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4 High School Students LAX to Europe for the first time to Europe. Strategy sought..

4 High School Students LAX to Europe for the first time to Europe. Strategy sought..

Old Nov 1, 2015, 11:38 am
  #16  
 
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I was also going to suggest Norwegian. In addition to direct flights from LAX to the Scandinavian capitals, they also fly direct from LAX to London Gatwick, if seeking an English-speaking country, or several destinations in southern Europe. Very competitive fares and flights on the Dreamliner.
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Old Nov 1, 2015, 7:04 pm
  #17  
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Thanks everyone

Hi there, Thanks to all whom have provided insight and suggestions. I am forwarding this thread to "Mini Flying Machine" for him to review wth his colleagues. They are a group of smart young men and I am sure they will benefit from your input. They have had a few meetings among themselves so far.. momentum is gaining towards a concensus of where to go and what to do. Please keep your ideas coming as I am sure they are quite grateful for the FT sage advise Thanks and Safe Travels
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Old Nov 2, 2015, 7:45 am
  #18  
 
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Id advise flying into berlin - airberlin has great deals on flights an their a full service carrier which is awesome. Berlin is the best place for young americans couse its cheap and there is so much to do day and night.

Train connections to a variety of places is great and theres ryanair and easyjet for further travel to pretty much anywhere in europe.
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Old Nov 4, 2015, 6:51 pm
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If they fly into Dublin, and want to go elsewhere via air,

THIS POST

has information on very inexpensive Ryan Air flights.

I did one of Ryan's free flights several years ago. London to Perpignan, France. It worked just fine.

Dublin is pretty amazing in itself, also. They might find they don't want to leave it.

Romelle
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Old Nov 4, 2015, 7:34 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by Romelle
Dublin is pretty amazing in itself, also. They might find they don't want to leave it.
Romelle,

I don't usually disagree with your posts, but on the subject of Dublin we part ways

Been there twice, and if circumstances were right might return (come to think of it have a cancelled flight there and back using miles, but it may be too late for that).

Dublin is OK, and may be more fun for young people, but I like architecture, trees and things to photograph, and found Dublin a little lacking. But it does have its charms.
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Old Nov 5, 2015, 5:37 am
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Originally Posted by EmailKid
Romelle,

I don't usually disagree with your posts, but on the subject of Dublin we part ways

Been there twice, and if circumstances were right might return (come to think of it have a cancelled flight there and back using miles, but it may be too late for that).

Dublin is OK, and may be more fun for young people, but I like architecture, trees and things to photograph, and found Dublin a little lacking. But it does have its charms.
I can't think when I've disagreed with you either.

My attraction to Dublin might be the 1/16 Scotch-Irish I claim? With Scotch-Irish supposed to mean some Scots booted out of Scotland and sent to Ireland. Dubious ancestry claim.

Anyway, there is of course Guinness and Jameson, The Book of Kells, scones, Trinity College (I rented a room there, and the dining hall was right out of Harry Potter), Grafton Street, St. Stephen's Green, Apple's tax haven, those charming accents, scones, the Liffey river, did I mention scones?, and I look great in green.

My 22-year-old grandson drank his way through there and also said he had a great time. I didn't push for details.

Romelle
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Old Nov 12, 2015, 5:34 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by paulqle
Having said that, don't expect everyone to speak English. A 60 yr old Hungarian/German/Dutch bus driver might not be able to give you directions in English, but you can usually find someone who can help you.
I wouldn't necessarily expect a Hungarian driver to speak English, but Dutch? With the level of English spoken in the Netherlands, I would be surprised if they didn't. I've had beggars in the Netherlands ask me if I prefer English or Dutch..
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Old Nov 17, 2015, 7:14 pm
  #23  
 
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I second the open-jaw recommendation. That really opens up the possibilities of what they can see and do.

One other thought - if at all possible, look for an afternoon return flight. This avoids needing to get up at o-dark-thirty to reach the airport. This is especially useful in locations which have really good public transportation to the airport that does not run 24 hours.
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Old Nov 18, 2015, 11:04 pm
  #24  
 
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You aren't going to get deals on airfare in June. That is peak travel season, and gets hot in Europe June and July and August. I just spent 3 months in Spain and 2 weeks in Portugal. I flew to Madrid, and took trains and buses everywhere. I did not buy a rail pass, it didn't make sense financially. Rail travel in Spain is cheap. I also took some buses which were very comfortable and inexpensive. In Europe they have a website called blablacar.com where you can find shared rides (in someone's car) for cheap! I know they are in Spain, not sure what other countries.

I have done this 2 years in a row, first time I flew into Madrid and out of Barcelona, this year it was round trip from Madrid. Vueling also has really cheap airfare sometimes around Europe. I.E. from Madrid to Malaga, or Malaga to Barcelona.

I would recommend purchasing the airfare as soon as you know the dates. That time of the year isn't going to get cheaper as time goes by, it will get more expensive. So, when you see a good fare, jump at it. The kids will have a good time! (Tell them to be very careful of their valuables. Young and stupid. Never set your back pack down next to you at a cafe!!!, Don't leave your cellphone charging without being right next to it. I had an unlocked cell phone and bought sim cards in every country I was in so I had cell service with wifi and text. Really cheap!)
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Old Nov 18, 2015, 11:20 pm
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You didn't mention how long they are planning on being there. If it is only a month, no problem. I had my daughter meet me this year in Spain and she only had 7 days vacation. She flew in and out of Madrid. We went to San Sebastian, Cordoba, Toledo and Seville and back to Madrid. It was a whirlwind tour. I just mention this because depending on the length of their visit will really narrow down what they can see. It was almost too much in 7 days, she wished she had more time in a few cities.

Another thing that will affect the cost is what city you fly into. LHR (london heathrow) for example is a really expensive airport to fly into. Their airport taxes are a lot higher than, say Madrid. Flying out of LAX will give you the best choice of flights to Europe. You can't see everything in one trip. You can only stay in a Schengen country for a TOTAL of 90 days, then you have to leave for 180 days. England is not part of Schengen so you could spend 90 days in Spain then go to England and spend another 90 days before you would have to leave. There are MANY posts on this on Tripadvisor if you want more info.

I found Spain and Portugal very affordable, Portugal more than Spain right now. It will probably be different come June 2016 due to the situation in Europe.

If they are going to go to Eastern Europe, check into the Visa requirements well ahead of time. Get a Passport early if they don't already have one. Get any necessary vaccinations ahead of time - find out what you need, it depends on where they go. Tetanus booster for sure, and maybe Hepatitis B&C - those require 2 weeks between shots and a series of 3. ( I think that is Hep b) Probably not much else. If you belong to Kaiser, they have a travel nurse you can talk with that will tell you if you need any vaccines by discussing the trip with her.

I travel 365 days a year, and have gone around the world twice now. Feel free to email me by PM if you want to ask me a question.
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Old Nov 27, 2015, 7:06 am
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How are the plans coming?
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Old Nov 27, 2015, 7:12 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Romelle
How are the plans coming?
Thanks for the follow up. The Boys are in "full swing" in the College Application Process right now. I have shared and they have read most of the posts here.. I suspect that once the focus of the application process completes around New Years, they will start to spend some more time in the trip. They seem to have a pretty good plan among themselves. Just waiting for them to share Happy Holidays and Safe Travels
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Old Nov 30, 2015, 1:05 pm
  #28  
 
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Having started to travel to Europe right out of high school, a few points of advice:
I agree with those who advocate for limiting the trip to just 2-3 countries. Or even just one - you could spend years in Italy and still not experience everything, for example.

Although an open-jaw itinerary can be useful, I've enjoyed flying into one city and making side trips from there. For example I recently flew into Prague, stayed for a few days, then went to Austria and back to Prague for a few more days. I found that after I left Prague for a while I had a better idea of what I really wanted to see and had time to do that before I left the continent.

Once you've chosen your destination(s), I found it really worthwhile to learn some of the language (even difficult ones like Czech). You can get by with English, but you'll get better service, assistance, and even make friends by at least trying. Getting decent with pronunciation in order to read menus, etc. can go a long way.

Pack light and be ready to wash clothes (non-iron things especially). A neck pillow, eye mask, and ear plugs are really useful if you're doing hostels and overnight trains.
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Old Dec 3, 2015, 12:43 am
  #29  
 
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I would advise looking into rail travel as early as you book flights. It is not always cheap to take rail in Europe, particularly if you don't purchase well in advance.

That was my biggest surprise in my European travel; that flying is often cheaper than taking a train for many destinations, and a one-way rail ticket can cost upwards of 200 Euro for some routes at the last minute.
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Old Dec 3, 2015, 1:20 am
  #30  
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Is there a particular reason why they want to go rail? While it was the romanticized way to get around for tourist to get around Europe a decade ago, flights are really cheap now, to the point where it may be cheaper than a rail pass. Once they decide where to go, have them look at airfare and see which is better. Of course, you may lose the flexibility of just hopping on the train and also the camaraderie of meeting fellow travelers (though the truth to that last bit is that they'll likely lose touch anyway when they come back, so not much lost there IMO).

Random tips off the top of my head...

Charging:
Download Google maps of the local city to use offline (search for "Ok Maps" command to see what I'm talking about.

If you happen to need a new cell phone plan, look into one with worldwide coverage like T-Mobile... data & texting included in most countries in Europe.

Clorox wipes for public restroom use (travel size)

Baby wipes for cleaning in general (travel size)
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