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Help me plan a trip

15 replies

IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 12/12/2023 16:34

I want to plan a trip next June for me and DS, as a reward for finishing his GCSEs. I want it to be a surprise. I’ve never had much money so we haven’t been on many holidays, so I’d like to do something nice with him, and it’ll probably be my last chance before he wants to do stuff with his mates.

I’m thinking three-ish European cities, depending on what I can afford. I was looking at interrail tickets potentially, as that might be the cheapest way. I have a disability that means I can’t drive, so it’s public transport all the way.

I’m hoping for seven or eight nights. I’d like to keep travel annd accommodation costs to about £1200. I don’t want to stay anywhere too minging though, so I don’t realistically know how far that budget will go. Me and DS don’t mind sharing a twin room, so that will cut down costs a bit.

Any ideas? I like Berlin and would like to go there again, but I’m pretty easy really, it just has to be somewhere interesting. Ideally it would be some kind of circular route so we could get the Eurostar both ways. I’d be happy to fly and book individual trains, but think it might work out more expensive.

I’ve got no idea what I’m doing here, completely out of my depth, so any ideas would be most welcome.

OP posts:
YogaLite · 12/12/2023 17:07

Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam maybe?
Moulin n Rouge could be a nice "grown up" thing to do?

But really you need to go with his interests I'd say?

IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 12/12/2023 17:27

I thought Paris, but it’s so expensive, and Brussels might be a bit sedate

OP posts:
Lovetotravel123 · 12/12/2023 17:28

Prague, Berlin and Vienna in Airbnb?

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IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 12/12/2023 17:39

Bumpety bum

OP posts:
MissPettigrewIsWFH · 12/12/2023 17:48

Interrailing?

cardibach · 12/12/2023 18:24

Prague, Budapest, Vienna?
Fly to Prague, connect by train, fly back from Vienna?
All lovely cities with stuff of interest whatever your age.

ICouldHaveCheckedFirst · 12/12/2023 18:28

Definitely include Budapest. Whatever his interests, there will be something for him here. It's also one of the cheaper European cities. Maybe also Warsaw or Krakow?
Wherever you go, don't try to do it all. Focus on something unique to that city or country.
Interrailing sounds fab. Enjoy!

IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 12/12/2023 19:28

Yeah I like the sound of that. Vienna would be nice but it’s very expensive.

OP posts:
Iwishiwasasilentnight · 12/12/2023 19:30

What kind of thing does your son enjoy?

IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 12/12/2023 22:26

He likes music, trains, history, so plenty of that.

OP posts:
TinPanSally · 12/12/2023 22:37

I took mine interrailing - I love train travel. Do not underestimate travel times. It can be more expensive than booking direct tickets. You can't just jump on any old train like you used to. It can also be cheaper to fly, and gives you more time in the cities.

Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels - all great. I liked the Generator hostels.

momentumneeded · 12/12/2023 22:38

I've interailed with kids and we all loved it. Follow maninseat61 on social as he is a fountain of knowledge.

Eurostar and the fast trains tend to require a seat reservation and/ or surcharge so watch out there for high hidden costs. Italy and France are very bad for this. It was cheaper for example for us to fly back last minute than pay the additional surcharges for travelling back on the Eurostar. This with an interrail pass. So it might be worth looking at a flight out/ back.

I would focus on Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe as they really embrace the interrail concept and there are more included services. Stunning scenery too! They are also cheaper in terms of accom and eating out. Slovenia is a real hidden gem and you could do Croatia and Hungary as well as southern Germany and Austria as an easy circuit.
Loads to see and do. No car needed as public transport is great. You will have a blast!

doll05 · 13/12/2023 16:03

Hi, my friend travelled around Europe last year and I met up with her in Italy. I would recommend booking Flixbus to commute. Although they can be longer, they are much cheaper!
Just to help also there is a website I recently found Transfer travel... it's where people sell their travel but for cheaper. You can buy Flixbus vouchers there. I wish I would have known about it last year as I could have saved a lot !! 🤣
Attached the link anyway if you want to look.
Good luck!!

https://www.transfertravel.com/

Transfer Travel

TransferTravel.com, the travel marketplace. Sell your travel tickets.

https://www.transfertravel.com

IveOnlyEverHeardOutwithONHere · 14/12/2023 08:18

Thanks all, that’s really useful.

OP posts:
Dappy55 · 14/12/2023 09:23

Ghent is nice for teenagers, you can cycle around and there are some quite cool places. The you could get train back to Brussels and go on to the Netherlands or Berlin etc

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