Trip to Europe over winter break, advice?

[Jeffmet3]

Hey,

I'm a sophmore in college, and this winter break, me and two friends are going to Europe for 21 days.

We came up with a very basic itinerary, and bought plane tickets, but other than that, we're really not sure what we're going to do, and where we're going to stay. Since there seems to be a decent number of Europeans and people who've traveled I figured I'd post here and ask for advice on what to do.

Here's what we have.

Plane ticket from JFK to Paris arriving December 21st
Plane ticket from Rome to JFK arriving January 10th.

We're going to buy a Europass to for unlimited train travel in Europe.

Basic Itinerary for cities is. (subject to possible change)

Paris -> Amsterdam -> Berlin -> Munich -> Zurich -> Venice -> Rome.

Gameplan is to party and get [censored] up every night, and go sightseeing during the day.

any and all thoughts are appreciated?

thanks

jeff

[GoblinMason (Craig)]

First, you're going to have an awesome time. I did the same thing over the summer and it was amazing.

As for where to stay:

http://hostelbookers.com

This site is good for reliable ratings on hostels all over Europe.

http://www.europefamoushostels.com/

This chain of hostels has one in pretty much every major city and they are usually the best around. BOOK EARLY, or you won't be able to get good ones.

Yes, EURail is great. Reliable and easy.

Since you're looking to get [censored] up, keep an eye out for pub crawls. They are for tourists and lead by people that know the area, so they will take you to some random cool as hell bars/pubs that you would never see otherwise.

I went to the first 4 places on your list, so if you have any specific questions...

Also, my fav place in Europe was Spain/Barcelona, especially awesome since you want to party. I know it's in kind of a weird spot since you're flying into Paris, but if you can swing it...

Have fun!

-Craig

[elrudo]

In Germany, go visit a good FKK-club.

[XXXNoahXXX]

1) Don't keep your wallet in your back pocket

2) When in Paris don't bother going to strip clubs. They are more expensive and worse than in the U.S.

3)When in Paris, DO go to Pigalle and walk down all the side streets to see the prostitutes. My friends and I competed to see who could talk prostitutes down to the lowest price.

4) Eat as many chocolate crepes as possible in paris.

[Colonel Kataffy]

my advice: take me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Jeffmet3]

thanks for advice so far, especially the hostel website, and please keep it coming.

-the 3 of us only speak english, and we're assuming that we can get by without knowing any other language.

- we're not sure of how much stuff to bring. someone suggested just bringing one of those huge backpacks and only a few changes of clothes, and I think we might be leaning towards that. What are your thoughts on that vs. a suitcase?

-do you think its better to plan out specific places to go beforehand, or just do most of it spur of the moment. i was thinking it's probably better to plan out places to go every night, and then we can just change it if we find somewhere else to go..

for instance, for fkk club, i'm assuming you mean sex club, any recomendations on a good one?

-as far as prostitutes, whats the legal status regarding them, and are they clean or something to avoid?

thanks

jeff

[MyNameIsSamSnead]

If you can....while in Italy get down to Naples and take the boat to Capri. It is amazing and you will be happy you did. You can make a day-trip out of this and be somewhere else by nighttime.

[ata]

Just buy the Lonely Planet Guide to Europe (or western Europe if you aren't going east). It will tell you all sorts of hostels/hotels to stay at and sights to see, and you don't have to plan anything in advance. Just read it on the train while en route to your next destination.

I would also recommend adding in Prague between Berlin/Munich. Amazing city, wasn't destroyed during the war, and you can see a little bit of Eastern culture while you're there. It's cheap as [censored] and the eastern european women are leaps and bounds hotter than anyone in the west. The Eurail pass doesn't work in Czech though so you'd have to buy tickets from the Czech/German border to Prague though.

[NajdorfDefense]

Rotterdam is surprisingly fun, take the train thru there for a night, Florence is amazing with the best art in the smallest area overall and a short trip from Rome, and Barca is the most fun you can have in Europe without getting arrested, + relatively recent casino opening!

[ahnuld]

Did europe for 2 months last summer, including all the cities on your list - venice and zurich. Pub crawls are great, we only discovered them in the second half of the trip but its a great way to get loaded. Im Munich there are 2 main ones, and we did both. The one that gives free beer for the first hour is worth it, the other is not. Also, the free walking tours of berlin and amsterdam (both run by the same company) were really good and interesting.

Sex show wasnt worth the 20 euros, but I was trying to do europe on the cheap, so I guess if you dont mind then do it, but it wasnt much better than a strip club. Also, I hear venice isnt great for more than a day, so try someother city instead. Prague is near berlin and cool, or you could check out florence.