Eurotrip 2013 - Travel Routes

Last year, was one heck of a year! 

Fariz and I felt like we needed to go somewhere. Its about time. We were in our first-year of marriage and we cant postpone this any longer. So we thought of asking some close friends to join in the ride - and visit the European countries! - for one month! Its a lot to take especially when Malaysia is... not Switzerland (where the people are encouraged and be given allowances to travel! - grrr) So in the end, only Naddy says YES to this. (Just so you know, this would be her 2nd time taking a-month off her job and her boss had no problem with this) 

So lets start! 

First, we gotta have a reference book. A good one! 

We bought the Frommer's Europe by Rail (as we will be using train in most of our travel journeys) Its not very handy but for first-timer, we needed to know everything than panicking later.

Jangan tengok je, make sure you fully utilised the book. Read it through, check the tips as it will (trust me!) help guide you later on. If geography isn't your forte (like me) Check the maps (so you'll know the country's neighbouring countries which will help you decide on your raillpass) 

Secondly, decide on your travel routes!

Where do you wanna start at? (We chose the best ticket fare getting there) Should you start from the East? or start from the West? Which country is best to leave before KL? etc etc. (NOT the easiest part) We changed our routes many times before deciding on one. Satu bulan dengar macam lama, tapi if tak calculate travel days betul-betul, some days will go wasted. Make sure you don't go zigzag-ing around the continent. 

Unless you plan on a totally random and spontaneous journey, you can ignore this. Since we were on a tight budget, we needed things to go as planned. We have to make sure accommodations are set every time. It's Summer (peak time!) in June, if we go unplanned, we might have to sleep by the streets :{ 

To keep things short. Our travel routes as follows:  

1. KL - London (UK)
2. London  - Manchester (via train)
3. Manchester - Valencia (via plane)
4. Valencia - Barcelona (via train) 
5. Barcelona - Civitavecchia - Rome (via ferry)
6. Rome - Venice (via train)
7. Venice - Vienna - Prague (via Night-train)
8. Prague - Zurich (via train)
9. Zurich - Brienz (via goldenpass train)
10. Brienz - Interlaken (via train)
11. Interlaken - Geneva - Paris (via train)
12. Paris - KL 


Basically we travelled to 6 different countries with some train change/stops to Munich, Germany  & Vienna, Austria. Will post on a more-detailed journey on each City in my next posts.

a more detailed calendar

Our budget for the whole 1-month trip including Accommodations, Flight & Train fare was RM10,000. (which I think is still cheaper than a 9-day trip provided by most travel agents in KL) Will explain where the money goes in next post! :)

xx

eurotrip2013 travel traveltips