finishing study program in Prague, in June. Wanting to continue traveling for a week..wanting to see either Italy or Paris/Amsterdam. Any tips or suggestions for maximizing time? Trains, planes?
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Why do you want to wait till July? Low cost airline tickets are so cheap, flights short, people do weekend breaks all the time. Travel and hotels are much more expensive in summer than now.
There are many holidays in between too. Do the shorter trips in spring - weekends in Paris, Amsterdam, Dresden, Krakow, Vienna etc. and then you can have a whole week in Croatia and Italy.
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Hi zwolla,
My niece finishes her monthlong studies there in June as well, and myself and a few others will join her to travel for a few weeks before flying back to Canada in mid-June. We are going to get a train pass and meander our way around a few countries until reaching Paris for 5 days...then on to Amsterdam to fly home. She would like to take night trains (and sleep on them)to some destinations, so might oblige her once as I need a good bed! Otherwise we will stay in budget hotels, pensions etc...as we will be basically on a students budget! We loved the trains in the UK last summer as well as the Eurostar from London to Paris so we are going to use the trains as much to our advantage as possible.
There are lots of interesting posts (and posters!) in the forums. Don%26#39;t be afraid to ask ANY question as you will always get more than a few good answers. Have fun on your trip and enjoy your adventure!
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That is great that you are going to also benefit from her study abroad...I wondered if over night trains were still safe? From Prague, she will set out for destination not determined, but she will need to be in Paris 5 nights later. She will have done Munich, Salzburg and Vienna as part of her studies....Any other place that you all are going to, since you have obviously done your research, would interest me.....are you doing a multiple day pass for trains? I saw that it is about a 13 hour trip to Paris and/or Amsterdam from Prague....where else are you headed if you are leaving out of Amsterdam?
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Hi again, zwolla
She will be studying in Ukraine, Slovenia, Czech Rep, maybe Hungary...I just can%26#39;t remember all 5 countries, but she starts and finishes in Prague. I think we will travel back to the countries that she was studying because she will feel pretty knowledgeable about them and will want to show us!
I do tend to research everything, but am trying to hold myself back. Our only solid plans are Paris(on June 8) and Amsterdam(for June 15) so will go with the flow.
I have heard that some train tickets are pretty low cost, but our group prefers to get the Eurail Global Pass. It was easy to get on trains in the UK last summer with a pass there, so will hope it is the same on the mainland (continent!). With no firm plans we might luck out on seats.
The last time I travelled without an itinerary was in the %26#39;80%26#39;s so I question myself everyday whether this is the right way to go or not. My travel companions are pretty easy going, but very budget minded. It might all go terribly wrong but worth the try.
I know nothing about overnight trains, but the others want to try it at least once. There will be 4 of us so I hope it is safe. Who knows what destination we will be departing from? We thought that going to Croatia would be interesting, then probably through Italy, Austria...who knows. Time will fly by I am sure.
I rely alot on the forum posts about what to see in each country. I loved Paris last year and look forward to actually getting into the Louvre this time. It was closed on the Tuesday we were there. I prefer sitting and people watching more than anything else so hope to do more of the same.
Do you only have a week to travel once you are finished studying? If you want to see Paris and Amsterdam you should probably fly. Otherwise hang around the countries close to Prague and enjoy some slow travel! Let me know what you plan. Sorry I don%26#39;t have much to tell you for now, but like I said, type in some stuff in the search area in the forum and a million things come up.
Good Luck!
Lynn
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All of the places where your neice is studying will be fascinating and different than the usual european fare. My daughter is the one studying in Prague, and I am hoping to catch up with her for that one week of travel, but don%26#39;t know if it is going to work for me (due to work committments) However, like you, I am a planner and want her to see as much as possible. during her study month she will travel, going to Budapest then Vienna, on to Salzburg, then Munich then ending up for the last 2 weeks in Prague, with day trips planned..She will end program on the 9th of June and have until the next week-end to work her way to Paris. I considered the flexible pass on Eurail, maybe a 3 anytime day pass would get her from Prague on an all day or all night journey to Amsterdam..like you, I studied in Europe (in the 70%26#39;s), then traveled several more times on various trips back, so I know how much there is to see and do and want her to see as much as possible...can you prebook the Louvre like you can the Uffizi in Florence? Originally, we were going to meet and head to Venice, then Florence and fly out of Rome, but when my participation became iffy, we decided to leave her based in the north as she has friends studying in Antwerp, so she could potentially get with them and have fun seeing Belgium, etc. This is her first travel abroad so some of what she will choose to do, will be just the wonderful accidents that occur which lead you to places that you never forget..Since you have recently been in Paris, any tips on that great city would be helpful....I have my own from past trips, but like to hear what others enjoyed.
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Hi zwolla
Don%26#39;t you just wish you were the same age as the girls and able to travel the way they can? Sometimes it gets weary being an adult...with responsibilities! I hope you can meet your daughter. That would be so much fun.
Last summer was actually my first time to UK and Paris. I have been dreaming about it since I was 12! 35 years later I managed to go and it was all that I imagined it would be. I loved Paris and am so looking forward to that again and showing my niece, my sister and another friend. Not that I am an expert, but I know what I missed and also what I want to see again. We have rented an apartment for 5 nights in the same area that we rented in last year. As for things for her to see, check out this:
tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187147-Activiti…
This is from an area of the forum to the left side of the page. Go to the Paris forum, thenlook at the left and it says %26quot;things to do.%26quot; This is on every forum, Prague too. There used to be things at the top of each forum list of questions and it had great things from the local experts etc...It changed when the revamped the site a few months ago.
We hope to take in the Musee D%26#39;Orsay. Some say it is better than the Louvre, but who can resist %26quot;Mona!%26quot; We took an Open bus tour(hop on and off as you please) and loved it. One ticket was good for several routes through out the city so we saw the Champs Elysee, Arc de Triumph, Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Gare du Nord and then it dropped us off a few blocks from our apt. We felt the cost was okay and because there were 8 of us, it was a good way to see the city (with a headphone tour guide!)and helped us decide what we wanted to see another day. Our apt was near the pedestrian market of Rue Montorguiel...quite impressive and we felt like we were living life the way Parisians do.
Anyway, hope you can make it across the pond to meet your daughter. I hope she gets to see all the great stuff where ever she ends up.
L
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L, all of the advice was very good as I visited the forum page and now have tagged both Prague and Paris and have begun receiving information from both. Something I have seen repeatedly are the bike tours of cities that seem to be very popular. I suggested that to my daughter who was interested. I agree, the Musee d%26#39;Orsay is just incredible. We did that my last trip...also Versailles for a day trip, the night time bateaux river trip is a must and of course the Louvre....what are your destinations for Amsterdam? the more I remember about Paris, she could go no where else and have more to do than she could accomplish...esp if she took day trips to Mont St. Michel, or the Loire Valley. It intrigues me for the future your renting of an apartment for a 5 day period. Do they do that through agencies that you saw in Trip Advisor? That would be so much better than a hotel (t0 me) and I would think, more affordable...plus you would have a kitchen.
I hope you have fun planning...I love just thinking about it all and YES, I wish I was 20 again and alot more carefree than today...but thankfully, at one time i WAS and traveling opened my eyes to so much.
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Good Morning!
I am going to send you a private message to give you some other information. Look at the top of your screen where it says %26quot;my tripadvisor%26quot;, click on that, then go down to messages. There might also be another indicator of a message, but I can%26#39;t remember!!!
Lynn
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