Our
BespokeEurope solutionsinclude a detailed,
custom
itinerary which includes air travel tips and fares, airport transfer advice, how to save money, what to see, what to do and where to stay, how to get
around, maps, where to eat and even how to say common phrases in
the local languages phonetically.Your budget profileis also flexible -
backpacker, economy, middle of the road, splurge or even a mixture - the
choice is yours.
Eurail and planning The first tip is: get a
Railpass.
This will cut costs and gives you the freedom to
do sidetrips to explore the region and
see sights along the way. There are exceptions to this. Certain destinations are not well connected by rail or point-to-point
flights, trains and coaches (such as
Eurolines) are cheaper. Generally,
the fastest way to travel
relatively cheaply and safely from city centre to city centre is by Eurail. Eurail is not a
type of train - it is in fact a Pass
to be used on the national rail companies of member countries, e.g. Deutsche Bahn in Germany,
RENFE in Spain. The supplier for Sri Lanka is
Rail
Europe, a joint venture between SNCF France and SBB Switzerland. If
you have a valid international driving licence, a
car hire
is sometimes cheaper. Passes are not valid on special scenic trains, which you
can purchase separately, or use your pass to get a discount on. In addition to
the pass cost, supplements or reservation fees are payable on certain premium, high-speed and
hotel trains.
Secondly,
plan your itinerary carefully, without backtracking, using an
open jaw air ticket where necessary.There are dozens of different passes, so you should know your destinations,
and how many people you are travelling with, before selecting the right one. For the Mediterranean, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, to reduce
cost and save time, budget air connections may be required
for the inbound or outbound, or both.
You should apply for your
Schengen Visa
(which covers many,
but not allcountries in Europe) three months before your departure.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do When visiting
Europe
for a city break,take time to enjoy it.A visit that is too rushed will be a frustrating
and tiring exercise. You will spend most of your time checking in and out of
hotels, and in trains,
rather than actually experiencing all that your destination has to offer. You
should leave some time to explore things of interest that you discover on your
journey. If not, you will be left thinking what might have been, resulting in a
disappointing, unfulfilling holiday.
No tour-bus or other accompanied tour in Sri Lanka will give you this much choice, so much time
to enjoy it, at this cost. Our objective with tailor-made
solutions is that you become an expert on your
destination, interacting with locals as opposed to a busload
of Asian package tourists. You will be able to speak authoritatively on your
destination. You do not have to rely on a
tour guide, and stick to a fixed itinerary.
You may also
want to attend various events and festivals,
for which you can add additional time in the cities. There are some specialist destinations which
you should make an informed decision whether to visit or not. Click the links to explore - the
countries are also linked - enabling popups.
We do the work for you Please do make an informed decision about your
destinations, the order of visiting them and the duration of each
stop. We take some of the fuss away from making these
difficult decisions. Please
contact us for
more details. The
Europe Plan
will tell us all we need to know about your preferences.Important:
We only provide this service free of charge to customers who book airtickets
through us.
Minimum visiting times and research links Here are some recommended minimum visiting durations,
allowing you sufficient time to sightsee all the main attractions at
popular tourist destinations (plus some hidden gems) in Europe. This
excludes taking excursions out to see regional
attractions such as churches and cathedrals, botanical gardens
and parks;
palaces and castles; villages, lakes, rivers and estuaries;
lagoons, coasts and bays; aqueducts, viaducts and bridges; waterfalls, hills,
mountains, and coastal cliffs and of course, scenic countryside. Some of these cities serve as
excellent bases to do just that.
The best times to visit are May and September for a city
break, as the weather is usually good, and the crowds are less than in
the summer. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, nor a league
table of the best places to visit. Because of size and
location or because of time consuming public transport,
some destinations require
more time to explore. If you are not interested in museums,
churches, paid attractions at the destination and paid
excursions,
2 nights are sufficient (except in London, Paris and Rome). 10+ nights London,
England,
UK
