So in the past few years , vacations in Europe seem to have become very popular , and for good reason! I am a born and bred Trini girl , living in the Caribbean all my life has most certainly been a blessing with sun (and some rain) all year , beaches and blue skies , but this makes trips to the other side of the globe even more amazing. Every time I travel to Europe I am amazed by EVERYTHING, from the food, to the architecture, to the deep history and beautiful scenery. Here are a few tips for your first or next Eurotrip, purely based on my experience there are alot , so I will actually split this post into two so you don’t drift off in boredom .
Disclaimer: I am by no means a “seasoned” euro traveller but just thought I’d share some tips for those of you who may be planning a trip soon!
Booking your flight:
I’ve found it easier to book the flight direct with the airline via their website instead of booking through one of the travel sites like Expedia or Booking.com . The general rule of thumb of booking in advance as much as possible applies here if you want to avoid paying exorbitant fees. When searching for flights, leave your dates flexible, as the price of a weekday and weekend ticket can differ substantially in some cases. Another thing to look out for is the number of stops (if any) on your flight, if you are travelling to the other side of the globe , like in my case, the less stops , the better. A non-stop flight from Trinidad to London is already 10-11 hours , add that to stop offs in other countries along the way and you can easily lose an entire day or two in travelling. Chances are that the flights with stops will be cheaper than a direct flight so of course always take your budget into account, if the layover is only to “drop and pick up” passengers and you are allowed to stay on the aircraft then it’s perfect , connecting flights where you have to clear immigration, clear baggage and change to another aircraft is a nightmare, especially if the time to do all that is very tight.
Looking for Lodging:
Whoever “invented” Air BnB is a life saver! You’d be surprised how many options and how affordable staying in an Air BnB can be. If you are travelling as a group , this is the most economical option and many Air BnBs have multiple options for varying numbers of travellers. The ones that I have stayed in , in Portugal, Spain , Prague , Rome and Scotland have been owned by companies that own multiple buildings that contain apartments that can hold from 2 – 15 people , with the cost varying according to the size of the apartment. There are of course pros and cons for staying in an apartment vs a hotel .
Pros – Privacy – you literally have your own home for the duration of your stay, you can come and go as you like , if you need something e.g something is not working in the apartment , you just need to contact the caretaker.
Flexibility – there are normally quite a few options to choose from when it comes to accommodation, there is no minimum amount of persons needed to stay in a particular apartment (there is a maximum allowed though) so you can have all the space you want, when you book an apartment you pay for the entire place, regardless of how many people are actually staying there , which usually works out cheaper than multiple hotel rooms for groups.
Location – There are more airbnbs than hotels , so it’s common that there will be multiple options to choose from in terms of a specific location .
Facilities – Apartments\Airbnbs normally come with a full kitchen and washer , which means that you have the option of cooking all your own meals if you prefer (which is convenient is you are trying to manage a budget) and of course, wash your own clothes which allows you to pack less for your trip. Most airbnbs do not have dryers, but they do have drying racks that you can use for this purpose which are quite effective.
Cons – Lack of certain amenities – Unlike a hotel there is no 24 hour kitchen or bar available if you happen to get hungry at some crazy hour of the night , so no room service , you will have to “fend for yourself” .
Housekeeping – Unfortunately , there is no daily housekeeping in airbnbs, you will have to clean your own apartment every day (or not) , usually there is a cleaning service once a week or you can pay extra for a cleaning service on a non designated day.
Transport – Hotels normally offer the service of organising taxis to take you where you want to go or shuttles to take you to and from the airport. Some airbnbs offer airport shuttles but they definitely do not offer taxi services, you would need to do that on your own. Thankfully with UBER however, this isn’t an issue, I’ve used UBER before on a couple of my trips and they always worked out well , reasonable fares and always on time .
General Tip when booking your accommodation – I have found it extremely convenient to book at a hotel or Air BnB that is within the city centre or tourist area. The reason for this of course is convenience, as you step outside the door , everything is within walking distance, restaurants, cafes, bars , stores , subway stations, train stations , everything , you name it. This of course saves on taxi fares which do add up going back and forth each day to different destinations! The additional you might pay to stay in the centre of the city is more than worth it when you think of the convenience and what you save in transport.
Look out for the next post where I talk about How to Pack and How to Maximise your trip on a budget!
If you have any questions on any of the content above , please feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment and I will gladly assist where I can.
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