Ideas for DS11 and my next Europe adventure

[Labbingtons]

DS11 and I just finished a brilliant week visiting Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna, travelling by boat/ train, before meeting DH and the other (older) kids for two weeks in Slovenia.

It has been so good for him to spend time with just me, and I’ve really seen his confidence grow.

He says he’d like to do another trip next summer, so I’m starting to look for ideas. So far, we’ve considered Scandinavia (but is it costly?), Transylvania and or Poland. Budget will be 1500 for the week, with low cost flights and Ibis-type hotels. Needs to be accessible by public transport.

Any ideas gratefully received!

Scandinavia can be expensive but it isn’t too bad in the summer compared to ‘summer’ destinations and does get a little cheaper in August when most of the schools are back in Scandinavian countries.

You could do Copenhagen and Stockholm getting the train in between (about 5 hours) and use both as bases for day trips as well as exploring the cities.

Poland can be excellent value for money. You could do Gdańsk (2h30) - Warsaw (3h) - Krakow.

Does it have to be cities?
Does it need to be more than one country?
Would you try a greek island or perhaps the mainland? Lots of ferries and smaller boats to take you Island hopping.
Basic accommodation can be very cheap in Greece if booked in advance.

You could also look at Croatia, Montenegro, Albania area. More for your money there.

Greece island hopping, with a couple of days in Istanbul?

Amsterdam, Copenhagen then bridge/tunnel to Sweden?

You could also look at doing Helsinki then ferry to Tallinn then bus to Riga

Check out the seat61.com for the best information on train travel in Europe

Oh yes Baltic states good call.

Northern Italy, the trains are really good between the cities.

Thank you. There are some great ideas here. I’d thought about the Baltic as I have family roots there- Tallin and Helsinki sounds great and no danger of overheating in the summer!

Helsinki and Tallinn are both great cities! And the ferry is pretty good value too, about 30€ for an adult foot passenger and takes a couple of hours.

I was surprised how affordable Helsinki felt in comparison to the other Nordic cities, although its not cheap. You can probably find a decent hotel for £120-£140 a night.

Tallinn is also fairly affordable as cities go. For £70 a night you can get a nice hotel and for £100-£120 you can get a really superb high-end hotel.

We travelled right across Spain by train taking in many major cities.

cherryassam thanks for those tips. I imagined Helsinki being really expensive but if it’s affordable, so much the better. I’ve never been so would like to visit too.

Elis44 we did a train trip around Andalucia as a family this Easter and loved it. The Spanish trains are great, aren’t they? We all really enjoyed that holiday.

I found Helsinki generally comparable to London for prices - apart from alcohol which was very expensive (although I guess you’re likely not to be having a super boozy trip). Food is similarly priced to London.

Public transport is efficient and not too expensive - you can get unlimited travel across bus / train / tram / metro / ferry in the city for about €12 a day, €24 for 3 days or 48€ for a week (u18s are half price). The airport is easily accessible by train from the city centre. A lot of the city is walkable too.

Many of the attractions are free - Helsinki Cathedral and Suomenlinna Sea Fortress for example.

Others are low cost - the Rock Church is about €5 a person for example.

Many of the museums are free for U18s too - National Musuem of Finland, Kiasma (Contemporary Art Musuem), Gallen Kallela museum.

There are also lots of parks, forests and beaches to explore.

Italy is well connected by train and you can get reasonably cheap flights with Ryanair etc to some of the cities. Venice - Rome - Pisa - Florence are all quite easy to go between. Pisa only a day and book leaning tower.