Planning European Vacation-help please!

[MKCP5]

Two years ago, I put together a 2 week Budapst-Vienna-Prague trip for my family. We flew into Budapest and out of Prague. We rented a car at the end of our stay in Budapest and drove everywhere. Dirving was so easy and we loved the freedom it gave us. I think we got some really good rates on hotels because we traveled at the end of April, right before the start of tourist season. Our hotel in Prague, The Grand Mark, was the best deal and it was a five star hotel.

We are planning for may and hoping the same. Slightly off peak. You didn’t find driving difficult?

 

[rlk]

We are planning for may and hoping the same. Slightly off peak. You didn’t find driving difficult?

Both my husband and I were a bit nervous about driving, but it was really easy. The only slightly stressful moment we had was trying to find our parking garage in Vienna. I will tell you that we paid a premium to rent in one country and return in another. Even with the premium, we still saved money vs traveling by other modes.

Last summer we traveled from Berlin to Warnemunde (about 3 hour drive) via the Flix bus. It was only $11 per person!

 

[duketennisgal]

You can find amazing deals on airbnb. I've stayed in fantastic places in Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Paris and London and all were significantly cheaper than hotels. If anybody is looking for places I would gladly share the places I stayed. The place in Prague was seriously like an upscale hotel for 1/3 of the price! Our place in Budapest was in an ideal location and I think was only around $40 a night for a studio apartment.

As for driving, I don't drive in the cities but one of the best days I've ever had in Europe was the day we decided to rent a car in Munich and drive through southern Bavaria. Everything was super easy and we were able to stop wherever we wanted. In October we plan to have a car for 4 days when we are staying in a little town outside of Salzburg so that we can explore the area by car.

In general though, public transport is awesome in Europe and there's no need for a car. If I were staying in a bigger city I would not rent a car, I would just use the public transport.

 

[nycdisneygal]

we loved the apartment we rented in Paris using VRBO.

 

[MKCP5]

we loved the apartment we rented in Paris using VRBO.

Can you message me that info? Thanks!

 

[MKCP5]

Okay! Halfway there! Flying in to London and 15 days later flying out of Paris. Looking for airbnb, vrbo, attractions, ways to save $, anything you've got---GO!!!

 

[rlk]

For inexpensive travel throughout Europe https://shop.flixbus.com/
They take reservations in advance, so don't have to worry about seats. We used them once with very good results.

 

[GAN]

Since the OP is flying this won’t be totally helpful, but for those not aware, this is a great site for train travel....

https://www.seat61.com/

 

[GAN]

Okay! Halfway there! Flying in to London and 15 days later flying out of Paris. Looking for airbnb, vrbo, attractions, ways to save $, anything you've got---GO!!!

One other thing I would HIGHLY recommend is the app “Citymapper”. This made getting around London an absolute breeze-one of the best apps I’ve ever used. Didn’t use it in Paris since we didn’t use much public transportation. But if you travel and don’t have this on your phone ...stop killing yourself! And no, I don’t work for them....

 

[MKCP5]

One other thing I would HIGHLY recommend is the app “Citymapper”. This made getting around London an absolute breeze-one of the best apps I’ve ever used. Didn’t use it in Paris since we didn’t use much public transportation. But if you travel and don’t have this on your phone ...stop killing yourself! And no, I don’t work for them....

thank you!!!

 

[KatrinfromGermany]

Hi,me -as a German - if I had to pick 3 or 4 cities in Europe, I would try to soak in all the differences we have to offer here.
1. Rome: one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited!!!
2. Berlin: young, trendy, lots of World-War-history
3. Prague: never been there, but it is said to be beautiful
4. London: exciting, lots of palaces, arts and history, Harry-Potter in reality

I wouldn't focus only on the Eastern parts of Europe- except this is your special interest.

 

[Vicki E.]

Since the OP is flying this won’t be totally helpful, but for those not aware, this is a great site for train travel....

https://www.seat61.com/

Thank you! We're doing trains next trip so this will be helpful!

 

[MKCP5]

Okay! Back again and anxious to hear your thoughts, suggestions of places to go and help with our itinerary!

We are in London the 23rd until the morning of the 29th. The plan is then to go to Mont St Michel for two nights, then back to Paris for an additional week. To get to MSM we could either take the Eurostar to Paris and then get a train out from there, or fly direct to Rennes and take a bus from there. (less expensive than the eurostar and train from paris) If we take the train from Paris we would still stop in Rennes. Does anyone know anything about Rennes? Are there things we would like to explore there? I'll have to do some research. We could meander Rennes for a few hours then take a bus on to MSM and get settled in there for the night. We have two nights booked there. Everyone says you don't need much time there. I don't know though. We could change that, but I have looked at it as such a magical place for such a long time, and I want hours to wander and walk around it at sunrise and sunset and sit in a cafe and relax and walk for miles. I must admit though, I'd really like to see another part of Normandy. Le Havre, Etretat, Omaha beach, and Giverny are all on my list but I have discovered they are so far from MSM I don't think they make sense. Are there any other villages you know of or would recommend that we could go to fairly easily (by public transport) during our second day there and then return to MSM that night? Thoughts? I'm going to start working on our Paris itinerary after this. Thanks so much!!


PS I did think about renting a car in Paris so we could meander at our own pace but I think it may prove to be super stressful and, truth be told, although I love to drive, big bridges freak me the hell out and I don't know how many of those I would encounter--ugh! Hate that about me!

Thanks guys!

 

[GAN]

Okay! Back again and anxious to hear your thoughts, suggestions of places to go and help with our itinerary!

We are in London the 23rd until the morning of the 29th. The plan is then to go to Mont St Michel for two nights, then back to Paris for an additional week. To get to MSM we could either take the Eurostar to Paris and then get a train out from there, or fly direct to Rennes and take a bus from there. (less expensive than the eurostar and train from paris) If we take the train from Paris we would still stop in Rennes. Does anyone know anything about Rennes? Are there things we would like to explore there? I'll have to do some research. We could meander Rennes for a few hours then take a bus on to MSM and get settled in there for the night. We have two nights booked there. Everyone says you don't need much time there. I don't know though. We could change that, but I have looked at it as such a magical place for such a long time, and I want hours to wander and walk around it at sunrise and sunset and sit in a cafe and relax and walk for miles. I must admit though, I'd really like to see another part of Normandy. Le Havre, Etretat, Omaha beach, and Giverny are all on my list but I have discovered they are so far from MSM I don't think they make sense. Are there any other villages you know of or would recommend that we could go to fairly easily (by public transport) during our second day there and then return to MSM that night? Thoughts? I'm going to start working on our Paris itinerary after this. Thanks so much!!


PS I did think about renting a car in Paris so we could meander at our own pace but I think it may prove to be super stressful and, truth be told, although I love to drive, big bridges freak me the hell out and I don't know how many of those I would encounter--ugh! Hate that about me!

Thanks guys!

I can’t help regarding MSM -but have you checked Trip Advisor forums? Don’t leave home without it...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowFor...t_Michel_Manche_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html

Regarding driving, I don’t think you’d encounter any large bridges but you’d need to be a bit confident in your navigational skills or have a real good co-pilot . I don’t have any experience driving in France, but haven quite a bit in Tuscany ...I suspect the countryside drives are similar. Not only is it manageable, but it’s a great experience ..highly recommended. There’s something about just pulling over when you want to admire beautiful scenery or ...pulling into someone’s backyard because you made a wrong turn(long story). Just have a few native phrases handy! Lots of laughs and memories....