I always have people ask me about my holiday, about the
spending money, the packing, the places we visited etc. I know that pain, it’s
difficult planning a holiday and knowing exactly what you’ll need, how much
money you’ll require etc.. I was frantically searching all over the internet to
compare as many opinions as possible and come up with one that suited us. It’s
all well and good to research this stuff, but I do believe (now that I’ve been
there done that) it will differ for absolutely everybody. We all have different
expectations of our holidays and want to experience different things so while
reading this blog about OUR holiday- please keep in mind that yours will be
different and once you are there and immersed in the world of European
awesomeness, you’ll forget all about the hours you spent prior reading blogs
like this.
I’ll do my best in this post to cover everything we did,
their costs, accommodation, transport, and other information I think you’ll
need to know.
In saying that, I must admit that I learnt a lot from blogs
and reading up on everything and anything prior. There is a lot to be aware of
in Europe, although it may not happen to you it always pays to be super aware
of your surroundings and not be naïve- know the possibilities!
So, When we decided about a year ago that we were going to
book a European Holiday it was a whole new world of confusion that I never
expected. Contiki, Top-Deck, Bus-About, independent travel…. It was an absolute
whirl-wind trying to decide which way to go.
Our trip was a total of 5 weeks.
We booked our flights through a travel agent which was
helpful- looking back now I think in future flights are the only thing I would
book with an agent, it’s so easy these days to book everything else yourself
online. I guess as well booking those flights yourself can be difficult
planning stop-overs etc… We chose our flights to be the following-
Sydney > Dubai (2hr stop
over)
Dubai > London Heathrow
Rome > Dubai (3 day stop over)
Dubai > Sydney
As we booked about 11 months in advance we got really cheap
flights coming in at around $1,600 each…. It pays to get in early! Lock in
those flights and you can book the rest later, and you’ll have plenty of time
to save! We booked accommodation over the next few months bit by bit and a few
different ways. We did some through a travel agent (these were our least
favourite accommodation) and we booked some ourselves through booking.com and
also through private apartment rentals. If I had this trip again I would
probably focus a lot more on AirBnB as it’s something we use in Australia from
time to time and it is very cost-effective. We found this way (booking a little
bit at a time) to be our best way of saving/ budgeting as we would spend what
we could- when we could, as well as save for our spending money.
Spending Money-
ahhhhhh such a difficult topic. We pre-booked all of our accommodation, and I
also pre-booked some attractions which meant that our spending money was purely
eating, drinking & shopping. We saved around $15,000 for this… for the two
of us. So about $7,500 each. Which left us with about $214 AUD per day-
obviously once you convert that to euro’s or pounds it becomes significantly
less. It sounds like a lot of money for each day but say it works out at around
$150 per person, per day- it does go really quickly.
I guess this really comes back again, to the type of holiday
you want to have. We had a “no expenses spared, buy whatever we wanted, drink
whatever we wanted” holiday. And although we did occasionally check in with how
much we had left and budgeted accordingly it seemed to work itself out. For
example, some days we spent next to nothing because we were busy at attractions
all day, other days we shopped and spent much more than our daily budget. But
in the end it evened itself out, and yes- we spent nearly all of that money. We
had about $1,500 left over which we spent in Dubai, of course!
Again, I know that sounds like a lot of money to need for 5
weeks, but it’s amazing how quickly it goes when you’re buying 3 meals a day, a
gelato here and there, and tickets to wherever you want to go. There are
obviously people out there who do budget tightly on their holidays and really
consider what they are spending- that’s not the type of holiday we wanted- each
to their own.
Packing- pack,
unpack half your original, pack, unpack again and half again. Yes! Seriously! I
didn’t wear half of what I took and I wished I didn’t take it because I wanted
the shopping room in my suitcase. Take the very basics in very basic colours
because you’ll be able to mix and match like a pro. Take shorts! Shorts are not
a thing in Europe and I couldn’t buy a pair anywhere. Take things that go with
runners.. you’ll need really good runners as you are on your feet all day and they
will get sore… wear comfy shoes! I cannot stress that enough! Pack for the
season you are visiting and add in a couple of layering options. Eg I packed
for summer- dresses, some jeans, basic tees- and I packed a blazer which I used
anytime it got cool. Keep it simple, stupid!
London- our first
stop. I pre-booked Golden Tours in Australia for our first day in London (as we
arrived really late the night prior) and I was really glad I did- from memory
it was about $30 each for a 2 day pass. It would have been much more expensive
if we had of booked it there. I also pre-purchased tickets to Madame Tussauds,
The London Eye, The Tower of London, and The London Dungeon which came in at
around the $150 each mark. Again- would have been much more expensive if I had
of paid there, and we would have had to wait in line for much longer than we
did! I spread out all of those things over two days, and we left the third free
to just wander. London was exhausting! It’s quite spread out and there’s so much
to see that it now feels like a bit of a blur. The hop-on-hop off buses are
something I would definitely do again as it lets you see the main things in a
short amount of time, even to just jump on and do a whole loop was really good.
Transport in London on the tube is super easy and if you
have any problems everyone speaks English anyway.
We found we didn’t spend much at all in London only because
we were so busy. We barely had time to stop and chill out for a drink. And I
guess pre-buying all those tickets helped a lot too!
The absolute best thing we found in London was a Three
Mobile Store- where they sell an international SIM card for 15 pounds that
gives you 30 days of unlimited data in almost every European country.. the only
place it didn't work for us was Amsterdam.
Paris- oui oui
stop number two. We caught the Eurostar to Paris which again, I had pre-booked
on their website. It’s a 2hr train… how can you go wrong? We arrived in Paris
and caught a cab to our hotel, the language barrier was a real challenge we
found, especially since the French didn’t want speak English unless it was in
the main touristy areas. Our hotel in Paris was close to the Louvre- about 1km
away… But quite a distance from the Eiffel Tower or the Champs Elysee. We found
Paris to be the same, the tubes are relatively easy, it’s just the language
barrier that makes things a little harder. My absolutely favourite thing about Paris
was The Moulin Rouge! Oh my…. Go back and read my Paris posts for some more
detail. Again I pre-booked that so it made the night easier not having to fork
out the $160AUD cash EACH! Yes, expensive.
Having unlimited internet everywhere was a life-saver! It
meant we could easily map out where we needed to go.
We found Paris difficult to find good quality food, again,
luckily for the internet we looked up some good, reasonably priced places and
they delivered with the goods.. these kinds of situations research really pays
off!
We also found Paris to be a bit more expensive- but we
didn’t pre-buy any tickets meaning we paid for our Eiffel Tower 14 EURO each,
Montparnasse Tower 20 EURO each & Louvre Tickets 12 EURO each. If you want
a life-changing opinion on Eiffel V Montparnasse Tower visit this post from my
favourite blogger (and yours once you see her!) The Londoner. For us it was a
million times better than the Eiffel Tower- well, because you get it in your
view! See my post here about Paris. In more detail.
Amsterdam- Ahhhhh
beautiful Amsterdam! This was one of my favourite stops. I suppose because
Amsterdam isn’t one of those romantic, movie type cities it was something that I
had no expectations of- and it surprised me how much I loved it. There was so
much to do in Amsterdam and probably our favourite part of it all was doing
nothing and just wandering around the shopping/ food streets. The only reason
we spent about the same in Paris in Amsterdam was that we had a night out (a
big one at that) and joined an organised pub crawl. Naturally- going out
drinking blows the budget instantly. Beyond that, food was really affordable
and some of the best food we ate. We stayed in the Flying Pig Uptown Hostel- it
was one of our favourite accommodations from the whole trip! If there’s a place
to experience the hostel life- Amsterdam is it!
Transport in Amsterdam is easy- it’s easy to get around on
your feet or join the locals and get a bike! We found it a little more
difficult to navigate, but we had a map from our hostel which helped.
Venice- I loved
Venice! But I can be very easy to get lost in the whole floating world both
literally and figuratively. Venice is obviously beautiful and there are a
million things to buy- keep in mind that you’ll find those things cheaper a few
streets back where it’s not as tourist heavy- or at any of the markets. This
same principal goes for food- never eat directly near a monument or popular
tourist area! Always wander away 5 minutes and find somewhere that looks
affordable and is busy with locals. We did find Venice to be a little expensive
but remember it is a very small place filled with lots of tourists. The best
thing we did in Venice was a gondola ride which is pretty pricey at 80 EURO for
40 minutes, as well as a boat tour of the islands which was around 20EURO each
but was well worth it. You can book all of this stuff near Piazza San Marco on
the water side.
Rome- In Rome we
hired a private apartment which was the best thing we did! It was a street from
Piazza Navona and so easy to get around using the bus system, or the metro. Our
apartment cost us around 450 EURO for 5 nights which was reasonable, and by
this time in our trip it was great to have our own space. Rome is again, the
same as Venice- walk away from the main areas to get your meals. You’ll find
much better quality food at a much better price.
In Rome the thing to watch out for is pick pockets. Luckily
I understand a little Italian and a lovely lady on the bus made me aware that
there was a boy directly in front of me pick pocketing another tourists pocket.
They are disguised, he was with another girl who was holding a map pretending
she was a tourist, he was wearing a scarf (in sweltering summer temperatures)
which he used to disguise his hand in the other man’s pocket… It’s difficult on buses which are often so
packed you are touching everyone around you to remain vigilant but it pays to!
Always be aware- for ladies- always keep your bag on the front of you, zipped
up. Boys don’t keep expensive things or loose money in your pocket!
Rome we spent a lot of money as we did all the main
attractions. The colosseum we paid for a guided tour at 25 EURO each which is a
little more than the standard entry but we thought it was worth it. Remember
there is lots to do in Rome, it’s all very close so getting around by foot is
easy. And not only is there a lot to see- there’s a lot to eat! Don’t skimp on
your food, eat gelato three times a day if you want- after all- you are in ROME
(and gelato is an acceptable snack there)!
Florence- We only
had 2 nights in Florence but we loved it. The markets in Florence are amazing
for any leather purchases. Remember to barter!! Don’t pay more than you are willing-
if they’re not negotiating walk away- every store sells very similar items! We
found the food in Florence to be fantastic.
Cinque Terre- one
of my favourite places in the world! What more could you want than beautiful European
beaches, amazing fresh seafood, relaxation, hiking whatever you want! You should
really check out my posts here about Cinque Terre because I can’t possibly
summarise. It is a little more pricey than your average but it’s so worth it.
Nice- Nice is
beautiful, we didn’t love it all that much though. It was very expensive everywhere,
and again the French language barrier was a killer. I wouldn’t suggest Nice if
you are on any type of budget.
Dubai- what an
amazing place! I do wish we had a little more time there but by this stage we
were pretty ready for home. Just the magical structures, the malls, the beaches,
the heat, the snow fields inside the mall? Ahhh too much to see! We didn’t even
get to go to a souk as we didn’t have time. We did love Dubai and again, it’s
very expensive there for just about everything. We even found H&M to be
pricey! Transport we found to be more difficult in Dubai but everyone did speak
English which helped. We mostly caught taxis around.
You can read up on every one of these in their individual
posts where I go into a lot more detail, I just wanted to give a brief overview.
Is there something I've missed that you want to know? Ask me!
-K
