Travel: Time to Talk Summer Vacation in Europe

During the winter my mind usually starts to think about our summer travels in Europe.  Where?  Budget? Travel Companions? Car, plane or train?

This summer we are thinking of several short trips from our home base in Antibes, France.  There is a trip to Barcelona, another to Amsterdam, possibly Dublin and Berlin, a return to Dusseldorf, the French wine area of Beaune and hopefully, a visit to Madrid.  Sounds like a lot, right?  Well, I like to dream big and then sort out pricing and length of travel before narrowing down the list.  So get your pencil and paper ready to take some notes:

PASSPORT: Before you make any plans check your passport to make sure it is valid and hasn't expired.  If you don't have one, apply for one on line(http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/apply.html).

AIRFARE: Most expensive is getting to Europe.  If you don't have a home base, you have the good fortune to fly into any of the large cities in Europe - just shop for low fares.  (Hint: Airlines publish low fares/sales on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and travel on those days are usually cheaper, too!)  Here are some suggestions; travel dates are all the same (Jun 15-28, 2014), and roundtrip non-stop* coach fares are approximate per person (fares subject to change and availability):

ENGLAND: NYC - London on Virgin Atlantic Airlines (www.virgin-atlantic.com) about $1500 per person round trip

ITALY:  NYC - Rome on Alitalia (www.alitalia.com) about $1610                                                                                         NYC - Milan on Emirates Airlines (emirates.com/us)  $930 per person round trip (sounds like a great deal!!)

IRELAND: NYC - Dublin on Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) about $980 per person round trip

GERMANY: NYC - Dusseldorf on Air Berlin about $1020 per person round trip

FRANCE: NYC - Paris with almost any major carrier about $1500 per person round trip

SPAIN: NYC - Madrid on Iberia Airlines (www.Iberia.com) about $1260 per person round trip                                  NYC - Barcelona on Iberia Airlines $1400 per person round trip

PORTUGAL: NYC - Lisbon on TAP Portual (www.flytap.com) about $1200 per person round trip

NETHERLANDS (Holland): NYC - Amsterdam (www.delta.com) about $1470 per person

• *Non-stop flights: you travel from your departure city to your arrival city without any stops
• Direct flights: your flight makes a stop somewhere before arriving to your destination
• Connection:  you have to change planes.  Most likely if travelling from a smaller airport in the US or if you are travelling to a smaller airport in the country of travel (Murcia, Spain for instance would be NYC - Madrid - Murcia)

Don't forget to search travel websites for deals on packages that include air and hotel (expedia.com, travelocity.com, kayak.com, cheapoair.com  etc).  These have always been a great resource for me.

Also, check your credit card company - they usually have a points program you can use towards airfares or credits towards fares.  Every little bit helps!

Once you are in Europe, travelling around is inexpensive, yes - inexpensive!  EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) is a low cost carrier with great service to and from many European cities and some smaller cities you may not have thought to consider!  Get off the beaten path!  Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) is another carrier based in Dublin.

HOTELS:  Give Best Western Hotels (www.bestwestern.com) a close look.  Most of the hotels in Europe under the Best Western name are lovely boutique hotels that are charming and beautifully managed properties.  We have had great success finding such wonderful hotels during our travels (in France: Best Western in Ducey and Honfleur; in Italy: Several choices in Florence, Venice and Montecatini).    Another one of our favorite hotel chains is Hilton Hotels (www.hilton.com); we especially enjoy the Hilton in Dusseldorf and loved the Old Town Prague Hilton.  Consider, too, Sofitel Hotels (www.sofitel.com).  This French hotel chain does is all so well with locations in the States as well throughout Europe.  When in Munich it is our top pick for location! the next hotel chain we will try is Eurostars Hotels; their properties throughout Europe are well priced in situated in great locations in and near cities/towns.  (www.EurostarsHotels.co.uk)  Also check the blog under HOTELS-DINING-HELPFUL HINTS for places where we've stayed and/or dined!

APARTMENT RENTALS:  Want to live like a local?  Check out Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo).  Rent apartments or villas by the week or more.  Another site to consider for apartment/hotels (think: space and privacy but with hotel services www.citadines.com)

TRANSPORTATION in main cities is great.  Trains, trolleys and buses network throughout the city getting its residents and tourists to and from all day long affordably.  (Take the metro from Paris Airport to the city center, or from Rome's Airport to the  city center; it's fast, easy and cheap.  Just mind how much luggage you're taking!)  Rent a car - get out and explore the countryside, the less travelled road.  Europeans drive on the same side of the road as we do (except for England/Scotland/N.Ireland and Ireland).  The roads are very well maintained, easy to get around and most rental cars companies offer the option of GPS.  Two words of a advice:  1.  do NOT get an upgrade to a large car (local streets are narrow, that's why locals drive small cars!) and 2. learn to drive a car with manual transmission - they cost less to rent.  Automatics are more expensive to rent and are usally larger cars, cars that most Europeans don't drive - leaving us Americans as the "winners" of an "upgrade".  Non merci!  (Germany may be the exception: take the upgrade!)

LANGUAGE: Most people speak English in the cities and larger towns and villages.  Why?  Because the British are excellent travellers and have settled in almost anywhere and everywhere in Europe, because English is taught as a second language in schools, much international business is conducted in English, and lastly, young people worldwide seem to speak it so readibly and easily!  And remember: a smile, a few basic greetings and always a "thank you" (merci, gracias, grazie, danke) will get you farther than you can imagine.

TOURISM LINKS:

• England  www.visitbritain.com
• France  http://int.rendezvousenfrance.com/
• Spain  http://www.smileyourinspain.com/Welcome%20Page.htm
• Germany http://www.germany.travel/en/index.html
• Portual http://www.visitportugal.com/en
• Ireland http://www.ireland.com/en-us
• Italy http://www.italia.it/en/home.html
• Netherlands (Holland) http://www.holland.com/us/tourism.htm

Well, now that I've given you plenty of destinations, airfares and hotel websites, where are you going?  ...Maybe, just maybe, I'll see you there!

Fifi   1/29/14

PS - Next week I'll have a few suggestions for travelling closer to home!