Europe Trip Questions

I am from the UK, but have visited a lot of other European Countries. Some were a long time ago though!

Disneyland Paris is a little bit disappointing compared to Florida. However, if you know that before you go, then it is still good for a Disney fix. It is interesting for comparison and different merchandise etc.
I recall that the City of Paris was very expensive.
I enjoyed Southern France (Monaco and Nice)

The lakes of Northern Italy (Garda, Como etc.) are beautiful. I loved Rome and Venice. Sorrento is also a good place to visit. You can visit Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii from there.

Austria is also a lovely country to visit.

I like Nurenberg in Germany (particularly the Christmas Market in November/December)

The last time I went to Switzerland was a school trip!

If I could only pick one country, it would be Italy.

I LOVE Paris so I would find a way to fit it in, it is expensive but no more so than the rest of Europe. I would also try and squeeze in Monaco, it's so beautiful. I think your plans sound great though its a lot to fit into 14 days! I would probably leave out Rome if you had to drop one, especially in favour of Paris! I totally agree with DLP not being anywhere near WDW, in fact I wouldn't waste valuable Europe travel time going there, it's the poor mans Orlando

Lugano in Switzerland is very pretty. It's on the border with Italy, so you get the best of both. Swiss train travel is great - on time, super clean, and great routes. The "postal bus" from there to St. Moritz is an unforgettable trip - miles and miles of switchbacks, pretty villages, etc. We couldn't figure out why the ticket agent advised us against sitting in the front seats if we didn't like heights, but we saw why pretty quickly. We thought we were going over the edge! We loved Chur too, but didn't care for Zurich. We found food to be pretty expensive, and if you order milk, you will get it served at room temperature. Wait staff look at you really strangely if you ask for an ice cube to cool it down.

Austria is lovely - we continued using trains there too. We met some great people this way, and first class travel wasn't that expensive when you bought the passes. Vienna has fun cafes, palaces, amusement parks, etc. We found the hotel clerks to be fountains of good information about what to see and where to eat without getting stuck in tourist traps.

With that tight of a schedule, I personally would skip DLP, it's really disappointing compared to the Magic Kingdom. However, to get your Disney fix, I HIGHLY recommend visiting Castle Neuschwanstein (which is horribly misspelled) in Germany, about 1.5 hours outside of Munich. It is the inspiration for Tink's Castle in DL and while you get a whole history lesson about King Ludwig and his crazy ways, it really is magical.

I'd recommend Austria as well. But my advice to you is that if you're going for 10-14 days, do not pick too many spots. I spent a week in Munich in December and 3 days in London and felt like I was rushed the entire time trying to see it all (although in Munich we had a 3 year old and a 1 year old, so I wasn't in full on tourist-commando mode. The gluwein shacks every 5 paces didn't help that at all). Your itinerary has 6 places, so that's no more than 2ish days/per place, plus all the time on the trains or planes or automobiles getting around. My advice is to pick a few places (for 10-14 days, I'd say no more than 3) that you REALLY want to see and immerse yourself in the food, culture, and sites.

I absolutely love Rome. Munich is a great city. If you go in late September or early October, Oktoberfest is a lot of fun.

When I was a child we took a train from Germany to Austria and Italy. It was beautiful scenery through the alps and great food in the dining car. A lot of people take trains to explore Europe. You used to be able to get an inter-rail pass. Has anyone done this who could give more info? It might be something to look into rather than driving?

If you are in the big cities (eg. Paris) then I would expect to pay high prices for meals. If you are out of the main tourist areas then parts of Europe are still very inexpensive. When we were in Spain last month we went to a local restaurant. It cost the equivalent of 15 dollars for a three course table service meal including a half bottle of wine each! You could pay the same just for a cup of coffee in the most expensive areas of Paris.

Just throwing another idea out there. How about a Disney Cruise to the Med? I think you visit Spain, France and Italy!

We took trains everywhere Flew into Heathrow and out of Schipol, I wouldn't skip DLP or Paris for that matter, It's not WDW however they are fun parks with different rides and a BEAUTIFUL castle! I wouldn't overlook Belgium or Amsterdam/Rotterdam if you're going to that way from Italy...
Have a great trip!

Belgium is a great country! I lived there for three years when my dad was in the AF. I think Brugge was my favorite place there. That or Ghent. But now I am adding for you instead of subtracting!

Italy would be my must-do, because I have never been. There are many beautiful places in France, though I visited mostly the Northern part, so I can't help too much there with southern towns/cities!

Mr. KK and I are also wanting to do a Europe trip before we have kids (still a couple years down the road, according to our "plan"). His must-have country is apparently Croatia? I have never been, so I am down for it, but it is a bizarre number one to me, I guess, considering he has never set foot in Europe. There are so many countries I have never seen, but want to, and some others I have seen, but want to see again!

He loves to ride motorcycles, so we are thinking of renting one (with space for small luggage) and only riding a couple hours a day. Basically, it is a crazy plan, BUT we are going to try. It sounds to me like the stereo-typical backpack through Europe trips we were supposed to go on to "find ourselves."

I have to say out of those countries I would drop Germany, but that is just me. I am not fussed about it. I certainly wouldn't drop Paris it's gorgeous! I have only used the trains in France but they are fab and super quick. You need to book in advance though for the best rates. I say how we booked last time as it was my mum who arranged it all but I'm sure a quick google would be easy enough to find out how.

Just to throw in something else, another city I love in Europe is Bruges in Belgium. It's easy to get to from Paris

Depending on what you want to see in France and Italy, I would say it is doable. My last trip to Europe include Paris, Rome and Munich (with an overnight stay in Innsbruck).

That sounds a good itinery, JoAnn. Did you go on an organised tour or arrange the trip yourself?

My brother, sister-in-law and I planned the trip ourselves. We spent three days in Paris, five days in Rome and four days in Munich. We flew from Paris to Rome and took the train from Rome to Innsbruck for an overnight stay and then a train to Munich.

When my sister and I went to Barcelona a couple of years ago, we rented an apartment to cut down on costs. Sort of the same concept as the DVC Villas - you have a full kitchen to prepare meals. We ate all our breakfasts at the apartment - it was a relaxing way to start the day. There are several agencies you can explore: vacationrentals.com, vrbo.com and homeaway.com.

It was much less expensive than staying at hotels every night.

Our rental experience was wonderful and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

All the countries you're looking at visiting use the Euro. The Euro has fluctuated against the dollar dramatically in the past few years. At one point, it was almost 1 Euro = 1.5 USD, so if you bought something worth 10 Euro, it was really $15 USD. So it makes it hard to say what the average meal (or hotel, etc) will cost you. Also, if you're driving, don't forget that gas is EXPENSIVE in Europe, even compared to the US price at the highest. Gas is sold in liters and the cost of a liter is more than what we would pay for a gallon in the US (and I mean more in the numbers, not even accounting for the exchange rate). Make sure the countries that you end up visiting drive on the same side of the road we do (I think most of the ones you've named do) but it's a FREAKY experience to suddenly be able to make lefts on red b/c you don't cross traffic. I refused to drive in Australia b/c I couldn't wrap my head around in. My colleagues called me a wuss, so may this is only an issue for me!!

Other things to keep in mind: European hotel rooms are not up to US standards. By that, I mean private baths are NOT the norm. When I visited London and Munich I had to make sure that the cheaper hotels had in room bathrooms (this is not a problem if you stay at a big chain hotel, like a Sofitel, etc, but if you're looking for a boutique hotel or something that will not cost you $500 night, you might want to really read the fine print). They're also smaller, and A/C is not always a given.

Personally, I'd drop Paris from your itinerary in favor of Germany, but for some reason Germany just appeals to me. I'm not a fan of museums so maybe that's why - I prefer the markets, food, and people of Germany. If you've never been to Europe, you really can't go wrong anywhere you end up, so don't worry about picking a bad itinerary. Just give yourself plenty of time. Better to see fewer places and really SEE them than to rush. I would say DEFINITELY do Italy and Rome if you can. I personally thought it was an awesome experience, the food was delish, and the history was A-MAZING. You won't find a starbucks there though.....

If you decide to go to Paris look to see if they still have the museum pass. The pass is for certain number of days for specific museums (including the Louvre). We got a two day pass and it save us money on admissions. There is a Starbucks in the Louvre. LOL

That is an awesome plan!! Thanks for sharing the info. I'm a civilian, not active duty/reservist, so we don't get to partake in those perks, but the family I usually travel with (read: crash their vacations) do, so I'll pass it along!! Just remember....we still want a trip report even if there's no Disney involved!!!

Eeyore, it sounds like you've got a FANTASTIC plan in the works!!

I'm sorry I won't be much help in making suggestions (I've been to other parts of Europe only), but I am thoroughly enjoying hearing your plan shape up! You're like inspiring me to take an international trip!!

Can't wait to hear more plans, and ooh, yeah, trip report, please!

Excellent! I look forward to your "Eeyoropean" report!