Family Christmas Holiday to Europe - Would Like OzBargain's Input

jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 00:09

G'day Ozbargainers,

I am planning a family trip to Europe over Christmas for 6 adults. I quickly realised I am quite out of my depth as there is a butt-load of information to digest; it would be great for some friendly (even not so friendly) Ozbargainer input. I am in the preliminary stages of research right now but i'd like to get a solid itinerary polished off by end of month and bookings to be made early June.

The gist of it:

Timeframe: Leave Sydney sometime between 10th and 20th December and return about 3.5 weeks later.
Countries: UK, France, Austria, Czechia, maybe Turkey? Flexible with the countries!
Flights: Preferably a return ticket business class with 1 stop; parents aren't spring chickens no more so figured it's time to YOLO.
Accomodation: AirBnBs with a decent kitchen and enough room for 6 adults. Planning to cook a lot of our meals (at least in the exxy countries) and Dad is even gonna bring his rice cooker.
Travel within Europe: Was thinking of a rail pass for moving country to country then a domestic flight from the last destination back to the return flight city.
Style of holiday: Not too hectic, more relaxed. We all love lots of walking, culture and of course food! Not a fan of the overtly touristy (e.g. Kiyomizu-dera in Tokyo)

OK, question time!

What city would you book the return flight to? I found on skyscanner that buying two separate one-way tickets is way more expensive than a return flight.. Also domestic flights within Europe seem quite affordable. Oh and I found some tickets on Skyscanner: 5.5k return SYD-LHR with ANA. Is that even a good price? Would ANA price match against the Third-party seller?

What cities within those countries would you suggest to visit and in what order? Assuming you have 4 or 5 nights in each city. I was thinking of those generic cities that everyone knows: London, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Istanbul.. but what do you think?

Travel insurance? I have an Amex card but not sure if that will cover the rest of my family.

Anyone have good resources for travel within Europe? (e.g. seat61, Rome2Rio etc)

Michelin starred restaurant suggestions?

I'd also like to hear your general thoughts or any other advice for that matter.

TLDR: Bit off way more than I could chew.. What's an Europe?

Thanks guys!

Travel Europe

Comments

  • SmiTTy on 06/05/2022 - 00:14
    +1

    Sounds like you should speak to a travel agent. Perhaps you should msg "I want that flight" who regularly posts here on ozb. They'll be able to give u some good advice, and probably give u a good deal on air fares.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 06:42

      I'm quite hesitant when it comes to travel agents because I've heard of some nightmare scenarios when it comes to getting a refund (never ending blame game between agent and carrier). However, I will take your advice and message that nice IWantThatFlight fella/shiela.

  • AustriaBargain on 06/05/2022 - 03:16

    Which country are you going to spend xmas day in?

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 06:43

      Ideally France, more specifically Strasbourg or Colman. What do you suggest? Vienna?

  • sharkyoz on 06/05/2022 - 05:21

    Just don't be a Griswold :)

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 06:44
      +1

      I don't mind if stuff goes wrong as long as there's a happy ending :)

      • onetwothreefour on 06/05/2022 - 07:04
        +3

        as long as there's a happy ending

        Amsterdam?

  • SBOB on 06/05/2022 - 06:24
    +3

    and Dad is even gonna bring his rice cooker.

    Well, that's definitely a common travel item :/

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 06:47

      Haha yea it's definitely not your usual travel item but it makes perfect sense coming from my rice-loving Papa.

      • kiitos on 06/05/2022 - 07:23
        +4

        Going to France and Austria and not eating the local specialities and produce would be a crime!

        • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 11:04

          Don't you worry about that, we will eat our fair share of the local cuisine; just not every meal.

      • morse on 06/05/2022 - 11:20

        I feel that this rice cooker is going to be a PITA.

        Customs: you’ve applied for a tourist visa yet you’re carrying a rice cooker? Sure you’re not planting to overstay your visa?

        It’s going to get picked up in every airport scanner

        If your thinking train travel remember you’ll be lugging your bags everywhere and weight limits apply for short haul flights.

        • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 16:42

          PITA? I sure hope not. Good thing Aussies don't need visas to travel to UK/EU (Schengen countries at least). The rice cooker is small enough not to be a hindrance. Dad looooves his rice.

          • morse on 06/05/2022 - 17:01

            @jc2218: Sounds like he really does!

  • mskeggs on 06/05/2022 - 07:08

    We booked flights to Munich for this time frame a month ago. Zurich was the other destination I found with good prices.
    We are looking for somewhere in the alps for Xmas, not sure about NYE. Maybe Prague.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 16:43

      How much did you pay for the tickets if you don't mind?

      • mskeggs on 06/05/2022 - 16:55

        Munich on Singapore Airlines economy about $1480 RTN. Got much costlier for flights close to Xmas.
        Zurich was cheapest on SwissAir and Thai, from memory.

  • cashless on 06/05/2022 - 07:47

    Michelin starred restaurant suggestions

    Plainly budget is not important.
    Personally I would avoid these places & eat local at all times, which is actually one of the biggest fun parts of Euro travel.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 16:48

      Budget is important; otherwise I wouldn't be an Ozbargainer! Yeah I know the stars come with the surcharge. However, we are big foodies and it's always been a dream to eat at one of these establishments. The bulk of our dining will come from home cooked meals (we are in the restaurant industry) and cheap, local eats as you mentioned.

  • Stopback on 06/05/2022 - 07:53
    +1

    One week min per country. Remember multiple destinations in one country.

    You gonna waste so much time just traveling.

  • slow on 06/05/2022 - 08:19
    +1

    Bear in mid it will winter - some places get really cold and unpleasant to be outside, others not so.
    May or may not be a concern - you may wish to factor that in

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 16:51

      TBH it is a pretty big concern of mine - our family loves to walk so some of the Eastern European countries will be quite tough - median temps of 0 - 5 C.

  • boomramada on 06/05/2022 - 08:26

    You can't get any more bargain than visiting europe for xmas, it be frozen. Most of the places will be closed. But look in the bright side, less people in tourist areas and no booking needed for restorents lol

    • slow on 06/05/2022 - 09:14

      I have been to Europe in January a few times and had a great time, but you need to set your expectations and plan accordingly

      • mskeggs on 06/05/2022 - 09:19

        Care to expand on that? Did you find a lot of tourist attractions shut?

        • slow on 06/05/2022 - 10:19

          I found tourist attractions are generally all open, especially indoors one. But I like to explore cities on foot and also take in the scenery, and do a lot of walking, and don't handle the cold that well. Some places I just found very unpleasant to be outside due to the weather at the time (Stockholm, Berlin, Paris), whereas other were fine (Madrid, London, Budapest)

          • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 11:10

            @slow: Do you mind if I ask how you got around between each city and the resources you used in the planning process?

        • boomramada on 06/05/2022 - 12:16

          Other issue is travel disruption such as flight delay / cancellation and road closure.

  • Hardlyworkin on 06/05/2022 - 09:31

    I feel like your parents would be a hit on a Contiki tour ;)

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 11:11

      Dad would love it, as for Mum….

  • toniyellow on 06/05/2022 - 10:48
    +1

    I had a poor experience with AirBnBs for a spring holiday a few years ago in Europe. I did a lot of planning taking my mother who has limited mobility. I know she would want to have some shorter days and to have a kitchen as well as a living room to spend time in. I booked everything far in advance, and then ages after I had booked in Paris a concert was announced, in Rome, some papal ceremony was announced for the same dates as my bookings. Both hosts (separate people, separate countries) conveniently said the property had plumbing problems and wasn't habitable so they cancelled - really hard to believe they weren't just going to relist it on another platform at the now massively inflated prices in both cities. AirBnB customer service found replacements for us since it was the host cancelling but due to the sudden demand in both cities, they were nowhere near as good - worse location, not a full kitchen. They gave me a voucher to compensate, but the prospect of future saving did not help in the moment when the new accommodation sucked and there were no other options left in the city.

    If any aspect of the accommodation is specifically important to you I would considered looking for a serviced apartment or something more reliable than AirBnb. Especially over Christmas itself, I guess apart from that winter may be quiet enough to keep you safe.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 11:15

      Thanks for writing up such a detailed experience with AirBnB. Accommodation not going to plan is harrowing thought. I will take your advice and do my research on serviced apartments. On another note, how did you find Paris?

      • toniyellow on 06/05/2022 - 11:29

        I loved Paris. It was very nice in the spring if you like gardens, but lots of museums and indoor activities for winter, and cafes and restaurants would be nice year round.

    • morse on 06/05/2022 - 11:23

      Was going to say also that I’ve moved away from using Airbnb back to hotels and serviced apartments. I’ve found the quality has gone down and cost gone up with airbnbs. You might want to look at holiday accommodation letting agencies over Airbnb.

  • Stewardo on 06/05/2022 - 12:33

    I’d avoid Uk and fly to Amsterdam on a multi city flight then back to Australia on a flight from Prague. Flying back to a UK will just add unnecessary cost time and departure taxes to your trip.
    And I’d visit a Christmas market in Bavaria on the way.
    I wouldn’t buy too many winter clothes in Australia I’d buy them in primark or similar after arriving. (Very cold in Prague in January)

  • dtc on 06/05/2022 - 12:49
    +1

    UK, France can be 3.5 weeks on their own…dont succumb to the 'i want to go there so add it to the list' trap

    Turkey is pretty out of the way of everything else so I would dump it, unless it happens to be a stopover on the way home (eg fly into Istanbul, spend 2-3 days, fly out to Singapore or however you are getting home). If you do happen to end up with extra days, then there is always Germany or Budapest or plenty of places that are closer. Admittedly its only a 2 1/2 flight from Vienna, but thats really 5 hours each way once you take into account airport mess arounds etc, which is almost a whole day.

    Once you are in Paris you can get to all your destinations (other than Turkey) on Railjet trains. It may not necessarily be the cheapest (flights can actually be cheaper) but you can book well ahead, dont need to put up with airport chaos, dont have to travel from out of town airports into the city. Sometimes the passes are cheaper than tickets but not always, unless you are rushing around and using a lot of trains. Figure out your itinerary and there will be a train to get you there

    Or you can go UK, France, Spain - lots of southern France to look at (although probably skip the Alps at that time of year due to cost), Barcelona, Madrid etc, Anyway, lots of options,

    You will find that tourist Europe is pretty touristy, the large monuments/buildings/museums are famous for a reason and that is why people go there (like Kyoto). If you want somewhere quieter then you will miss out on what makes the places famous and has made them tourist destinations for centuries. If you just want to wander with no crowds then thats easy, find a small town or random suburb; but it wont be that exciting. I would just book the places you want to see and accept there will be tourists. Some will be very touristy (Eiffel Tower, for example). If you get jack of the number of people, find a secondary level attraction and go there instead. Will still be tourists but not as many. Even in Kyoto you can find virtually empty temples; in Europe there are 'not as big as Notre Dame' cathedrals that no one goes to. But they arent Notre Dame.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 17:00

      Thanks for taking the time to give advice.

      I might just bite with the UK, France, Spain route - since it gets both warmer and cheaper as we go South. Really wanted to go to Turkey but it'll just have to wait till next time. I'll take your advice on the Railjet trains and do some research. As for the touristy stuff, I understand what you are saying and agree - it is afterall, our first time in Europe!

      Do you have good experiences with any cities in France / Spain? What would you recommend?

  • Marty-69 on 06/05/2022 - 12:53
    +1

    Fly into Paris or London, go east from there (Germany, Vienna, Prague etc) by train and fly out from Istanbul. Just enter "multi-trip" on the airline website. Train map.

  • JimB on 06/05/2022 - 15:38
    +1

    'return ticket business class'…..'Dad is even gonna bring his rice cooker ' lol

    I wouldn't use AirBnB…. too many things can go wrong.

    As mentioned a serviced apartment or hotels are the way to go.

    • jc2218 on 06/05/2022 - 17:02

      Our family is a bit of a living oxymoron - can't we just have both??? I'll definitely be looking into serviced apartments.

  • lainey13 on 06/05/2022 - 21:29

    LHR is by far the most expensive airport in Europe due to taxes. Pick any other highly rated airport (eg not Rome…)
    Finding affordable good accommodation from Christmas to New Years without getting ripped off is extremely difficult. Be prepared to fork out during then.
    I do recommend the German Christmas markets. After all if you are going during that time you want to enjoy Christmas stuff right? Why else pay the premium and suffer the cold?
    Taking the train sounds nice BUT in winter unless you burn a day you will be travelling in the pitch dark and seeing nothing.
    Source: I spent 3 weeks travelling around German and Czech Republic in December a long time ago. Made some mistakes. Got ripped off a bit. It was an adventure :)

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