vacation advice superthread

[Tisswat]

Considering the cities you have already selected and the criteria you're mentioning, I'd add Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Istanbul to your list.

[swisloc]

croatia IS beautiful.

there have been many other similar topics, so you might try searching, but i'd say (to hopefully circumvent what would be a similar discussion to all others on this topic) if it's your 1st time in europe, don't rush, hit the bigger/more historic cities (think Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam and spend some time getting to know them (you will not be disapointed). 1st timers have a tendency to try to hit as many places as possible, but this is not the best way to get to know cities with such complex history.

that said, august is a very tough month to do this. many countries (like France and Italy) require employers to give over a month of vacation time which most take during this month (i.e. the locals will be on vacation), making the some cities ghost towns left only to tourists. plus it's HOT in spain and italy in august. like, REALLY hot. maybe stay in northern europe for this trip, given the timeframe?

[polishmike]

Go to Krakow and Budapest. You can also stop in Prague on the way.

[swisloc]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

This is not my first time to Europe, but my first time really exploring Europe on my own terms. I am going to Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, and Paris a month from now, and I've been to France before. I think I am probably avoiding Germany, Italy, and Turkey, because they require their own month devoted to them.

ok, sorry, different story entirely then. croatia and slovenia are really beautiful, albania is supposed to be the next big adriatic destination (has anyone been?)...

[polishmike]

I've been to Albania few years ago. It's still a poor country so unless you like some extreme tourism I would just go to Croatia.

I would also go to Prague only for 2-3 days and stay longer in Budapest. It's full of british drunks unless you know good local spots. Krakow is getting there too so visit soon. Plus it's still pretty cheap.

[Tisswat]

Croatia and Albania share the same climate as northern Italy and southern Italy respectively. Something to bear in mind if you're worried about the summer temperatures in august.

[jdat]

I say hit some of the atlantic coast towns in France as you will be sure to have a great time.

La Rochelle which has the biggest number of sunlight hours per year in all of France would be my number one suggestion.

Beautiful historical city, great people who love to party, nice beaches etc.

You could also check out the islands which are right outside the city but they are bit flooded with tourists during the summer ( Ré connected by bridge to La Rochelle and Oleron 45 minutes down south ). The Isle d'Aix is really small and a great place to chill for a day.

Then you could go to Bordeaux

there's also the famous beach cities like Biarritz ( the Nice city equivalent on the atlantic coast ).

[Kasper]

i wouldn't bother going all the way to croatia by train though, it's the hip destination of the moment so catching a ryanair/easy jet flight should be pretty easy and cheap. if you are only gonna be there for a month, i would try to limit the ground you gonna be covering, it always end up taking more time than you expected and you don't want to spend like 20% of your trip in a train...

[Agent Orange]

i know most of the balkan and slovenia imo is alot nicer than crotia if your not only interested in beaches. i would also rather go to belgrad in serbia than to albania, or even to bulgaria. sofia is an awesome city and the coast at the black sea is beautiful. my ex was from serbia, the current one is from bulgaria, thats why i know these places. ive never been to istanbul but it is said to be really nice.

but since you have only a month and a eurail pass, and you want to see a'dam, paris, barcelona (i love that city!) and madrid - dont go to prague or other cities in eastern europe. a month is simply not enough and travelling by train does take a lot more time in countries other than de, fr, uk, it (cheap flights to these locations are rarely avaiable). id rather spend more time in southern france (jdats tips are good), maybe suizerland and southern germany or italy. prague is also hyped way too much, even berlin or a scandinavian city would be a better choice.

[faust]

Considering the cities you have already selected and the criteria you're mentioning, I'd add Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Istanbul to your list.

2nd. can't go wrong with any of those - Prague is like walking in a fairy tale (full of tourists, but what can you do).

[Agent Orange]

adding istanbul to the cities you wanna visit when you only got a month is just stupid. its a common mistake, most travelling americans i met had a real bad sense for distances in europe. its ok if you can afford to fly, otherwise, you'll not only spend lots of money but also time on buses and trains. and faust is right, the center of prague is crowded with tourists, worse than amsterdam in the summer. if you are going to prague, dont go to Karlovy lázně, no matter how much you heard or read about it. its simply shitty and definetely not worth it.

[Tisswat]

(...) worse than amsterdam in the summer

Sounds like you didn't get out of the red light district / Warmoesstraat area much.

I'd like to add to the whole discussion that the appeal of travelling by train is partly in the travelling itself. Sure, I would fly to Istanbul too, but for some the whole 'roadtrip' experience of travelling by train can be one of the highlights of the journey itself.

[baladoongdoong]

OMG!!! Prague is cool, vienna too but BUDAPEST!!! OH MY BUDA 'FOOKIN' PEST!!! Thats one COOL place u should go! and try out the Szechenyi baths! Absolute MUST!

Night spots go to B6 or Old man's pub. Best places ever for a good night's out!!!

[baladoongdoong]

germany's Berlin n Munich is pretty good as well. Not forgetting the 'free' tours u can get!!! payment is like up to u so u could be anal n not pay man! lol...

[Agent Orange]

Sounds like you didn't get out of the red light district / Warmoesstraat area much.

kind of true

amsterdam was only 2,5 hours from where i used to live, and ive been there a couple of times. but the only time i was there in summer was with a couple of friends who where kind of smoking maniacs and we got stuck in the center and the streets where crowded with british and americans. i remember sleeping in the car in some underground garage that night because we couldnt (and where too lazy to) find a place to sleep.

its true that travelling itself is part of the experience, but a month time isnt much and really limits your possibilities.

i also remember pragues center as somehow artificial (similar to the real center berlin, on the former gdr territory), and although amsterdam is touristic, its somehow different - but maybe thats just my impression

aarg im drunk

[Pogi]

Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Prague and Florence.

Those were some of the cities I went through in a short 3 week stint in Europe.

[Tiranis]

Prague and Vienna. (and London, which is kind of obvious)

Couldn't care less about the rest.

(And yes, I'm biased cause I lived there...)

[englandmj7]

Not too far around the bend..........

Where are you planning on going to?

Me:

Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Tulum in May. Not a huge Mexico fan (for vacationing that is), but hell, I got free tickets.

[swisloc]

california (san francisco, napa, and LA) - end of may

penobscot bay, maine - middle august

this year is about saving money to buy property, so i'm going light on the vacations.

[champagne_bubblebath]

I travel during the winter (here in the U.S) and go somewhere below the equator where it's summer-ry. Cheaper and less tourist. Last winter, travelled to Argentina.

[corporategrunt]

Japan to see parents, relatives, and friends, trying to combine it with visiting a friend in HK, then short trip to Thailand. Can't do it in middle of the summer though - In any of the three locations, summer travel is too brutal, i'd melt. Hopefully in September when things cool of a bit.

Negotiating with bosses and superiors is gonna be a biatch. I miss being in school and having long vacations.

[cuddlysheep]

japan + thailand sounds ideal.

[Haz]

Phillippines for 5 weeks.

staying here

www.villapacific.co.uk

Niceness!!!

[rayjr]

Copenhagen in may

Thailand and Bali in august

[englandmj7]

Phillippines for 5 weeks.

staying here

www.villapacific.com

Niceness!!!

So you're going to be in the Phillipinnes, but your hotel is in Maui, Hawaii.

That's going to be quite the daily commute.

[Haz]

yeah damn that one, that would be one hell of a commute!!!

www.villapacific.co.uk

[cuddlysheep]

yeah man, its about 6-7 hour commute from hawaii i think.maybe less..

So you're going to be in the Phillipinnes, but your hotel is in Maui, Hawaii.

That's going to be quite the daily commute.

[dizzhizz]

A weekend romp in Macau

[Ahlvahroe]

I have to go to see the family in guadalajara for my grandmas birthday in august. but i am planning to head out a week early and hit buenos aires for a week then spend the 2 weeks after in guadalajara, mexico.

[Analyst]

Going to do three weeks in the US and will probably hit NYC, DC, Boston and Chicago, to figure out where to live when I come back home. Should be a nice vacation to see friends and family.