Scotland and Europe!

[tigger03]

I've been researching (and looking at older threads) of Europe. I want to go next year (after university). I want to go particulary to Scotland, and was looking at the Haggis tours (mentioned in a previous thread) Tour Link. This doesn't seem bad for $120 CDN + accomodation + meals.

The Europass for multicountry is $700 CDN, but how would I get to Scotland? There's another pass for London-Wales-Scotland for another $400+ CDN.

What do you guyz recommend? I want to do most of Europe, including Italy, Spain, London, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and maybe another few countries.

Should I go with this pass OR this pass for 21 days of travel?

Any recommendations for rail passes or countries? I'm visiting all the websites mentioned in previous threads for info and guidance as well.

[HighFlyer]

How long do you plan on staying in Europe? I haven't done the tour, but the things that caught my attention were "I want to do most of Europe, including Italy, Spain, London, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and maybe another few countries." and "21 days of travel". If 21 days means the entire length of the trip, you should only stick to one area (scotland and the UK), and one country (ie. Italy).

[manixc]

How long do you plan on staying in Europe? I haven't done the tour, but the things that caught my attention were "I want to do most of Europe, including Italy, Spain, London, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and maybe another few countries." and "21 days of travel". If 21 days means the entire length of the trip, you should only stick to one area (scotland and the UK), and one country (ie. Italy).

Totally agreed, a big city (e.g. Paris) would need at least 4 days.

[ilfsoy]

Like already mentioned you should restrict yourself to one region to get the most of the trip. If you spend 3 weeks and see about a dozen countries you can say you've been to all of them, but what will you remember and see other than your mode of transport and the various stops along the way. To properly enjoy the trip and actually see the places you go I would suggest you spend those 21 days in the UK or spend it in Italy, France, and a nearby country of choice like Switzerland.

[CoolEddie]

The best mode and most economical way to travel within the UK is by bus. Be sure to bring your ISIC card. National Express is the carrier in England and Wales and and CityLink is the main carrier in Scotland. If you book in advance, you can get really good fares especailly if you are a student. For instance, I got a fare from Edinburgh to Glasgow is only 1.00GBP each way on Megabus and no advance purchase was necessary. For long trips like London to Scotland, you can get a cheap flight to Glasgow but I warn you that Prestwick airport is the one that the cheap airlines fly to and be sure your flight is not in the mornings on Sunday. I ended up having to get there the night before and sleep in the airport as there is no public transport on early Sundays. Trains are more expensive but are cheaper if you book in advanced. If you go from London to Paris, I would recommend taking the train rather than flying. Hope this helps.

[tigger03]

thx for all the advice, guyz. I was thinking of going to select countries, but if it's going to cost too much and with little time, I think I'll stick to Scotland, London, & Wales for 21 days. It'd be better to check those out in detail, I guess.

Maybe in a few years, I could do central Europe. For now, I could get the euro rail pass. I'm unsure of which pass would be suitable, though, for myself and a companion (both under 26).

- 4 days in 2 months -- $244
- 8 days in 2 months -- $353
- 15 days in 2 months -- $535.
* all prices are in CDN dollars.

Where could I find info for buses (besides busabout.com)?

I guess if we take the cheaper pass (8 days?), we could always fly for cheap.

[CoolEddie]

If you are only doing the UK, there are no Eurail passes. (Or is there? Please provide link if you do find one.) You can find bus info at http://www.nationalexpress.co.uk/ (England), http://www.citylink.co.uk/ (Scotland), http://www.megabus.com/ (UK). There are others but these are the main ones. To be honest, I don't think there is too much to see or do in Wales. You can do the outdoors stuff like mountain biking which would be great but the weather is pretty unreliable. Also Scotland weather is usually wet as well. Other suggestions would be Ireland which is in the area. You can get a really cheap flight to Ireland with bmibaby.com or aerlingus.com with the advantage of flying out of London's most convient airport Heathrow (cheapest to get to as well using the tube).

Assuming you can get a Eurail Pass for Europe or for wherever, it is better to get the companion pass assuming you travel together all the time. I know when I went I seperated from my group to do my own thing quite often. Another tip if you get a Select Pass (or whatever they call the ones where you have to mark in the dates) use a erasable pen so you can erase them later. They don't always check and they don't always hole punch/stamp/sign it so you can squeeze extra days out of it. Also you can turn 1 into 4, 7 or 9. Or 0 into 6 or 8 etc. It is taking advantage of the system so do it at your own discretion.