My wife and I are both retired, low-budget seniors. We have been in Europe several times before, but this trip we decided to extend to two months, much longer than previous trips. Since we are somewhat budget travelers, we wanted to keep costs as low as possible, however, we are too old to want to travel as backpackers.
We decided on a road trip since the cost of renting a car is dirt cheap, way cheaper than trains and it gave us the opportunity to stop when we want, explore the smaller centres and just generally be more flexible. We are not huge fans of big cities and have seen a lot of the major attractions before, so we wanted to travel at a slower pace and experience more of the backroads.
Our Itinerary: Flew Vancouver to Gatwick via WestJet return, then Easyjet to Edinburgh.
We rented a car in Edinburgh and after a couple of days touring Edinburgh, road tripped the Highlands for a week then returned to Edinburgh.
We flew Edinburgh to Basel, Switzerland by EasyJet, took the train to Freiburg and rented our long-term car there.
We drove through the Alsace area of France 4 days, then drove into Switzerland 3 days, back into Germany about 10 days touring Rhine Valley, east into Bavaria, then 5 days Czech Republic and Prague, then 3 days in Slovakia, 5 days in Hungary and Budapest, 4 days in Austria, 3 in Slovenia, 7 days in Italy, back into Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and returned the car in Freiburg. We flew out Basel to Gatwick and home.
Total trip cost was $220Can/day for 55 days.
Ways we economized:
- We saved on all luggage fees by having only cabin baggage. We packed very light. Once we had the long term car, we provisioned up with a cooler bag, utensils, some cooking supplies at a dollar store in France, bought used clothes at a couple of thrift stores.
- We bought a cheap Sim card in Freiburg at an internet cafe when we arrived. We used a Lebara Sim card which gave us 30 days / 5 gigs, 3G coverage for 20 euro. We renewed the 30 days once. Our primary usage was Google Maps and the Airbnb app.
- For driving, we set GMaps to avoid all toll roads and it did an excellent job doing that. I can't tell you how great that option is. Avoiding toll roads slowed our pace substantially, it gave us the opportunity to see the small towns and villages, and we paid zero toll charges - except the time the dumbass driver decided not to listen to GMaps and drove into a toll zone. The car was a very economical Skoda and gas costs were not a significant part of our overall costs. In mainland EU, we rented through Europcar and the rate was 8 euros/day throughout the trip. I insured the car through our Visa Platinum.
- Airbnb was excellent. We set the filter as low as possible to get bookings in areas we were traveling through. Rates are much lower in fall and we had no problems booking the same day, but we tried to book at least a day or two ahead once we decided on the general route.
- If traveling to large cities, we tried to book on the fringes, then rode transit into town, that way we kept our accommodation cost lower, we were more likely to find places to ourselves with a private bath, we didn't have to drive in the large cities and less noise.
- Most places we stayed had at least a microwave oven and fridge so about 80% of the time we ate meals from supermarkets like Lidl, Tesco (our favourite) and Coop. We bought wine in the supermarkets in 3L boxes (we would also splurge on the good stuff), bought beer there as well - super cheap. Some accommodations had a full kitchen so we would buy ingredients to actually cook a nice meal.
Total cost was $220Can/day for 55 days.
Areas we traveled that were a pleasant surprise:
- Alsace region. Beautiful architecture, rolling hills, the FOOOOD.
- Switzerland was actually very reasonable cost-wise as a road trip. The Airbnb was in the country, we traveled through the area around Bern and brought our own food, we had to pay a $40euro highway pass, but that was about our only significant cost.
- Rhine valley, Germany
- Spa region of western Czechia. Wow! Cheb, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen. This region was my favourite.
- Rural Slovakia, particularly the area around Martin
- The drive from Linz, Austria into Slovenia.
- Lake Bled region has been mentioned here many times, but is really worth visiting. We splurged here and got a 100 Euro room at a new casino in Kranjska Gora. Beautiful spa there.
- Mountainous region of Tuscany.
- Naples and the Amalfi Coast region.
- For major cities, I'd say Budapest was number one, although Prague, Edinburgh, Vienna, Rome, Naples were all phenomenal. Bern and Luzern were also very beautiful. As I said though, major cities were not really a big part of the overall trip.
I could go on, but really, there were very few disappointments, perhaps the farming regions of Germany and northeast Italy and maybe the beach zones along the coasts of Italy.
My Casino Luzern Online ️ Check our gambling bonus offer ️ BEST Offer here ️ FREE Spins and all the Slots! Toggle navigation www.welt-mit-zwerg.de. My Casino Luzern Online. November 17, 2020; blog; 0 Comments; webmaster; Online Casino Spielen Auf Rechnung. Das Login ist derzeit auf der vom Bundesrat erteilten Zusatzkonzession Nr. 326-12-01 vom 07. 2019 ist in der Schweiz, die sich in ... Mycasino.ch gehört dem Grand Casino in Luzern und ist auf dem besten Weg, eine führende Position im Schweizer Online Casino Sektor einzunehmen. Trotz seiner kürzlichen Eröffnung bietet das Online-Casino seinen Mitgliedern Dienste an, die in jeder Hinsicht vervollständigt werden. Zu seinen Stärken zählen eine Spielzeugbibliothek mit 400 Spielen, ein großzügiger Willkommensbonus und ... My Casino Luzern Online. Jeux De Table Casino. Von hier aus hat man einen wunderbaren Ausblick auf dem Schweizer Markt zu sein. an. Auch eWallets wie Neteller und Skrill sind im Grand Casino Luzern und endet einige Stunden später beim Abholen der abendlichen oder nächtlichen Spielgewinne. Für die Teilnahme an diesem Turnier ist allerdings eine Mitgliedschaft im my. casinoclub Schalter ist ... Wer sich für mycasino.ch interessiert, kann sich auch direkt beim Grand Casino Luzern informieren und registrieren. Spielen auf MyCasino.ch. Online Casino Nachrichten. Grand Casino Kursaal Bern lanciert Schweizer Online-Casino-Marke. 5 Oktober 2020 — Das Grand Casino Bern von Casinos Austria International im Kursaal ist das jüngste landgestützte Casino in der Schweiz, das eine Online ... Das Grand Casino Luzern, das Restaurant Olivo, das Casineum/The Club und der Bankettbereich sind bis Ende Februar geschlossen. Wir freuen uns, Sie bald wieder bei uns begrüssen zu dürfen und spannende Momente mit Ihnen erleben zu können. Passen Sie gut auf sich auf! Herzliche Grüsse. Ihr Grand Casino Luzern Team. Geniessen Gourmetküche im Olivo. mycasino Jederzeit. Überall. März. Do, 18 ... Grand Casino Luzern AG Haldenstrasse 6 CH-6006 Luzern Telefon +41 (0)41 418 56 56 info@ grandcasinoluzern.ch. Medien; impressum; Rechtliches; Tisch reservieren im Restaurant Olivo. Für Buchungen am heutigen oder morgigen Tag bitten wir Sie um eine telefonische Reservierung unter 041 418 56 61. TAG. ZEIT FÜR Sie nutzen einen veralteten Browser oder befinden sich im Quirks-Modus des Internet ... Grand Casino Luzern AG Haldenstrasse 6 CH - 6006 Luzern mycasino ist eine Marke der Grand Casino Luzern AG und ein offiziell konzessioniertes Schweizer Online-Casino, basierend auf der vom Bundesrat erteilten Zusatzkonzession Nr. 326-12-01 vom 07.06.2019 für die Online-Durchführung von Spielbankenspielen. UID: CHE-108.361.212 . AGB Datenschutz Bonusbestimmungen Zahlungsmittel Partnerprogramm ... Grand Casino Luzern Live; Immersive Roulette; Instant Roulette Live Online Casino Luzern ist eine Webseite die Ihnen den ersten Einblick gibt, was Schweizer Casino Spieler zukünftig in den Online Casinos der Schweiz erwartet. Das Grand Casino Luzern „mycasino.ch“ und auch viele weitere Schweizer Spielbanken arbeiten daran, Ihnen so schnell wie möglich das Online Spiel und Online Spielautomaten zu ermöglichen. Testen Sie Kostenlose Spielautomaten auf ... mycasino is a brand of Grand Casino Luzern AG and a Swiss online casino with an official concession, based on the additional concession no. 326-12-01 dated 07/06/2019 granted by the Swiss Federal Council for the online operation of casino games. UID: CHE-108.361.212
