My 20yr old son has made a team to play in Ireland August 2023. I’ve never been to Europe and thinking of taking my 14yr old and doing it! Where to start? Are there any good travel agents (I’m in Syd) love to do a stopover in Dubai or someone for a few days. Not even sure what countries to see Europe is really something I’d never considered before ever. Flights seem very expensive trying to find the cheapest way to get there!
Thanks I’m advance
Europe Where to Start?
mel82 on 23/01/2023 - 21:28
Comments
Qualified to be in a team from here that will play in Ireland
Exactly 😀
What kind of team OP? A sports team? E-sports team?
Head straight over to the Mediterranean
Greece, Italy etc
Yep that’s what I want to do, UK doesn’t interest me at all.
Try to avoid anywhere south of the Alps in summer
Italy / Greece can be very hot July / August
Spend the time in the UK & Ireland
Road trip in England & Scotland
Ashes cricket tests are in July 2023 ( might be hard to get tickets ) if the lads like that sort of thing
Where to start? Are there any good travel agents. Not even sure what countries to see Europe is really something I’d never considered before ever.
Have any friends or extended family who have been before?
Do you have any parents from European countries? You could be already be a citizen through birth right, might pay to get your passport for that country. Ireland is the best because it'll be neutral in WWIII.
this is a very half arsed question. Have you considered any countries in Europe at all?
I’m thinking Ireland obviously, then France, Italy Greece. Or starting in Greece then going to Ireland from there I honestly have no idea about Europe and it’s very overwhelming not sure where to start. I just need to be in Ireland 1st of August
How much time are you thinking of spending there? You could spend weeks in each of those countries listed. I'd say, narrow down destinations based off your interest and visit a few countries and see them well. You'll see more and spend less time traveling.
I have 3 and a bit weeks off work so really limited on time do u think that’s not long enough for those places?
@mel82: People I know did a Contiki type tour in 3 weeks, just the major landmarks in several countries. France? Just The Louvre and Versailles. UK, just a couple of places in London. Just 2 days in Italy, Pisa and Rome, and so on. Not my thing but they were happy.
@mel82: 4 countries across 24 days off including travel time? It's too many countries imo, unless you're booking a tour group to take you from place to place. Have a look at some multi country tours as it will give you an idea of timeframe. I think you're best off with 3 countries inc Ireland. I'd say Italy Greece and Ireland or italy and France and Ireland. Or consider a bit of Germany and France then Ireland.
@cookie2: I did 16 countries in 45 days on my contiki tour. Very fast paced, but a great taster for me… I’m planning to go back for 4 months from July, hopefully anyway…
I just need to be in Ireland 1st of August
Why? Your son made the team, not you.
To watch the opening ceremony and their team play
Greece is pretty shit unless you want to go stay on an island for a week. You're going in peak summer and the majority of hotels don't have AC (general rule for all of Europe). Even the drinks aren't properly cold most of the time.
Just be aware.
Wow had no idea at all! Thanks
Ooh yes I forgot how shit/non existant the AC was in Ios/Corfu/Athens/Santorini! Good call..
Nope, no families there at all, after a good travel agent or place to get advice or where to go and the best way to get there. It’s very overwhelming there’s so many countries to chooses from
iTravel Foster is brilliant
The owner is often in Sydney
They have a significant clientele across the country because they really as extraordinary and they are travel agents who have traveled!!! Once you find a travel agent your happy with, just like a hair dresser… you follow them aroundhttps://itravelforster.com.au/
tel:0265555700
Allana has always been my contact for yearsThank you! That’s what I’m after a good recommendation on travel sharny to get me started
Why would you want to stop in Dubai unless you have fat stacks of cash? Is slavery tourism that interesting?
Start in Germany. Enjoy the cheap food and booze.
Just seen lots of ppl do it and thought why not! Never really considered Germany but I will check it out!
Scoot do flights to Berlin via Singapore. Grab a car in Berlin and drive to Amsterdam or Hamburg stopping along the way. Then grab a flight to Dublin. Lots to see and probably easiest to drive for 3 instead of dragging luggage on and off trains (although they are good).
Thank u so much that’s a great idea
Australian drivers on autobahn is a very bad idea.
@maiuspala: It's not complicated. Drive fast or stay out of the fast lane and move over for anyone faster than you.
I fit in well.
I disagree about the trains. The trains are super easy, they go to the city centres so you don't have to drive there, and you never have to worry about finding your way and parking etc.
I would recommend picking a few places you'd like to see, fly in to one, and take trains to the rest. Pack light so that luggage isn't too much of a problem.
Not sure if it's still on but they used to offer free stay for 1-2 nights if transiting via Dubai. Just in case you're using Emirates. Etihad might have other options.
I’ve been watching emirates prices them seem expensive for that time of the year!
3 and a half weeks- not including the sporting commitment- is not long enough for all the places on your list. Not to mention the crowds you’ll encounter- I’ve just returned from 5 weeks in Europe and the crowds in Italy especially were like nothing they’ve ever seen in Winter, so they’re anticipating a riotous Summer since everyone wants to travel post-lockdowns.
Having traveled with teens, they do need reliable wifi and the occasional day of downtime here and there. Perhaps you’d be better off getting an Airbnb or short term rental in Ireland, hiring a car and making day trips to places like Dublin, Ring of Kerry, Waterford, Belfast and the incredibly awesome Derry.
Then you could spend a week or two in the UK. Depending on your kids’ interests, you could hit up Scotland for the Tattoo, Liverpool for a Beatle’s tour, London for Harry Potter studio, Alton Towers and Legoland theme parks etc.
For stopovers, think about Japan if they’re into anime etc, or Thailand/ Malaysia if the kids like water sports and eating!
A good travel agent might help you narrow things down if you’re not a confident traveler, otherwise it’s easy to book online yourself with the help of a good budget spreadsheet and calendar overview.
Happy travel planning!
Thanks for the advice, it’s very much appreciated! Japan sounds good as a stop over. We’ve done Malaysia, Thailand etc a few times but never Japan. Ireland will only be there 4 days but I’ll have a look at Scotland, UK might sound rude but doesn’t really interest me much.
What airlines do stopovers in Japan?
Not even sure what countries to see Europe
Start with a list. There’s about 30 ish of them, each unique & individual. If you’re there for less than 3 weeks, barely time to visit many of them. Best way to see Europe is to relax & immerse yourself in the atmosphere for a few days. Then move somewhere else & repeat.
Chaotic, rushed tours are not fun. See a few tourist spots, but don’t make that the focus. Eat, drink local & mix with people that don’t speak the same language as you.
Absorb, learn & come home with a better world viewYep I agree I feel overwhelmed just looking at the sheer volume of places and options, I’d love to nail it right down and be able to enjoy it. Might not ever go back so just wanting to make the most of it. Definitely need to find a good travel agent
I reckon you can do better on your own with Expedia + Booking.com + Google Flights (maybe AirBnB too but it's not as good in Europe from my experience).
What do you want to ask a travel agent that the OzB hivemind can't already answer?
Before you visit a TA do a little reading first, I suggest (from your local libarary) The rough guide to first-time Europe ISBN: 9780241204160
When you do visit an agent, you'll be able to give them an idea of your budget and what you'd like to see and do. For August you'll need to act fast - prices will be high, accommodation tight and crowding awful. If you only have three weeks, confine yourself to the UK and Western Europe.Thanks @rock-bottom appreciate the advice
7 years ago I drove around europe for 3 weeks. Spent 5 days in paris and then picked up the car at st Gare De Nord station , then off to cologne- prague - chesky krumlov - vienna - st. anton- venice - nice - barcelona - paris/charles de gaulle airport drop off. big clockwise trip doing around 4500kms all up -sounds a lot but autobahn baby! sharing the driving helps. plenty of road houses.
Had a 5 seater peugot. cost around $40 a day. allowed the opportunity of going where you want and when (holy moly! that's cool, let's check it out". GPS/phone was essential for entering/leaving cities. and "carry" more stuff. e.g. food, beer. etc.
there was 5 of us and we had one suitcase (2 adults + 3 kids).
what's good about a car is that there is no real schedule.
had a 1.2ltr diesel vehicle so it was fairly fuel efficient. plus the highways/autobahns are good. and never had a problem driving at 140kms/h (still was getting passed by faster cars). fuel in italy is really expensive! (fill up before entering)
I love this idea! I just had to google what autobahn was 🙈
From my experience 140 on the Autobarn would be quite slow
Wow! Crazy!
You could easily spend the whole time in Ireland and the UK. Sure, you can fly or train from city to city across Europe and spent a couple of days in each city, but really cities are cities. Drive around Ireland and the UK and see an amazing variety of sights and villages. Some incredible prehistoric sites all over Ireland and the UK.
UK doesn’t interest me really maybe when I see it I might change my mind.
I would do the travel after the sports event, assuming your son is going to travel also, just on the off chance he gets sick or something during the travel. You don't want him to miss out on the world cup. Save the fun for after the event.
Try and just visit countries that are close to each other, otherwise you will waste time. This year we are going to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London. It's a logical group of countries where you don't criss cross around the place and all are easily accessible via train which is more time efficient compared to flying.
Grab a European railpass covers most of europe. The cheapest most flexible cheap way to travel. Most trains are the faster type with free wifi and the view is amazing. My fav part was germany & spain. After nearly a month i did get sick of trains and swapped to ryan air for the flight back to homebase paris. We are planning a huge family rail pass trip next year.
Thanks I’ll look up the rail passes now!
don't try to squeeze it all in. it won't be a holiday then, but rather a full on job. choose 2 or 3 countries and spend some time exploring and enjoying them. Taking into account flight times, stop over, possible jet lag and few days to actually rest, those 3 weeks will actually go by really quickly.
once you're in Europe it's easy connections to places like France, Spain, Netherlands or Germany. Obviously Ireland and Scotland are right there and English speaking.
if you're bit overwhelmed, a travel agent can help you organise flights between the countries and/or consider arriving in one country, but departing home from another.Definitely need to find a good travel agent
A few years ago I did a Mediterranean cruise with MSC similar to these ones: https://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Plan-Book/Find-Cruise.aspx?…
It was a great thing to do at peak summer as we didn't need to worry about accommodation or driving. Cons were the queues to get off the ship and huge crowds in the big tourist places like Venice and Dubrovnik. But that would have been in case even if we weren't on a cruise. And the ship was air-conditioned and had swimming pools and cold drinks!
I’ll check it out thanks ☺️
Lucky you , Europe is amazing, I would google world map then you can see where everything is. Then google the different places that appeal to you . You will get all sorts of information Reddit r/travel whirlpool also have good travel advice. You can also fly into one country and back from another , so not backtracking. Check the weather so you know what to pack and pack light ,you do not want to be carting a heavy suitcase or backpack around. Checkout Hostel world , can get private rooms and Booking.com as you can book early and cancel if you find something better. A lot of rail passes are tricky and you still need to pay for reservations on top off the rail pass , look at the man in seat 61 for good railway advice, Get a debit and credit card that doesn't charge big fees to convert currency, look at ING for debit and Latitude for credit and check if your bank offers free travel insurance if you pay for flights or accommodation using them .
Lucky you , Europe is amazing, I would google world map then you can see where everything is. Then google the different places that appeal to you . You will get all sorts of information Reddit r/travel whirlpool also have good travel advice. You can also fly into one country and back from another , so not backtracking. Check the weather so you know what to pack and pack light ,you do not want to be carting a heavy suitcase or backpack around. Checkout Hostel world , can get private rooms and Booking.com as you can book early and cancel if you find something better. A lot of rail passes are tricky and you still need to pay for reservations on top off the rail pass , look at the man in seat 61 for good railway advice, Get a debit and credit card that doesn't charge big fees to convert currency, look at ING for debit and Latitude for credit and check if your bank offers free travel insurance if you pay for flights or accommodation using them .
Awesome information thanks heaps
The Mediterranean areas of Europe can be quite hot in August … that may be good or bad for you based on personal preference.
If you're thinking about Greece/Italy/France as noted above over about three weeks, I would aim for four or five locations in that time.
I can't speak for Greece (haven't been there), but for France and Italy, certainly Paris and Rome (despite their respective challenges) are worth the effort.
It obviously comes down to what your interests might be. It could be history (both more and less modern), scenery, weather/climate, active or passive.
Avoid airports to the absolute extent possible. Having a car in the regional areas is almost a necessity.
Great tips 😀
We have been to Europe a few times. We don't like the heat so Spain, Portugal, France & Belgium in August would not appeal. We did experience a heat wave in Switzerland in June ( if you can believe it - climate change?) I would tend to head for the "cooler countries" in August. Flights between European cities can be quite cheap. We really like Amsterdam (Netherlands)and the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway Finland, Denmark (legoland) as well as Iceland (volcanoes,water falls, glaciers). The trains in Europe are great - a lot better than Australia.We did not have kids in tow
If you are a novice then definitely read as much as you can before visiting a TA.
Happy travelsThanks for the tips
If you're not sure what you want, talk to your kids about what they want. Being with enthusiastic people is enjoyable, and even more so if you get to see your children having a blast. If they're in their mid teens they should have awareness of/exposure to history and things over there, so you'll probably find there's stuff that links up with their interests or daydreams.
Depending on your budget, don’t be afraid of backpackers hostels. The good ones sometimes even have cheap private rooms.
To find some ideas for places you could try asking ChatGpt to be a tour guide and refine down by asking more questions - eg what is the most efficient route. How many days would I need to spend there etc etc. I ask for recommended medium difficulty hikes and historic architecture as well as locations with panoramic views
This is what we are doing to plan out our 4 month trip. I then check the locations /pictures on TripAdvisor and see if I’d be interested. We have about 90 locations listed on TripAdvisor so far, and I want to highlight them on a printed map to make logical groupings of what cities to visit and what to skip because it’s too far away or whatever
Example:
Act as a tour guide. My son and I are visiting Ireland for 4 days in summer for a sporting event. We want to spend an additional 3 weeks exploring Ireland and Europe. Without being rushed, recommend the top attractions we should visit. Include suggested routes and transfers.
“ Sure! Here are some top attractions in Ireland you should consider visiting during your 3-week trip:
Ireland:
Cliffs of Moher - Co. Clare
The Ring of Kerry - Co. Kerry
The Giant's Causeway - Co. Antrim
The Burren - Co. Clare
The Rock of Cashel - Co. Tipperary
Dublin Castle - Dublin
Trinity College & the Book of Kells - Dublin
Kilmainham Gaol - Dublin
Europe:Paris, France - The Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum
Amsterdam, Netherlands - Canal cruises, Van Gogh Museum
Berlin, Germany - Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall Memorial
Vienna, Austria - Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral
Prague, Czech Republic - Charles Bridge, Prague Castle
Route & Transfers:Ireland: A rental car would be the best way to explore Ireland's countryside and smaller towns.
Europe: Intercity trains are an efficient way to travel between major cities, or you can book a hop-on hop-off bus tour.
These are just a few suggestions, but there are many other amazing places to explore in both Ireland and Europe”Thank you, awesome advice! Never heard of ChatGpt before!
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