danea

Hey everyone!
I'm new here, and to the world of european travel so bear with me please

I'm spending the year abroad in spain working but turns out I've got 3 weeks christmas holidays sooo of course I'll be taking advantage and travelling around.
Of course I'm open to some "going with the flow" but I'd like to have some type of general idea of of itinerary so as to avoid unnecessary travel time zigzagging back and forth.

Now this is where I'm stuck. I know I'd like to spend some time in the UK as I really want to visit Scotland and I have friends in London. I've also heard there are really nice Christmas markets in Berlin, Amsterdam and other cities in that general area. I figured then that maybe I could spend the first half of the trip touring around cities in that general area of europe and then after christmas head over for the second half (which would include New years) travelling in the UK.


Two questions: does this sound reasonable?
Can anyone suggest any cities/towns that are absolute musts to visit?

And of course, if anyone were to go so far as to suggest an general itinerary of cities they'Ve done in the past I wouldn't complain

Thank you!

annhig

hi danea,

do you have a map? I'm not joking - it might be useful for you to work out where things are. for example, it's difficult to see how you could see Amsterdam and Berlin as being in the same area - they are roughly 660 kms apart, in two different countries. so even if they do offer what you're after, you'll have to fly or get a train from one to the other.

Which brings me to my next subject, how are you planning on travelling? train? car? plane? Trains will enable you to cover more ground but you can waste a lot of time at airports and can be quite expensive over Christmas and New Year.

if you are planning on flying, it might be a good idea to see where you can get to easily from a convenient airport - for example if you want to go to Berlin, you can get there on Easyjet from most spanish airports. From there you could go to Amsterdam, then Edinburgh, then London. You could do that on the train if you liked but they get very busy over Xmas and New Year due to everyone wanting to get somewhere to see family and then back home for New year. So you need to start buying tickets soon. [that applies to flights too]

I can't really help you with the christmas market aspect, perhaps someone else will chime in.

good luck!

danea

And this is why I should have proof read this.. I meant to say Belgium not Berlin. oops. Much closer to Amsterdam.

A mix of train and plane. I've started looking into where I could fly into from Spain fairly cheap, and I could get to Brussels for actually ridiculously cheap from here. And then I'd be already right in Belgium and near the Netherlands. And do all the touring over there, then hop on a plane to London and meander my way to Edinburgh for Hogmanay.

I definitely want to start buying at least the most important tickets soon which is why I'd like some input.

thanks for the advice

annhig

lol, danea - that makes more sense!

BTW, you don't need to hop on a plane to London if you don't want to - the Eurostar connects through many Belgian cities, but especially Brussels which is one of its hubs like Paris. you need to move fast though as those tickets sell out soon too.

there are lots of nice places to see in Belgium - Antwerp, Bruges - and near Amsterdam there is Haarlem, which is lovely too.

if you are particularly interested in christmas markets in Holland and Belgium, you could start a dedicated thread or try their tourist board websites.

Sojourntraveller

What kind of budget do you have in mind?
What are your interests? A 'must' is only in the mind of the individual. Some people would tell you they 'must' visit the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. Would you consider it a must if you planned to visit Canada?

Do not try to cover too much ground in too little time. Not only does it cost you time (moving between places) rather than being IN places seeing/doing things, it also costs you money to do the moving.

With 3 weeks I would not plan to stay in more than 6 places. Start with that as a general idea and prioritize the places YOU are most interested in visiting. Don't ask other people where you should be interested in visiting.

Also, if you decide you would like to be in Edinburgh for New Year's Eve, you may find you are already too late to get a ticket for the street party.
http://www.edinburghshogmanay.org/

danea

Thanks annhig!

Sojourntraveller, I realize "musts" are different for everyone. I'm just looking for ideas as the fact is I'm not sure where *I* want to go since I don't know much of the area. Figured getting some ideas would be helpful since I could then research those cities and see if they interest me and what's nearby, etc.

janisj

A coupe of quick thoughts . . .

Three weeks is not very long and especially in deepest/darkest winter travel can be slow and disrupted.

Hogmanay is terrific but very VERY crowded and very VERY expensive so you'll need to plan far ahead and book early (it may be too late). And if the weather is horrible the whole thing can get cancelled and you are out the £££. I'd stick to maybe a couple of cities in Germany, then Amsterdam, fly to Edinburgh (IF you can find a place to stay - maybe in Uni rooms??) and finish w/ a train to London

Another thought would be - go to Edinburgh AFTER Hogmanay. After Amsterdam and maybe Brussels/Bruges, take the Eurostar to London, celebrate New Years w/ your friends, then take the train to Edinburgh. The week after New Years, hotels will cost a fraction of what they do over Hogmanay.

Sojourntraveller

"I'm just looking for ideas as the fact is I'm not sure where *I* want to go since I don't know much of the area. Figured getting some ideas would be helpful since I could then research those cities and see if they interest me and what's nearby, etc."

Is that not exactly what a guidebook provides? You are in fact asking no less than that people spend their time writing a guidebook here for you. Or that they know where YOU want to go and can tell you, thus saving you the time of figuring it out for yourself. Do you think anyone can do that?

Google is your friend and will provide all the possibilities to you that anyone here would be able to do UNLESS you narrow down what can be suggested by providing a list of YOUR interests.
https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=...e+travel+guide

https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=...ers+city+guide

https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=...pe+city+guides

You do not need people to write a list here so that you can then "research those cities and see if they interest me". You can do your research FIRST and then ask relevant questions for which you cannot easily find answers for yourself. The latter is what a travel forum is good for.

annhig

give it a rest, sj. if you don't want to give the OP any advice, why not just keep quiet?

janisj

>> why not just keep quiet?<<

He can't - sj isn't happy unless he is lecturing/harping . . .

danea

Thanks to everyone for the helpful info. A friend and I were really hoping to get to do Hogmanay but we'll look to see if tickets are still available and hostels and the like and if not then you're suggestion sounds good. London would be terrific for New Years as well

I'm making it my homework for the week to figure out where I'd like to be for Christmas and then from then I'll start planning length of stay for each city !

Sojourntraveller

I am in fact giving the OP advice annhig. I can give you some advice as well if you want.

annhig

I doubt that your advice to me would be helpful to the OP, sj, which is, after all, the point of this forum.

things a bit slow in Elat/Eilat today are they?

flpab

www.hostelworld.com/ book those rooms now. Oh to be your age. Have fun. ‎