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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
I want to plan a European trip....where do I begin??!
DH and I decided that 2010 is the year that we will take a big trip somewhere. For sure Italy is on the itenerary - if not our only destination. Planning a trip like this is a little overwhelming. Where do I begin? Would it be best to contact a travel agent or do it all online. We definitely have to stick within a budget....so when is the most economical time of the year to travel to europe? when is the most ideal time to travel? What tips can you give me? I don't know where to start!!
Re: I want to plan a European trip....where do I begin??!
I did all the planning online for our 2-week trip to Italy (with stopovers in Barcelona on the way there and back). If you are willing to research, planning it yourself might be the best way to go. And getting recommendations! I can certainly offer you lots of recs for Italy.
Best time to travel to Italy is NOT July, which is when we went. Unfortunately we didn't have much of a choice. But if possible, I would try to go in March or April or in the fall. Before Easter is best for prices I think since many people in Europe have their spring break around Easter. May will start to get crowded and June/July will be ridic.
First question... have you been there before? Do you have any must-see's? DH had never been to Italy before (I've been a few times) so we did the grand tour of all the major sights. I wouldn't have done anything differently. BUT, if we were to go again, having seen all the must-see stuff already, I'd do it a lot differently.
Second question... how much time do you think you would want to take? 2 weeks for us was just right.
Third question... how comfortable are you with traveling abroad? Are you bringing DD? How flexible do you want to be? Do you like having everything planned out or are you more of a figure-it-out-when-you-get-there sort of traveler? Would you be more comfortable with mass transit or renting a car?
Do you mind me asking what your budget is? And is that all-inclusive or excluding airfare? We used frequent flier miles to buy our flights which was a HUGE help to our budget.
I'm so excited for you! I love planning trips!
BFP 12.20.2010 :: missed m/c 1/2011 around 8 weeks
BFP @ 9dpo 5.24.2011 :: missed m/c 6/2011 around 7 weeks
positive for ANAs (1:40) with a speckled pattern
MTHFR c677t mutation (heterozygous)
*folic acid, baby asprin, Prometrium, acupuncture, Lovenox*
BFP @ 9dpo 2.1.2012 || HCG = 8 : Progesterone = 19.2
2nd HCG @ 11dpo = 40 || 3rd HCG @ 21dpo = over 5000!
Stick, little one, stick! EDD October 15, 2012
Thanks for the help on this! I just don't know where to begin. Any insight you can give is so much appreciated.
Start with deciding what you MUST see or do while there. Then look for way to get those things done or sites seen using the train system, travel group or map it out. We used Rick Steves travel group and had a wonderful 2 week trip to Italy, some planned some on our own. It was nice to have the hotels and attactions covered, then plenty of time on our own to explore. It was also good to have a translator and "answer guide" to all things Italy. Our group was fantastic and probably the way we will go again. Pricing is a little more than if you book it on your own, but well worth the extra money. There are other tour companies who do the same thing. they are also good for planning an agenda/itenerary, since they do it for a living they have pretty good agendas and game plans (you can visit their website for details) It seemed like everyone in Europe was carrying a Rick Steves travel book, I think they are the best and a great resource. You can use old version, but be careful of the hotel recommendations if you buy used they may be out of date.
Also check out the travel chat board, there are alot of great travelers over there with alot of information.
Good luck and Have fun,
I think $3000 for 10 days is doable if you make smart choices.
I can't help you with Amsterdam, but I think TX-Bride took a trip there recently and had some good recs.
Ok, here are my tips, in no particular order...
1) Try to fly in one city and out the other (example, into Rome and out of Amsterdam or Venice). If you can't, look in to discount airlines such as RyanAir, EasyJet, Vueling, ClickAir, etc. I recommend RyanAir.
2) Venice is expensive and there's not much way around that. Expect to pay more there than anywhere else for pretty much everything. It was my goal to spend no more than 120 Euro/night on average. Our Venice B&B was well over that, but since our other hotels were less, it all balanced out in the end.
3) 3 nights in each area worked well for us because we were able to have one evening to get our bearings, one day of hardcore sightseeing, and one full day of "rest" for the most part. It's important to build in time to rest into your itinerary or you'll quickly get burned out.
4) Unless you're traveling at a high-traffic time (like Rome during Easter), don't worry about buying train tickets between cities until you arrive in that city. Or even the day you want to leave. Once you arrive in a city, look up the train schedule online or at the station (using the kiosks) to get an idea of when you need to be there and then just get there early to buy your ticket. Definitely get a reserved seat, it's not that much more and is worth the peace of mind if the train does happen to be full.
5) Staying right in the middle of everything can be a good idea, but it can also be fun to stay a little further out, provided you know how to get to and from there every day.
6) Travel light! I cannot stress this enough. Since you will be without DD and you are fine with mass transit, you guys should be fine with a couple of large backpacks and maybe a discreet camera bag. DH got this one and loved it. I got this one (because I didn't want a daypack attachment since I'd have my camera bag) and loved it. Rollerbags are nice for the airport and if you have a car, but believe me, climbing stairs and running for trains is much easier with a pack. You can fit a lot in those things... maybe too much. I actually brought clothes that I never wore.
7) Rick Steves writes a good travel book. I referenced him a lot during my research and during the trip. He has a LOT of great tips. However, I would not agree with 100% of his recommendations, especially for restaurants. Get recs from locals for that, you'll fare much better. His sight-seeing info is awesome though.
8) TripAdvisor.com is great, but take the reviews with a grain of salt. Many reviews are fake... I especially got that feeling when researching Venice accommodations. I took a chance though and stayed at a property with zero reviews on Trip Advisor and it paid off!
9) Use TripIt.com to organize your trip... they have an iPhone App and it's how I kept our itinerary straight.
10) If you have an iPhone, buy the international data plan for the dates you'll be gone. Use the Skype app for phone calls though and take advantage of free wi-fi that most places will have.
11) Some accommodations will offer discounts if you pay in cash. Substantial discounts. Just make sure to plan for this when you're hitting the ATM, especially if you have a daily limit.
12) Eat lots of gelato. It's low in fat and cheap.
13) Things (I think) you should book in advance: airfare, accommodations, museum/major site reservations.
14) Buy the Roma Pass for Rome sightseeing.
15) If someone stops you in the street saying he's the tax police and he needs to see your hotel invoice, do not believe him. Even if he gets up in your face. If this happens, push him the eff out of your face and get to somewhere where there's lots of people. On that note, watch your belongings, wallets, cameras, etc, like a hawk.
16) My suggested itinerary for 10 days to Italy:
Days 1-4 travel to Rome, 3 nights in Rome, 1 day doing the Vatican, 1 day doing Roman stuff (the forum, colosseum, etc).
Days 4-6 travel to Florence for two nights. See The David and the Uffizi if you must, but spend most of your full day walking around. If you take my B&B recommendation (below), I highly recommend doing the vineyard dinner.
Days 6-8 Travel to Cinque Terre (via Pisa if you must, but I don't think you'll regret it if you skip it). Spend your full day doing part or all of the hike between the 5 towns. It's tough, but incredibly rewarding. Cinque Terre was hands down the highlight of our trip.
Days 8-10 Venice
I'll put my specific recs below.
BFP 12.20.2010 :: missed m/c 1/2011 around 8 weeks
BFP @ 9dpo 5.24.2011 :: missed m/c 6/2011 around 7 weeks
positive for ANAs (1:40) with a speckled pattern
MTHFR c677t mutation (heterozygous)
*folic acid, baby asprin, Prometrium, acupuncture, Lovenox*
BFP @ 9dpo 2.1.2012 || HCG = 8 : Progesterone = 19.2
2nd HCG @ 11dpo = 40 || 3rd HCG @ 21dpo = over 5000!
Stick, little one, stick! EDD October 15, 2012
Oh, I also meant to say, if you want to do the Amalfi Coast, I'd start in Venice, then Florence, then Rome, then Amalfi.
Here are my hotel recs:
Venice: Settimo Cielo B&B Gorgeous rooms, lovely breakfast, and ideal location for sightseeing. Amazing rooftop terrace. Expensive, but pretty much in line with what to expect in Venice.
Cinque Terre (Manarola): La Torreta As picturesque as you can get. Tiny bathroom in our room (each room is different) but it had a private terrace and a view of the town/vineyards/sea that was unbeatable. Fantastic breakfasts with a view and the management is really nice. Loved the town. If we could retire anywhere, it would be here.
Florence (technically Bagno e Ripoli, a suburb accessible by bus): La Limonaia The owners are awesome... super nice and generous. You'll feel like you have your own villa in Tuscany but it was SO inexpensive. We took the optional vineyard candlelight dinner which was expensive, but since the room itself was so cheap, it was worth it. I could go on and on. Takes 45 min to get into Florence, but again, it was worth it for a little bit of the "Under Tuscan Sun" sort of experience. Just a hint... we inquired about rooms early and then the owner emailed us back a few weeks later offering a lower price. The recession hit Italy too and will work in your favor! Breakfast is lovely and homey.
Rome: WRH Trastevere A bare-bones B&B but economical and nice. We had the mod red and white room with the round bed, which was kinda fun and funky. Awesome location... the Trastevere area has a great nightlife. The only thing that sucked was that there's no good mass transit from that area to the Vatican so we walked. It's a looooong walk. Do not underestimate the need for comfortable shoes and rest stops when hitting Rome. Breakfast was across the street... simple but good.
If you end up considering any of these places, let me know and I can go into more detail. Or if you want more recs for a certain town, I can let you know what other properties we were considering. I've become a hotel snob so in my research I nixed any place that was ugly
You can certainly find places that cheaper in any of these areas (except maybe Florence... I was shocked at the great deal we got there).
BFP 12.20.2010 :: missed m/c 1/2011 around 8 weeks
BFP @ 9dpo 5.24.2011 :: missed m/c 6/2011 around 7 weeks
positive for ANAs (1:40) with a speckled pattern
MTHFR c677t mutation (heterozygous)
*folic acid, baby asprin, Prometrium, acupuncture, Lovenox*
BFP @ 9dpo 2.1.2012 || HCG = 8 : Progesterone = 19.2
2nd HCG @ 11dpo = 40 || 3rd HCG @ 21dpo = over 5000!
Stick, little one, stick! EDD October 15, 2012
I totally agree with AustinBride. 10 days in Italy alone is totally doable. Fly into Rome and out of Venice or vice versa (train ride is 6 hours between the two!).
We did 3 nights in rome-- one day got there, day 2 vatican, day 3 roman sites, then 4 nights Florence/Sienna-- really only 2 days in florence the rest driving about tuscany, then drove to Cinque Terre via Pisa for 2 nights. I thought Pisa was totally worth it and the the cathedral is more accessible than most. Cinque Terre will be the most amazing part of your trip. We spent two night to give us 1 full day to hike between the towns. We made it through 4 and trained to the 5th. Then 3 nights in Venice. My favorite place in Italy although absolutely pricey.
You can cut nights in Tuscany and Venice to get down to 10. Italy can be cheap food wise-- share pasta, just have brushchetta for lunch etc.
We went in November. Nov. 1 is the start of low season. It was gorgeous during the day in the 70s and 80s night we needed a jacket but was not too bad. Worth it to go in off season... EVERYTHING is cheaper.
Finally-- get Rick STeves. I agree the restaurants and hotels are hit or miss-- he likes homespun and to me that is sometimes old and dowdy. But you can't go wrong with his recs on things to see and do. He's also hillarious. And the best info you can get on Cinque Terre.
Love Italy... would go back there in a heartbeat.
ETA check out the travel board. lots of people go to Italy. I also found good info on the honeymoon board on the Knot (it's obviously a big honeymoon destination)
Married October 28, 2006, TTC since March 2009 IUI #1-8 w/ clomid = BFN
IVF # 1 May, 2011 = BFP!!! Stillbirth at 26 weeks (placental failure/severe IUGR)
FET #1 February, 2012-- BFP! Beta #1=84 Beta #2= 207 Beta #3= 3,526
Our Rainbow Baby is on the Way!
I believe ryanair charges for checking in luggage, so you might want to account for that - they are really a bare-bones airline.
we stayed at a B&B in venice that was around 90 euros - I was trying to find it and it looks like it's gone now;( B&Bs tended to be cheaper, IMO.
ditto, we booked all of our train tickets just a few days before departing without any problems. I would def recommend using the train system instead of driving, much less stressful!
ditto again! most of europe consists of small, cobblestone streets - it's a PITA to have a large roller. and some hotels/B&Bs don't have elevators, it's not fun hauling that isht up the stairs.
mmmm...yes! also, we usually bought a panini or sandwich for lunch and ate it in the square with everyone else. try not to eat in the touristy squares (i.e. cafes in front of st. mark's cathedral, etc), you'll pay a fortune for sub-par food. the house wine at most places were usually pretty good and cheap. we found most restaurants will charge for silly things like bread, so we would just refuse it when the server tried to give us any.
we did 3 days in venice, florence, rome and it was perfect. rome was exhausting, IMHO. too many people, so much to see. just giving you a head's up! you'll enjoy it though;)
WOW. Thank you for such valuable information!!! Definitely a huge help. I will be sure to reference this post in the coming months when I start to plan out my trip. I'm trying to get an idea for it now....this helps a lot.
thank you, thank you, thank you!!
BFP 12.20.2010 :: missed m/c 1/2011 around 8 weeks
BFP @ 9dpo 5.24.2011 :: missed m/c 6/2011 around 7 weeks
positive for ANAs (1:40) with a speckled pattern
MTHFR c677t mutation (heterozygous)
*folic acid, baby asprin, Prometrium, acupuncture, Lovenox*
BFP @ 9dpo 2.1.2012 || HCG = 8 : Progesterone = 19.2
2nd HCG @ 11dpo = 40 || 3rd HCG @ 21dpo = over 5000!
Stick, little one, stick! EDD October 15, 2012
Ok, last thing. If you think you might go back to Italy one day (like when DD is older or something) I'd maybe cut out one or two of the major cities. Like do Venice and Cinque Terre. Or Rome and Amalfi. ssinca was right... the popular sights can be overwhelmingly crowded any time of year (the Vatican museum was quite literally wall-to-wall people when we were there). I think you might have more fun if you pick two areas and really explore them. You'll start to feel less like a tourist and more like an expatriate on a long sabbatical.
Traveling is stressful, even if you have everything planned out. Constantly having to think about the best routes, catching a train, where to eat good food w/o being ripped off... it's exhausting. I know it's hard to build in that rest time, but if you think you'll come back one day and see the rest I think it'll be worth it. Just my two cents.
PS. If we go back to Italy again, just the two of us, I think we'd spend 5 days to a week in CT, maybe a couple nights in Rome, and then maybe Sorrento or somewhere else in the Amalfi area after that. Or maybe just the whole time in CT. In hindsight, doing Rome at the end of our trip when we were the most tired was probably not the best idea.
BFP 12.20.2010 :: missed m/c 1/2011 around 8 weeks
BFP @ 9dpo 5.24.2011 :: missed m/c 6/2011 around 7 weeks
positive for ANAs (1:40) with a speckled pattern
MTHFR c677t mutation (heterozygous)
*folic acid, baby asprin, Prometrium, acupuncture, Lovenox*
BFP @ 9dpo 2.1.2012 || HCG = 8 : Progesterone = 19.2
2nd HCG @ 11dpo = 40 || 3rd HCG @ 21dpo = over 5000!
Stick, little one, stick! EDD October 15, 2012
rome was our last stop as well and by that time I was.over.it.com
if you do go to venice, maybe do that one last - I really enjoyed just roaming around the little streets and taking everything in. there isn't as much to see museum-wise and whatnot in venice as there is in rome/florence. and rome is just huge.
I just glanced over the responses.
First I am green w/ envy.
I AM going back. Soon.
We flew into Rome first and out of Venice. I recommend that.
We always bought train tickets right as we were ready to board.
March was PERFECT weatherwise and not crowded.
I LOVED our location in Rome. Right off Piazza Novona... here.
If you want to see David in Florence you HAVE to make a reservation w/ the Academia ahead of time. We walked up, got in line, almost cried, went to the front, got the #, found a phone, called to make an appointment, went to the Uffizi, walked the Ponte Vecchio and came back. Perfect timing. My absolute favorite thing we did.
We did not build in downtime. We went hard for 8 days. We did three cities and I don't feel like we missed ANYTHING. I would do it exactly the same with maybe a little less time in Venice.
I lost/someone stole my camera on the Rialto our last night. Beware. I was on high alert and was devastated. Hence, a return trip!
I could go on but it looked like you got good input already. Have fun!