Travelling in Europe - Meals and Transportation

Check out the international Youth Hostels for a cheap stay
plus a cheap meal http://www.hihostels.com/openHome.do

As for the Eurorail, you could get a special rate for selected
cities only or check out cheap flights within Europe.
Air Europa, www.air-europa.com.
Aer Lingus, www.aerlingus.com.
British Midland: 800-788-0555, in Britain 011-870-607-0555. www.flybmi.com.
Cheap Flights: www.cheapflights.co.uk.
easyJet, www.easyjet.com.
Europe by Air Pass: 888-387-2479, www.europebyair.com.
Eurostar Chunnel Train: 800-EUROSTAR, www.eurostar.com.
Go, www.gofly.com.
Spanair, www.spanair.com.
Ryanair: 011-353-1-609-7800, www.ryanair.ie.
Virgin Express: 011-32-2-752-0505, www.virgin-express.com.

Or check out travel routes by bus http://www.eurolines.com/
they are cheaper than the Eurotrains.

Im doing the same thing in April, as Im going for a month
Im just going to fly to each country, as its much cheaper and quicker for the limited amount of time I have.
Im looking at staying in B&B's and doing a lot of research on the net.

Wow Jane! Youre gonna keep me busy with all those links, but they will sure prove worthy, thanks!

KiwiChic: April huh? Better climate for sure. Yeah, seems that quick and cheap are the keywords here. I agree with the hostels. How much does the food cost though?

KiwiChic has the right idea. Flights are cheap when you're in Europe. Many of the airports in Europe has train connections on the premise.

If you stay away from the tourist restaurants, you can probably eat fairly well at US prices. The Euro buys much more in Germany than it does in many other destinations. London is very, very expensive. A coffee and donut will cost about US$6.50. It's more reasonable outside of London if you must visit the UK.

While in Madrid, don't carry your wallet in your pocket. Always wear a money belt underneath your clothes. And don't display your money in public. If you go to Madrid, spend some time in Barcelona - a more tourist friendly town which feels liike a different country.

Public transportation in Europe is excellent. Learn to use the underground, train and bus systems. They're easy to use and cheap. If you're planning to spend more than a few days in one town, look for a long-term transportation pass. They're usually good for all transportation modes including boats.

Have a fun and safe journey.

Ahh... I thought that it would be more expensive to eat! Wonderfull! Train also seems the way to go.

I really appreciate all your insight fellow A2K'ers, and I will gladly welcome more if there is, for it will surely help!

What I did last time when I went to England , Ireland etc I just had a huge breakfast from the B&B and I just grabbed a whole lot of fruit and croissants on my way out and threw it in my back pack for lunch, for dinner I went to the local pub and had a cheap meal...so thats what I will be looking at doing again, in London the take aways were priced fairly reasonable.

KiwiChic, When were you in London the last time?

a couple of years ago...why?

The reason I asked was because the cost of everything in London has gone up about 30 percent since you last visited. In April of 2003, a cup of coffee and donut cost about US$5.00. It now (was in London in April of this year) costs about $6.50.

I dont drink coffee lol, but I recall pub dinners around 7.00 pound plus a free pint of lager! the meals were huge....3.00 pounds for a box of chicken and chips from some take away place somewhere in Earls Court that I cant remember... but like anywhere the prices will increase, oh well I will let you know what I find.
I did find groceries quite cheap from a corner store, but I prefer to have someone else do the cooking for me

If you find that 3. pound box of chicken and chips in London, please let us know.

Seems really that air fares are cheaper in Europe than e.g. in the USA.

But: you always have to consider
that
- you have to book very early to get that price,
- usually the airports are more in rural regions, so it takes you nearly the same money to get to the bigger places what you paid for the ticket
- travel cards for railways aren't that expensive.

Woah, and I thought London was one of THE most expensive places in the old continent... hopefully ill fine out!

Yeah, probably Ill just rail my way into each country. Does anyone of you know if I need to have an individual VISA for each country?

In Europe, no. Just carry your passport.

Provided you are not going to stay longer than three months and you are not going to do any paid or self-employed work, you don't need a visa for any of the EU countries.

Hurray! Imagine that system in America... I wonder why it wouldnt work haha.

Ehem, that's for people like from Mexico, USA, Japan, Canada, Australia ...

We travel in Europe usually just with an ID-card (I don't have a passport since about 20 years). Between the Schengen countries, there's (usually) no border control at all.

When were you there last?...
Yeah no worries about the Chicken and chips, will let you know in June when I get back!

Im sure there is a hop on hop off bus which travels through different EU countries ..here it is check this out el
http://studenttravel.about.com/od/gettingaroundthere/a/busabout.htm

I would suggest, you have a look at the rgularily running EUROLINES as well, since Busabout Europe only runs during the summer period and doesn't connect so many cities.