Budget Travel advice

[muscati]

The summer traveling season's here and I'm planning to take as many short breaks (2 to 3 days) in Europe as my budget would allow. It's an opportunity to take advantage of my stay here in Glasgow to see as much as I can in Europe. Taking Ryan Air or easyJet from Glasgow I can fly direct to Paris, Brussels, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Milan, Frankfurt, Dublin and Oslo. Of course even with tickets sometimes being as cheap as 99 pence it's impossible to go all to those places so I picked Paris, Barcelona and Rome as my top choices.

I'm sure many people here have been to some or all of these cities so why not share your advice on things to see, places to stay or eat, things to do, detours etc.

[Julieanne]

Wow 99p how can they do it so cheap. Lucky you Muscati.

I only wish they had budget airfares from Muscat

Have a great holiday

[muscati]

Well you don't always get the 99p fairs and once you add the taxes to them they add up quickly. For example I found tickets to Paris for £3.49 but taxes come out to be around £30 each way on top of the fair so you end up paying about £70 pounds all included. Still not bad. But then you need to find a cheap hotel and arrange the spending money so you're still talking a a decent amount of money all together.

[Invincible]

Been to Paris last September. First of all, be sure to buy the 2-day or 3-day travel pass or however long you're staying right from the start of your arrival. There is a train service at the airport and with that ticket, you can return to the airport too. The transportation system is incredibly organised and convenient.



Where to go? of course, nobody would miss the Eiffle tower (beautiful view if you go right to the top). If you or your wife hate heights, well, this only appears frightening but it isnt half as bad as it seems.



If you like museums, go to Louvre museum (it's full of paintings and sculptures). Dont miss Notre Dame cathedral, it's got an amazing gothic architecture. Go to Avenue des Champs-Élysées to really get a good feel of Paris, there are many restaurants there and also a virgin store if you get bored. It's a nice walk too. Go to Gare du nord, if Im not mistaken, there is a museum there, historical site plus across the road there's many strips of french and Asian restaurants.



I cant remember the other places. When I do...will keep u informed, however, Im sure you will find all those places without me even mentioning them because the public transportation, be it bus or train is simply fantastic and always on time and it will take you to the heart of any destination you want to reach. There are brochures everywhere.



Oh...last but not least, if you are willing to spend at least 150 euros on food, then dont miss Buddha Bar. The food and ambience is something out of this world.

[Balqis]

Lucky you, my best was last summer Pescara-Londra and back 19 euros
For how long are you staying in Rome anyway and is just you and wife or kids, sorry asking, just as you know, a journey with kids change many plans

[muscati]

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Invinci said:
Oh...last but not least, if you are willing to spend at least 150 euros on food, then dont miss Buddha Bar. The food and ambience is something out of this world.

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150 euros on a meal? No thanks, even if I wasn't a student on a budget. For a 150 euros I can add a trip to Brussels to my Paris holiday or pay for an extra night or two in a hotel.

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liwiza said:
Lucky you, my best was last summer Pescara-Londra and back 19 euros
For how long are you staying in Rome anyway and is just you and wife or kids, sorry asking, just as you know, a journey with kids change many plans

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It's just the two of us.

Actually I've been to Paris a few times before but they were like a life time ago, and my wife's been to Rome so we know the basics about both cities. I was hoping to get more advice on other cities, or on things we might not know bcz it's been quite a few years since we've been to either city.

I went and bought a bunch of travel guides today and I'm deep into reading up on Spain to see if I can plan a 3 to 5 day holiday in Barcelona and still manage a trip to Granada.

[K7yla]

150 euros on a meal can be delightful!

actually invinci I think the Buddha bar in london is the compliment to the one in Paris

[gabby]

I am planning on travelling next year and one of the advices given to me was to buy a round world ticket and at every country you stop in do a tour of some kind. Travelling from Australia is expensive.

[dewberry]

Muscati...

Granada is a very long way from Barcelona... But if you can include it in your trip, then my advise is don't miss it... It is a must see...

Cheers...

[K7yla]

yeah

Madrid is amazing as well

[Liquid_Dreams]

in Brussels u can get one of the tour busses that would take you through the city..i think it was about (16-20 something Euro) i cant remember specifically..plus there are plenty of middle eastern/Arabic food just where the Holiday inn is (i think it was a holiday in) a walking distance from the train station and the centre.. the prices of rooms even in a cheap BB can be 90+euros for a double bedroom..watch out for hallak il7areem..they are evry where and dont care if u r with a woman or not.

paris: if you are using the underground to travel between stations and by the way they take you every where as far as montmatre (a beautiful place up high the hill with a white church overlooking Paris and just behind it is a market with all the artists)the way it works there is u should know your destination, check the route u wana use (the colours) and look at the final destination of that route coz that's what they show on the underground boards..the route colour and next to it the final destination of that route. IF you dont mind walking all day then u can do the Eiffel tour to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées by foot...you pass by so many monuments and a beautiful garden.

[Jimrid]

We went to Paris a couple of years ago as a stopover on our way to London. We stayed in a lovely hotel very close to the Gard du Nord. We had a lovely few days. It is a beautiful city and well worth a visit. We wanted to visit Disneyworld but were advised to stay in Paris City and take the train to Disneyworld so that we were not restricted to Disneyworld..........great advice as we were able to see some lovely sites of Paris. Montmarte, Notre Dame, boat ride on the Seine, great street entertainment behind the Pompidou centre.....definitely worth checking this out and of course, the Eiffel Tower.



If I were to give advice to someone travelling to Paris it would be this........Food is expensive.......if you make do with a light snack for lunch and have a meal in the evening your money will go much further. We learned from experience........we wondered why we were the only ones in the restaurant at lunchtime and why the Parisians were sitting on the pavement tables ordering a toasted cheese sandwich and a coffee. On the last day we twigged.........too late !!



At the end of the Champs de Elysees near the Arc de Triumph there is a McDonalds with good prices.........also discovered on the last day !!



Learn a few french words for foods........fromage = cheese, champignons = mushrooms, cafe au lait = coffee with milk etc. This will be useful if you find yourself in a backstreet cafe and the menu is in french. In addition, they really warm to you if you try to speak french.



Enjoy your stay.........it's a wonderful city.

[VANQUISH]

If u r going to Italy make sure u count any change that's given back to u...they might unintentionally give u less as they say.. cabs might not use the meter at times..kinda gota remind them to do so !



...Italy is a lovely place to be at...u can easily color ur eyes beautiful with the Italian God artistic portrait countryside scenery ! Its amazingly stunning !



I don't recommend u venture into a meal u haven't heard of before..it doesn't work out well !



...its pretty normal to be extra taken care of at the airport security lol ..just relax..

[Special]

The 1st pic is lovely

[copdot]

Very good topic. Its always better to be well prepared before taking any trip to any part of Europe. You would end up spending so much money for nothing if your not careful.

The most important points for budget travel:

From any advice you get either thru travel guides or friends or forums- look at it from YOUR point of view. For eg. something very expensive to me would be averagely priced to you and vice versa.

Also take care of the weather. I was advised to carry lots of towellets and water for Rome in September as it would be "very" hot. I found it to be 28 degrees!!. So look at it from YOUR way.

In Paris, I always found Coke water more expensive than the food itself! And make sure you ask to have your fish(cant eat non-halal meat)really well done. Parisians prefer their fish raw.You can literally see the redness in the meat.

Carry panadols or anti-biotics with you. You never know when you need them and trust me, youll never find a pharmacy(they call them medical store BTW).

Clothes are very important too. It does make a difference if you are dressed elegantly in Europe. Make sure though that you wear only mocasins and no hard leather, your feet will kill you.

Get a travel pass for week. It works out much cheaper than buying indivdual tickets. And check out for bundled offers in the ticket booths for eg. you can get an Eiffel tower + Louvre ticket combined for 2/3rd of the cost of buying them seprately. Its very common in Europe, so make sure to ask. And that reminds me dont hesitate to ask. Keep asking lots of people lots of things. Europeans are very good people, they really help and youll be surprised at the info you get from them than from any one else.
Also make sure of holidays and timings. Museums and galleries are often closed at some holiday or the other. Get advanced knowledge of them. And always keep plan B ready, you may find a huge queue which takes 2 hours just to get in or the place closed- so you can visit an alternate place.(I am amzed people actually wait for hours just to get in some place in Europe).

In Italy dress simply and carry your cash in hidden pockets. Its like this in Italy- if your dressed up as a Christmas tree then its Christmas. Theres a place in Rome where youll find Pyramids!!

Dont carry too much with you and keep some space in your bags to bring back things youll get from your visits.

Lastly, visit the websites of tour operators like Cosmos.com, trafalgar.com etc. They have forums where people discuss their visits. You can learn a lot. Infact I find them better than travel guides. The thing is there are so many people discussin so many things so you get a lot of perspectives.

And finally carry your own washing powder! Really. Youll need to wash your personal clothes. The laundry bill will kill you otherwise.

[muscati]

Thanks for all the advice guys. What about Spain, anyone got anything to share about Barcelona or travel inside Spain?

[Jimrid]

Reading Copdot's excellent tips reminds me that if you do find a pharmacy ( they are the stores with the green cross sign ), be careful about what you get because their laws are different from Oman.

For example.......you can buy certain codeine based drugs over the counter in Europe, but if you get caught at the airport with them in Oman or UAE, then you might be in trouble, because codeine is a restricted drug here. Of course, if you are going back to Glasgow, then it's not a problem, but it's worth bearing in mind for the future and would also apply if you bought codeine based drugs in Glasgow and brought them to Oman.

Sorry, can't help you with Spain, only went there when I was a kid.

[K7yla]

muscati



In spain u can definately get trains and buses or internal flights from the cities





I say Andalusia is a must see, culturally, historically and everythingly.



the real spain untouched in many ways is Andalusia



esp. Grenada, Cordoba, and Seville



and dont miss the capital madrid, a very laid back, clean, relaxed and happy version of London





catch a bull fight, or/and take a walk in Sol and the Gran Via



in barcleona , theres this GREAT architect/designer/ artist i have completely forgotten his name now. he has wonderful spots all over the city that hes designed. and his designs are a trademark of the city. he even has his own museum which is the bomb

his name starts with a B if i remeber correctly.



Spain is just brilliant







I would say that its gonna be the highlight of ur trip





rome is great I would say. but drawbacks are that its noisy , lots of traffic, and flirtatious men every where LOL



even the people in their 80s



but ITaly is a different experience altogether



If u have time venice, and Florence are wonderful 2.



Paris is so cool . but can be pricey



louvre, eiffel tower, notre dame cathedral are very nice places to visit





lots of nice restaraunts as well. the cuisiine is sooooooo much better then the UK's



u should get a copy of paris time out



its this magazine they sell in the UK i think its around 5 quid and it has alot of things on paris , very useful if ur going 2 paris

[lizsmith]

The place to go in Spain is Galicia. It's in the north west corner of the country above Portugal. It's very green with fjords and ancient Celtic buildings. The town of Lugo has a complete Roman wall surrounding the town and is very beautiful. Travel to Finisterre (the end of the earth) for wild, windy views of the Atlantic. Fish and Seafood is the best in the world. Don't expect too many people to speak English though! the local language is Gallego and the people are fiercely independant and proud of their region. The pimentos de Padron are a great appetiser, small green peppers deep fried whole, drained and sprinkled with sea salt, most of them are sweet and tasty but every once in a while you get a really hot one, (a bit like Russian roulette peppers!)

[Jimrid]

Echo.......sounds like a great place to visit, I'll put it on my list. My wife and son love seafood, I'll have to make do with a plate of chips as I don't eat seafood. Despite this little culinary setback, it sure seems like a beautiful place to visit. Can you recommend a hotel ?