Swize Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Right, Me and a couple of mates want to hit the world its our first time for all of us with this sort of thing so looking at some of you for advise on where what and how. We where thinking fly over to Paris, up to Amsterdam, across to Berlin then right across to Japan for a month or so. Any of you been across to Japan before?How do we find places to stay? Simple i know google it.. but can anyone recommended any places in any of the places ?Just general advise on anything that you can give would be fantastic. I know its not a fantastic thread but just lost with it all at the moment. Cheers in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Balls Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 you might want to just stick to europe...do asia another time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Cox Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 think one of the best peeps to talk to would be Tic (haydon peter) hes done it a few times from what i recall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Find the cheapest hotels possible.How much fun you have is proportional to how carp the hotel is......and you save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 My friend is starting in August, to France, Berlin, Somewhere else, China, Somewhere else and then finishing in Austraila (starting North then going South). I think he is stopping in youth hostels for most of it - I gather these are really cheap if not free.If you want to take the hassle away, I think some airlines/holiday makers do European Packages where its all sorted for you - although obviously you'll be stopping in good hotels and the cost will be considerably more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haydon_peter Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 How do we find places to stay? Simple i know google it.. but can anyone recommended any places in any of the places ?Don't plan too much, just have your flights sorted and basic idea of where you want to go and the main things that you want to do. You will meet loads of cool people along the way and end up changing your plans as you go. As long as you end up doing the main things you wanted to anything else is an added bonus!Use the two following websites to find, book and look at reviews of hostels. I didn't ever use Hostelz.com but on hostelworld.com you just use your card to pay a booking fee then you pay the outstanding to the hostel when you arrive.http://www.hostelworld.com/http://www.hostelz.com/think one of the best peeps to talk to would be Tic (haydon peter) hes done it a few times from what i recall!HAHA Thanks Ben, I'm not that much of an expert though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Maybe you wanna visit Russia?No hotels needed - we can provide you with food, bed, nice evenings, riding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nick Riviera Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Maybe you wanna visit Russia?No hotels needed - we can provide you with food, bed, nice evenings, riding Sounds like the introduction from a really bad porn film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 For Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam I would use the StChristopher hostels.They are fairly cheap but you get a very nice rooms. The one is paris is very good. Stayed there for 4 days. It is incredibly modern and has a bar and nightclub in it where you will meet some cool people all doing the same thing .I might be able to get a few pics of the bar of you.How are travelling about as well. We went by train and it was very affordable and easy to use.If you wanna know anything else gimme a shout.Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swize Posted December 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) For Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam I would use the StChristopher hostels.They are fairly cheap but you get a very nice rooms. The one is paris is very good. Stayed there for 4 days. It is incredibly modern and has a bar and nightclub in it where you will meet some cool people all doing the same thing .I might be able to get a few pics of the bar of you.How are travelling about as well. We went by train and it was very affordable and easy to use.If you wanna know anything else gimme a shout.MattThats just what i am looking for mate.Way of travel was going to be uk to France via plane then around Europe by train then fly home. Anyone have any experience with these European train passes?Is there anywhere anyone would recommend stopping off at ? Edited December 3, 2008 by Swize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Belgium but theres not alot to do part from eat chocolate. I hear bruge is quite good though.The train passes vary in price. You get so many days travel in a space of time. A days travel being from 1 country to the next. Its is only valid on the main intercountry lines. You can book seats inadvance like a day before you travel and pay a small fee but usually its not worth it or they may say no. Have a word with STA as they can tell you exactly what pass you need. i think ours was about £150 and was 4 days travel or 10 days. Not too sure on that.Just find things to do when you get there. The hostels will have loads of leaflets.1 thing we never got the chance to do was the heinekien beer factory. Looked really good and for the admission price you got free pints. Wasn't open when we went . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumplestiltskin Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) http://www.interrailnet.com/ - An excellent site to buy European train passes. It also gives you access to essentially all of the timetables for every train running in Europe, so you can plan your journey almost to the minute in most cases.Passes are either one country (self explanatory) or global (which means the whole of Europe). You buy them for a set number of days, just for example say, 6 out of 14. You get the tickets with your specified start and end days (for me it was the day I landed in Europe, and the day I took off for Britain again) printed on them. You then have six slots in between them on which you write the dates of travel you decide to use a journey on. The days don't have to be consecutive, just within the time period you've specified.The passes work on all trains, the three main types being local, regional and international. Reservations aren't generally required for the first two, but are essential for the last. You'll be using these since you're crossing borders. Before you make your journey you need to book a seat reservation, which usually costs between 2 and 7 Euros, depending on the service and country you're in at the time. Just cos you have a pass doesn't guarantee you can just get on a train at will - nationals of wherever you are will also have booked seats, so if you just climb on, you could be taking up somebodies seat, or there mightn't be be room for you. The trains in Europe are excellent though, so you'll hardly ever get bumped cos they're too booked up.Make sure you write the dates of travel on your ticket before getting on the train - it's called validating the ticket, and you have to do it for most trains, subways and trams in European countries. If you don't validate your ticket you can be whacked with the full train fair. I didn't validate my subway ticket in Berlin, and got a rare ticket inspection. Luckily I sweet talked her or I would have gotten an 80 Euro fine. You can get all this information on the website, and you get a really useful, easy to read information pack with your tickets when they come.None of this restricts your travel though. You can still travel anywhere in Europe, pretty much going where the wind takes you. Just think about your next destination a day or so ahead of leaving one place so you can book your reservation on the train to the next.Locations wise, if you're set on Berlin, research it first. A lot of cities in Europe have "touristy areas" people automatically just gravitate toward because of the concentration of old buildings/museums/pubs or what have you, or are just generally nice to wander around and check out. Paris, Prague, Amsterdam e.t.cBerlin doesn't, and is one of the most f**k ugly places I've ever been. Filled with horrific concrete architecture. You can't just wander around the streets and find masses of cool stuff, cos it's just like any other British city. Its got a zoo, the wall, the Reichstag, Sachenhausen (the concentration camp), but none of these apart from the last is too thought provoking or great to go to.We made the mistake of going there without checking what to do, only to find out after we left, and not having experianced anything amazing, that it's got lots of excellent clubs/bars and a really vibrant night life. It's also super easy to get around using the subways.Amsterdam's great fun. Obviously the red light district is a pretty bizarre experiance.I'd recommend Vienna. I don't know what floats your boat, but I loved it. Tonnes of culture, a really clean, civilized, super friendly city with awesome beer. When we were there they were having a beer festival/outdoor cinema fest which was epic. We also didn't see a single ugly girl. They were all beautiful and under the age of about 30. They must shoot the old ones or something! It's also got a great transport system. You can get a subway day ticket and get to every part of the city using it.I think he is stopping in youth hostels for most of it - I gather these are really cheap if not free.Accomodation wise, you're unlikely to find a free hostel unless it's the local homeless shelter. You can get discounted/free stays in some hostels (usually the smaller independently run ones) if you're staying somewhere for a longer period of time, by working on the desk/cleaning for them etc. Otherwise its not going to happen. Europe's not a foreign planet. Would you expect to walk into a hostel in Britain and stay for free?Hostelworld's a pretty sweet site to book from. Booked from it for the past two years and it's been excellent both times. Edited December 3, 2008 by Rumplestiltskin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.