Student Travel-Summer
 

Planning NY to Europe (ex. London-been there) for grad present with friends for the month of June.
Help:
1. Best routing, price is a consideration
2. Planning on hostels, inexpensive lodging
3. Required cites include Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and others.....open for suggertions

1. Even if you don´t particularly like London, getting there in the summer ex-US can often cost several hundred dollars less than airfare to just about any other city in Europe, so that it can be cheaper to go there first and travel onwards w/separately-purchased tickets (Eurostar, budget airline or even standard airline flight). www.counciltravel.com and www.statravel.com have student airfares that are often cheaper than published airfares (especially if you´re departing after June 15 when published airfares shoot through the roof). www.tiss.com has a large inventory of consolidator fares, but these often don´t earn miles (if that´s a consideration, you should ask before you buy). If you want to fly into Paris, I think that lowestfare.com will discount TWA flights by 25% off the lowest published fare.

2. If you plan on staying at a lot of hostels, it´s probably worthwhile to buy the HI European directory (or if you can plan in advance, just go to www.hiayh.org and follow the links to get the same info online). When travelling around Europe, my favorite hostels were the ones just outside the major cities. They often cost a lot less (e.g. one that I stayed at just outside Paris was only $6 a night - in July!),are less crowded, and give you the chance to really experience the local culture. In most countries, the public transit is good enough that getting there isn´t a problem, but in some (e.g. Germany) the high cost of transportation might eliminate any savings.

3. My favorites that aren´t on your list include Florence, Venice, and Monaco (or just about any place on the cote d´azure - that region is breathtakingly beautiful).

One last suggestion - if you´ll be following a roughly linear path through the continent, it will likely be cheaper to buy a one-way rail ticket with stops (if you´re under 26 you can save even more w/a BIJ ticket) than a rail pass.

(edited to make hyperlinks work)

[This message has been edited by yonatan (edited 12-22-2000).]

what's a BIJ ticket

Hey Jim,
I did the whole European graduation trip last summer. Three whole months...
Here are some places you can't miss:

-Munich - great city, but about 2 hour train ride south is the Neuswanstein Castle... it was the model for the Walt Disney World castle,the tour through it isn't so great, but the surrounding area is wonderful for hiking, seeing waterfalls, and hanggliding.

-Florence - I stayed in a wonderful hostel right on the outskirts of the town,in an old mansion that was handed over to the state 4 years ago. There are marble frescos and beautiful fountains all over the estate. Wonderful!

-Rome - Make sure you go on the Rome-ing Tours. My friends and I actually took 3 of them. The pub crawl is great!

-Pompeii - Mt.Veseuvius (sp?)is the only active volcano in Europe, you can hike up to the top, then check out the remains of the city. Stay in Naples, which is an often missed town, but be careful, because it is slightly dangerous. We were mugged walking back from dinner one night.

- Greece - Cofu: The Pink Palace if you want to feel like you are still in college at a typical frat party. It's really a rip off for Greece since it's 25 dollars a night, when you can go right down the street and get your own apartment for 6 dollars.
Santorini: WOW, ultra romantic, perfect place to go with a date. Beautiful beaches, and the most amazing white houses with blue roofs.
Ios: 24 hour party...

- Cinque Terre - A string of 5 fishing villages,very small and quaint, the perfect get away if you can get there when the tourists are gone. I stayed in Riomaggiore, the smallest town. You can get a room for about 12 bucks from "Mar-Mar" Do the hike between the towns, even though it is a little tough at some points, it's worth it for the views! The water is incredible.

- between Nice and Monaco - this whole strip is incredible. A train runs every hour between these two cities and stops at several small towns in between. Make sure you check these places out. Many celebs have huge houses along the route, and you can find some great hostels that not too many people know about!

- Pamplona - if you are in Spain from July 6-14, the running of the bulls takes place here. Definately an experience not to be missed!

OK, I have so many more places and stories and recommendations, but I don't want to waste space here. Send me an email if you are interested. Have a fantastic time on your trip. Make sure you keep a journal so you can remember everything!!!

Jim,

BIJ - Billet de Jeunesse International. Sometimes it´s called by different names in the various countries (e.g. Twenticket in Germany), but I think BIJ is the universally-recognized name.

It´s a discounted youth rail ticket for those who are not yet 26. You can travel for up to two months in one direction, but (at least if bought in Germany - not sure if it´s also true for other countries) you can´t spend more than four days in the country in which you start your journey. You can have as many stops as you want along the way, but since the price is based on distance travelled, it´s cheaper to go in a roughly linear path.
The ticket gives you a discount of 20-50% depending on what countries you travel through. In some countries (like Italy), the base railfare is so cheap that it actually won´t cost you much to zigzag in a non-linear path. Keep in mind that railfare varies significantly by country (e.g. Germany and Switzerland would not be good places to zigzag http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif ).
One way to make it work for you is to fly into London, get a one-way ticket to southern Europe on a cheapo airline, then go back up with the BIJ (or vice versa).
Yonatan