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A few people have been asking me for my Europe trip‘s itinerary and total cost. So for sharing sake here it is, we covered mostly Western Europe and Czech Republic over 28 days during summer.

London -> Paris -> Interlaken -> Lauterbrunnen -> Milan -> Pisa -> Florence -> Rome -> Venice -> Vienna -> Munich -> Prague -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Brussels -> London

Do note that this is never intended to be used as a reference or even a guide for your own Europe trip. It’s more like sharing the stories of your trip with a friend, highlighting the ups and downs as well as throwing in some advice and tips in the process.
Besides a return air ticket, you will probably also need a rail pass if you plan to explore more than three countries. For my case, I bought the following:

  • Economy class Emirates return flight ticket from KL to London (transit at Dubai airport) – RM3050
  • Eurail Global Pass (adult, 1 month continuous inclusive of air delivery) – €839 (about RM3346)

Then if you are planning to include UK in your list of destinations, prepare to pay another extra RM300-400 for Eurostar train per pax per way. Plan your trip early and book Eurostar in advance to save more here. Of course, if you plan to fly or take ferry to UK then that’s a different story.
For accommodation, I used HostelBookers. Highly recommended with plenty of info, real reviews, photos and there are no commission fees. Only 10% of the total is charged to your credit card for deposit and the rest are payable in cash upon arrival. There are three things to pay extra attention to when booking hostels: breakfast, linen and towels. It makes your life a lot easier if these are included.

Day 1, 2 and 3: England (London)
london-westminister
Accommodation: Malaysia Hall @ £15.28 per night. Visit website for the latest rates. I would recommend this to anyone traveling on a budget as you would actually get a private room with bathroom attached. For the same price you would probably get a shabby hostel or B&B in London. Reserve at least 1 month ahead.
Food: Full English breakfast is a wonderful and filling way to start the day. Chinatown for lunch and dinner because it’s cheaper there.

    Tips:

  1. Many great museums are free so visit them! Recommended ones are the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National History Museum.
  2. Consider a London Pass if you are serious about visiting the top attractions like Tower of London and doing touristy stuff like boarding the London River Cruise because it gives you free entry. Not exactly cheap but certainly saves you alot.
  3. The public parks (Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens) in London are beautiful.

Day 4 and 5 – France (Paris)
eiffel-tower
Took Eurostar to Paris from St Pancras in London at €39. We booked this journey 2 months ahead so it was still affordable.
Accommodation: Le Montclair Montmartre @ €19.95 per pax/night in a 6 beds dorm. OK location with good breakfast included. But dorm room is small and shared toilets are miserably tiny.
Food: Cafe and restaurant food. Nothing is cheap in Paris.
Downs:
1. Our original plan was to stay in Paris for two nights. We only reserved one night of accommodation at Le Montclair and we had to hunt a place to stay for the second night. Trust me, looking for a place to stay is the last thing you want to do while traveling.
2. Our next destination was Switzerland and the train we were supposed to take in our plan was full because we did not make reservations for the seats. Due to this we had to cut short our stay in Paris to one night and missed visiting a lot of places.

    Tips:

  1. Always check your Eurail timetable if a reservation is required for the next train you are taking. For example in our case, we should have reserved our seats once we reached Gare du Nord in Paris. Seat reservations are always made at train station at the ticket counter. Despite having a Eurail Pass, you will still need to pay for the reservation cost, which could be €10 to €50. This is unavoidable.
  2. Advisable to plan and book all your accommodation at home. Although there are plenty of hostels in Europe, searching for one when you’re traveling is a pain especially during summer.
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