Currently in Amsterdam...having a fucking blast...and I don't even really smoke. Might eat some brownies or toke up a little tonight though. And getting lost riding a bike is about 100 times better than getting lost walking (which is what I did in France).

I'm going to have a hard time leaving this place.

9/5/2008 8:56:54 AM

Kind of a quick question...

So I was confused when I bought my Eurail pass. There were several options with the global pass....you could buy a three month or so pass that allowed you 21 days of travel (which is what I thought I bought) or you could buy a pass that lasted 21 days (which is what I actually got).

So I have about 2 or 3 days left on my pass, but when its out, I'll have exactly 21 days of travel left. So I'm debating whether or not I should go ahead and repurchase the same pass (which of course, has jumped up in price), or just buy tickets as I go. Meeting other travelers, I've noticed that ticket prices aren't really that expensive. The places I have remaining to go, after my pass runs out will be: Budapest (will be there when the pass expires), Prague (which the Eurail doesn't cover, so it doesn't really count), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Greece (which might possibly be crossed out), back to Italy, Spain, and then flying out of France.

Anyone with extensive train experience in Europe recommend whether or not I should get another pass or just pay as I go?? The pass I would get has jumped up to $609. Can I travel for under that for the remaining three weeks without the pass??

9/19/2008 11:42:36 AM

don't you have to validate the eurail pass before the days start counting? or did you buy a pass for a specific date range?

9/19/2008 12:04:16 PM

Yeah...I guess that was another question.

Can you not buy a pass at the train station and then validate it later??

My current pass ends on the 24th. I'm in Venice right now...can I not go to the train station tomorrow and buy a global pass?? The Eurail website didn't say anything about buying straight from the website other than it would save you money. No details about buying from the train station.

All I know about validating is that it has to be done before the first train trip. Mine was validated about 2 hours before my first train out of Paris...but I received the pass in the mail a couple months before.

9/19/2008 12:10:03 PM

Quote :

"Can you not buy a pass at the train station and then validate it later??"

Yes, you can do this. You will just have to make sure they understand this when you buy it so they don't stamp it right there.

9/19/2008 12:37:03 PM

So should I just go ahead and get another global pass or pay as I go??

9/19/2008 1:41:41 PM

I don't think anyone can really tell you that. You just have to look at the costs of the individual train tickets and decide. My suspicion is that it might be cheaper to just buy them separately, but the only way to know is to calculate it up roughly.

9/19/2008 1:47:08 PM

Yeah...it's just kinda tough when not all of the countries websites give prices...and the dates will change.

I was just in Cinque Terre and was going to Venice...and had to pay somewhere around 15 to 20 euro just for seat reservations. And a girl I was hanging out with got a train ticket to Florence for just 8 euro. I know Florence was a little closer, but I feel like with the Eurail pass and the seat reservations, paying separately would probably be cheaper.

9/19/2008 1:57:52 PM

If they require reservations, I would say no doubt. I encountered situations where the railpass only saved me like $15.

9/19/2008 2:09:27 PM

Just hung out with an English dude for a little while in Venice. Kind of convince me to pay as I go. Look for cheap airline flights between my big distances...maybe some buses. I was comfortable with the trains...but maybe I'll take the risk and try some other forms of travel in addition to the trains. This could get interesting.

9/19/2008 5:07:02 PM

Cheap flights are a good way to go. Just be sure to double check where the airport is, because sometimes they are really far from the city they claim to be in.

Buses are okay, but can sometimes be quite a bumpy ride. I was within seconds of puking on a bus in Northern Ireland that went along the coast (really windy roads there).

9/19/2008 5:59:09 PM

Anyone have any experiences with staying in convents or monasteries?

I know that for females it can be a little bit safer, and certainly cleaner than most hostiles (I'm traveling for a month by myself)

10/10/2008 10:52:18 PM

Quote :

"a little bit safer, and certainly cleaner than most hostiles"

to say the least.

10/10/2008 11:01:33 PM

how much does would a trip like this cost me? i graduate in the spring and thought about doing a month or so (is that the norm?)

10/10/2008 11:35:10 PM

Well by that point the US currency should be valued so low that it will cost about $30 to buy a beer over there.

10/11/2008 12:06:40 AM

the funny thing is, because the euro is also tanking, the currency exchange rate has gotten a little bit better in the recent weeks

10/11/2008 1:28:57 PM

Shit's been fluctuating my whole trip. When it started, it was 1 euro to every $1.40. Then it went high up to $1.60, and I was like "oh shit." Then at some point last week it dropped down to $1.33...and I was like, "nice, let's get wasted." Now it's a little under $1.40 I think.

As far as what it would cost...

It depends on how you spend. There is budget traveling, but if you're going by yourself, or you're just traveling for only a month and won't be staying long in most places, it's hard to do hit the markets and cook and make meals. I find that's easier to do when you're staying in places at least three days and actually have the opportunity to go through a small set of groceries or share them with someone.

I'm kind of different...I'm almost done with my 6 weeks of traveling...but I'm a bartender and love the food and beverage industry. So I've been going out to eat a lot and not really skimping on food. I've also been drinking a good bit and have had one place where I did a lot of expensive excursions (Interlaken). I originally set a rough $5,000 budget, but will probably spend around $7,000 to $7,500 when it's all said and done. And I won't regret one penny of it. Has been one of the best decisions of my life to go on this trip. Probably the toughest decision was not to cancel my plane flight back and get a job somewhere.

But I might be back her soon again. Highly recommended. (and try and do longer than a month. if I had to do it all over again...I'd have done this for two months. missed out on a few places and felt a tad bit rushed in a few others)

10/12/2008 9:24:51 AM

Quote :

"I'm kind of different...I'm almost done with my 6 weeks of traveling...but I'm a bartender and love the food and beverage industry. So I've been going out to eat a lot and not really skimping on food. I've also been drinking a good bit and have had one place where I did a lot of expensive excursions (Interlaken). I originally set a rough $5,000 budget, but will probably spend around $7,000 to $7,500 when it's all said and done. And I won't regret one penny of it. Has been one of the best decisions of my life to go on this trip. Probably the toughest decision was not to cancel my plane flight back and get a job somewhere."

Agreed on all this. I budgeted about $3,000 for an 18 day trip, and even though it seemed like I was going to go WAY over, I ended up spending literally like $3,058 or something. I ate all of my meals out, and went to a lot of bars. Typically I would eat one of my meals at a cheaper place like a street stand or something, and one at a good restaurant. For me, the food and drink scene is one of the top reasons for traveling in the first place, so I don't ever see myself doing the budget food thing.

10/12/2008 9:35:20 AM

did either of you guys jbrick83 or Vulcan91 jump from hostile to hostile, or did you mainly stay at one?

i'm going to 5 different countries, and so many different cities. i was looking at the international hostile association (or whatever it's called) and you can buy a membership card and get some discounts and priority at many hostiles.

do you think that'd be worth it in my case? or should i just wing it and have hostiles in mind when i go and hope they have availability?

(i'm also going november-december, so it should be substantially less crowded than peak travel seasons)

10/12/2008 6:03:45 PM

there are plenty of sites where you can book hostels online. i went around western europe in summer 2006, and i had no problems finding a place, if i booked about 2-3 days before i arrived in a particular city. http://www.hostelworld.com/ is the one i used

10/12/2008 6:14:10 PM

Don't know that any of those hostel cards are really worth it. I went to like 10 cities in 18 days, so I was changing hostels pretty frequently. I think I stayed in 7 different ones plus a friend's apartment.

I did book all of my hostels in advance, but I liked one so much that I canceled the one for the next night and rearranged my plans to spend an extra night there. It's pretty easy to be flexible since you will either be paying nothing in advance or just a small percentage in advance.

10/12/2008 8:46:16 PM

I usually booked in advance. You have to books some places a few days in advance, even during the offseason (Paris and Amsterdam off the top of my head). Having said that, I still found a hostel the day of arrival in Paris, it was just the 9th hostel on my list.

During the offseason I would usually book the day before and get directions from the train or the bus station. I think you might have to do a bit more planning in advance if you are going during the summer.

10/13/2008 6:29:17 AM

and the trip is off. major bummer, but stuff came up with work.


instead, i just booked 5 nights 6 days to jamaica at an all-inclusive resort

11/17/2008 8:39:59 PM

pics or it didn't happen!

haha j/k

11/17/2008 8:42:00 PM

well it hasn't happened yet, so there!

11/17/2008 8:57:09 PM

bttt

7/6/2010 9:26:53 AM

Sweet. Little bit of a late bump, but its cool

So I'm working in Belgium for the summer and am looking for some more places to visit on weekend trips for the next few weeks. I've already been a few places and booked some trips for August. I've seen Ghent, Amsterdam, and, Haarlem, and will be going to Bruges this weekend. The following three weekends I have free, being July 16th, 23rd, and 30th. Then I am going to Oslo, Norway, and Rome the first two weekends in August.

The Ghent festival is starting this weekend and last 10 days or so, so I may go to there July 16th. Any places you people recommend for weekend/day trips that won't require much planning? I'm not here doing extensive back packing, so suggestions for places that are good to see on a brief weekend are much appreciated.

7/6/2010 9:35:07 AM

oslo has some crazy statues, none of which i got to see when i was there

make sure you visit frogner park

7/6/2010 9:42:14 AM

hahaha, that's amazing. I'm going on an official group trip, so hopefully they have that in the schedule. I just hope they speak English moderately well

[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 9:46 AM. Reason : lkj]

7/6/2010 9:46:29 AM

You won't have any issues with people speaking english in Oslo (this holds true for the overwhelming majority of Scandinavia).

7/6/2010 9:58:44 AM

Word. I've heard a lot of the local people here complaining that Norweigan's don't speak well up there.

7/6/2010 10:00:39 AM

Really? Thats pretty odd. I only spent a weekend in Oslo and I didn't find it a problem to speak english there. Heck, I didn't even find it a problem in the small towns that I visited in the eastern part of the country. Norwegians weren't as proficient as the Swedes but they were far better than most other parts of Europe.

7/6/2010 10:36:03 AM

yeah, i had no trouble in either sweden or norway with folks speaking english...no problems in denmark or germany, either

7/6/2010 11:14:00 AM