The travel bug has hit me hard (Europe tips/ideas welcomed)

[Cochese]

I'm a pretty scheduled guy (for some reason). I like getting certain lunches on certain days, sleep best in my own bed, and I generally don't enjoy when routine gets interrupted. I live in Atlanta, and have done the drive to Florida, drive to DC thing before. General Southeast trips, stuff like that.

In 2013, I had a work event send me to San Francisco and I fell in love with the experience. The bay, Golden Gate Bridge, the trolleys, the NO FUCKING HUMIDITY. It was great. A few weeks ago the entire family went on a road trip across the midwest, and I loved St. Louis, KC, and especially Chicago.

Point being, now I'm constantly thinking about going somewhere else. New York, Los Angeles, Seattle...but my white whale for twenty years has been Europe. I want to hop on a train and arrive in a different country. I want to wander around a city that I have almost no clue what people are saying. I want to see beautiful old architecture, and walk pedestrian-only side streets. I decided to write this today as I'm crossing off of my list, finally, of applying for my passport.

I just don't know if I'm in love with going to Europe or the idea of going to Europe. Like, shit, I go to Ikea just to see some European-style furniture and storage. I think I need help figuring out what's important for me to see to quench this aching in my chest that comes with the idea of finally knocking something off my bucket list. Where to go? How can I do it cheaply? How do I survive a long flight where I have trouble sleeping?

There are of course some bucket list items, but not all of them can be knocked off one trip. Particularly when I don't have any details yet of when and for how long I can go for. Some is scheduling, but the big one is budget. The Alps, the Lake District. Houses of Parliament. Amsterdam's canals. Eiffel's Tower. Cliffs of Dover. Black Forest. Grecian white houses against a blue Med. Probably a lot of stereotypical stuff, but I don't know any better. I could go to Montreal or Toronto, but flights aren't that much more expensive to hit my own personal holy grail. Museums? Sure, but it isn't a pure focus and I'd rather just experience the ambiance.

It would be the wife and I going at first. What's it like on Norwegian Air? It's going to beas cut rate a flight as we can stand, no budget for business or first class. Ideally, I'd like to arrive one country, leave from another, like fly into Amsterdam/Copenhagen, take the train to Paris/London, and fly home.

 

[MikeHattsu]

I just don't know if I'm in love with going to Europe or the idea of going to Europe

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Watch out for Paris syndrome :P

 

[zero_suit]

Watch out for Paris syndrome :P

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Didn't happen to me or my sister! We both loved it.

 

[Deleted member 4452]

Travelling is amazing. Have fun!

Ideally, I'd like to arrive one country, leave from another, like fly into Amsterdam/Copenhagen, take the train to Paris/London, and fly home.

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You can save a lot of money using something like Google Flight, especially if your dates are flexible. Put some cities you want to visit on a multi-destination trip, make date or city adjustments depending on prices, and enjoy!

 

[Cochese]

Watch out for Paris syndrome :P

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Interesting. I also read the associated Stendhal syndrome page, and the rapid heartbeat thing is exactly how I would describe it when I see notable monuments or vast natural beauty. And I get it when I think about seeing those things on a trip.

It's like a feeling of great yearning or want.

 

[Dinjooh]

You seem like you've thought this through - just need to take the jump I suppose.

If you can, try not to only visit capital cities - they're always good fun, but also often very touristy, at least the centers are.

I've flown with Norwegian several times and it's only been pleasant trips.

 

[Deleted member 2595]

I think if you've started travelling and enjoy the reality of other cities, you won't get Paris Syndrome

Europe is just incredible. Get out there and do it. Soak up the tiny little nuances and differences in culture country to country. Try to learn at least a bunch of phrases in each place. Make some drinking buddies and enjoy hearing their unique perspectives on their own country's politics and how the world fits together.

Amazing stuff.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

You haven't really travelled until you've been challenged by where you went. Challenged to adapt, to speak a few words of a new language, getting around using a map and asking for directions. Getting suggestions of where to eat from strangers.

Traveling is about escaping your bubble of safety to see the world in a different way.


Norwegian is a good budget airline too. We got the fiest class equivalent for like a $100 upgrade which was nice. Not typical international first class nice, but comfortable.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Watch out for Paris syndrome :P

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They should rename that E3 Hype syndrome.

 

[zerocalories]

Travel is the cure for many things

 

[ArmsofSleep]

I go through the same things. About once a month I get obsessed with planning a new trip. Sad thing is I really can only do 1-2 international trips a year. I'm doing Switzerland next year but right now I'm on a Senegal kick. It's torture

 

[Nabbit]

In addition to the Google Flights suggestion, I've been planning a trip and Scott's Cheap Flights is an awesome site just from the free deals they post (you need to create a login but that's it). They also offer a premium membership that gives a lot more deals but I haven't gone for it yet. I definitely have seen some ATL to European locations flight deals on there recently.

 

[Ikuu]

Why travel when you can just watch YouTube videos?

 

[Paperboywriter]

Europe is a feast for traveling. It's the best part of being European. Well, one of the best

 

[Cochese]

Many thanks to the mod who updated my title.

You seem like you've thought this through - just need to take the jump I suppose.

If you can, try not to only visit capital cities - they're always good fun, but also often very touristy, at least the centers are.

I've flown with Norwegian several times and it's only been pleasant trips.

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What class with Norwegian? We aren't sure if we care to pick our seats or get the meal, that's additional cash we could spend in Europe. However, that is eight hours of the trip each way...

I'd really love to get out in the weeds so to speak and experience life like a regular citizen, but I think for the first few trips it will be about the highlights due to time.

I think if you've started travelling and enjoy the reality of other cities, you won't get Paris Syndrome

Europe is just incredible. Get out there and do it. Soak up the tiny little nuances and differences in culture country to country. Try to learn at least a bunch of phrases in each place. Make some drinking buddies and enjoy hearing their unique perspectives on their own country's politics and how the world fits together.

Amazing stuff.

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Yeah, a lot of this is I just want to experience what it is like in different cultures, a day in the life sort of thing.

You haven't really travelled until you've been challenged by where you went. Challenged to adapt, to speak a few words of a new language, getting around using a map and asking for directions. Getting suggestions of where to eat from strangers.

Traveling is about escaping your bubble of safety to see the world in a different way.


Norwegian is a good budget airline too. We got the fiest class equivalent for like a $100 upgrade which was nice. Not typical international first class nice, but comfortable.

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Do you remember the name of the upgrade? There's a huge difference looking at prices between their Lowfare and getting up to business class, like $130 vs $700, which as I understand is still cheaper than competitors. I look at people flying first class on YouTube and am astonished at how much money they have to be constantly spending to maintain that kind of lifestyle.

But I agree with your entire post. When I drove to Minnesota last month, it was just amazing to look at my location on a map and be somewhere different. I was more north than Toronto, which was wild. The trees were different, the sky was different...it was amazing, and I really didn't even do anything special. It was the thrill of just having a different experience.

 

[MikeHattsu]

What class with Norwegian? We aren't sure if we care to pick our seats or get the meal, that's additional cash we could spend in Europe. However, that is eight hours of the trip each way...

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If you want to guarantee that you'll sit next to each other, then you'd probably want to pick your seat :P

You could bring your own snacks instead if you're sure you're not going to be that hungry.

 

[Osahi]

Whatever you do, don't skip Portugal. Thank me later. (It is very out of the way of the other main attractions though, allthough you can take a night train to Lisbon from Spain)

Europe is big and diverse and it will be impossible to see all the biggest sights and attractions in a short time, let alone enjoy them. I would pick a certain area and focus on what you really want to do. The triangle Amsterdam, London, Paris is for instance very doable (everything is connected by train), and you can see Belgium too (Brussels can be a disapointment, but Bruges is touristy but nice, Ghent (my home town) is an amazing one day trip and Antwerp is pretty cool too (can't believe I wroth that as a Ghentian).

Southern Europe is a whole different ball game and I would choose that if you also intend to have some time at the beach or in nature. Italy is beautiful, but as I said, Portugal is an often forgotten gem of a country.

If you really want to see much and have the time, flying with low cost airlines makes it possible to cover long distances in little time and for little money (it can be cheaper to fly somewhere than to take the train, which is all kinds of wrong, but it is what it is). Though you'll need to pay extra for your luggage if you can't fly with cabin luggage. If you want to see much of Europe by train, look for an Interrail Pass, which grants you acces to a lot of national and international trains troughout Europe. They have different formulas (from a certain number of train rides, to unlimited rides for a certain number of days.), so you'll have to plan ahead well to see which pass you need to buy.

 

[Dinjooh]

Many thanks to the mod who updated my title.



What class with Norwegian? We aren't sure if we care to pick our seats or get the meal, that's additional cash we could spend in Europe. However, that is eight hours of the trip each way...

I'd really love to get out in the weeds so to speak and experience life like a regular citizen, but I think for the first few trips it will be about the highlights due to time.

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I have only flown with their cheapest - it's been great :)
Didn't ever reserve seats either. In my last three trips I sat next to my GF 2/3 times. - But I can understand how you'd want to guarantee it on an 8 hour flight. Regarding meal - I'm as frugal as can be and will always bring a sandwich or two with me, maybe some crackers.

 

[Cochese]

If you want to guarantee that you'll sit next to each other, then you'd probably want to pick your seat :P

You could bring your own snacks instead if you're sure you're not going to be that hungry.

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I have only flown with their cheapest - it's been great :)
Didn't ever reserve seats either. In my last three trips I sat next to my GF 2/3 times. - But I can understand how you'd want to guarantee it on an 8 hour flight. Regarding meal - I'm as frugal as can be and will always bring a sandwich or two with me, maybe some crackers.

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Fair point on sitting next. I'm also looking at different airlines of course, and see a pretty decent deal to Amsterdam on Swiss and Zurich on Lufthansa. Thankfully I'm not at the buy stage yet, but it's getting interesting looking where I want to go and how to get different places.

Whatever you do, don't skip Portugal. Thank me later. (It is very out of the way of the other main attractions though, allthough you can take a night train to Lisbon from Spain)

Europe is big and diverse and it will be impossible to see all the biggest sights and attractions in a short time, let alone enjoy them. I would pick a certain area and focus on what you really want to do. The triangle Amsterdam, London, Paris is for instance very doable (everything is connected by train), and you can see Belgium too (Brussels can be a disapointment, but Bruges is touristy but nice, Ghent (my home town) is an amazing one day trip and Antwerp is pretty cool too (can't believe I wroth that as a Ghentian).

Southern Europe is a whole different ball game and I would choose that if you also intend to have some time at the beach or in nature. Italy is beautiful, but as I said, Portugal is an often forgotten gem of a country.

If you really want to see much and have the time, flying with low cost airlines makes it possible to cover long distances in little time and for little money (it can be cheaper to fly somewhere than to take the train, which is all kinds of wrong, but it is what it is). Though you'll need to pay extra for your luggage if you can't fly with cabin luggage. If you want to see much of Europe by train, look for an Interrail Pass, which grants you acces to a lot of national and international trains troughout Europe. They have different formulas (from a certain number of train rides, to unlimited rides for a certain number of days.), so you'll have to plan ahead well to see which pass you need to buy.

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I'd love to see Portugal. My grandmother and her husband fly and see his family all the time, but I couldn't tell you exactly what town. They fly into Spain and cross the border. I'd love to see Lisbon and Porto, but I think it would have to be a subsequent trip.

One focus is to take the train someplace, as I love trains but have never been on one. Amtrak here isn't very good, and doesn't take you many places unless you are in the North or West. It also takes an age.

Airlines do like to punish you for leaving out of another city, the lowest fares are fly in/fly out, so either we find a central city and come back or we pay the difference. Have to do some more research on rail costs.

 

[JoseJX]

My wife and I try to go somewhere interesting each year and we don't have a huge budget, so hopefully this information will help!

What we often do is work from connection to connection. So, if you want to go to Europe, find a cheap flight somewhere in Europe (doesn't really matter where) and then use skyscanner or google to find cheap connecting flights using the "Everywhere" feature to list all outgoing flights. We almost always find decent deals that are one way hops from place to place. It's a lot easier now to do this than 10 years ago! Wow! (flights via Iceland) and Norwegian often have cheap flights and you should check them out. We also found that travelling to the Azores and then Portugal was pretty inexpensive. We do always pay a little extra if it's not more than $10 to sit next to each other on long flights. We've also found that taking a minimal amount of stuff, even if you're gone for a week, can make the experience so much better. You don't have to lug suitcases around or wait for baggage if you're carrying everything you need on your back. There are plenty of hotels/hostels/etc. with laundry facilities if that's a concern.

Try to take a more relaxed view of travel. Yeah, the planes are going to be a little cramped if you fly budget. Remember to take a water bottle and some snacks so you don't have to buy things on the plane. It's such a minor inconvenience, but people make it seem like you can only fly first class or business on long trips which is ridiculous. Also, take your time and walk around cities and talk to people. We always find that the best things we've experienced aren't things we had considered while we were planning. Rushing around to see all of the MUST SEE sights can be fun, but you won't get a whole lot of the experience of being somewhere else.

Have fun!

 

[ScaleboundGOTY]

Two words. Capri, Italy

 

[PanickyFool]

Eastern/Central Europe > Western Europe.

Look at LOT airlines. Very good.

 

[h1nch]

My dude I know exactly how you feel. Same thing hit me back in 2010 when I started traveling for work. Prior to that I hadn't really traveled on my own anywhere without my parents. In 2012 I ended up doing a 2.5 week Eurotrip that was life-changing. I did Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona, then London (I spent the week working from my company's London office). The trip was somehow even more amazing than I had ever imagined it would be, and this was even with me fighting a cold the entire trip (eventually got a massive sinus infection my last few days in London). Lots of wonderful memories and stories from that trip that I'll cherish forever.

Everyone has their own opinions and tastes about their fav Euro destination. Mine is easily Amsterdam. Although way too touristy now, something about that city resonates with me. Every Euro trip I've taken since 2012 has included a stop in Amsterdam.

Oh, and I LOVED taking trains. I would plan trips in less-than-efficient means just to ensure I got to spend some time on a high speed train. I'm a big fan of Eurostar and Thalys trains. The TGV was disappointing, but maybe I got unlucky with the train cars used that day. I also did a City Nightline sleeper train from Amsterdam to Munich, and then later from Amsterdam to Prague. I don't think those trains run anymore which is a bummer, but I loved the experience of going to bed then waking up in a new country.

If you want to deep dive into rail travel in Europe, I found this guide to be immensely helpful - https://www.seat61.com/

 

[Cochese]

Lovely tips, keep them coming.

Eastern Europe is on the list, but not at the top. Not for any other reason that it might be a little too much of a culture shock on the first attempt. I do have to learn a bit of language in a short period of time, and that will either be German (tried before, not very successful) or French (never attempted).

I'd also love to fit in Canada in a layover, but not sure that would happen.

 

[Davidion]

Whatever you do, don't skip Portugal. Thank me later. (It is very out of the way of the other main attractions though, allthough you can take a night train to Lisbon from Spain)

Southern Europe is a whole different ball game and I would choose that if you also intend to have some time at the beach or in nature. Italy is beautiful, but as I said, Portugal is an often forgotten gem of a country.

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Piggy-backing off of OP...

I'm trying to book a last minute trip to Portugal for October. Any tips on which cities to visit outside of Porto? Trying to avoid the massive crowds in Lisbon and it seems like Porto's getting pretty mobbed up too.

 

[OceanBreeze]

Japan

 

[Cochese]

Japan

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Perhaps one day, but it's pretty low on my list.

 

[Spinluck]

How much does it cost to backpack through Europe on a train eating like once a day?

Asking for a friend...

EDIT: Also OP, having somewhat of a daily routine kicks ass. Especially if you keep up on the shit you're supposed to keep up with. That way, when the grind starts to suck you can just plan shit like this and disappear into the world for a week or more and not worry about getting behind on work. It just allows you to completely reset too.

I forgot which Greek scholar said it, but that whole thing about discipline equaling freedom is totally true.

Think about visiting those Greek islands OP, I hear they're beautiful, and the people and food are also pretty good.

 

[Cochese]

How much does it cost to backpack through Europe on a train eating like once a day?

Asking for a friend...

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Hell, I'll echo that. Perhaps not once a day, but packing light.

My personal goal would just to backpack it, taking only the bare essentials and getting stuff like personal care stuff there. One pair of jeans, one pair of shorts, three or four shirts, and a light jacket depending on what time of year. I'd take no bag if I could, just show up and party. My wife may not agree.

That seat61 site is freaking in-depth. Great find.

 

[Spinluck]

Hell, I'll echo that. Perhaps not once a day, but packing light.

My personal goal would just to backpack it, taking only the bare essentials and getting stuff like personal care stuff there. One pair of jeans, one pair of shorts, three or four shirts, and a light jacket depending on what time of year. I'd take no bag if I could, just show up and party. My wife may not agree.

That seat61 site is freaking in-depth. Great find.

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Edited my last post in direct response to your OP lol.

That sounds fun as hell, a straight up adventure. Your wife should just give in and wing it.

Bringing anything like a phone or camera? I hear wifi is incredibly sparse.

 

[nitewulf]

It would be the wife and I going at first. What's it like on Norwegian Air? It's going to beas cut rate a flight as we can stand, no budget for business or first class. Ideally, I'd like to arrive one country, leave from another, like fly into Amsterdam/Copenhagen, take the train to Paris/London, and fly home.

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typically round trips are cheaper, one way to one city, and out from another city are more expensive. europe is very easy and what you can do like i did, is to string countries together..i did amsterdam and copenhagen, london and barcelona, lisbon and porto, doing munich and berlin in october. i found expereinces to be very pleasant, people very friendly.

 

[Reckheim]

Lovely tips, keep them coming.

Eastern Europe is on the list, but not at the top. Not for any other reason that it might be a little too much of a culture shock on the first attempt. I do have to learn a bit of language in a short period of time, and that will either be German (tried before, not very successful) or French (never attempted).

I'd also love to fit in Canada in a layover, but not sure that would happen.

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If you don't want too much of a culture shock for eastern Europe I would recommend Praque and from there move east, its a very kool city and Czech republic in General is a Beautiful country.

 

[apocat]

Depending on when you go you might want to visit the northern parts. As a Swede I will happily concede that winter in scandinavia is a cold and forever dark hellscape. However, if you go in the summer the sun basically never sets, which I know from experience to be a big deal for many visitors. It's my favourite thing about living here. It's also easy mode for americans, pretty much everyone speak english.

 

[Arjen]

If you want to do multiple countries, there are a lot of perfectly fine budget airlines in Europe that will take you everywhere for really cheap, usually around 100 euros if you get in early.
I wouldn't do to many destinations in one trip though, just pick a couple you really like and spend a bit more time in them, if you cram to many destinations in, you'll be travelling more than you will be exploring.

 

[Silence]

Depending on when you go you might want to visit the northern parts. As a Swede I will happily concede that winter in scandinavia is a cold and forever dark hellscape. However, if you go in the summer the sun basically never sets, which I know from experience to be a big deal for many visitors. It's my favourite thing about living here. It's also easy mode for americans, pretty much everyone speak english.

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This is true. Our second trip to Europe was to Sweden. Partly because we always wanted to see it, and partly because you have the crutch of everyone over 7 or so in Sweden speaks English. It's great practice, wed try to navigate on our own, in a very unfamiliar language, but we could always ask for help.

Not to mention the unfailing kindness of the Swedish people (pretty much true in all of Europe, but more so in Sweden). We would often have people apologizing for not know the English word for something. We would always reply, "don't apologize! We know about 10 words of Swedish!"

 

[TitanicFall]

I haven't done this since I was limited on time, but if you had 3-4 weeks to kind of travel at your own pace, you could try this hop on/hop off tour bus company.

https://www.busabout.com/hop-on-hop-off-europe

 

[philipnorth]

Probably missed it, but how long are you planning on staying?

I think you have the right idea, of flying into AMS for instance, just don't stay there too long. A lot of nicer cities to visit in the Netherlands besides Amsterdam.
From NL go to Belgium (Antwerp or Bruges) from there Paris. Then go to London, from there consider heading up to Scotland before flying back.

Or take some more Eastern Europe. AMS/Berlin > Poland et cetera

 

[entremet]

Get a travel CC. Also pick an airline to get status and mile.s

 

[Cochese]

3-4 weeks? I wish. I think 10 days would probably be the best we could do, considering my wife only gets off one weekend a quarter. I could technically work from Antarctica.

We do get unlimited (but 256K) data and texts with our cell plan, and I'm checking and it appears that all the countries we would hit are covered. WiFi calling free, so no worries at all.

I'd love to visit Scandyland, but I don't think our first trip will be in the summer, as I hate heat. Likely shoulder months like October/November or April/May.

Prague, Vienna are definitely on a list, but perhaps not the first one. Depends on transportation. Could be that we fly in or out of if we find a good deal.

 

[Deleted member 3815]

the Lake District. Houses of Parliament.

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Skip those place and instead visit Scotland, you will thank me later. Oh and check out Amalfi in Italy, it's a really wonderful coastal town. Granada in Spain is also really nice.

 

[Osahi]

Piggy-backing off of OP...

I'm trying to book a last minute trip to Portugal for October. Any tips on which cities to visit outside of Porto? Trying to avoid the massive crowds in Lisbon and it seems like Porto's getting pretty mobbed up too.

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Porto is great. It's a small city, so tourist tend to be focussed in the same area a bit (basically the water front), but it's not as crowded as Lisbon (which I would recommend visiting, despite the uptick in tourism. Amazing city). Definitely do a ' seven bridges' river cruise (it's touristy, but it's fun. I've don it every time I was there). And if you want to taste port, most houses are good, but I really liked Graham's (nice tour, great port) and Churchill's (youngest port house, and one of the smaller ones. So pretty intimate. They have great port too)

If you're based in Porto you can easily do many 1-day trips in the northern provinces. Braga (the 'Rome' of Portugal, it's the seat of the arch bischop of Portugal, has many churches, amonst which the amazing Bom Jesus de Monte. Lovely town), Guimaraes (the original capital, a small, medieval town), Aveiro (the 'Venice' of Portugal, due to it's canals. The Costa Nova beach closeby is famous for it's striped houses). If you take a little longer trainrides, you can go up to Viana do Castelo.

I would definitely recommend taking the train to Pinhao too. It's a slow trainride (3 hours) which after the first hour sticks to the Douro river. It's amazingly scenic. Pinhao is a small place without much to do or see, but you can take a taxi there and visit the vinyards of Sandeman Port (Quinta do Seixto).

If you want to stay a few nights in another city: the university city of Coimbra is very charming, and a great base to do some centre of Portugal tripping (Tomar, the roman ruins of Conimbriga, Leiria, Batalha, ...) You'll need a car though (you can reach Coimbra by train from Porto. It's iirc 1,5 hour)

I'd love to see Portugal. My grandmother and her husband fly and see his family all the time, but I couldn't tell you exactly what town. They fly into Spain and cross the border. I'd love to see Lisbon and Porto, but I think it would have to be a subsequent trip.

One focus is to take the train someplace, as I love trains but have never been on one. Amtrak here isn't very good, and doesn't take you many places unless you are in the North or West. It also takes an age.

Airlines do like to punish you for leaving out of another city, the lowest fares are fly in/fly out, so either we find a central city and come back or we pay the difference. Have to do some more research on rail costs.

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Yeah Portugal isn't really a 'first time in Europe' destination. But it's easily combined with Spain for instance on another trip.

In Europe, you'll definitely take trains. Especially when you would visit the Netherlands, Belgium, Paris, London, etc. That 'triangle' has a pretty dense train network, and it's easy to go from city to city.

And it's true it's often cheaper to fly return, but low cost airlines don't care, and a company like Brussels Airlines (the Belgian carrier) doesn't really either (they're a crossover airlines, basically offering the same as Ryanair (with a bit more comfort) on European destinations, as long as you take the cheapest ticket and fly without hold luggage.

 

[Davidion]

Porto is great. It's a small city, so tourist tend to be focussed in the same area a bit (basically the water front), but it's not as crowded as Lisbon (which I would recommend visiting, despite the uptick in tourism. Amazing city). Definitely do a ' seven bridges' river cruise (it's touristy, but it's fun. I've don it every time I was there). And if you want to taste port, most houses are good, but I really liked Graham's (nice tour, great port) and Churchill's (youngest port house, and one of the smaller ones. So pretty intimate. They have great port too)

If you're based in Porto you can easily do many 1-day trips in the northern provinces. Braga (the 'Rome' of Portugal, it's the seat of the arch bischop of Portugal, has many churches, amonst which the amazing Bom Jesus de Monte. Lovely town), Guimaraes (the original capital, a small, medieval town), Aveiro (the 'Venice' of Portugal, due to it's canals. The Costa Nova beach closeby is famous for it's striped houses). If you take a little longer trainrides, you can go up to Viana do Castelo.

I would definitely recommend taking the train to Pinhao too. It's a slow trainride (3 hours) which after the first hour sticks to the Douro river. It's amazingly scenic. Pinhao is a small place without much to do or see, but you can take a taxi there and visit the vinyards of Sandeman Port (Quinta do Seixto).

If you want to stay a few nights in another city: the university city of Coimbra is very charming, and a great base to do some centre of Portugal tripping (Tomar, the roman ruins of Conimbriga, Leiria, Batalha, ...) You'll need a car though (you can reach Coimbra by train from Porto. It's iirc 1,5 hour)

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Well noted. Thank you for the information!

 

[Silence]

Our first overseas trip was to Ireland (mostly Dublin). If English is your only language, it couldn't be easier. You also get that, "I'm in a strange land" feel, if you get my meaning, since everything is in Irish and English. You'll hear a good bit of people speaking Irish.

It still ranks as my favorite destination, we're going back this year (we leave in a month!). We went to London and Paris last year. Dublin is still my favorite city in Europe, large enough to give you big city amenities (and under-rated food options), yet small enough to not be stressful (I don't do great in big cities, I live in a very rural area).

The Irish country side is some of the most beautiful in the world. 1 hour outside Dublin and you can see some incredible sites. That's another thing we loved about Ireland. Want small town, or big city? Either way, you're covered.

I'm really excited to be going back, and seeing all the things we missed the first time. We are also planning a few days in Scotland, we got some Ryan Air tickets from Dublin to Edinburgh for $40 US. Pretty amazing.

My #1 travel tip: Fly direct to a destination want to stay at least a few days. Our first trip we got stuck in Toronto due to storms and lost a few days (we were meant to have a one hour lay over). It was awful. Trying to find a hotel, last minute, after being on a plane for 11 hours with no food, at 3 am in a country where your phone doesn't work is not pleasant (we also now travel with international sims in hand, instead of buying when we arrive).

 

[Deleted member 835]

If you are black stay clear of Poland, Romania and places near there

 

[XDevil666]

I I want to hop on a train and arrive in a different country. I want to wander around a city that I have almost no clue what people are saying. I want to see beautiful old architecture, and walk pedestrian-only side streets. I decided to write this today as I'm crossing off of my list, finally, of applying for my passport.

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Rome would be that place

 

[golem]

I feel like Rome and Italy in general is under-appreciated by the traveling set. Really beautiful country and people. Also I wouldn't worry about being too touristy OP if its your first time aboard I'd actually say try to do some tourist stuff, alot of it is popular for a reason (I always recommend people check out Versailles if in Paris).

 

[zero_suit]

If you are black stay clear of Poland, Romania and places near there

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Did you personally have a bad experience?

 

[Deleted member 835]

Did you personally have a bad experience?

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Yep, been to both. Most unsafe I have felt and I was brought up in Jamaica and a poor area of New York

 

[zero_suit]

Yep, been to both. Most unsafe I have felt and U was brought up in Jamaica and a poor area of New York

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Damn. Guess I'll stick to Western Europe.

 

[Heromanz]

I need a job that allows me to travel