Europe Trip
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Aaahh…Paris, my favourite city…
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isetan:
We are also going to Europe in December. Dont know why ended up booking the tour to Europe. First time in my life. The temperature in December will be very cold. I search the website for weather forecast.....my god--- 3'C in December!. I wonder can take it or not? I am also worried abt my DD also. have I book the wrong tour? Sorry very 'sua gu' posting here but really wonder will my family enjoy or not?
Well, it's winter so it's definitely going to be cold. 3 degree? Could get colder and could snow too. Just go get the family good waterproof winter jackets. Will you enjoy it? Only you can answer that question.
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isetan:
We are also going to Europe in December. Dont know why ended up booking the tour to Europe. First time in my life. The temperature in December will be very cold. I search the website for weather forecast.....my god--- 3'C in December!. I wonder can take it or not? I am also worried abt my DD also. have I book the wrong tour? Sorry very 'sua gu' posting here but really wonder will my family enjoy or not?
No worries, just put on sufficient thermal wear and you will definitely enjoy it! Cheers! -
Thanks for the advice, NY1969.
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In London if you don’t have much time, you can consider taking the Ducktour. It starts pretty near the London Eye - was an excellent choice for me and family (2 young kids) as a quick intro to the main sights. If you are into paintings, National Art Gallery; into history, British Museum - these are free entry and you will see world famous art/artifacts.
BTW, don’t miss buy stuff from Bodyshop/Marks & spencers. For M&S, you can go online to book and have your order sent to a M&S store - good if there are offer items. BUT if you do it this way, you CAN’T claim tax refund (because payment has been made upfront using your credit card). If you purchase from the store directly, you CAN claim refund.
Yes for London, don’t miss the Tower of London - at least 3 hours there. If you have a bit more time, you can consider also Hampton Court Palace. It’s a local train ride away (45min) - the rooms are beautifully done up and there are activities in the palace (eg roaming Henry VIII) and you will see and hear a lot about the English kings.
For Paris, transport can be a tad pricey. If you are staying for consecutive few days, you can consider buying a weekly pass. We used it a lot to get in/out of the mrt station to cut down on walking back to our accomodations. The Lourve was amazing and we visited Musee D’Orsay as well. I’m not the arty type but would seize the chance to go look at paintings by Masters.
Oh. because we took the train between London and Paris (can’t recall what the name), we were able to obtain discounts on entry to some places - i can only recall musee d orsay. YOu can probably check online for more.
Have fun! -
[quote]MyPaper Monday September 24 2012
Say bye to cookie-cutter Europe trips
by Michael Allen
Singaporeans are a well-travelled bunch, and major travel companies have long offered a stunning variety of destinations to satisfy their thirst for adventure.
But in recent years, independent ‘country specialists' have sprung up to cater to a growing niche of discerning travellers looking for more in-depth tours that avoid tourist traps and take them to little-known locales instead.
In short, country specialists are about authentic, off-the-beaten-track experiences.
And, for most of these operators, it's their love for the country that has led them to run a tour business focusing on their favourite spot on earth.
Mr Huang Eu Chai, 50, runs a travel company that specialises in trips to Italy. He fell in love with the country in 1973, when he went to Europe with his mother.
\"While I loved every moment of the trip, I recalled feeling particularly comfortable in Venice,\" he said.
He later went to school there, taking up architecture, and lived there for almost nine years before returning to Singapore to work as an urban planner.
But his love of Italy never waned and he started Ergo:Travel in 2009, offering his knowledge of Italy and fluency in Italian to give Singaporeans a unique travel experience.
\"I felt I belonged in Italy, and this is certainly one of the major reasons I decided to focus on travel there,\" he said.
\"I feel compelled to share my experience with other people.\"
Another specialist is Mr Chun Hoy Yuen. The 55-year-old offers “a la carte\" trips to Germany through his travel company, Gute Reise (meaning 'bon voyage').
His connection with the courttry began when he met his German wife in London when he was studying for his A levels in 1973.
In 1986, he started working for a German engineering company in West Berlin and became fluent in the language.
He enjoyed his work but, when middle age arrived. he decided to make a career switch that drew on his extensive knowledge of Germany.
Gute Reise began last year, when Mr Chun took two people on a 10-day Christmas-market tour to Munich and Nuremberg.
\"They were well-travelled people, but it was still a vacation experience with a difference for them,” he said.
That was Mr Chun's first trip, and he has plans to take more travellers to Germany in the next two to three months.
Like him, former corporate banker Andrea Rossi-Ong felt the need for a career change after meeting her Swiss husband, Mario, in 2002.
Because of the couple`s long-distance relationship, Ms Rossi-Ong had to travel a lot and, eventually, she decided that she needed to change her life. In 2003, she quit her job and bought a one-way ticket to Switzerland.
With no knowledge of German at the time, she was unable to get a job in banking there.
It was just the push the couple needcd to go into business together and, in 2005, they started Tour 168 of Switzerland.
Tour 168 is a reference to the Chinese phrase \"yi lu fa\" - which sounds like \"yi liu ba\", or 168 - referring to a journey of prosperity.
\"We know the authentic Swiss destinations that many foreigners don't know about,\" said Ms Rossi-Ong.
Their most recent tour saw them take six Singaporeans around Switzerland for four days, including stops in smaller, more far-flung cantons like Appenzelle, St Moriz and Lugano.
Mr Huang spoke of the unique experience that travel specialists possess.
\"We have first-hand experience with the land and culture of the places we specialise in, and direct contact with the people
and their way of life,\" he said.
\"Which big travel company can possibly claim that?\"[/quote]Switzerland - http://www.tour168.ch/
Italy - http://www.ergo-travel.com/
Germany - http://www.gutereise.com.sg/ -
Frankly, don’t need to pay through your nose for these so called off the beaten track tours. Some of the land tour prices seem reasonable but lots are not included and there are lots of extras payable and these adds up. Why these seem cheap is also because they use public transport. Any upgrades cost extra. Better off DIY. These so called regional off the beaten track tours may be new to Singaporeans in general but are common to Americans. Well known travel specialists like Insight and trafalger have country roads tours as well and those are truly all inclusive. I have done several European river cruises that generally cater to americans, that have taken me to lesser known small towns which are also unesco heritage sites. Christmas market tours are all std offerings by these European river cruises or insight and trafalger.
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Dnls_mum:
Well known travel specialists like Insight and trafalger have country roads tours as well and those are truly all inclusive.
personally, I'm not very impressed with trafalgar's itineraries. Much of it is still focused on the well known tourist cities/towns. Insight itineraries are more off the beaten track but I feel they are quite rushed.
I tend to like to spend my holidays getting an in depth feel of a small number of places instead of rushing from one town to another and spending a good portion of the trip on the coach. I don't see anything wrong with taking public transport, that's what the locals use after all and it makes it a rather authentic experience. In fact one of my best experiences while touring Europe is taking the public trains in Switzerland seeing life and places as it really is for the Swiss. Taking a river cruise with a dozen other tourists isn't really my kind of thing.
I don't deny that the 3 agencies featured in the mypaper article are pricier but from their itineraries, I can see they really know their stuff (how many tour agencies would know to recommend appenzell http://www.fotopedia.com/magazine/stories/qOYCBjRBDaI/Appenzell_Innerrhoden_the_Smallest_Canton_of_Switzerland_by_Jean-Yves_Roure in switzerland or spandau kreuzberg friedrichshain in berlin?) and the premium is justified. Tbh, even I can't afford them, and yes, DIY is always the best choice for Europe. But im sure there are singaporeans for whom the price is not an issue and they just don't want to spend the effort to plan their own trips. -
xiaostar:
Taking public tpt during a vacation can be time consuming. I'd rather pay for private more efficient tpt, but that is because I want to maximize my leave and go as many holidays as I can. Even my 31 days of leave now, is barely enough :(. I am too \"tan sin\" :rotflmao:Dnls_mum:
Well known travel specialists like Insight and trafalger have country roads tours as well and those are truly all inclusive.
personally, I'm not very impressed with trafalgar's itineraries. Much of it is still focused on the well known tourist cities/towns. Insight itineraries are more off the beaten track but I feel they are quite rushed.
I tend to like to spend my holidays getting an in depth feel of a small number of places instead of rushing from one town to another and spending a good portion of the trip on the coach. I don't see anything wrong with taking public transport, that's what the locals use after all and it makes it a rather authentic experience. In fact one of my best experiences while touring Europe is taking the public trains in Switzerland seeing life and places as it really is for the Swiss. Taking a river cruise with a dozen other tourists isn't really my kind of thing.
I don't deny that the 3 agencies featured in the mypaper article are pricier but from their itineraries, I can see they really know their stuff (how many tour agencies would know to recommend appenzell in switzerland or spandaur kreuzberg friedrichshain in berlin?) and the premium is justified. Tbh, even I can't afford them, and yes, DIY is always the best choice for Europe. But im sure there are singaporeans for whom the price is not an issue and they just don't want to spend the effort to plan their own trips.
My personal preference now is still 5 star river cruises. Similar price as these 3 tour companies, but 5 star service, food and wine. To us, Europe is really about the local food and wine and we love the quaint towns. Nothing beats waking up in a new town everyday and not having to pack and unpack. Road trips are just not relaxing enough for us with all the driving from place to place no matter what or how exclusive they are, the same distance needs to be covered.
But then, cruising is not for everyone. Easier for most people to imagine a road trip then a river cruise. When i went on Royal Caribbean's Alaskan cruise 16 yrs ago, most people cannot imagine, much less appreciate what i was telling them. Now RC even operates from Singapore! River cruises are really virtually unheard of in Singapore now. To each it's own!
What cannot be disputed is that there is more to Europe then the major cities and whirlwind 2 weeks 8 countries kind of tours are passé.
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Our tour agency trip to Europe is confirmed.
The temperature is likely to be 8 deg C to -5 deg C.
Suggested clothing is thermal wear, hat, mufflers, gloves, thick warm jacket with windbreaker, thick socks
How many of pieces top n bottom should we bring? Preferred bottom should be pants, not dresses or skirts? Top should be only long sleeves?
MTIA
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