Community Forums

Bahamaniac · 11-03-2019, 04:32 PM

We are looking to put together a European trip. We were thinking maybe a 2 week European cruise then a 10 day tour with Padilla tours. For those who have been to Europe, what do you think? Sorry, no RV for this one but I figured that in a group of travelers like us we could get some great ideas.

momdoc · 11-03-2019, 06:43 PM

Go for it.
We are not "tour" kind of folks but like being on our own. We have been to Europe 8+ times. Four years ago we spent the summer (4 months) traveling around and renting apts in major cities. Our favorite cities are Budapest (been 4 times), Amsterdam (twice), Vienna (twice), Florence and Verona.
Enjoy!

IC2 · 11-04-2019, 05:33 AM

We have done European vacations though without using a tour service. We aren't 'structured' people in that today we will be on Rome, tomorrow, Naples. We rented cars and joined in with the rest of the people. This is not for everyone but I did worldwide travel for 30 years in my job. With that said most of the better tour groups do a very nice job in showing you all of those places you read about. My SIL and husband went with tour groups for years and had a fantastic time.

Go for it!!! You will not regret the experience.

momdoc · 11-04-2019, 11:54 AM

I should add that one great tour group to look at is Roadscholar. We did a tour with them to China two years ago (you can only tour china with tour) and they were great. If you want a tour they do tours all over the world and they are small groups (20 or so) and are geared more to education that racing around like a crazy mass.

heySkippy · 11-06-2019, 01:20 PM

We've done a couple month-long European vacations. I did all the planning & reservations. I'm a huge fan of staying in AirBnBs on trips like this.

Our first one was London, Paris, Ehrwald (Austria), Florence, Cap d'Adge (France), and back to London. We drove most of this trip.This was our route map. The circled numbers are the number of nights at that location.
techquarium.com/gallery2z/d/58404-2/eurovacation.png

The second one was Venice, Rovinj, Plitvice Lakes, Split, Durbrovik (all in Croatia), Rome, and back to Venice. This one included a 7 night small boat cruise along the Croatian coast. This was the map.
http://techquarium.com/gallery2z/d/6...Map12+2017.jpg

Everything about both trips was great, but Croatia stands out as absolutely fantastic. Such a beautiful country.

This year we mixed it up and went to SE Asia instead. Hong Kong, Bangkok, Siem Reap (Cambodia), a 7 night small boat Mekong River cruise into Vietnam, Hoi An and Hanoi with an overnight cruise in Ha Long Bay.
http://techquarium.com/gallery2z/d/6...a+2019+04b.jpg

As much as I loved the European trips, the SE Asia vacation was the best of all (for me, my wife would disagree). We were truly strangers in a strange land for that one.

And those kinds of trips are now over for us. I'm retiring at the end of the year and we're going to tour in the USA in our new RV.

Whatever you do, enjoy!

Bahamaniac · 11-06-2019, 02:57 PM

Looks like we are veering towards a 9 to 12 day cruise of Greek islands coupled with a 9 to 12 day tour of Italy. Afterwards we will drive to a small town where the family has history and meet up with some relatives for a few days. Any suggestions along those options?

momdoc · 11-06-2019, 07:10 PM

WE did a two week Greek Isle cruise (stopped at multiple islands for up to 4 days) for our honeymoon many years ago and loved it.

Melvo · 11-07-2019, 08:45 AM

Was stationed in Southern Italy in the 1960s and have been back many times. We generally use trains if possible but if you plan to rent a car in Italy I think you will need an international drivers license unless things have changed. Big city traffic is awful. The main routes are well designed with frequent rest stops, gas is expensive but easy to get. Italians tend to be aggressive drivers but are good drivers. Enjoy your trip.

450Donn · 11-07-2019, 08:53 AM

Last ti e we went was years ago. But I am not a tour fan either. What we did was dly into Zurich, picked up a rental car and drove. Our big mistake was not laying out a basic route first. And looked for points of interest to visit. Im sure we missed a lot, but at the same time we met up with some friends, enjoyed our time, shed some tears at the American cemetary in Normandy, got lots of pictures from the top of the Eiffle tower, and ate a lot of great food. If we were to go again, it would be a self driving tour again spending more time in some places and skipping others.

NorthernDriv · 11-09-2019, 10:38 AM

Viking river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam is like traveling in an RV. Lots to see and do, without packing up everyday.

GeeWillakers · 11-09-2019, 04:45 PM

We’re going to Spain (Valencia and Cartagena) and were then heading to the Algarves in Portugal but are now considering an 11 day cruise on a tall ship (Starclipper) from Rome around to Croatia and ending in Venice then to Florence and back. Haven’t booked so still flexible except for Valencia.

frankgibbons · 11-11-2019, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bahamaniac

We are looking to put together a European trip. We were thinking maybe a 2 week European cruise then a 10 day tour with Padilla tours. For those who have been to Europe, what do you think? Sorry, no RV for this one but I figured that in a group of travelers like us we could get some great ideas.

I've made visited to Roma twice. A great city in Italy, the ancient architectures are wonderful. In which destination you're planning to stay during your Europe trip?