Europe (Winter)

[r dub 19]

Thinking of going with a few mates from Dec 26th-Feb 7th. Going on a 2 week contiki and then doing our own stuff.

Can anyone recommend any good youth hostels or any good cheap accommodation? Mainly in Barcelona,Ibizia and Switzerland.

Also I am concerned about the weather, last year in europe a lot of transport came to a standstill. Wondering if this will impact us this year.

Any other places to see/advice?

Cheers

 

[omit]

hit the alps for some snow sessions

go to paris and check out the museums (louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Musee D'art Moderne, Pompidou). on a weekday in the middle of winter they're nearly empty

 

[daicos4ever]

I was in the UK & Ireland during the big freeze this year. We were due to leave London for Dublin when the snow first hit, and we were stuck at Luton airport for 14 long hours. Otherwise didn't have any problems.

Though if you don't have any experience driving on icy roads I wouldn't recommend it, those Irish country roads are tight and twisty at the best of times....

 

[premiers06]

I was in Europe for 3 months last year when the big freeze was on and too be honest it wasn't that bad. You will have to put up with a few delays but it's alright. Also the hostel I stayed at in barca was called centric point. It's a pretty good place which is fairly cheap and is in a geeat location. All in all hostels will be cheaper as it is down season in Europe. Also have you booked your contiki tour yet? If not look at topdeck as well. I did a 3 week tour with them it was great and I got to see a lot of euro in that time. Also make sure you see a few arsenal games while you are there too
edit: while I'm on a roll here my favourite places were Prague, Berlin, Barcelona and try to get to Edinburgh for nye. It's a great 4 day festival. If you need anything more just ask.

 

[Kahn]

Did the White Christmas a couple of years ago. Spent 3 weeks over Dec/Jan in Germany and Austria.

Had no issues with trains while we were there - in fact they are more reliable than planes during winter due to airports getting frozen in.

Berlin is the place for new years eve. Over 1 million people gather at brandenburg gate. Basically long street with a stage and band every 100 meters and beer tents in between. Fireworks like you've never seen - and I'm not talking about the ones that go of at midnight. More the ones the general public let off through the whole night.

The Christmas markets in Germany and Austria are great too - nice food and lots of beer.

 

[r dub 19]

Did the White Christmas a couple of years ago. Spent 3 weeks over Dec/Jan in Germany and Austria.

Had no issues with trains while we were there - in fact they are more reliable than planes during winter due to airports getting frozen in.

Berlin is the place for new years eve. Over 1 million people gather at brandenburg gate. Basically long street with a stage and band every 100 meters and beer tents in between. Fireworks like you've never seen - and I'm not talking about the ones that go of at midnight. More the ones the general public let off through the whole night.

The Christmas markets in Germany and Austria are great too - nice food and lots of beer.

Funnily enough we would be in berlin for NYE!

 

[Plugger35]

If you go to Switzerand then Interlaken is a must. The scenery is amazing, it's right at the foot of the Swiss Alps. There are also a heap of activities to do like hiking, rafting, paragliding (that was in summer though maybe different in winter). I stayed at Balmers Hostel which was pretty good and cheap, they have a pretty good bar there too.

Barcelona is great fun too, there are quite a few cheap hostels/pensiones there. The best place to stay is near La Rambla where most of the bars and clubs are, don't expect to get much sleep there though unless your pissed.

 

[r dub 19]

I'm torn between goin on this trip or on exchange to the U.S

 

[nicky]

Funnily enough we would be in berlin for NYE!

Major win, Berlin is incredible. Stay on the East side, i cannot recommend it highly enough

 

[nicky]

If you go to Switzerand then Interlaken is a must. The scenery is amazing, it's right at the foot of the Swiss Alps. There are also a heap of activities to do like hiking, rafting, paragliding (that was in summer though maybe different in winter). I stayed at Balmers Hostel which was pretty good and cheap, they have a pretty good bar there too.

Barcelona is great fun too, there are quite a few cheap hostels/pensiones there. The best place to stay is near La Rambla where most of the bars and clubs are, don't expect to get much sleep there though unless your pissed.

Sorry to contradict you but that is where i stayed and didn't enjoy it too much. He should stay off the beaten track somewhere... Unfortunately i don't know where because i stayed in the La Ramblas.

 

[cats2rise]

Join YHA.


Join up with them. Its a membership that costs $32 or $37 depending on if you are a student traveling etc and you get deals on 1000s of youth hostels and tourist attractions in Europe. Usually just like 10 or 15% off stuff, but if you use it enough (which it sounds like you will) its great value.

I'll be in Europe August - March so I've joined up and it looks great. For $32 its a great bargain.

 

[premiers06]

Hostelworld.com is a great site to look for hostels wherever you go anyway

 

[Plugger35]

Sorry to contradict you but that is where i stayed and didn't enjoy it too much. He should stay off the beaten track somewhere... Unfortunately i don't know where because i stayed in the La Ramblas.

Depends on what you're looking for I guess. If you want to go out and party every night then the La Ramblas area would probably be the best place to stay, as most of the best bars and clubs are within walking distance. For older people that are looking for a quieter time then it might be better to stay elsewhere. I assumed someone like r dub would be more in the party every night category.

 

[deeman12]

I'm torn between goin on this trip or on exchange to the U.S

I would choose the US. There's a rugged allure to North America and you can always nip down to South America or up to Canada. Plus, you'll basically be living it up for a whole semester, but with some stability on campus.

My opinion is heavily bias though because I'm planning a semester abroad in North America.

Best of luck with your choice.

 

[r dub 19]

Depends on what you're looking for I guess. If you want to go out and party every night then the La Ramblas area would probably be the best place to stay, as most of the best bars and clubs are within walking distance. For older people that are looking for a quieter time then it might be better to stay elsewhere. I assumed someone like r dub would be more in the party every night category.

Certainly partying/doing latinas.

 

[nicky]

Depends on what you're looking for I guess. If you want to go out and party every night then the La Ramblas area would probably be the best place to stay, as most of the best bars and clubs are within walking distance. For older people that are looking for a quieter time then it might be better to stay elsewhere. I assumed someone like r dub would be more in the party every night category.

I met some ex pat locals and they took me to some amazing bars etc that were away from La Ramblas.

La Ramblas reminds me of the shit part of fitzroy st in st kilda or the crap tourist and northern suburb bars in brunswick st.

 

[Kahn]

Funnily enough we would be in berlin for NYE!

Lucky guy. We had a ball there on new years eve. The main organised party happens on the 'StraBe des 17. Juni' which is the road between Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. Its over 1km long and there are beer tents, and stages along the whole street.

Only 2 suggestions, get there early to give you plenty of time to walk the whole thing. Also the area around 'StraBe des 17' is firework free - meaning the general public can't let fireworks off in the main area. Anywhere else in Berlin is open range - so watch where you walk cause people are lighting them everywhere. Quiet fun seeing them go off everywhere during the whole night. And night starts around 4pm over there during winter.

I also agree that East Berlin is much better than west. West is more manufactured. Although Checkpoint Charlie (which is in the east) is pretty ordinary.

We stayed around the Mitte area which has lots of great resturants and pubs/bars. Transport around Berlin is pretty good as well. The Olympic stadium is well worth the visit for sports nuffs.

 

[nicky]

I stayed in Friedrichstr and Kreuzberg. The areas are incredibly fantastic, loads of quirky bars and cheap.

 

[year of the roo]

Join YHA.


Join up with them. Its a membership that costs $32 or $37 depending on if you are a student traveling etc and you get deals on 1000s of youth hostels and tourist attractions in Europe. Usually just like 10 or 15% off stuff, but if you use it enough (which it sounds like you will) its great value.

I'll be in Europe August - March so I've joined up and it looks great. For $32 its a great bargain.

Crap advice.

YHA hostels suck. Hunt for small independent ones with a bit of character, and not so many rules and extra charges for this and that. hostelworld.com is the best place to start.

Europe in winter is sensational. The only problem is that if you have a big night out and then sleep in, you have about 3 hours of daylight before the sun disappears at around 3-4pm. Sightseeing may not be a priority on a trip with mates though...

Travel by bus if you are worried about the weather. Least likely to be affected by it and is also the cheapest.

 

[year of the roo]

Thinking of going with a few mates from Dec 26th-Feb 7th. Going on a 2 week contiki and then doing our own stuff.

Can anyone recommend any good youth hostels or any good cheap accommodation? Mainly in Barcelona,Ibizia and Switzerland.

Also I am concerned about the weather, last year in europe a lot of transport came to a standstill. Wondering if this will impact us this year.

Any other places to see/advice?

Cheers

Not sure cheap hostels exist in those 3 places. Head East if you wanna do Europe on the cheap. Better women, better nightlife and cheap as hell beer. Just as interesting to visit too.

 

[Impunity!]

Come and stay at mine r dub, we will swoon glams

 

[r dub 19]

Come and stay at mine r dub, we will swoon glams

I'm there.

 

[r dub 19]

Not sure cheap hostels exist in those 3 places. Head East if you wanna do Europe on the cheap. Better women, better nightlife and cheap as hell beer. Just as interesting to visit too.

Cheers

 

[r dub 19]

Pretty much all set. Going for 57 days (contiki for 24).

Contiki covers
London,Paris,Lyon,Barcelona,Munich,Lucerne,Vienna,Rome,Amsterdam,Prague etc.

We will probably see the following countries for ourselves :England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland. The eurorail pass only covers 4 bordering countries I believe. Any tips on/accomodation/night spots/activities for those countries would be appreciated!

Also would the scandinavian countries be worth a visit?

Pretty pumped turns out we will be in barcelona for nye and more importantly on boxing day- Gunners vs Chelsea

 

[premiers06]

That's a pretty good itinery! Wish I was going back to euro for winter you will have a ball. I was in barca when we got spanked by Chelsea last season but celebrating with them when they beat Madrid was pretty good fun ( I hate barca now) Scandanavia can be pretty expensive have you worked out some sort of budget yet?