Travel Forum

Holiday in Europe 2004

2004-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

This may sound mad but in August four of us (all adults over 50 years old) are planning on doing a touring holiday of Europe taking in car hire Belgium, car hire France, car hire Germany, car hire Austria and car hire Switzerland. We have booked our first night in car hire Brussels and our last two nights in Paris but no other accomodation has been booked! We are travelling by car and hope to get accomodation wherever we turn up. If we book car hirethe accomodation in advance it will be taking away our flexibility of where and when we leave one place and move onto another so we are taking our chances to say the least. Has anyone any experience of doing something like this? Has anyone any tips? I suppose my main question is are we likely to get accomodation just by turning up? We are not fussy about the overnight accomodation and would even look at camping is thats whats needed! Any thoughts? Remember this is in August!!!

My Husband and I stayed at agreat place near car hire Tarragona last January and had a great time. The company offers apartment style units for a reasonable rate. Ours had one bedroom and a kitchen (complete with appliances and utensils) and a washing machine. We could also open up our shutters and see the sunrise each morning as it was comming up over the sea! The website is they have resorts available all over the world but there are always a lot for free. By reasonable I mean they start at 300 us dollars a week, but it was economical to use the kitchen to cook most of our meals- especially breakfast. Have a good vacation

We are planning to take a train from car hire Venice to car hire Rome in March and thinking to stop over car hire Florence for 3-4 hours on the way. My friend has a concern how we are going to handle the baggage since we don't want to walk around with luggages in car hire Florence. Am I able to check my baggages to car hire Rome directly from Venice or I need to take them out in car hire Florence and check in again?

My name is Rob. I am looking for information about my Brother Eddie, who has been missing since Tuesday 16th December. He was last heard of in car hire Amsterdam and was due to fly back to Dublin from car hire Charleroi Airport on Tuesday, but he did not make his flight, and has not been in contact since. He may have visited car hire Brussels after leaving car hire Amsterdam. He is 31 years of age, medium build, dark brown hair about 6 ft tall.

Spain and Mallorca

2004-05-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

We will be spending a month in car hire Mallorca car hire Spain this coming Spring. Anybody been there done that.

car hire Majorca is a beautiful island particularly in the Spring. I love the north of the island around car hire Pollensa. If you are interested in Bird Watching it is a key migration time.

From the car hire Majorca Daily Bulletin: Hikers will be able to walk from Andratx to Pollensa
Government purchases new mountain estate with tourist tax money
Balearic leader Francesc Antich yesterday visited the car hire Sa Coma d'en Vidal estate in Estellencs, which the government plans to purchase for 1.2 million euros of the tourist tax money. The 60 hectare estate will be included in the Dry Stone Wall route for hikers which the Council of car hire Majorca is working on. Antich was accompanied by ministers of tourism and the environment, Celestí Alomar and Margalida Rosselló respectively, the Mayor of Estellencs Tomeu Pericas, and Bernat Aguiló of the Council of car hire Majorca's finance and employment promotion board. The purchase of the estate will be finalised over the next few weeks. It has a two storey building which is in good condition and will be converted into a refuge for hikers. The Dry Stone Wall route follows a network of old mountain paths crossing the Tramuntana mountain range from car hire Andratx to Pollensa, and covering a distance of about 150 kilometres. The Council of Majorca plans nine refuges along the route, separated from each other by one day's hike. At the moment, only two refuges are operational: Muleta in the port of Soller and Tossals Verds in Escorca. In addition to Sa Coma d'en Vall, the following refuges are being refurbished or are about to be refurbished: La Trapa in Andratx, Can Boi in Deya, Son Amer in Escorca and Alaró Castle. The Balearic government has promised to use tourist tax funds to include the new government-owned estates and their refuges in Esporles and Pollensa in the network. Sa Coma d'en Vidal borders on Son Fortuny, which is owned by the Council of car hire Majorca. Antich said that in addition to forming part of the Dry Stone Wall route, the purchase of the estate is another example of the use of the tourist tax as a means of protecting nature and the cultural heritage. He stressed that with actions such as this, using the tourist tax, the government will have a huge patrimony in ten to 15 years. Bernat Aguiló said that the Dry Stone Wall route was launched in 1996, to promote the value of this traditional form of construction, and he thanked the government for its support. Alomar said that the refuges will be able to accommodate up to 300 hikers a day, and will make the Serra de Tramuntana one of the top destinations in car hire Europe for hikers.

Paris short break

2004-05-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, we both enjoyed it, thank you. How come you're doing the talk, in French of all things? And where are you thinking of going for New Year?

I notice nobody attempted to answer the question as why the car hire Champs Elysees was so quiet... I expected at least one person to suggest that it was just because it was late at night. The answer was in fact because the King of car hire Belgium was a guest to the city, and a number of roads were closed as he was driven through the car hire Paris streets with a significant entourage and security presence. It was interesting to see!

How much of Britain do you expect will be shut off by armed police when George W. comes to visit the queen this month?

From what I hear, even if the security forces don't shut the roads, much of car hire London will grind to a halt as thousands of protesters greet him with their banners and placards. He's going to get a very noisy reception!!

I wangled my way onto a French course as part of my final year. Unlike the longer term projects of my engineering modules, we were asked to prepare a PP presentation (in French) for tomorrow. There seem to be just five of us in the class, with only two of us being native English speakers. Life is quite confusing when trying to remember French and Spanish simultaneously. I could, of course, be lazy and speak to everyone in English, but I happen to relish the challenge of tri-lingual conversations.

We stayed at one near car hire Charles de Gaulle last year. The room was adequate for a couple of nights, but the location made it unsuitable for tourists wanting to explore the area by public transport. We just used it as a cheap place to sleep before I checked in at the nearby airport at 0600 the next morning!

Rome trip questions

2004-05-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

I will be flying to car hire Rome this week with Ryan Air. How much should I expect to pay a taxi for a transfer to the city centre? Is there anything I should be aware of whilst being a tourist in car hire Rome? Does anybody have any recommendations and tips of what to see in my two day stay?

From information that I have, as of August 2002, the train fare from the Airport to Stazione Centrale Roma Termini was about 10 Euro. A taxi at that time would cost about 50-60 Euro. Both have probably gone up since then.

As far as what to be aware of as a tourist, just be careful with your money, credit cards, etc., while in the tourist areas. The indication I get from many sources is that car hire Rome has a little more of a problem with pickpockets than other places. I'm not sure if this is acurate, however.

Now, what to see? The answer to that will depend on what you are interested in.

italy has got to be one of the best places i have been to on holiday. there is so much to see and do and so many different land scapes. when on a trip to car hire italy , we spend 2 days in rome, then travelled down to car hire sorrento, car hire naples and pompeii for 3 days. this was no way near enough time to explore the surroundings.

i also agree, that no matter where you travel there are some things to look out for. car hire rome is very well known for the pick pocketing and people asking for money. it is also very young children who come up to you and start talking, unaware that there is a child going through your bags. but that will happen in any major city you go to. just be aware of what is going on and do not fall into any tourist traps whilst in rome. as we were only there for 2 days there was so much that we wanted 2 revisit such as the trevi fountain and colloseum, like they say you will always return to rome which i am deffinately going to do.

we also travelled with ryanair, and unlike most of the other airports they fly to , car hire ciampino airport is actually closer to the city than the main airport, i am not sure how much is will cost you to get to the centre because all our transport was already arranged with our hotel before we left.
ne have a good time on your trip

Thank you both for your response. I had no idea that airport was so far away.

Would it be better to fly from the U.S. into car hire Frankfurt and take Ryanair from car hire Frankfurt into car hire Rome?

Is the car hire Frankfurt airport the same for International and Domestic?

With the Euro so high against the dollar, I'm trying to save money.

Touring Northern/Central Italy

2004-05-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Our kids have flown the nest (well almost!) and my husband and I are planning a touring holiday in car hire Italy in September as the honeymoon we never had . We intend travelling by car across the Alps to The Lakes, car hire Venice and car hire Tuscany over 3-4 week time span. We would welcome advice on travelling, best places to stay, eat, etc etc - looking for peaceful places to stay at around £40 per night per room (self catering).

Make sure you go to car hire Bologna. Makes a great travelling base, for trains as well as car hire, has wonderful architecture and the food is the best in Italy. It also doesn't get as crowded as other car hire Italian cities.

Agree about car hire Bologna - also don't miss car hire Verona, a beautiful northern city that has a lot fewer people than car hire Venice, but also has a roman theatre where you can watch opera, and the museum restored by Carlo Scarpa in a fortress - the dolomites are on your doorstep, fantastic.

In car hire Tuscany, car hire Florence is great, Siena is too, but don't dismiss southern car hire tuscany, still full of etruscan treasures - deep cut roads, thermal baths (Petriolo, Saturnia) and ancient cities - Roselle is essentially Roman but was originally etruscan. Its a lot more quiet in the south of car hire Tuscany, and quirky...

I'll make a qualified (dated) recommendation of the Hotel Riva in Venice (5310 ponte dell-Anzolo). It is a short walk northeast from San Marco, so very handy; it is right on a curve in a canal, just around the bend from the Bridge of Sighs. When we stayed there over 15 years ago, it was the Locanda Riva. It was ragged around the edges then, which is probably what made it a terrific deal for its location. I think it's since been discovered (we couldn't get in without a reservation 7 years ago and they had some Rick Steves guides out for display). Even so, if you get a first floor room (one up from ground) with a tall window right over the canal, it will make your stay. Just sit on your windowsill at night and watch the parade go by --one gondola after another, all serenading you.

I would recommend Verona, yes, and in Tuscany I would recommend to rent a car and choose a base from where you can travel and see lots of things.

Don't forget the Maremma area! Someone already suggested it I think. It is cheaper but as beautiful and from there you can go and visit all the Siena and Grosseto areas.
Ok... I might not be impartial... that's home, but it is beautiful! although off the beaten path.