What is the cheapest and best way to visit these 5 countries?

Question

Ok so, I want to go to europe for about 6 weeks and spend some time in all these countries :

england

france

germany

italy

spain

I would be leaving from Vancouver Canada to London or Manchester England.... so what would be my best route from there?

As you can likely tell, I haven't the slightest idea how to plan this trip. I have ppl to stay with in every country, so that's not an issue and I found a great website that gives superrrr cheap fares within these areas so I just need to know is it better to go from England to Spain and make my way through , etc. Any input would be great!

The trip is happening from sept 15 - nov 2

Answer 1

My suggestion is to leave out England and Spain, you can take another trip and do England Scotland and Ireland and yet another trip for Spain, Portugal and Morocco. You can now add Austria, Czech republic and Switzerland to your trip. Land and depart from Frankfurt, rent a car, your GPS will take you to your destination.

Answer 2

I looked on the dates 9/15 to 11/2 roundtrip Vancouver to London is $1192 (US$) on expedia.com.  However, a trick I like to do is to compare the r.t. price to flying into one city and returning from another, and in your case, on the same dates,

you could fly to London and return from Paris for $1147, to Lon. & return from Madrid for $1183, return from Frankfurt or Dusseldorf for about $1154.  So try different combinations, like flying to Madrid and back from Dusseldorf or Paris, etc.

You can avoid backtracking that way, and the cheap flights in Europe now are amazingly cheap, but watch for charges for luggage!

Here's a website for budget airlines in Europe:

http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/budget/

Answer 3

You're traveling at an awesome time because the weather will still be fair, the crowds will have thinned, and fares and accommodation will be less since it's the low season. You'll also see some spectacular fall foliage.

Fares are so much higher right now because of the fuel prices and whatnot, though...... If you are a student or under 26 you can get a sweet discount on flights through STA. Otherwise, check:

http://www.kayak.com/

http://www.sidestep.com

If the order of the countries you are going to isn't set, research the fares from Vancouver to Manchester, Frankfurt (it's the largest airport in Europe, so fares are often lower), Rome, Barcelona & Madrid and see which one is the best.

For flights within Europe, check:

http://airninja.com/

http://www.flycheapo.com/

These sites list the of routes discount airlines. Be aware that these airlines often use secondary airports that are a hike outside of the city, and if it a flight to the primary airport isn't much more, go with it because you'll save time & money on the transportation there. Like the secondary airport for Frankfurt is two hours outside the city!

Depending on what city you're flying to in Spain, there are several airlines that fly from Manchester. I just checked BMI Baby and they have a flight from the main airport in Manchester to Madrid for as low about $55 one-way depending upon the date.

Just get out a pen and paper and start writing down fares and routes. Having flexibility with your travel dates will be helpful with getting a good fare. You should be able to find good fares to various cities in each of the countries you've listed with a bit of legwork.

Other sites to check:

www.ricksteves.com (check their Graffiti Wall)

www.tripadvisor.com (you'll get an answer to nearly every ? you ask in the forums)

www.lonelyplanet.com (check the Thorn Tree)

www.roughguide.com

www.letsgo.com

www.frommers.com

If you are a student or young get an ISIC (International Student ID card) from STA before you leave because you'll get loads of discounts everywhere.

Have an amazing adventure!

Answer 4

If you land in England, you can go by train to France (tunnel) or you can use the Hoover craft (I would use this, but only because I freak out in tunnels). When you are already in Calais, you can tour France, (the most cost efficient way is by train - you can by a round trip card, what you can use without limit for a prearranged time). In all over Europe, you can find Pensionen (Bed & Breakfast), or even cheaper "Jugendherbergen" for lodging. From France you should tour spaim, then Italy, at last Austria and then Germany.

Have a great trip.