Eurotrip series : Crash Course

Okay, im going to keep this very dry and clinical. I will try not to get carried away with how much fun my trip was and keep it to the necessary information only.

1. How do you wish to travel 
If you have no time to invest and its your first trip to Europe, i'd suggest that you book yourself a package tour. It is the simplest way for you to travel with everything taken care of. It is also as economical as it can get with the sort of facilities you will be provided. And at the time of writing this, forget about going to Europe on a package tour if you budget is anything less than 1.5 lacs per person.
Now, if you are the kinds who like to do their own thing, lets talk :) Before anything else, you have two choices : East Europe or West. Look at the map if you dont know what im saying. The west is the rich, popular part. East is the relatively poor, less popular part. However, west is also more uptight and east is warm and friendly. Almost, not almost, ALL the friendly, talkative people i met on my west Europe trip were actually from the East.
Also, West would be more expensive than the East.

2. What to include and exclude
Once you have decided on the countries. I would suggest that on the first trip visit the capital cities or the important cities. On your subsequent trips take the road less traveled. As a rule, people travel in a circle, or across. Make sure you plan your trip such that you are not wasting money travelling back and forth. I had to leave out my beloved Rome because it did not fit into the circle of Basel->Paris->Brussels->Amsterdam->Basel (via Germany). On the next trip probably i could do Italy, Austria, Czech. Remember its not your last trip.

3. Airtickets
I found these really cheap deals on Emirates with a 12 hour stopover at Dubai. But the tickets were so cheap i dint mind the stopover. It cost us 28k delhi-dubai-zurich and zurich-dubai-delhi. Dubai airport is great to pass your time. Or you could take a visa on arrival and go into the city. There were equally good deals on Swiss airline too. But you have to book about 2 months in advance and i had lost out on the time. Those were about 26k Delhi-Zurich-Delhi ( grrrr..... :/).

4. Travel within Europe
If you are two people travelling, get a eurail pass.
http://www.eurail.com/
Its the simplest way to travel. However, its valid on the National railways only i think. So keep some money aside for the local travel. If you are more than two people, the CHEAPEST way to travel around Europe is to hire a car. We were 4 people and it saved us a whole lot of money. But keep in mind :

• Its a right hand drive.
• Unlike India, you actually have to read and understand the road signs. 
• There are parking rules. 
• NEVER take your car into Paris. NEVER.
• Some cities have huge central parkings like at the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam.
• We took a car because my friend had already been driving in Europe for sometime. First timers, take a train.

5. Youth Hostels

Get the YHAI membership while you are in India. Lifetime membership costs a mere 1500/-. It can get you upto a 2 euro discount at some youth hostels in Europe. Stay at the hostels. Its the best and cheapest way to travel around europe and to meet new people. Do not expect luxury, but you will be comfortable. And you might get some really nice hostels if you are lucky. Book in advance on websites like 

http://www.hihostels.com/

http://www.hostelworld.com/

http://www.hostelbookers.com/

You might not find a single room in cities like Paris and Amsterdam over the weekends. And if Brussels is on your list i highly recommend the 'Hello Hostel'. It was the most spacious, airy, clean, accessible, economical and friendly hostel we stayed at.

6.How much is too much

Do not plan every second of your trip in advance. When we left India, we had a loose plan. Something like:

Day 1 : Basel, Day 2 and 3 : Paris and so on. And we had booked a hostel in Paris in advance. Then on, we booked a day before we reached the city. We were a little to adventurous there, but we were prepared to sleep in the car if we dint find a place. Not a very good idea though.  

Have a list of must-visits in a city. But be open to new ideas. And be prepared to overstay by atleast one day. 

Here is our list of must-visits to give you a general idea :

1. Switzerland : Interlaken

2. Paris : Jim Morrison's grave, Louvre, Moulin Rouge, Eiffel at night. 

3. Brussels : Mini Europe (missed it, we were late), Delirium pub(they serve a record, 2000 types on beers on their menu. Environment is grrrreeeeaatttt)

4. Amsterdam : Anne Frank's House, RLD, Brownies and be prepared to overstay.

7.What to Pack

Get a backpack and thats all you should carry. Considering you are backpacking, you will not exactly be eating at fancy places or clubbing at the 5 stars. Pack

•  comfortable walking shoes (which you will wear and go)
• A pair of denims and tracks ( apart from the one you will wear)
• Simple tees that are light and take very little space. 
• One dress ( if you are "just-incase" type, but remember you would also have to pack shoes to go with it)
• We travelled in November, so it was starting to get very cold. I carried 2 sweaters and 1 jacket which i  wore at all times. I bought this very good black jacket from Puma which was stylish, black and very warm for 3000/-. Also it was made of this wind cheater sort of material, which works coz its very windy. One jacket is sufficient. Benetton and woodland had something but it was twice the money and nothing more convincing that Puma.
• Dont forget a muffler, gloves and cap. 1 each.

MOST IMPORTANT : Visit http://www.ricksteves.com/. Its the most useful website on travelling to any place in Europe and any which way you want.


8.Currency
Get a travel card. Carry some currency. You can buy it from the money exchangers. I bought from GK.

DO NOT keep your money together. Especially in Paris. Carry what you need and leave your travel card and  rest of the currency in your luggage... again, not together. Be very careful with your wallet (unlike me. i lost mine in Paris) and money.

9.How much did i spend


My favorite part. Believe it or not, we did it in under 1 lac per person including visa fees and 110 euro shopping and losing my wallet in Paris which had 70 euros.

10. How did i do it 
Your favorite part.

• Find someone you can park with for a day or two. We stayed with a friend in Basel for overall 3 nights. It saved us alot of money. It doesn't have to be you chuddi buddy. Trust me people would love to have someone over from their country for a couple of days. 
• We traveled by Road. Fuel is overall cheap and even cheaper in some countries. Get a tank full when leaving from there.
• We NEVER ate at fancy restaurants. We lived on street food. Always. And its a great way to try new things. If you are not adventurous, you will always have subway and McD to fall back on. 
• We stayed at the cheapest hostels. 
• We saved on everything we could to spend on entry ticket to Louvre, Madam Tussad's, Eiffel etc. 

So major saver : Friends to park with, road trip.

PHEW ! There you go. I'm open to questions ofcourse. There is alot i could not put down here, but i would be happy to share information if anyone needs it.