# Europe 2014



## Mike&Edie (Jun 23, 2013)

We are full time in the US and intend to go to Europe next summer, late and stay for several months.  We are a little concerned about extra costs, hidden charges and best forms of transportation between timeshares and countries.  Your knowledge from your experience would be greatly appreciated.  We are particularly interested in last calls, extra vacations and modes of travel.
Thanks, Mike and Edie

http://www.fulltimetimeshare.com


----------



## x3 skier (Jun 23, 2013)

Unbelievably broad request. 

But....

For transportation, use either rail or LCC Airlines. I would NOT get Eurail pass as you seldom save much and poit to point fares are reasonable. If you are traveling a distance, an overnight train saves a nights hotel or other charge. 

I suggest you lay out some specifics and then ask for advice. 

Cheers


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 23, 2013)

*apologies for the broadness*

Yes, too broad.  We are kind of looking for the horror stories, the traps to avoid, the usual and customary expenses that aren't always listed, the best deals, these sorts of things.  As our plans firm up we will dive back in with specifics.  Thanks for your response, your LCC suggestion started a whole conversation with the wife on how we were going to do this.  Thanks again.
Mike


----------



## cgeidl (Jun 23, 2013)

*Buy and sell a car*

As most timeshares are not in the cities a car is essential to getting around.You could plan city center to city center rail travel to go to the three or four cities you wish to visit then pick up a car for the rest of the journey. It has beem our experience  that the best museums and galleries and entertainment are in the cities but the real Europe is in the small towns and rural areas.
We went for a year on one trip and bought a car and caravan then sold them for just about what we paid for them ter 25,00o miles for just about what we paid for them.
If you are going for several months buying a car might make sense.


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 23, 2013)

*Buying a car*

Good idea, we had not considered that.  There are several programs for doing that too.  We will explore that.  Thank you,
Mike


----------



## cgeidl (Jun 23, 2013)

*Get a low mileage used car*

We bought a five year old Renault with low mileage and bought it in a rural area then sold it near a large city.Prices are higher in the cities.


----------



## x3 skier (Jun 23, 2013)

If you want a car to have maximum flexibility, numerous companies have European Delivery programs. You purchase the car at your dealer, pick it up the brand new car in Europe, drive it and then drop it off for shipment back to the states. BMW, which I have used, Mercedes, Volvo, and others all offer very good deals with a 7% or so discount off the top plus whatever you can negotiate plus free shipping back to your dealer.  

Others offer long term leases like Renault and Puegot where you lease the new car for six months or more and then just return it at the end of the lease. 

Cheers


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 23, 2013)

*Cars/transportation*

Good ideas all, thank you thank you.


----------



## MaryH (Jun 24, 2013)

First of all, last call, etc. might be difficult for peak summer in Europe if you are talking about July and August.  Might be easier if you are talking more May/June or Sept/Oct.

Also timeshare may not be the best method if you want to visit the major cities.  Very few urban timeshares around and some like London, Paris, maybe difficult to get.  You might have better luck with rural timeshares or vrbo.com for some things.

There used to be tax free leases from 15 days and up.  But remember that gas is likely 2+ times what you are used to in the US and a lot of cars are manual, not automatic.


----------



## lizap (Jun 24, 2013)

I agree that a Eurail pass is going to be expensive for that period of time.  I like the idea of buying a used car.  To really experience Europe, you're going to need a car.  We have rented cars and travelled by train.  Travelling by car is much easier and preferred. If possible, I would plan your vacation to avoid Italy in August as many Italians are on vacation then and also, it can get hotter there in late summer.


----------



## PStreet1 (Jun 24, 2013)

You may find, too, that renting on VRBO.COM is actually less expensive than using timeshares (if you count your maintenance fee and exchange fee).  We've loved our apartment stays in various European cities, loved having contact with a "real" Italian, Parisien, etc.--and we've saved money by being in the center of things and being able to easily use local transportation, shop where our hosts told us to shop, etc.  The real advantage, of course, is that you'll be in the center of things, not on the outskirts or 2 hours away having to take a train to the city or drive and worry about what to do with the car.


----------



## MaryH (Jun 24, 2013)

Actually I prefer rail since I tend to go to major cities but very few Eurail bargins to be had in the summer.  Sometimes in off season you can get Eurail saver passes for 2+ people travelling together and a certain number of days.  But I have not purchased Eurail pass for a long time, tend to buy point to point tickets.  If you are spending a long time in a specific country and do not have car, maybe get a national pass or a saver card.

But if you are utilizing TS, they are usually in less urban areas where a car may be necessary.  

As to LCC, sometime BA, etc. can be very cost effective and not much more  than Easyjet or Ryanair, etc.  But one thing to consider is luggage.  If you are going for several months, you might have a bit of stuff and those LCC would charge extras for luggage so costs may be similar all in.

You need to read a bit and talk a bit to figure out where you want to go and roughly how long for each country..  You might get more focused feedback then.


----------



## x3 skier (Jun 24, 2013)

I have had used VRBO in the States with good results and have no reason to doubt it is just as good in Europe. 

Another place is airbnb.com which I have good luck as well. 

Cheers


----------



## lizap (Jun 24, 2013)

Are you going to combine travel to major cities long with countryside? If you have never been to Rome, Florence, Vienna, Paris, etc..., I'm sure you will want to do that.   I would strongly encourage you to also experience the countryside, more rural areas.


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 24, 2013)

*Great ideas, recommendations and observations*

Mary H, yes, we are becoming very familiar with the drying up of last calls in peak times and peak places.  It is a true demand driven market.  We intend to go when school starts in the fall.  We will check out vrbo for europe.  I googled tax free leases for europe and didn't really find anything.  Do you remember who offered them?  Good feedback on flights.  We are practicing getting our packing down to minimum levels.  The challenge is different climates.  Thanks.

Lizap:  We have travelled to Italy and Paris.  We had 3 teenagers in tow.  We want to go back for a more sedate adult experience.  We did agriturismos and hotels.  So this time we want to move slower, more comfortably, efficiently and experience it without the major distractions of parenthood. I think yours is good advice to strike a balance between rural and the major attractions of civilizations past.

 PStreet1:  You inspire us to relook at airbnb.  VRBO is almost always more than we want to spend.  We are thrifty.  Edie mourns if she finds out she paid more than she had too for a stick of gum.  Must have been hit hard by the depression in a former life.  But I think you are right about meeting the local folks wherever we go, that is a big part of the joy of travel.  Thanks,

x3skier:  I think we will use airbnb a fair bit, especially travelling a little off season, in combination with time shares.  Thank you for your thoughts.

Mike and Edie
http://www.fulltimetimeshare.com


----------



## bobpark56 (Jun 24, 2013)

*MagicJack*

We have found MagiJack to be a helpful, inexpensive bargain when traveling outside the U.S. It lets us call back to anywhere in the U.S. for free...and to Canada too, I think. Calls to countries other than the U.S. are usually very reasonably priced. Moreover, folks in the U.S. can call you, just as if they were dialing your home number. Last I knew, you get to pick your home area code.

You don't need to have magicjack on all the time. If someone calls you and your magicjack is not connected, they can leave a voice mail and magicjack will notify you via email...with an attached sound file that you can listen to (we use iTunes for that).


----------



## spencersmama (Jun 24, 2013)

Here are a couple of websites to get you familiar with the car lease/buy back program in Europe.  A few European car companies do it because they can then sell the cars as used and save the buyers lots of money in taxes.  It's been a while since I read about it, but I seem to remember one of the largest savings in the program is that it includes really good insurance.  

http://gofrance.about.com/od/carrentals/p/peugeotcarrent.htm

http://www.autoeurope.com/buyback_home.cfm


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 24, 2013)

*Car lease buy back program*

Spencersmama:

Thank you, excellent reading.  I have both bookmarked.  We are looking closely at this option.  Never driven a Peugeot.


----------



## x3 skier (Jun 24, 2013)

If you don't want a Peugeot, try a Renault. 

http://www.renaultusa.com/

Cheers


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 25, 2013)

*Good prices*

x3skier:

Thanks, good tip, I have bookmarked that one too.  Using their website I priced out a car for 5 months, unlimited mileage and it worked out to $787 a month. Better than renting.


----------



## ecwinch (Jun 26, 2013)

Also look at timeshare rentals  - RCI Extra Vacations Getaway's worked well for us on a month-long trip to UK/Ireland that we are currently on. Diamond Resorts has a number of UK resorts and we were able to snag June/July weeks for an average of about $750 per. Which - when you consider the exchange fee - was a better  deal for us than exchanging.  

And they seemed to have better inventory in Extra Vacations.

For wi-fi service consider Boingo.  A month of roaming access with them was only about $10.  This worked well for us as the account provided access on the resort's wi-fi network rather than having to buy the resorts access.

Also I would recommend AirBnB as an additional option for renting apartments.


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 26, 2013)

*current trip*

ecwinch,
Thank you, those timeshare options and airbnb are on our radar.  I really appreciate the tip about Boingo.  Sounds like a good inexpensive option, right up our alley!
Mike
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


----------



## Carolinian (Jun 26, 2013)

Join Dial an Exchange.  As a timeshare owning member, you can rent last minute (45-60 days out) inventory from them, which the general public cannot.  You will not find much last minute in the UK in that period, but should in Spain and Portugal.  www.daelive.com

For hotels, I often find good deals at www.booking.com

Consolidators are the best bet for car rentals, and I have used several, but the one that I have found best in recent years has been www.economycarrentals.com

Low cost carriers like EasyJet, WizzAir, RyanAir, Germanwings, etc. can cut travel costs, but also check major carriers.  BA often drops fares on some routes to compete with them.

For money, ATM's are the best bet in western Europe, and work okay in eastern Europe.  Use one that does not hit you with a 2% junk fee on top of the 1% Cirrus fee.  Capital One is the one I use, and it absorbs even the 1% fee.  Exchange houses in eastern Europe can give great rates with no commission, but shop around.  Since the euro came in, exchange houses are known for bad rates and high commissions in western Europe.  You can still do okay with exchange house or bank currency exchange in some of the countries that do not use the euro like the UK and Switzerland.  If you use a credit card, also check your fees - CapOne also rocks here.  In some countries like the UK, most ATM's attached to banks do not charge machine owner fees, but in some countries like Greece all of them do, and a good guide book will let you know which have the lower fees.

As to guidebooks, for city trips, I like the In Your Pocket series.  Most of the content can be downloaded online at www.inyourpocket.com , but I also like getting the physical books when I am in a city they cover.


----------



## MaryH (Jun 28, 2013)

Seems that others have supplied good links for the tax free lease.  It was a program which was recommended to those of us doing MBA in France.  If you are looking for more options, also can google search
tax free car leasing Europe.

@ecwinch, Are you sure Europe is covered in the $10 Boingo subscription?  I think $10 is only for north American and international roaming is possible but far more expansive.

The best deal for internet for uk if you have a unlocked smart phone is 3 (Three) which gives you 1 month of unlimited internet, 3k text and 200 or 300 minutes for gbp 20.  I was there only for a week but found it great to have internet on my cell.

If you have wifi somewhere, Skype is good for calls too.  Or you can buy an inexpensive simcard with lycra mobile or something in the UK.


----------



## Mike&Edie (Jun 28, 2013)

*Great information*

Carolinian, Thank you we will certainly investigate each of your leads.  Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.

MaryH,  Thank you as well, excellent information.  We knew we would get great ideas from Tuggers!  Thank you.

Mike


----------



## ecwinch (Jun 28, 2013)

MaryH said:


> @ecwinch, Are you sure Europe is covered in the $10 Boingo subscription?  I think $10 is only for north American and international roaming is possible but far more expansive.
> 
> The best deal for internet for uk if you have a unlocked smart phone is 3 (Three) which gives you 1 month of unlimited internet, 3k text and 200 or 300 minutes for gbp 20.  I was there only for a week but found it great to have internet on my cell..



You are probably looking at the US Boingo acct. Boingo also has a separate plan for Ireland/UK - sorry for the confusion.  They also have a Europe Plus plan for $34.95 per month.

3 sounds like a good deal also, but was not a roaming partner for the Diamond Resorts we stayed at. The resort wi-fi was a separate weekly charge 27 GP for each device that needed connectivity and with 2 smartphones, a computer, and an iPad, it was a big saver for us.


----------



## MaryH (Jun 28, 2013)

I have my laptop and a tablet.  Put the 3 SIM into my phone in the UK and used it as a hot spot when I needed it.


----------



## Ågent99 (Jul 1, 2013)

x3 skier said:


> If you want a car to have maximum flexibility, numerous companies have European Delivery programs. You purchase the car at your dealer, pick it up the brand new car in Europe, drive it and then drop it off for shipment back to the states. BMW, which I have used, Mercedes, Volvo, and others all offer very good deals with a 7% or so discount off the top plus whatever you can negotiate plus free shipping back to your dealer.
> 
> Cheers



We plan to do ED with BMW for 2014 and spend 4 weeks in Europe driving it around.  I last did an ED with BMW in 2005...such a fantastic way to see Europe!


----------



## spencersmama (Jul 11, 2013)

Mike&Edie said:


> Spencersmama:
> 
> Thank you, excellent reading.  I have both bookmarked.  We are looking closely at this option.  Never driven a Peugeot.





x3 skier said:


> If you don't want a Peugeot, try a Renault.
> 
> http://www.renaultusa.com/
> 
> Cheers



No problem!  Sorry it took me so long to respond.  I forgot I posted.  It seems like a great option, and one not many people know about.  Let me know how it works out if you decide to lease.  

Thank you for the link, x3skier.  I was in a bit of a hurry the day I posted and couldn't remember the other car company that leased to Americans in Europe.


----------



## ronandjoan (Aug 18, 2013)

Mike&Edie said:


> Mary H, yes, we are becoming very familiar with the drying up of last calls in peak times and peak places.  It is a true demand driven market.  We intend to go when school starts in the fall.  We will check out vrbo for europe.  I googled tax free leases for europe and didn't really find anything.  Do you remember who offered them?  Good feedback on flights.  We are practicing getting our packing down to minimum levels.  The challenge is different climates.  Thanks.
> 
> Lizap:  We have travelled to Italy and Paris.  We had 3 teenagers in tow.  We want to go back for a more sedate adult experience.  We did agriturismos and hotels.  So this time we want to move slower, more comfortably, efficiently and experience it without the major distractions of parenthood. I think yours is good advice to strike a balance between rural and the major attractions of civilizations past.
> 
> ...



Hi Mike and Edie
We, also, were in Europe in an earlier life - of course DH was in the US Army then, too, and working, so more difficult to travel very much.  So we are excited about our upcoming trip to Italy and Normandy next May and June, in order to be at Normady on June 6th and at Anzio Beach (where his father landed in 1944) on Memorial Day.

We'll only be there 25 days though - lucky you guys, for being able to stay  longer.  (But we still have one elderly parent left - that is down from 4 when we started this "adventure."  So we felt we can slip away out of country now for a short time.)

 That said, we found no timeshares we could stay at so we are using a combination of hotels and vrbo.  I found a 4 BD vrbo in the Normady region for 8 days for $1180, to be divided by us and BIL - so that is a GREAT buy!  And more room in case my brother wants to join us at the last minute.

I think you will have good success with airbnb and vrbo, just keep looking - you guys are experts at that now!


----------



## cgeidl (Aug 18, 2013)

*Five months best deal is to buy.*

If you can afford the risk involved you would be much better off buying and then reselling when finished.  Buy a low mileage car. After one year we sold for just what we paid for it. We bought it in a rural area and sold it near London.There is often a 5 to 10 % difference in prices between the rural areas and cities. We have a friend in theLondon area who id this from his home for about 30 years. Bought four or five low mileage cars a month and resold them from his home and used the small backyard for his lot.Made a very good living with only a couple trips up the freeway a month and mostly showing cars on the weekend. Just bought Fords as he was a Ford mechanic once.


----------

