My Europe Trip 2010 – Itinerary & Travel Tips (Still Updating)

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vkeong
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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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50 COMMENTS

  5. your pictures are simply breathtaking~!!!!

    (especially the 3rd one.)

    i would to take that kind of picture while on vacation. Nice job man.

  10. Hi Vkeong, stumble upon your blog while searching for euro tips. Very2 awesome photos. I kinda confused about the EURAIL thingy. As a Malaysian how do we book it? if you don’t mind telling me the procedures?

    • hi, to purchase the EURAIL, you can buy it from their website using credit card. they will charge a few euro for delivery via DHL, it reached me within 1 week. It will be sent to your specified address

  12. i’m so in love with your pictures. they are so beautiful.

    my husband and i are planning a visit and was told that joining a tour is cheaper. after your trip, what is your comment on that remark?

  13. Hey vkeong,
    Awesome write up. Anyway, we will be going to Europe – Italy, Switzerland & France next month and was wondering if you would suggest Eurail or point to point tickets for each train. Id the latter, do you know where or how we Malaysains can get point to point tickets online/prior to stepping foor at Europe?

    Thanks!

  14. Where you stayed in Prague? I’m going to Prague in Oct. Route: London, Prague, Milan, Paris, Edinburgh, London. Thank’s for your recommendation on Malaysia Hall. I just got to know it from your blog. :)

  15. Hey Vkeong,

    One question, (quite noobish) if you stay in a dorm right shared like by 12 ppl, won’t it be dangerous for other tourist as they can steal your stuffs too ?

    Thanks for the awesome write up!
    And if you don’t midn could you share how much you spent in total for 28 days ?

    • Hi Jason, I thought I have stated it at the start of my article. It was about RM12,000 for 28 days inclusive of the air ticket and train pass

      As for the dorm, it is quite risky if you are staying with a thief. So I always sleep with my precious belongings next to me. My purse is always under my pillow, and my camera is always next to me.

  16. Hi Vkeong, sorry was admiring the screening through the post.. hehe.

    What about when you go for site-seeing / out of dorm ? Your clothes and all will ppl steal? like cologne, perfume, etc. etc. Some stuffs sure gotta leave in luggage back right

    • Most hostels have a safe or a locker in the room, one for each bed.

      It is recommended to keep your important belongings with the reception, they usually help you safeguard it for free (eg in Vienna and Prague)

  17. In Paris, u can get a 3 course meal for about Euro13-14 @ Latin Quarters which is well worth the money & taste, also the Vietnamese beef noodles @ Paris Chinatown is simply delicious!
    If you do your booking much earlier, you can get quite nice small budget hotels with private rooms & ensuite bathrooms for about Euro19 pax within nice location as well

  18. Hey, stunning pics there. Didn’t notice you mention about showing your Malaysian passport when traveling by Eurail, was it not necessary when crossing country?

    • hi, the Eurail pass is tied to your passport/name. So the train master would need to check your Eurail pass is really yours and valid. Else it could be passed around and shared among your friends

  19. hi vk, i realy wish to know how u manage to purchase emirates return flight ticket with that price? cause the cheapest i can find still cost about rm 5000 plus for return flight. does eurailpass cover smaller cities for example bruges (belgium) to amsterdam? my first draft itinerary is london- bruges-amsterdam-munich-prague-vienna-slovenia-croatia-rome-venice-interlaken-paris. all in 1 month period. is my itinerary too ambitious? thank you

    • hi epyl, I bought it during Matta fair so it was cheap, and like 3 or 4 months in advance!

      as for the eurailpass, as I know it will cover all the train stations in Europe (either big or small)

      Since I have traveled Europe already, now I think back it is actually better to pick only a few countries to go to, rather than going so many in one shot because you will spend a lot of time traveling and shifting places so you waste a lot of time and energy. Plus, your Eurailpass would be cheaper too. My top picks are Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic. I would prefer to visit UK in a different trip.

      But then again if I didn’t travel to so many countries I would feel it’s a waste since they’re so near (eg. oh why didn’t I visit France when I was in Switzerland, it’s only a few hours away!) So it’s all up to your ultimately. I could even travel the entire Europe in a month, it is doable but is it what you want in your vacation? It is supposed to be a “vacation” and not rushing around right :)

      Think about it

  20. hello,very nice pic!!can i ask if paris to zurich,zurich to milan,milan to rome if take how many hour for bullet(fast)train?and the cost is how much?thanks.

    • hi amylia, I cannot answer this.. I think you need to use the rail checking service website

      but roughly, it would take 1 day continuously according to your route.

  21. Hi Vkeong, Thanks you for a masterpiece itinerary.
    I want to know if with eurail pass, we can travel intercity to main tourist attraction. I understand the Eurail pass doesnt allow us to get into Metro. what is the solution for this. I dont want to spend on local rail passes if its not required

    • Hi Renuka

      For local Metro you have no choice, like for example Rome and Paris, you need to pay for it separately. However, you might get discounts if you show your Eurail pass, I forgot which city.

  22. Hi Vkeong,

    I enjoyed your post so much and I actually used it as a guideline to plan on my Europe trip this September.
    But I’m just wondering are you going to update more? Coz I’ll be going to Amsterdam and Brussels. Would love to read more about these 2 places. Thanks

  24. vkeong, i love you blog where you stated down the main thing and also the reasonable food.. i am traveling in august and i would like to know.. Free & easy is cheaper or following local tour such as Talfargar, Cosmos or Contiki is cheaper? i am confused and dunno what should do now..

  27. hye…how much did u spend for this?
    for london, amsterdam n berlin i thot of getting hop on hop off (tour guide)
    do u think its a good idea?
    wanted to go to geneva as well

    • thanks for your comment.. unfortunately I do not foresee myself continuing to update the itinerary.. the trip had past too long and I can’t really remember the details any more. Plus, it takes hell lot of time just to write one entry @_@

  32. Hi Vkeong, great pictures. I know you made this trip a while back but can you pls share how you travel between the cities in Italy. In particular I am interested in the trains between Pisa/Florence/Rome – did you travel all by Eurostar Italia? My concern is actually purchasing the train tickets and wondering if it is confusing or difficult travelling by train between the cities. Any tips would be much appreciated, tks.

    • Hi Jess

      I had a Eurail pass so I only took the normal intercity train, I don’t think it was Eurostar Italia. Maybe it was but I wouldn’t remember already. It is not confusing to travel between cities but make sure you are aware of the schedules. If it is a ‘hot’ route eg Paris -> Lauterbrunnen you need to book your seat (besides buying the tix) early, at least 1 day before the departure or else you will have to wait for the next one.

      But for your case, Pisa -> Florence -> Rome is a very frequent route, there’s a train almost every 30 min if I remember correctly so I don’t think there will be a problem getting on the train.

  33. Hi there,
    For Malaysia Hall in London, how about families with young children? Can they stay together, or men and women are not allowed to stay in the same room? Thank you

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