1. Choose a destination.
- Search airline websites for flights to places you would like to visit. Sometimes prices can decide your destination for you.
- Check dates for festivals and events in various cities, such as Oktoberfest in Munich or Carnival in Venice.
2. Book a flight. Try to book as far in advance as possible to find the best fares.
- Ryanair and EasyJet offer cheap flights, but watch out for additional fees and baggage limits.
- StudentUniverse and lastminute.com provide flight comparisons to find low fares.
- Thomas Cook sometimes has great deals on flight and hotel packages.
3. Flying is not the only way to travel. Especially when traveling within the UK, trains and buses may be a cheaper, more efficient way to travel. For better fares, you may want to book these tickets in advance, but they can usually be purchased at the station as well.
- National Rail, Virgin Trains, thetrainline.com, and redspottedhanky.com are a few sites where you can purchase train tickets online.
- When traveling to Ireland, you can take a train and then a ferry. For ferry prices, try searching directferries.ie or Irishferries.com.
- Take the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels.
- With various train lines all over Europe, train travel is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get around.
4. Book hotels or hostels.
- Compare prices and book rooms at Hostelworld.com or Hostels.com.
- If you are planning to spend the whole trip in one place, you may want to book ahead for rooms just to be sure that you have somewhere to stay when you get there.
- Before you book, be sure to check the location of the hostel in relation to other places in the city.
- CouchSurfing and Only-apartments are other options for finding accommodation.
5. Book tours you may be interested in taking.
- Some places can be difficult to get to without a car, so a tour may be the best way to go.
- Evan Evans Tours and Premium Tours offer day trips to places like Stonehenge, Oxford and the Cotswolds.
- Hop-on, hop-off buses, like those offered by City Sightseeing can be a great way to learn about a city while getting around.
- Many cities offer walking tours as well.
- Ghost tours are a fun way to see a place at night. Not only are the spooky stories entertaining, but you get an idea of the city's history and hear tales of the people who lived there before.
- Pub crawls, especially in Ireland and England, are a great way to meet new people and sample some of the local brews.
6. Do some research.
- Look at maps of the city. Find out where your hotel is in relation to the places you want to visit.
- Find out how to get to your hotel when you arrive, whether it is on foot, by subway, by taxi, or on a bus or shuttle.
- Have a few ideas about what you want to see and do. Plans can change, but at least you'll have a starting point when you arrive. Tour books, such as Frommer's or Lonely Planet, and TripAdvisor are good places to find suggestions.
- Check the weather reports to help make packing decisions.
- Most of the people you meet in your travels will probably speak English, but if you are traveling to a non-English speaking country, try to learn a few key phrases. Hello, please and thank you are a good way to start.
7. Don't be afraid to talk to people.
- Get to know any flatmates and classmates. They may even be interested in traveling with you in the future.
- Traveling alone can be fun, but it can get a bit lonely. Take a tour and meet some new people. You might be surprised what you have in common.
- Locals are typically very friendly and like talking to travelers.
- If you know how to speak a foreign language, even just the basics, don’t be afraid to try. The only way you will improve is with practice and locals love to see that you are trying to learn their language.
England
- London
- See the crown jewels in the Tower of London.
- Take a ride on the London Eye, the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe.
- Take a boat ride down the Thames.
- See the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.
- Visit the eclectic shops of Camden Market.
- Take a walk through Hyde Park. If it is a Sunday, stop at Speaker’s Corner, where it is tradition for anyone who has something to say to have a platform to say it.
- Liverpool
- Have a Beatles Day.
- Visit the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
- Journey to Albert Dock to explore the Beatles Story Museum.
- Spend the evening at the Cavern Club, where there is live music every night.
- Take a walk around the city and admire the architecture. Add places like St. George’s Hall and the Liverpool Waterfront to your list of stops.
Scotland
- Edinburgh
- Stop at Edinburgh Castle and be sure not to miss the one o’clock gun.
- Walk the Royal Mile, one of the most famous roads in the world.
- For whisky lovers, take a barrel ride and learn how Scotch Whisky is made before a tasting at the Scotch Whisky Experience.
- Stirling
- Climb the 246 steps to the top of Wallace Monument.
- Visit Stirling Castle, the crowning site of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Ireland
- Dublin
- Have a pint at the Guinness Storehouse along with a tour.
- Learn about the production of whiskey at the Jameson Distillery.
- Go on a pub crawl through Temple Bar.
- Take a free walking tour through the city with SANDEMANs NEW Dublin Tour.
- Explore the hallowed grounds of Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
- Venture through the gates of Trinity College, whose graduates include Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett .
- Belfast
- Take a free tour of City Hall.
- Make the trip up Cave Hill to Belfast Castle.
- See where the Titanic was built at Titanic Belfast, the largest museum of its kind.
- Do some shopping at Victoria Square and be sure to stop at the observation deck to take in the view.
- The hop-on, hop-off bus tour is highly recommended because it covers history and parts of the city that you may not see otherwise.
- If you have time, plan a side trip to Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge to see some of Ireland's natural beauty.
France
- Paris
- Visit the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
- Spend a day admiring the masterpieces at the Louvre.
- Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
- Take a boat ride on the Seine.
- Enjoy the view from Sacre Coeur.
- Visit the final resting places of Chopin and Jim Morrison at Pere Lachaise.
- Nice
- Spend a day lounging on the beach.
- Stroll along the Promenade des Anglais.
- Find a market and browse through the selection of food and goods. And be sure to try the crepes.
Italy
- Rome
- Visit the ancient grounds of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
- Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain.
- Enjoy a meal in Piazza Navona.
- Take a walk along the Tiber river and stop at the shops and bars.
- Go to Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.
- Stroll through the streets and enjoy a gelato.
- Appreciate the night view of the city from Castel Sant'Angelo.
- Florence
- Admire the master paintings at the Uffizi
- See how the Medici’s lived at the Pitti Palace
- Visit Brunelleschi's Duomo in Santa Maria del Fiore.
- Gaze over the city from Piazzale Michelangelo.
- Explore the markets. Florence is known for it’s leather works.
Germany
- Cologne
- Journey into the Cologne Cathedral.
- Walk across Hohenzollern Bridge to see the love padlocks as well as beautiful views of the city.
- Visit EL-DE Haus, formerly the Gestapo headquarters.
- See how chocolate is made at the chocolate museum.
Tips:
- Pack light. One of the best things about having a home base in London is that you don’t have to lug everything around with you on your side trips. (Though you may want to bring a towel for certain hostels.)
- Don’t forget to bring any chargers you may need and the proper converters.
- If you are traveling outside of the UK, you may want to have some Euros with you until you can take out more cash.
- Spend some time walking around in cities and towns as well. Some of the best trips can come from just admiring the sites and talking to people you meet on the way.
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