Going to Tour Europe, suggestions needed!!?

Question

to all travelers I need you help. I am going to Munich, Germany this summer to see the Fifa World Cup. My uncle lives in Munich, so staying is no problem. I also want to travel by my self to several other countries such as UK, France, and couple others.

What would be the best form of transportation method? What Do's and Dont's I should consider when I am in Europe? Your help would really be appricated.

Answer 1

If you are an American I would try to disguise that fact. Our current regime has evoked alot of hate toward Americans. Good luck! Bon Voyage! Be careful!

Answer 2

Don't even listen to that first post.  Do learn some simple phrases (bring a phrase book like Rick Steeve's German, French, Italian.... phrase book) - thank you, please, how much, track/platform, train, departure, where is the...,a large beer please!!...  So many beer halls to check out in Munich - Augustiner, Spaten Haus, HaufBrau Haus..... Make sure you check out Viktualienmarkt (by Marienplatz) and grab something to eat from one of the many vendors and have a beer under the huge tree there - it's awesome.

http://www.discover-munich.info/sightsee...

http://www.cometogermany.com/index.html

From Munich, you can do a day trip to Salzburg cheaply on the train using the Länder (Bayern) ticket which is good for a group up to 5 or you can buy a ticket for one as well.

http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVOR9:dF2xrtNNNxi...

You can also use the Länder ticket to get Innsbruck via Mittenwald (the route is very picturesque).  This will get you to the Gemany-Austria border and you will need to buy a separate ticket from  Mittenwald to Innsbruck which does not cost that much.

From Munich, there are Europe specials which let you take the German trains for a "savings fare" price starting at €29

or €49.  The tickets are non-refundable and use of a selected train is required.  So from Munich you can go to: Strassburg, Vienna, Budapest, Zurich, Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence starting at €29.  And the cost of return tickets are reasonable as well.  Check the Europe Special tab at the German Rail Website and let your pointer rest on München/Munich.  Here's the link-

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.e...

You can book over the internet, but make sure your dates are firm since there is no refund for the "saving fare" prices. At the München Hauptbahnhof/main train station there is a Die Bahn office where English speaking ticket agents work and can help you book tickets if you wish to do it in  Germany.  It is about a 1minute walk from the main DB ReiseZentrum ticket offices. The "savings fares" must be booked at least 3 days before the journey.

From Munich I suggest you see Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, which is possible as a day trip. But if you have time, I suggest at least spend the night in Hohenschwangau with a view to see the castles at night from your hotel room - Villa Jaegerhaus.  You can also use the Bayern ticket for this trip.

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/ind...

Go to the German Rail website and check into what I've suggested.  Here's the homepage in English-

http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVOR9:ePYGkNNNOJF...

If you have any further questions, I suggest you go to www.tripadvisor.com and ask them there. You must first register with a screen name and password.  Here's the Munich link-

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g18...

I would considering flying if the train trips are greater than 8hrs long.  You can get cheap flights through some of the discount European carriers, some prices start at €00.01, no joke.  After you add fees and taxes, it comes out to around €30-40.  The carriers do have strict baggage limits and will charge you if you go over them.  Make sure you read the Frequently Asked Questions at the airlines specific website.  Here are a couple links to find discount European flights.

http://www.whichbudget.com/

http://www.flylowcostairlines.org/

Answer 3

It's really easy to drive around Germany. The autobahns are clean, fast, and easy to navigate. If you want to check out other countries but don't want to spend all that time taking the train, try ryanair.com or easyjet.com for flights.

Answer 4

Get a Eurail pass before you go. There are many versions to pick from. www.eurail.com. If you go to the U.K., it's a different rail pass. And of course, try a good guidebook - Rick Steve's books actually help you get from place to place, other books tend to be about the sights in any given place.

Much to see in France. Paris if you want to see city life, the coast from Cannes to Monaco is like you're in a movie. Normandy is more than just a WWII beach - small towns and great food.

Wales is way off the beaten track - roadsigns are subtitled in Welsh. The Scottish Highlands are rugged and wild. Take the train from Inverness to Prince William. And if you don't spend days in London, you'll be sorry.

The Mosel valley in Germany is very peaceful. Zell is a very quiet place where you can watch the river drift by all day long while you sample the local Reisling. I'd pick the Mosel valley over the Rhine.

Answer 5

I would rent a car, bc you are not dependant of any departure times of planes or trains. You can decide, where you want to stay for a longer time, and where not. But you should take care of speed limits, e.g. in Switzerland driving too fast costs about 1000 SFR.

Answer 6

Eurorail would probably be the cheapest option. You can check out their website to see the routes.  When in Germany, i suggest taking a Rhine River cruise.  it's a pretty nice tour.  In France, there are a bunch of cheap priced hotels near the Moulin Rouge area.  You can pretty much get to any part of Paris from there.  In both London and Paris you can take the Metro to get around the city.  You really don't need to take a cab (unless the metro doesn't go where you need to).

Answer 7

The best thing about Europe is that you have all that history, architecture and culture all relatively close together. My #1 picks : London - fast paced, history, architecture, great clubs. Amsterdam - a must see, wink, wink. Brussels - quiet, architecture, history, nice people. Athens - a bit farther away but definitely worth it on all aspects - beaches, clubs, shopping, history, great food and friendly people (you can probably find a cute girl/boy to show you around)

Answer 8

Don't listen to the first guy.  Europeans are usually very embracing and even the French know how to distinguish between people and the government of America. No one I know had any problems and I just got back from a great trip without any problems.  One place to look for ideas is www.ricksteves.com.  Steves is a guru of European travel and his Destinations section is great.  Have fun!

Answer 9

Don't worry about it, we still embrace every tourist, no matter where thety come from and everywhere you go, most of them speak English. If you would be flying out of germany to other European countries, try germanwings, they have flights from 1 euro to... and many European destinations.  Avoid travelling by train where or when the worldcup is stell going on, the trains or overcrowded. A good thing from training in Germany, there are nighttrains. No nighttrains in belgium. But if you want to go to the south of France by train go from Gemany to luxembourg and there you have a train that goes straight along the coast of France all the way to spain if you want and very cheap as well, if you include a weekend in your trip the price lowers and also travelling by night so you don't lose any time.

Save journey, bon voyage, gute reise.