# Where to begin.... to plan for extended travel in Europe



## CinnamonSugar (Aug 25, 2019)

As retirement approaches, I dream of being able to work 3 months, then travel three months (repeat).  I'd love to rent a place in UK or France, using it as my "base camp" and traveling via rail, bus, etc.  I've only been to England one time and that was with a family group that did most of the planning. 

Not a big fan of tours (I dislike being 'herded' from point to point) but I suppose until I get better at international travel this might be the way to start.

Any suggestions in how to get started?  Thanks

PS:  I'm sure this has been discussed before and I did check the threads...


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## Lc jones (Aug 25, 2019)

CinnamonSugar said:


> As retirement approaches, I dream of being able to work 3 months, then travel three months (repeat).  I'd love to rent a place in UK or France, using it as my "base camp" and traveling via rail, bus, etc.  I've only been to England one time and that was with a family group that did most of the planning.
> 
> Not a big fan of tours (I dislike being 'herded' from point to point) but I suppose until I get better at international travel this might be the way to start.
> 
> ...


I would like to hear the forums members thoughts on this as well I’m interested in the same thing


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## Patio Life (Aug 25, 2019)

Paris, or the outskirts of, make a great base camp. It seemed to be the central hub for trains and high speed rail. 

Hubby and I went to Spain for 3 months a couple of years ago. 
Plan where you want to fly into and out of, round trip tickets seem to be cheaper. Look into EuroRail packages or a single/several country pass, and see if any work for you. If you can plan your trip in a circle and not need to backtrack much it helps. There are tons of options.

As you have 3 months, don't hurry. Stay in one place for at least a week and maybe two, some places you could stay a year and not see everything. Rent apartments or see if there is a hostel with a private room. If you are traveling alone a hostel might be perfect, you will meet other travelers. 

Remember, it's ok to make a change in plans.


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## jujube (Aug 25, 2019)

Will you be traveling alone?  If alone, you might want to start out with the right kind of group travel at first, just to get your feet wet, so to speak.   Look for small groups, no more than 12.  

I agree with the advice to have a base city for the three months and then take day  or longer trips from there.


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## Lc jones (Aug 25, 2019)

Patio Life said:


> Paris, or the outskirts of, make a great base camp. It seemed to be the central hub for trains and high speed rail.
> 
> Hubby and I went to Spain for 3 months a couple of years ago.
> Plan where you want to fly into and out of, round trip tickets seem to be cheaper. Look into EuroRail packages or a single/several country pass, and see if any work for you. If you can plan your trip in a circle and not need to backtrack much it helps. There are tons of options.
> ...


Would you have any suggestions for a specific Airbnb outside or inside of Paris? I will be going there next year. Thank you for your suggestions


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## Patio Life (Aug 25, 2019)

We rented an apartment outside of Paris and took the Metro each day. It didn't take too long. It's difficult to make reservations for an apartment a year in advance. But it is a good time to start looking around at locations and prices. One thing I have always done is to use Google Earth to look at the location and area. Is there a bank, store, café, bus stop close? Is there a laundromat if the apartment doesn't have a washier? 

It's also great fun to gather information and start planning. Train maps, apartment locations, city streets, possible tours. Many cities also have tourist coupon books, you get some of the attractions, some transit fare and discounts. You order them before you leave and they become active the first time you use them. 

Also check out Rome to Rio, it's a phone app and will tell you how to get from any one place in the world to another, shorter distances too. Google Maps also works all over the world.


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## Lc jones (Aug 25, 2019)

Patio Life said:


> We rented an apartment outside of Paris and took the Metro each day. It didn't take too long. It's difficult to make reservations for an apartment a year in advance. But it is a good time to start looking around at locations and prices. One thing I have always done is to use Google Earth to look at the location and area. Is there a bank, store, café, bus stop close? Is there a laundromat if the apartment doesn't have a washier?
> 
> It's also great fun to gather information and start planning. Train maps, apartment locations, city streets, possible tours. Many cities also have tourist coupon books, you get some of the attractions, some transit fare and discounts. You order them before you leave and they become active the first time you use them.
> 
> Also check out Rome to Rio, it's a phone app and will tell you how to get from any one place in the world to another, shorter distances too. Google Maps also works all over the world.


Great ideas! Thanks so much for your input!


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## Capt Lightning (Aug 26, 2019)

I'm not one for doing too much planning, but It helps to know what you hope to achieve.  Do you want scenery, architecture, history etc?  The UK itself consists of 4 distinctly different countries, but I'm afraid that public transport is not a strong point in any of them.  

Other European countries manage much better.  Personally, I don't care so much for France, but love visiting many European cities.  Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Seville, Lisbon  etc...  All well worth seeing.


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## 911 (Aug 26, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> I'm not one for doing too much planning, but It helps to know what you hope to achieve.  Do you want scenery, architecture, history etc?  The UK itself consists of 4 distinctly different countries, but I'm afraid that public transport is not a strong point in any of them.
> 
> Other European countries manage much better.  Personally, I don't care so much for France, but love visiting many European cities.  Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Seville, Lisbon  etc...  All well worth seeing.



Have you ever been to Hamburg, Germany? When I was an active Marine, I had a really great friend from Little Rock, Arkansas. Well, he married a German girl and they moved to Hamburg. It was only just a few years ago that we stopped connecting and I always told him that when I retired that I would visit him. He has only came back to the states just a few times. (It’s a long story.) 

My wife really has no interest in going over, but my son has agreed to go along if I decide to go. He studied the language in high school and college. That would be a big help. He speaks fluent German. What I would like to know is if Hamburg is easy to get to and get around in? And, Is it safe?


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## Lc jones (Aug 26, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> I'm not one for doing too much planning, but It helps to know what you hope to achieve.  Do you want scenery, architecture, history etc?  The UK itself consists of 4 distinctly different countries, but I'm afraid that public transport is not a strong point in any of them.
> 
> Other European countries manage much better.  Personally, I don't care so much for France, but love visiting many European cities.  Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Seville, Lisbon  etc...  All well worth seeing.


I’m like you I’m not much of a planner but I love quaint scenery some activities to do maybe music, shows,  historical sites and of course from my perspective shopping is very important! I would not be able to drive myself and I don’t want to get confused with mazes of trains subways and buses etc. thankfully my daughter is going with me and she’s a world traveler or I would never do this by myself


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## Lc jones (Aug 26, 2019)

911 said:


> Have you ever been to Hamburg, Germany? When I was an active Marine, I had a really great friend from Little Rock, Arkansas. Well, he married a German girl and they moved to Hamburg. It was only just a few years ago that we stopped connecting and I always told him that when I retired that I would visit him. He has only came back to the states just a few times. (It’s a long story.)
> 
> My wife really has no interest in going over, but my son has agreed to go along if I decide to go. He studied the language in high school and college. That would be a big help. He speaks fluent German. What I would like to know is if Hamburg is easy to get to and get around in? And, Is it safe?


Funny you should mention Hamburg that’s where my mother-in-law’s from, I haven’t been to Hamburg but I’ve been to Bremerhaven it’s very industrial I’m more into the sweet quant kind of thing I did live in Germany when I was a young married woman for four years Outside of Frankfurt so I’ve seen quite a bit of Germany so my goal is to see something I haven’t seen before but I do love Germany especially the Bavarian area and the Alps


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## Capt Lightning (Aug 30, 2019)

Hamburg?  I love Hamburg. I used to work there in the IT department of Hamburg- Mannheimer  insurance, in City Nord.  I stayed mainly in the Gansemarkt  district.
I've been there many times since.  In the warehouse district is Minatur Wunderland which has the worlds largest miniature railway - and everything that goes with it.  It's worth visiting Hamburg for this alone!
Easy to get to and around - yes, it has an international airport and a  great U-bahn network.  Safe? - I never felt unsafe, even in areas such as Reeperbahn which I found fascinating.

Mentioning Frankfurt,  some years before Hamburg, I lived in Mainz and I still have a soft spot for it.  Recently some of it's early Roman ruins have been unearthed, and in stark contrast much of the open fields round where I lived (off Hechtstheimer strasse), have been covered in 'Brutalist'  apartment blocks.

I'll be in Germany in a couple of weeks, probably round my old stomping grounds of the Rhine and Mosel valleys.


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