As a follow-up to the night train post, heres another option for those looking to combine transport and hotel: ferries.

Obviously, this option is a bit more limited. I havent found a boat to whisk me from Prague to Barcelona. But if you are on the outskirts of the continent, this might be a handy, cost-effective and interesting way to move about. Lets start south, near Italy and Greece. Many moons ago I took an overnight ferry between the two countries, and it was quite excruciating. Sixteen hours and I wanted to cry with boredom. Sleeping really didnt occur. After that rousing endorsement, look into Superfast Ferries. They have a boat that departs from Ancona, Italy at 6pm and lands you in Igoumenitsa, Greece at 10am the next morning. Choosing aircraft type seats the price for a one-way trip would be 178 EUR for two people.

The British Isles are an excellent starting place for a visit to other European countries. Stena Line offers ferry combined with train rides between London and Amsterdam. Youll start in London, train it to the coast, head across the sea, and after landing be about an hour and a half away from Amsterdam. Leaving at 8:30pm from central London, youll arrive in central Amsterdam at 10:30am the next day. Prices start from 25 GBP one way. Theres a similar rail and sail offer for trips to Ireland; Holyhead, Wales to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire and from Stranraer, Scotland to Belfast. The trip between Holyhead and Dublin isnt a long one; you can usually walk up and buy tickets on your departure day. Train/ferry combo tickets start at 27 GBP.

Lots of water in the Scandinavia area. You can jump an overnight ship between Stockholm and Helsinki via Silja. A one-way ticket, leaving Stockholm at 5pm, and arriving in Helsinki at 10am starts at 132 EUR. If youd like to explore the Baltic countries, get a ferry to Tallinn. Tallink has ships from both Helsinki or Stockholm to Tallinn or Riga. The Helsinki Tallinn run only takes 2 hours and prices start at 23 EUR. You could also cruise Stockholm to Riga, Latvia. Prices start at 24 EUR for a deck place and a 5pm departure gets you into Riga at 11am.

Photo Credit: Mischiru@Flickr

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What are your travel hotel requirements? Hotel? Pension? Apartment? Hostel? Campsite? How about a pod?

CitizenM opened their first hotel at the end of June in Amsterdam. They are targeting the luxury budget market with their pod hotel room concept. In a 14 square meter room youll get an extra-large king-size bed, a wall-to-wall window, an LCD television with free movie channels and free WIFI Internet. They are touting their super bed and bath linens and their down-to-earth, friendly style. The hotels are specially built to their specs; in a style they call Industrial Flexible Demountable.

Prices however, arent the cheapest. They do have cheaper rates on the weekends, which is good for leisure travelers, but an October stay would set you back 84 EUR a night; not including breakfast. The Amsterdam hotel is also located at Schiphol Airport, which means youd have a roughly 20 minute train ride into town.

Right now, the Schiphol location is the only one. And it was probably a smart choice launching in Amsterdam its a good city to be experimental in. Remember this post on the citys fast food vending machines? The chains second hotel will also be Amsterdam near the citys World Trade Center. No other definite openings are listed on their website, but they say they have interest in building pods in a ton of European cities including, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Stockholm, Milan and Paris.

Photo Credit: CitizenM

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The Sunday Telegraph, a UK newspaper recently surveyed a bunch of popular tourist attractions around the world to see which city was the most expensive for travelers. I know this will come as a big surprise to some of you but LONDON turned out to be the biggest pound snatching town.

The paper looked at the cost of visiting 9 of each citys most popular attractions plus the price of an open-top bus ride in London and 10 other cities around the world. In Europe, they also examined Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Cardiff and Berlin. The price for all of the surveyed London attractions was 163 GBP MORE than the price for the second most expensive city on the list, Paris. If a family of four visiting London wants to see Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Madame Tussards Wax Museum, take a ride on the London Eye, do Londons Original Sightseeing Tour, plus see 5 other popular attractions, theyll need to cough up 586 GBP. In Dublin, the least expensive city surveyed, can see a family of 4 spending 180 GBP and experiencing Dublin Castle, Dublin Zoo, St. Patricks Cathedral, a bus tour plus 6 other activities.

Another interesting fact uncovered by the survey was the difference in prices levied by the same company in different cities. For example, a trip to Madame Tussards in London costs 85 GBP for a family of 4, while gazing at the wax sculptures in Berlin is only 51 GBP for the same family.

Now some might say theres no comparison between the Tower of London and Dublin Castle, or it could be your dream to visit Buckingham Palace, no matter the cost. And thats great budget accordingly and all your travel fantasies can come true. But lets think about FREE attractions in nearly every city, that often offer a more authentic experience than the overcrowded gems the tourist folks like to promote. Why does it cost 12 GBP to visit Westminster Abbey, yet it is free to visit Notre Dame?

What has been one of your best free experiences in Europe and which one was your most expensive, but so totally worth it?

You can see the full article here.

Photo Credit: kiki99@Flickr

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Theres a whole host of companies out there offering package holidays to destinations all over the world. These can run the gamut between simply arranging your airfare and hotel to the whole shebang: airfare, hotel, tours, guide, meals and more. Which you chose (or dont) depends on your previous travel experiences and how comfortable you feel landing alone in a foreign country. We used Go-today twice to visit London and Pairs about 5 or 6 years ago and found it a great way to get an approved hotel plus airfare at a really good price. Now, we went to London in January and Paris in March, but we spent a week in each city and saved a ton of money.

Lets start with Go-today. They offer a range of packages from simple airfare and hotel, to fly and drives which offer hotel, airfare and car rental to escorted tours which is a group holiday that includes hotel, some meals, some city tours and entrance fees plus a guide throughout the whole trip. What I like about Go-today is that you can make airfare optional, so I could hop a train to one of the destinations and still get a good deal.

European Destinations bills itself as for the independent traveler offering self-drive and rail holidays. You can create your own itinerary and choose the holiday with or without air, hotel and car. They offer some set trips, which you can customize yourself depending on your interests.

If you are looking for a more guided experience, visit Friendly Planet Travel.  They only offer guided tours, however the majority of their European destinations are cruises. Trafalgar Tours operates both First Class and CostSaver trips they do have a city break option thats independent but their other tours are escorted.

If you are specifically looking to go to the UK, there are many operators specializing in this region. One, Britain and Ireland Vacations covers England, Ireland and Scotland with both escorted and independent tours. The independent tours all come with a car rental so you are free to explore as you choose.

Have you traveled with one of these, or a different package tour company? Share your experiences and recommendations!

Photo Credit: Digiart2001@Flickr

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Yesterday, we took a look at some airfare deals from the US to Europe. Today we are taking on the European airlines focusing on the budget flyers. Theres a huge fleet of them operating all over the continent with the majority of them based out of the UK. This is a no frills way to travel, cheap. Buy your food on board, pay for your checked luggage and no seat assignments. Soaring fuel costs, the credit crunch and a slumping economy in many European countries is fueling discussions into how long low-cost airlines will be able to continue to fly.

Irelands Ryanair spearheaded the budget flight movement. Theyve recently raised eyebrows by announcing a 5% ticket price cut; on the heels of a huge first quarter profit loss. Currently, if you want to go somewhere in September, check out their site they are offering 1 million seats for 1 GBP each. Thats one-way, and they say taxes and charges are included!

Another one of the firsts was EasyJet. The majority of their flights go in and out of the UK. If you snag a great fare to London, an EasyJet flight may be your ticket to the mainland. Another popular UK budget carrier is BmiBaby who is offering a winter fare sale and a separate promotion promising up to 30% off all routes and all flights.

Sky Europe is a Bratislava, Slovakia based airline, and they cover many central and eastern European destinations. They have a variety of offers right now for 29 EUR, taxes included. Sky Europe would be an easy way of traveling around this half of the continent.

AirEuropa is a Spanish based low-cost carrier, while Germanwings covers many destinations in Germany. They are currently promoting 1 EUR fares from London to Cologne and 9 EUR fares from Cologne to Stockholm. If you are looking to get in or out of Germany also check out AirBerlin. Myair.com offers many destinations in Italy, and are running a 24 EUR winter flight sale. Many countries have low-cost carriers; Brussels Airlines, Sterling covers many Scandinavian destinations and Aegean Airlines flies around Greece.

Besides checking individual airline sites, also go to Wegolo, a comparison site especially for budget airlines. Dont know which airlines fly where? Visit the Low Cost Airline Guide.

Tomorrow we will explore package holidays. Is combining your airfare and hotel a good choice for you?

Photo Credit: Giacomo P.@Flickr

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