justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 13:12:36 GMT -5
From debthaven thread a bit back, it was mentioned to bring out my own thread. But I've been a combo of lazy and busy and haven't been able to lay out everything in a thread. -Haven't been to Europe before -Need to figure out whatever I need for voltage differences, and what I would do about my phone (I'm leaning towards a pre-paid SIM vs relying on wifi). And any other "oh crap that's way different than the US" stuff-Paris & Italy are must-see, ok with others in there -Not sure beyond this. Venice? Rome? Wine Country? Almafi?-Have 2 weeks expiring end of May (but can extend to use some of it in June if needed) -Could add another week, but would obviously mean not taking something else or going for less time
-Can't find anyone to go with, so everything's solo -Don't totally have a budget, but would like to do it cheap without being a pain -Thinking I'm hoping to do it all for under $5k -Hotels if it's only 3-4 days in a place or renting a place?
-Not against tours, but they tend to do too much or charge too much for solo fees And I just realized I already have tickets for plays at home on April 17, May 15, and June 12. I'd prefer not to miss them. I do have Memorial day as a holiday though. The most coherent idea I currently have is to fly either Fri or Sat (they're night flights) to Rome. And then I'm in Rome until I catch a cruise on Wed. Then head to Venice that day. Then to Paris. If I just did those two cities after for 3/4 nights each I'd be around 12 days PTO. That would have me coming back on a Tues/Wed. If I take a full 14 days of PTO then I could fly back that weekend and have another 3/4 nights. But I'm not sure whether I should just stay longer in Venice & Paris or if I should add another city. The flights I've seen when I look are usually around $1200ish give or take. Depending on the day you leave/return. It's just under $1600 for the cruise. The cruise hits Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona, and Naples. I think Florence/Pisa is the only stop where it's actually far from the port. Not sure what the excursions would cost, but I'm thinking that in a few I'd probably just wander. I'm thinking $200 is prob more than enough to get from Rome to Venice and Venice to Paris. The real question is how much am I looking at for hotels and food? Is it going to be $200/night for hotels and then food?
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Feb 19, 2019 13:47:41 GMT -5
I will have more time later in the week but a few random thoughts: - We just booked very cheap flights to/from Boston on Norwegian. April holidays but we were flexible so we're leaving before the Fri school gets out and returning the Mon schools go back. - I don't know if it's worth an AirBnB because I don't know prices here. It is definitely worth it in London but hotels are crazy expensive there. Unless you wanted an AirBnB bedroom in someone's apartment ... that could be fun but not sure you'd be up for that. My DS1 always went "couchsurfing" when he went to a new place, to meet people (but he was generally going to live there for a while). - There's a night train between Paris and Venice which is supposedly very nice. My neighbors take it regularly. You can have a private cabin or just a bed in a shared room (much cheaper obviously). - About wifi, yes I'd get a SIM card. I always remind people here that although obviously you aren't coming to Paris to Rome to go to McDonald's or Starbucks, for the price of a tea/coffee, you get a good WIFI connection when you're out and about. - You can save a lot of money by finding a small grocery store when you arrive and buying snacks and bottled water. - When we travel we try to book hotels that serve free breakfast. Again, not sure how common that is here. And croissants/pains au chocolat/bread is cheap and plentiful here. I'll add more as I think of it.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 14:02:46 GMT -5
From debthaven thread a bit back, it was mentioned to bring out my own thread. But I've been a combo of lazy and busy and haven't been able to lay out everything in a thread. -Haven't been to Europe before -Need to figure out whatever I need for voltage differences, and what I would do about my phone (I'm leaning towards a pre-paid SIM vs relying on wifi). And any other "oh crap that's way different than the US" stuff-Paris & Italy are must-see, ok with others in there -Not sure beyond this. Venice? Rome? Wine Country? Almafi?-Have 2 weeks expiring end of May (but can extend to use some of it in June if needed) -Could add another week, but would obviously mean not taking something else or going for less time
-Can't find anyone to go with, so everything's solo -Don't totally have a budget, but would like to do it cheap without being a pain -Thinking I'm hoping to do it all for under $5k -Hotels if it's only 3-4 days in a place or renting a place?
-Not against tours, but they tend to do too much or charge too much for solo fees And I just realized I already have tickets for plays at home on April 17, May 15, and June 12. I'd prefer not to miss them. I do have Memorial day as a holiday though. The most coherent idea I currently have is to fly either Fri or Sat (they're night flights) to Rome. And then I'm in Rome until I catch a cruise on Wed. Then head to Venice that day. Then to Paris. If I just did those two cities after for 3/4 nights each I'd be around 12 days PTO. That would have me coming back on a Tues/Wed. If I take a full 14 days of PTO then I could fly back that weekend and have another 3/4 nights. But I'm not sure whether I should just stay longer in Venice & Paris or if I should add another city. The flights I've seen when I look are usually around $1200ish give or take. Depending on the day you leave/return. It's just under $1600 for the cruise. The cruise hits Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona, and Naples. I think Florence/Pisa is the only stop where it's actually far from the port. Not sure what the excursions would cost, but I'm thinking that in a few I'd probably just wander. I'm thinking $200 is prob more than enough to get from Rome to Venice and Venice to Paris. The real question is how much am I looking at for hotels and food? Is it going to be $200/night for hotels and then food? When we were in Portugal in Dec. we just bought a new SIM card for my phone on the way out of the airport. It was waaaay more than we needed, but provided a month of phone calls/texts and 5 GB of data for 10E. The only thing I take these days that needs to be plugged into the wall is my phone and iPad. Most US appliances adapt to European currents, you need to check whatever you are planning on bringing. I have yet to stay in a place that didn't have a hair dryer. You may only have to take an adapter. Consider an open jaw ticket so you do not have to backtrack. What I would do is fly into Rome and fly out of Paris. I can't vouch for Italy, but we paid a little over $200/night in Paris for our hotel. We probably paid another 100E/day for attractions and food. When I made our hotel reservations, it was after the terrorist attacks in Paris and the prices dropped about 25%. We also went in December, which was off season. In May, you are starting to look at in season prices. I'm currently looking at Norwegian Air to get us from Seattle to Bergen, Barcelona to Seattle. With a rather convoluted route (RT into Oslo and OW flights to Bergen and from Barcelona), I've come up the cheapest fare so far for our trip next October. They fly out of limited cities in the US though.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Feb 19, 2019 14:05:20 GMT -5
may I suggest that you let me stow away in your suitcase?
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Feb 19, 2019 14:16:19 GMT -5
may I suggest that you let me stow away in your suitcase? Gonna get a tad crowded with both of us in the suitcase
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justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 14:25:53 GMT -5
I will have more time later in the week but a few random thoughts: - We just booked very cheap flights to/from Boston on Norwegian. April holidays but we were flexible so we're leaving before the Fri school gets out and returning the Mon schools go back. - I don't know if it's worth an AirBnB because I don't know prices here. It is definitely worth it in London but hotels are crazy expensive there. Unless you wanted an AirBnB bedroom in someone's apartment ... that could be fun but not sure you'd be up for that. My DS1 always went "couchsurfing" when he went to a new place, to meet people (but he was generally going to live there for a while). - There's a night train between Paris and Venice which is supposedly very nice. My neighbors take it regularly. You can have a private cabin or just a bed in a shared room (much cheaper obviously). - About wifi, yes I'd get a SIM card. I always remind people here that although obviously you aren't coming to Paris to Rome to go to McDonald's or Starbucks, for the price of a tea/coffee, you get a good WIFI connection when you're out and about. - You can save a lot of money by finding a small grocery store when you arrive and buying snacks and bottled water. - When we travel we try to book hotels that serve free breakfast. Again, not sure how common that is here. And croissants/pains au chocolat/bread is cheap and plentiful here. I'll add more as I think of it. FYI - Norwegian is having financial troubles. While it doesn't seem as bad as some of the other ones, considering I don't have a lot of leeway once I make my planes, my plan is to shell out the extra money for an airline that isn't having issues. Are the SIM cards country specific? If I started in Italy, would it still work in France? Or visa versa?
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justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 14:31:58 GMT -5
From debthaven thread a bit back, it was mentioned to bring out my own thread. But I've been a combo of lazy and busy and haven't been able to lay out everything in a thread. -Haven't been to Europe before -Need to figure out whatever I need for voltage differences, and what I would do about my phone (I'm leaning towards a pre-paid SIM vs relying on wifi). And any other "oh crap that's way different than the US" stuff-Paris & Italy are must-see, ok with others in there -Not sure beyond this. Venice? Rome? Wine Country? Almafi?-Have 2 weeks expiring end of May (but can extend to use some of it in June if needed) -Could add another week, but would obviously mean not taking something else or going for less time
-Can't find anyone to go with, so everything's solo -Don't totally have a budget, but would like to do it cheap without being a pain -Thinking I'm hoping to do it all for under $5k -Hotels if it's only 3-4 days in a place or renting a place?
-Not against tours, but they tend to do too much or charge too much for solo fees And I just realized I already have tickets for plays at home on April 17, May 15, and June 12. I'd prefer not to miss them. I do have Memorial day as a holiday though. The most coherent idea I currently have is to fly either Fri or Sat (they're night flights) to Rome. And then I'm in Rome until I catch a cruise on Wed. Then head to Venice that day. Then to Paris. If I just did those two cities after for 3/4 nights each I'd be around 12 days PTO. That would have me coming back on a Tues/Wed. If I take a full 14 days of PTO then I could fly back that weekend and have another 3/4 nights. But I'm not sure whether I should just stay longer in Venice & Paris or if I should add another city. The flights I've seen when I look are usually around $1200ish give or take. Depending on the day you leave/return. It's just under $1600 for the cruise. The cruise hits Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona, and Naples. I think Florence/Pisa is the only stop where it's actually far from the port. Not sure what the excursions would cost, but I'm thinking that in a few I'd probably just wander. I'm thinking $200 is prob more than enough to get from Rome to Venice and Venice to Paris. The real question is how much am I looking at for hotels and food? Is it going to be $200/night for hotels and then food? When we were in Portugal in Dec. we just bought a new SIM card for my phone on the way out of the airport. It was waaaay more than we needed, but provided a month of phone calls/texts and 5 GB of data for 10E. The only thing I take these days that needs to be plugged into the wall is my phone and iPad. Most US appliances adapt to European currents, you need to check whatever you are planning on bringing. I have yet to stay in a place that didn't have a hair dryer. You may only have to take an adapter. Consider an open jaw ticket so you do not have to backtrack. What I would do is fly into Rome and fly out of Paris. I can't vouch for Italy, but we paid a little over $200/night in Paris for our hotel. We probably paid another 100E/day for attractions and food. When I made our hotel reservations, it was after the terrorist attacks in Paris and the prices dropped about 25%. We also went in December, which was off season. In May, you are starting to look at in season prices. I'm currently looking at Norwegian Air to get us from Seattle to Bergen, Barcelona to Seattle. With a rather convoluted route (RT into Oslo and OW flights to Bergen and from Barcelona), I've come up the cheapest fare so far for our trip next October. They fly out of limited cities in the US though. Yeah, I've been looking at those. The prices I've mentioned were flying into Rome and out of Paris. (When I last looked Air Canada and Aer Lingus seemed to be the best options.) I think going the other way is about the same. I know May is right when prices start going up, but I don't think I can get shit organized in 6 weeks to go in April! Yikes on the hotel prices! As for plugging in it would be my phone, headphones, kindle, and my camera batteries. I also would need to decide between just buying enough SD cards to take all my photos or bringing something to take photos off and onto a harddrive. I'm too lazy about my hair to care about that. Ooh crap, and my toothbrush is electric, but I could always just bring a regular one or just use it as a regular one if the battery dies.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 14:33:02 GMT -5
Are the SIM cards country specific? If I started in Italy, would it still work in France? Or visa versa?
We just asked for Portugal as that was as far as we were going. It also worked while we were in the Azores. We stopped at a Vodafone booth on the way out of the airport, and chose the cheapest plan that would work for us. Even if you had to get 2 SIM cards, it would still be cheaper than an international plan from a US phone.
Yikes on the hotel prices!
We stayed in a well located hotel that was on the avenue opposite Champs Elysees. Location worked best for us, we were near several small restaurants, a couple of small grocers, 2 blocks from the Metro, next door to a chocolate shop and within a block of 2 boulangeries.
As for plugging in it would be my phone, headphones, kindle, and my camera batteries. I also would need to decide between just buying enough SD cards to take all my photos or bringing something to take photos off and onto a harddrive. I'm too lazy about my hair to care about that. Ooh crap, and my toothbrush is electric, but I could always just bring a regular one or just use it as a regular one if the battery dies.
All of those are fine, but we take the transformer and adapter of the country we are going to to keep weight down. I forgot my Kindle plugged in too. Just buy a large SD card for your camera. I think I had over 4000 photos on a 16 GB SD card for my camera. I don't take my Sonicare when I travel. It and the charger is just one more thing to keep track of.
One suggestion I'd like to make is that since you are going to be on the move quite a bit, keep your luggage weight down. I told my sister this a few years ago when she went to Paris and Italy. She still took her bigger suitcase and more clothes than she needed. Her first words to me were "I should have listened to you". I have yet to need anything more than a 22" carry on, and that included for the 5 weeks we were in South Africa.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 19, 2019 14:35:24 GMT -5
I will have more time later in the week but a few random thoughts: - We just booked very cheap flights to/from Boston on Norwegian. April holidays but we were flexible so we're leaving before the Fri school gets out and returning the Mon schools go back. - I don't know if it's worth an AirBnB because I don't know prices here. It is definitely worth it in London but hotels are crazy expensive there. Unless you wanted an AirBnB bedroom in someone's apartment ... that could be fun but not sure you'd be up for that. My DS1 always went "couchsurfing" when he went to a new place, to meet people (but he was generally going to live there for a while). - There's a night train between Paris and Venice which is supposedly very nice. My neighbors take it regularly. You can have a private cabin or just a bed in a shared room (much cheaper obviously). - About wifi, yes I'd get a SIM card. I always remind people here that although obviously you aren't coming to Paris to Rome to go to McDonald's or Starbucks, for the price of a tea/coffee, you get a good WIFI connection when you're out and about. - You can save a lot of money by finding a small grocery store when you arrive and buying snacks and bottled water. - When we travel we try to book hotels that serve free breakfast. Again, not sure how common that is here. And croissants/pains au chocolat/bread is cheap and plentiful here. I'll add more as I think of it. DH and I took this a few years ago. (I'm a train fan). It was great. Left Paris around 7:00 PM and arrived in Venice around 8:30 AM next morning. It does save the cost of one night in a hotel. I slept great. We took a picnic dinner and a bottle of wine. Yes, a SIM card is invaluable. We also bought snacks at small grocery stores. Often purchased breakfast and lunch items there too.
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justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 14:53:40 GMT -5
Hmm...looks like the April flights are a fair bit cheaper. But if I did that there's no cruise option, and I don't think I could do 3 full weeks at $200/hotel and $100/food. So it would be April and 2 weeks. So like 4 days each of Rome, Venice, and Paris.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Feb 19, 2019 15:19:28 GMT -5
FYI - Norwegian is having financial troubles. While it doesn't seem as bad as some of the other ones, considering I don't have a lot of leeway once I make my planes, my plan is to shell out the extra money for an airline that isn't having issues.
I understand. My best friend in NY posted about this, thankfully we are flying in and out of Boston but we are still watching carefully.
Are the SIM cards country specific? If I started in Italy, would it still work in France? Or visa versa
I don't know but I am guessing not.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Feb 19, 2019 15:22:24 GMT -5
We stayed in a well located hotel that was on the avenue opposite Champs Elysees.ETA: Everything (hotels, restaurants, food) is more expensive in that "fancy" neighborhood. I'm guessing that she would have more fun in a younger, less prestigious neighborhood, and save money too.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 15:24:21 GMT -5
I don't mess with different sims, Verizon has a Travel Pass where I pay $10 a day to use my phone and its current plan in Europe, and can visit multiple countries in a day still only being charged $10 a day. I think other carriers have something similar. I do caution to beware of their daily data caps as one time I got on a train and found my internet was throttled and I couldn't purchase a ticket, luckily I wasn't asked to produce my ticket that time.
Almost every European hotel I have been to not called Radisson Blu has very few outlets in the room and they are usually in a bad spot, I always have my laptop with a long cord that I can run to my bed and then use the USB's on it to charge most of my electronic devices.
Netflix content in Europe is so much better than the USA with a lot more available.
Use google to try to find English apps for public transportation. Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone.
If you don't have one find a no annual fee no International transaction fee Credit Card, I currently have the Uber Visa which meets that while giving 4% cash back on dining/bars and 3% on hotel/airfare.
No matter what country you are visiting google "best English pub in". Some of my very favorite times have been hanging out at one of those with UK Expats.
With that kinda time and how easy it is to get across Europe nowadays, I would add a couple more cities, fun ones I have been in are Zurich and Frankfurt.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Feb 19, 2019 15:26:00 GMT -5
Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone.
In London yes, but not in Paris (yet?)
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Feb 19, 2019 15:29:22 GMT -5
justme you may know that Paris is divided into 20 arrondisements/districts. If I were you, I'd try to stay in the 3rd/4th/5th/6th/10th/11th districts. Even the 12th or 17th. Those are all pretty young and pretty central. The 7th is wonderful but probably unaffordable. I would avoid the 8th/9th/13th/14th/18th/19th/20th. Unless you find something a block away, if that makes sense. The 8th is the Champs Elysees, you'd be lonely. The 9th is OK but maybe not as safe. The 13th and 14th are basically Chinatown (the 14th can be ok) but a distance from the center of town. The 18th/19th/20th have both very trendy and very unsafe areas. Since you (or even me) don't know which streets are which, I'd avoid those.
The 15th is fine but extremely residential, until you're right near the 7th (which it abuts).
The 16th is dead boring, just residential.
Don't know much about the 1st or 2nd.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 15:36:41 GMT -5
I finally researched the electronics issue a year ago.
Check the back of every electronic gadget you want to bring and somewhere (usually embossed in the plastic surface) it will tell you what input voltage it accepts. Example: my phone charger accepts 100-240V. European appliances typically run on 220V so all you need is an adaptor (the thing that accepts a US-style plug but then plugs into a European wall outlet). Adaptors are usually sold in a set and are relatively cheap and compact, so you can just bring the whole set and use whatever works in that country. If your item doesn't accept voltage that high you'll need a transformer, which is bulkier and can lead the "security" goons at the airport to decide you're a danger to the flying public, open up your carry-on and start pawing through your underwear. (Been there, done that.)
Right now my computer, my phone and my camera battery charger all accept up to 240V. My Sonicare didn't but I went out and bought one that did so I didn't need to use a transformer.
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justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 16:44:22 GMT -5
I don't mess with different sims, Verizon has a Travel Pass where I pay $10 a day to use my phone and its current plan in Europe, and can visit multiple countries in a day still only being charged $10 a day. I think other carriers have something similar. I do caution to beware of their daily data caps as one time I got on a train and found my internet was throttled and I couldn't purchase a ticket, luckily I wasn't asked to produce my ticket that time. Almost every European hotel I have been to not called Radisson Blu has very few outlets in the room and they are usually in a bad spot, I always have my laptop with a long cord that I can run to my bed and then use the USB's on it to charge most of my electronic devices. Netflix content in Europe is so much better than the USA with a lot more available. Use google to try to find English apps for public transportation. Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone. If you don't have one find a no annual fee no International transaction fee Credit Card, I currently have the Uber Visa which meets that while giving 4% cash back on dining/bars and 3% on hotel/airfare. No matter what country you are visiting google "best English pub in". Some of my very favorite times have been hanging out at one of those with UK Expats. With that kinda time and how easy it is to get across Europe nowadays, I would add a couple more cities, fun ones I have been in are Zurich and Frankfurt. I have no desire to pay between $140 and $210 for a phone - depending on if I went for 2 or 3 weeks. As it's a 24 hour period and not calendar day you could time it so you have the 24 hour periods stretch over 2 days so as to use less. But that's still wayyyy more money than just getting a SIM. I have a couple different 0% foreign fees card. One even is chip & PIN so that will be quite helpful. Adding more cities would be quite a lot less time in any one. 5 cities in 2 weeks would be about 2 nights each. Blech, pretty much the main reason why I shot down the tours. Didn't like having no more than 48 hours in one place.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Feb 19, 2019 16:49:05 GMT -5
We stayed in a well located hotel that was on the avenue opposite Champs Elysees.ETA: Everything (hotels, restaurants, food) is more expensive in that "fancy" neighborhood. I'm guessing that she would have more fun in a younger, less prestigious neighborhood, and save money too.
Last time we stayed in a small hotel near the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, is that a good place for young adults? Seemed to be a lot of students there.
Not far from Gare du Nord, too, but at the time, the metro stop closest to us was closed down for repairs - major pain in the derrier.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Feb 19, 2019 17:02:51 GMT -5
Just me, what are you interested in seeing? Do you want to tour the usual tourist sights, or do you want to see medieval cities, or palaces, or castles, or museums (what kind of museums?) Or do you want to be a foody tourist and sample as much different cuisines as you can? Or do you want to see the modern, trendy, artsy, fashion district places?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 17:15:24 GMT -5
Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone.In London yes, but not in Paris (yet?) "RATP" is a good app for navigation in Paris but it doesn't allow you to pay.
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justme
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 17:24:36 GMT -5
Just me, what are you interested in seeing? Do you want to tour the usual tourist sights, or do you want to see medieval cities, or palaces, or castles, or museums (what kind of museums?) Or do you want to be a foody tourist and sample as much different cuisines as you can? Or do you want to see the modern, trendy, artsy, fashion district places?
Good question! I'm not much of a museum type - the quiet atmosphere often gets me twitching so I move through them fast (with most I'm like ok seen that next thing after looking at something for 10 seconds. Though with things like art shows I love them because it's more interactive and not so stuffy). Though I would likely see if I can get tickets to the Louvre and maybe some in Italy but I can't really recall any at this moment from my Latin classes. Definitely a foody tourist - a big reason why Italy is on the list. Between that and the wine. I would definitely want to do a wine tour at one of my stops if I could. So finding good places to eat is top of the list and I won't mind relaxing lunches. (Which is why my mom's tourist style doesn't match as much with me because she wouldn't be down for 2 hours people watching while Italian guys pour me wine and bring me food ahah) The trendy/artsy/fashion district places too. As an example last time I was in New Orleans I spent an afternoon just wandering the French Quarter - checking out the buildings, wandering in to shops that looked interesting, watching the street performers, sitting in the park people watching, and having a nice relaxing drink when I wanted to get off my feet. Or when I went to San Francisco I just spent an afternoon wandering around Sausalito and another one I just headed toward Golden Gate Park, but a few of the places were closed or closing so ended up at the Japanese Garden taking in everything there before I meandered back. Actually in San Fran the day I got there I took one of those "see the sights" tours and got to see all the big hitters and "must see" but then also was able to make note of stuff I want to go back and see. I definitely added some things I didn't know I wanted to see, confirmed others, and got the obligatory Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard St photo without have to spend time going out of my way JUST to get the photo. I'm leaning towards doing a similar style over there. (Which also begs the need for a SIM card because I'd use my GPS a lot for when I got lost or trying to find food.)
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Feb 19, 2019 17:30:17 GMT -5
I don't mess with different sims, Verizon has a Travel Pass where I pay $10 a day to use my phone and its current plan in Europe, and can visit multiple countries in a day still only being charged $10 a day. I think other carriers have something similar. I do caution to beware of their daily data caps as one time I got on a train and found my internet was throttled and I couldn't purchase a ticket, luckily I wasn't asked to produce my ticket that time. Almost every European hotel I have been to not called Radisson Blu has very few outlets in the room and they are usually in a bad spot, I always have my laptop with a long cord that I can run to my bed and then use the USB's on it to charge most of my electronic devices. Netflix content in Europe is so much better than the USA with a lot more available. Use google to try to find English apps for public transportation. Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone. If you don't have one find a no annual fee no International transaction fee Credit Card, I currently have the Uber Visa which meets that while giving 4% cash back on dining/bars and 3% on hotel/airfare. No matter what country you are visiting google "best English pub in". Some of my very favorite times have been hanging out at one of those with UK Expats. With that kinda time and how easy it is to get across Europe nowadays, I would add a couple more cities, fun ones I have been in are Zurich and Frankfurt. I have no desire to pay between $140 and $210 for a phone - depending on if I went for 2 or 3 weeks. As it's a 24 hour period and not calendar day you could time it so you have the 24 hour periods stretch over 2 days so as to use less. But that's still wayyyy more money than just getting a SIM. I have a couple different 0% foreign fees card. One even is chip & PIN so that will be quite helpful. Adding more cities would be quite a lot less time in any one. 5 cities in 2 weeks would be about 2 nights each. Blech, pretty much the main reason why I shot down the tours. Didn't like having no more than 48 hours in one place. Airfares are significantly cheaper if you depart from home before May 15 or after September or October 15. On our last trip to France, departing May 14 was half the cost of May 16th. To me, buying SIM cards is the way to go. When we went to Ireland a year ago, a plan with plenty of data (no international phone) was 15€ a month. One airb&b didn’t have WiFi. Used my iPhone 5s hotspot function so the phone acted as a WiFi antenna. Wrote emails, sent pictures, surfed the net, downloaded library books, paid roadway tolls. Called home a couple of times during the 8 weeks using Verison’s $10 per 24 hours international calling program. Bunched calls so we called several different people each time international calling was turned on. Paris hotels. Hotel Muguet or Hotel Beaugency. Easy walking distance to Eiffel Tower, a block or two to Rue Cler, Napoleon’s tomb, Rodin Museum. Close to subway stop. I like the Muguet. Rick Steves uses the Beaugency.
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justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 17:34:45 GMT -5
With the thoughts of April or early May being a lot cheaper. I could cut this trip down to 2 weeks give or take and forget the cruise. Just Rome, Venice, Paris. And maybe another city or if there's another place close to those I could do a daytrip tour on.
Then in a year or two go back for one of the longer cruises I liked but wouldn't let me hit up my must-do-first-time places. And I might have a likelihood of finding someone to go on that. But there's a lot of 2 week cruises that hits up pretty much the entire Mediterranean.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 17:35:45 GMT -5
I don't mess with different sims, Verizon has a Travel Pass where I pay $10 a day to use my phone and its current plan in Europe, and can visit multiple countries in a day still only being charged $10 a day. I think other carriers have something similar. I do caution to beware of their daily data caps as one time I got on a train and found my internet was throttled and I couldn't purchase a ticket, luckily I wasn't asked to produce my ticket that time. Almost every European hotel I have been to not called Radisson Blu has very few outlets in the room and they are usually in a bad spot, I always have my laptop with a long cord that I can run to my bed and then use the USB's on it to charge most of my electronic devices. Netflix content in Europe is so much better than the USA with a lot more available. Use google to try to find English apps for public transportation. Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone. If you don't have one find a no annual fee no International transaction fee Credit Card, I currently have the Uber Visa which meets that while giving 4% cash back on dining/bars and 3% on hotel/airfare. No matter what country you are visiting google "best English pub in". Some of my very favorite times have been hanging out at one of those with UK Expats. With that kinda time and how easy it is to get across Europe nowadays, I would add a couple more cities, fun ones I have been in are Zurich and Frankfurt. $10/day is a lot to pay when you can get away for as little as $25 for the whole stay. It is not a big deal to switch out a SIM card, it takes 5 minutes, and the booths at airports do it quickly.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 18, 2024 7:07:49 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 17:37:48 GMT -5
I don't mess with different sims, Verizon has a Travel Pass where I pay $10 a day to use my phone and its current plan in Europe, and can visit multiple countries in a day still only being charged $10 a day. I think other carriers have something similar. I do caution to beware of their daily data caps as one time I got on a train and found my internet was throttled and I couldn't purchase a ticket, luckily I wasn't asked to produce my ticket that time. Almost every European hotel I have been to not called Radisson Blu has very few outlets in the room and they are usually in a bad spot, I always have my laptop with a long cord that I can run to my bed and then use the USB's on it to charge most of my electronic devices. Netflix content in Europe is so much better than the USA with a lot more available. Use google to try to find English apps for public transportation. Depending on the country they may have something simple to use and you may be able to pay with your phone. If you don't have one find a no annual fee no International transaction fee Credit Card, I currently have the Uber Visa which meets that while giving 4% cash back on dining/bars and 3% on hotel/airfare. No matter what country you are visiting google "best English pub in". Some of my very favorite times have been hanging out at one of those with UK Expats. With that kinda time and how easy it is to get across Europe nowadays, I would add a couple more cities, fun ones I have been in are Zurich and Frankfurt. $10/day is a lot to pay when you can get away for as little as $25 for the whole stay. It is not a big deal to switch out a SIM card, it takes 5 minutes, and the booths at airports do it quickly. I'm just saying what I prefer and for me it is less hassle and worth the extra cost, especially when the stay isn't long term and I can keep my number.
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travelnut11
Familiar Member
Joined: Feb 12, 2011 22:17:14 GMT -5
Posts: 639
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Post by travelnut11 on Feb 19, 2019 19:09:36 GMT -5
Yay! Excited to help plan a trip!
I'll have more time to respond later but can you remind me what North American airport you're flying out of? And your $5k budget includes flights right?
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chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 38,489
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Post by chiver78 on Feb 19, 2019 20:00:56 GMT -5
I'm commenting now as kind of a placeholder. like debthaven, have lots of thoughts, and need to collect them. will also check comments before.posting tomorrow. I spent the first 10 years of my career building pharma plants in Europe, and managed to do some exploring in my off time. 😁
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 18, 2024 7:07:49 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 20:23:41 GMT -5
$10/day is a lot to pay when you can get away for as little as $25 for the whole stay. It is not a big deal to switch out a SIM card, it takes 5 minutes, and the booths at airports do it quickly. I know the OP doesn't want to mess with SIM cards but I agree with you- it's not that complicated. (You just need to remember to bring a paper clip or something similar to get into the pinhole that opens the SIM card tray, at least on my iPhone.) I bought a SIM card in Scotland for $25 or so and they said it would work in the entire EU. My only other destination was Paris and yes, it worked there. I actually wouldn't want to keep my US number- I could picture getting a Robo-call about my (non-existent) student loans at 3 AM.
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justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
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Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 20:28:22 GMT -5
Yay! Excited to help plan a trip!
I'll have more time to respond later but can you remind me what North American airport you're flying out of? And your $5k budget includes flights right?
MCO (Orlando). Though Tampa is also an option. Miami too but that would need to be for a lot of $$$ savings. $5k isn't a hard and fast number, but I was thinking yes including flights as most I've seen are around $1k. I do have more money, but obviously spending a lot on this one means taking away from other vacations.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 20:39:45 GMT -5
What you might want to try doing is separating out your flights. There are cheap flights out of NYC, so you might want to try booking NYC to Rome, Paris to NYC and then look for a second round trip from NYC to MCO.
Also, one thing that I discovered is that flights into Miami are cheaper than other airports in FL. I was looking domestically, but gateways seem to be cheaper to fly out of.
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