to be much less stressful.
The cars are bigger and faster in Germany, make sure you rent there. The Netherlands and Belgium the average size of cars is Ford Fiesta size, while in Germany the Passat size is normal. Look at a few brands before you go. I really liked the larger Peugeot 508 which is also a Citroen C5. Always opt for diesel, the upgrade will pay for itself. I have found the sedans to have more room and power than the little SUV's. I agree on upgrading the car, but nothing is free. Nothing worse than tooting along at 90 mph in a VW Polo and getting blown off the road by the sedans. Get a Passat size car at the minimum, mainly for the trunk room. Make sure your bags fit before you leave the rental place, this sound like a no $@!& statement, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pulling out in the cheap economy rental with extra bags piled in their laps.
Most of all have fun. I have found driving in Europe to be much less stressful.
Second going with an upgrade in vehicle. We usually go for a larger wagon style vehicle. SUV is not really necessary but having extra trunk space with luggage is nice. Best rental company we have used in Germany is SIXT.jammer262 said:
Driving isn't an issue. I've used my phone and took my own dashboard gps (downloaded European maps stateside), I vastly prefer the dashboard gps over the phone. There are speed limits on the autobahns around cities or construction, three slash marks mean haul ass. Belgium and the Netherlands have traffic cameras, do not speed, the ticket is 150 and you will get it in the mail.
The cars are bigger and faster in Germany, make sure you rent there. The Netherlands and Belgium the average size of cars is Ford Fiesta size, while in Germany the Passat size is normal. Look at a few brands before you go. I really liked the larger Peugeot 508 which is also a Citroen C5. Always opt for diesel, the upgrade will pay for itself. I have found the sedans to have more room and power than the little SUV's. I agree on upgrading the car, but nothing is free. Nothing worse than tooting along at 90 mph in a VW Polo and getting blown off the road by the sedans. Get a Passat size car at the minimum, mainly for the trunk room. Make sure your bags fit before you leave the rental place, this sound like a no $@!& statement, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pulling out in the cheap economy rental with extra bags piled in their laps.
Most of all have fun. I have found driving in Europe to be much less stressful.
Be aware if your flying into Frankfurt that many of the car rental places will go over your vehicle with a fine tooth comb for scratches when you drop it off. Always for some reason the place you pick up the vehicle is dim light and hard to see if there is any issues.
Never had any issues flying into Munich.
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Definitely upgrading the vehicle. My husband is 6'7" and he will do most of the driving. Lol
We made all our reservations. We went with Sixt for the vehicle. Best feeling for the car and experience more than the price, especially with one way.
Now I need suggestions for London, Brussels, Berlin, and Frankfurt area. I would love to do a day cruise on the Rhine if anyone has done that.
Now I need suggestions for London, Brussels, Berlin, and Frankfurt area. I would love to do a day cruise on the Rhine if anyone has done that.
I'd definitely take the ICE down to Heidelberg. Pretty town and if you like planes and other mechanical foolery you can easily get to the technical museums in Sinsheim or Speyer. Both have static aircraft that you can walk through.aggmaroon said:
We made all our reservations. We went with Sixt for the vehicle. Best feeling for the car and experience more than the price, especially with one way.
Now I need suggestions for London, Brussels, Berlin, and Frankfurt area. I would love to do a day cruise on the Rhine if anyone has done that.
As for Frankfurt, it's basically the Dallas of Germany, so there's a lot of stuff to do there, but I wouldn't really say there's a lot to see if you're only in Germany a few days.
Berlin, there will be a lot, so much that it might seem overwhelming at first. Tripadvisor will really help narrow down the things you want to do before you go. Personally, I would recommend going to Postdam to see some green and forest since Berlin can seem like a concrete jail sometimes. Buy some Stoertebeker beer too, it's from the northern coast and very good.
Also, make sure to buy the BVG passes if you're using the subway/S-bahn. The ticket guys in Berlin get in the car with jackets over them and then pull out their badges when the doors shut. Don't make the mistake of blowing 60 euros through Schwarzfahren.
Feel free to get back for anymore German tips, I've lived over there quite a bit and am always happy to help out.
I did a Frankfurt > Berlin > Dresden > Nuremberg > Stuttgart > Nurburgring > Amsterdam road trip. If I would have had a few extra days, I would have added Munich, but had a few group events planned that dictated some of the schedule.
Avoid German Hertz. Check reviews. You'll never get close to the car you want ("reserve").
AT&T worked great. $10/day unlimited everything. Great coverage. Google maps the whole time. Trip Advisor for each city highlights. Agree with Heidelberg Castle. The history in Berlin was striking. Dresden was my favorite city though. Porsche & Mercedes museums are great. Track day at the green monster. Kings day in Amsterdam.
Got by with little to no German. Fun trip. Great people.
Man, now I want to go back... Have fun!
Avoid German Hertz. Check reviews. You'll never get close to the car you want ("reserve").
AT&T worked great. $10/day unlimited everything. Great coverage. Google maps the whole time. Trip Advisor for each city highlights. Agree with Heidelberg Castle. The history in Berlin was striking. Dresden was my favorite city though. Porsche & Mercedes museums are great. Track day at the green monster. Kings day in Amsterdam.
Got by with little to no German. Fun trip. Great people.
Man, now I want to go back... Have fun!
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