European destinations - what is your favorite?

[nerodog]

Another city I really loved was Prague. The architecture was beautiful. We were there during the Xmas markets which were less expensive than in Vienna!!

How about Greece ? Amy timeshare experiences??

 

[nerodog]

Wales. I spent a week based in St David walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. It was wonderful. There's even a timeshare there. Some of our party stayed in the timeshare and 2 of us stayed at a nearby B&B. You can take a bus out to various starting points and hike one way along the trail then pick up another bus back to St Davids. Stop at a pub for lunch on the way or bring a sack lunch depending on how populated the area is. I misread the bus schedule at one point and discovered that the bus didn't run that day but the local pub had a phone number for a taxi. The taxi driver was a farmer from across the road who was also a member of one of the Welsh choirs so we had a concert on our ride back to St Davids; one of those mistakes that turned out to be a highlight of the trip. I loved walking along the cliff tops with waves crashing below/rock formations and long expanses of green grass. We were there in mid-late June and the flowers were blooming, but a local told us there were better in May. Plus St David has lots of history back to the Vikings. I had just read one of the Brother Cadfael series in which he travels to St David and it really brought the history to life.
From St David, we took the train (a pain in the neck; we should have rented a car) up north and spent the following week hiking around Snowdon and visiting the many castles.

I think the following year, we ended up in Norway which I also loved. However, there was more driving. You could focus on Bergen to Oslo and use the train between them. Both have really interesting historical sites/museums. Absolutely plan on a few days at Finse, at the top of the pass between the two towns. There's a train station there with a lovely Inn nearby. The rooms were basic but the food was superb and there was a sunroom and a reading room with windows looking out onto the ice field and lake. We were there in Sept and you would want as close to the first of Sept as you can do. Earlier and the snow won't have melted and the mosquitos are horrible. By late Sept, the snow was flying. The hiking in the area was spectacular. The combination of hiking in the mountains and ferry rides through the fjords plus the history at Bergen was a nice combination.

What TS did you book ? I had heard that one was closing. Thx.

 

[nerodog]

I hear that the Lake District in England is great for views and hikes, but to me...
Heaven on Earth is Tuscany, Italy. It's where I want to go when I die.
.

Lake District is beautiful and also have TS...there's one I always have my eye on ..Bowness on Windermere..I stayed in a Band B and saw the TS..looked good.

 

[nerodog]

As others already wrote, Italy and Wales. Two of my favorites.

I get to Italy, Spain, and the UK every year or so (during non-pandemic times). Though you said you are adverse to driving, I had a wonderful driving trip through Wales and would do it again (and am planning on it). There is so much to see outside of the towns - several times I simply stopped at the next historic site and they were great, and I would never had planned a stop there had I read about them in advance.

I’m hoping to spent 3-5 days (though I may need more) to stop at every historic site from along Hadrian’s Wall. I visited several of them a few years ago, and now want to stop at each. I’m sure I’ll combine that with a few days in Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland, and/or return to the Lake District, etc.

Similarly, I had a wonderful week driving around Ireland, and want to return to see more (including Belfast). On another trip I had combined the driving trip in Wales with Ireland by taking the Holyhead Ferry to Dublin.

So much to see in Europe, it’s really hard to go wrong.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great to read Ken... enjoyed your tips.

 

[Laurie]

We've done many TS trips to Europe, each 3-4 weeks, and of those mentioned here, some favorites and comments:

Portugal! I had overlooked for so long, finally booked when we'd been almost everywhere else on the list. Can't wait to return, and if we ever have to leave the US, it'd be #1 on my refugee destination. It's a small country so driving wasn't bad, very diverse and stunning landscapes. The Cascais TS is an easy train ride into Lisbon, other not-to-miss areas are Algarve, Douro Valley + Porto.

Switzerland: been 2x now, 4 total TS trades, and if we lived in Portugal I'd go every summer. No need for driving because public transportation is so reliable. Bernese Oberland /Lauterbrunnen Valley + towns still my favorite but last time we also traded into the TS in Leukerbad, Les Naturelles, which was gorgeous - it required more travel time to get everywhere we wanted to see.

Austria: 3 TS trades into Bad Gastein, Grundlsee, and Vienna, loved them all, especially the first 2 Mondi resorts. Car recommended for things like driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

Italy: loved Italian Alps for summer hiking (often overlooked), have been there 2x, also we traded 2x into TS's in Venice, and once in Tuscany where Florence wasn't too far by train.

Wales Pembrokeshire coast! Another often-overlooked destination. Have traded into TS's in St. David's and Haven Court. Both were excellent, St. David's better to avoid driving where yes it can be challenging - however you probably want a car to depart at dark-0:30 to reach the ferry for Skomer Island -- which matches Switzerland for my #1 destinations ever witnessed, we have been 2x and I wish we could return every June.

Many others to mention -- loved Brittany in France but we didn't do a TS trade there, loved the Perigord region of France, yes TS trade and yes car required.

 

[Laurie]

Lake District is beautiful and also have TS...there's one I always have my eye on ..Bowness on Windermere..I stayed in a Band B and saw the TS..looked good.

We've traded into Quaysiders Club in Ambleside and that was very good as well. A car would be recommended in the area, IMO.

 

[pedro47]

Paris and Rome the Cities of Love and Romance. Loved both cities many art museums, their excellent shopping & restaurants experiences; but most of all I treasure how they have preserved so many historical architecture buildings, churches & sculptures . IMHO.

 

[sue1947]

What TS did you book ? I had heard that one was closing. Thx.

I think it was the St Davids Vacation Club (it was RCI). I didn't stay there. Friends booked it and I was designated to sleep on the sofa sleeper (before my now firm commitment to avoid any sofa sleepers). It wasn't a sofa and there was no way to sleep. It was an armchair that kind of folded out/collapsed onto the floor. You'd end up sliding down. No sane person would claim it as a sleeping option even for kids. So I went over to the tourist bureau and found a B&B nearby. Otherwise, it was fine. They had a 2 BR; not large, but sufficient. Nothing fancy but a great location.

 

[Ken555]

I'm curious if anyone exchanged into European timeshares via II which they would recommend. I don't use RCI so have explored II a bit, but most I've found seem to be available for nightly rent at a reasonable (~$100-125) rate independently so there's little incentive to use II for an exchange to them.

 

[elaine]

how about TS (not hotels) that don't need a car? We don't mind a bit of a walk/short taxi to a train station and being within 1.5 hours of a city via train-bus. Royal Regency in Vincennes, France (outside of Paris ) comes to mind. Any others?

 

[elaine]

Switzerland: been 2x now, 4 total TS trades, and if we lived in Portugal I'd go every summer. No need for driving because public transportation is so reliable. Bernese Oberland /Lauterbrunnen Valley + towns still my favorite but last time we also traded into the TS in Leukerbad, Les Naturelles, which was gorgeous - it required more travel time to get everywhere we wanted to see.

which SW resorts do you recommend? We're late 50s and like easy/moderate hikes and won't have a car. We've been to Wegen and loved it, but were in a hotel, not TS.

 

[beejaybeeohio]

It is so great to be dreaming of Europe travel! We have visited just about every one of the places mentioned.
Regarding Scotland, if you can stay near Edinburgh during the Tattoo, that is an experience of a lifetime.
The Alsace Wine region of France is great and you can walk or bike from village to village.
We love hiking in Austria and Switzerland where high mountain inns offer a hearty lunch and more. No need to pack a sandwich!
Hungary has much to offer from Budapest to Lake Balaton, with timeshares galore.
The Cinque Terre in Italy does not require a car, but beware of crowds, especially if cruising resumes full speed ahead.
Slovenia with Lake Bled, Croatia with Dubrovnik and Krka National park near Split are European places less traveled.
Our Baltic cruise, with highlights of Tallinn Estonia and ovenight in St. Petersburg. Also visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Warnemunde DE, Helsinki and Bruges on that 14 day itinerary.

Next on our bucket list are the Dordogne/Bordeaux/Loire regions of France, northern Spain and Portugal north of Lisbon. We have taken to combining land trips (we are fine with car rental on the Continent but avoid cities, especially in Italy after 3 "zona prohibita" violations) with cruises. I have my eye on Celebrity's France/Spain 9/30/22 cruise r/t Southampton, followed by 11 days on European soil, and then returning to the USA on a Celebrity TA out of Southampton and back to Miami.

 

[beejaybeeohio]

how about TS that don't need a car? We don't mind a bit of a walk/short taxi to a train station and being within 1.5 hours of a city via train-bus. Royal Regency in Vincennes, France (outside of Paris ) comes to mind. Any others?

Fitzpatrick's Castle in Killiney Ireland! It's just a short walk to the DART which can take you into Dublin and beyond!

which SW resorts do you recommend? We're late 50s and like easy/moderate hikes and won't have a car. We've been to Wegen and loved it, but were in a hotel, not TS.

Though not a Swiss t/s resort, we stayed for 3 nights at Hotel Balm in Meggen near Lucerne that included a bus/tram pass. Most hotels in the city include a transporation pass. From there we went to the top of Mt. Rigi via cog rail with lots of hiking trails. You could also go to Mt. Pilatus.
Our Munich hotel, the Metropol, also had a transportation pass included.

 

[Laurie]

which SW resorts do you recommend? We're late 50s and like easy/moderate hikes and won't have a car. We've been to Wegen and loved it, but were in a hotel, not TS.

We also like easy/moderate hikes

So the best TS was once upon a time in Murren, across from Wengen, but is closed now, we were lucky to get there b4 that happened. II has a Sunstar hotel/TS in Wengen which requires half-board, I wouldn't hesitate to book it anyway if you're an II member and can get it, given Swiss restuarant prices. Our second trip we rented a private apt in Murren for a week, right at cliff's edge pretty much, and it was fine and reasonable if you want a kitchen, glad to pass info to you or anyone interested.

TS trades where we didn't have a car:
RCI - Residences Diablarets - we found enough good hikes for a week and also a day on Glacier 3000, the exchange included a pass on area trains and buses.

RCI - Les Naturelles, Leukerbad - stunningly gorgeous view right from our balcony, and there's a lift in town up to a fabulous hike area. Highlight of the week tho was taking a bus + train + lifts up to the spectacular Aletch Glacier, and you're not that far from Zermatt/Matterhorn, tho it'd be a long day. We've taken the mountain train up from Zermatt and walked down to next stop, right past the Matterhorn, excellent hike. Note 30-minute bus ride up or down the mt between Leukerbad and train station.

We also exchanged into RCI's Mont-Calme and there were wonderful hikes right there from town along the "bisses", ancient irrigation ditches, easy because they're almost level, google to read about. We had a car that week but only used it half the days. The town had an alphorn festival during our stay. This isn't IMO quite as beautiful a region as the highest Alps, but we had a great time anyway and it often seems to have plenty of availability. It's fine as a secondary piggy-back week if you're going to Switzerland anyway, I wouldn't book a trip just to go there.

Edited to add: we also rented a lovely private apt. in Lucerne for 4 nights, and had 3 mountain excursions planned: Pilatus, Rigi and Titlus. Unfortunately, we were fogged out every single day! We rode up 2 of them, and could see absolutely zip nada. Have to go back.

 

[Ken555]

Edited to add: we also rented a lovely private apt. in Lucerne for 4 nights, and had 3 mountain excursions planned: Pilatus, Rigi and Titlus. Unfortunately, we were fogged out every single day! We rode up 2 of them, and could see absolutely zip nada. Have to go back.

Luzern is wonderful! I was there again in late 2019 for a day during a quick visit to Zurich. I haven't stayed there in over 20 years but intend to go back.

 

[nerodog]

We've done many TS trips to Europe, each 3-4 weeks, and of those mentioned here, some favorites and comments:

Portugal! I had overlooked for so long, finally booked when we'd been almost everywhere else on the list. Can't wait to return, and if we ever have to leave the US, it'd be #1 on my refugee destination. It's a small country so driving wasn't bad, very diverse and stunning landscapes. The Cascais TS is an easy train ride into Lisbon, other not-to-miss areas are Algarve, Douro Valley + Porto.

Switzerland: been 2x now, 4 total TS trades, and if we lived in Portugal I'd go every summer. No need for driving because public transportation is so reliable. Bernese Oberland /Lauterbrunnen Valley + towns still my favorite but last time we also traded into the TS in Leukerbad, Les Naturelles, which was gorgeous - it required more travel time to get everywhere we wanted to see.

Austria: 3 TS trades into Bad Gastein, Grundlsee, and Vienna, loved them all, especially the first 2 Mondi resorts. Car recommended for things like driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

Italy: loved Italian Alps for summer hiking (often overlooked), have been there 2x, also we traded 2x into TS's in Venice, and once in Tuscany where Florence wasn't too far by train.

Wales Pembrokeshire coast! Another often-overlooked destination. Have traded into TS's in St. David's and Haven Court. Both were excellent, St. David's better to avoid driving where yes it can be challenging - however you probably want a car to depart at dark-0:30 to reach the ferry for Skomer Island -- which matches Switzerland for my #1 destinations ever witnessed, we have been 2x and I wish we could return every June.

Many others to mention -- loved Brittany in France but we didn't do a TS trade there, loved the Perigord region of France, yes TS trade and yes car required.

Great idea when things get back to normal Laurie. Now that I'm here my focus has been on exchanges here although I try to pick up a week in USA when I visit. It's a great way to have a trip within a trip and a good idea for friends and family to have a new place to visit.

 

[nerodog]

Also recommend TS in Madeira. Many choices and a great place to explore and walk the levadas!! Some of my faves there are the Pestana Group...Miramar and Pestana Palms .Hoping to do an exchange in Malta and Tenerife, Canary Islands in 2021 providing things improve. Looking in the latter part of the year.

 

[nerodog]

We've done many TS trips to Europe, each 3-4 weeks, and of those mentioned here, some favorites and comments:

Portugal! I had overlooked for so long, finally booked when we'd been almost everywhere else on the list. Can't wait to return, and if we ever have to leave the US, it'd be #1 on my refugee destination. It's a small country so driving wasn't bad, very diverse and stunning landscapes. The Cascais TS is an easy train ride into Lisbon, other not-to-miss areas are Algarve, Douro Valley + Porto.

Switzerland: been 2x now, 4 total TS trades, and if we lived in Portugal I'd go every summer. No need for driving because public transportation is so reliable. Bernese Oberland /Lauterbrunnen Valley + towns still my favorite but last time we also traded into the TS in Leukerbad, Les Naturelles, which was gorgeous - it required more travel time to get everywhere we wanted to see.

Austria: 3 TS trades into Bad Gastein, Grundlsee, and Vienna, loved them all, especially the first 2 Mondi resorts. Car recommended for things like driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

Italy: loved Italian Alps for summer hiking (often overlooked), have been there 2x, also we traded 2x into TS's in Venice, and once in Tuscany where Florence wasn't too far by train.

Wales Pembrokeshire coast! Another often-overlooked destination. Have traded into TS's in St. David's and Haven Court. Both were excellent, St. David's better to avoid driving where yes it can be challenging - however you probably want a car to depart at dark-0:30 to reach the ferry for Skomer Island -- which matches Switzerland for my #1 destinations ever witnessed, we have been 2x and I wish we could return every June.

Many others to mention -- loved Brittany in France but we didn't do a TS trade there, loved the Perigord region of France, yes TS trade and yes car required.

Will definitely look at Switzerland..I have visited many times over the years but never a TS.

 

[nerodog]

how about TS (not hotels) that don't need a car? We don't mind a bit of a walk/short taxi to a train station and being within 1.5 hours of a city via train-bus. Royal Regency in Vincennes, France (outside of Paris ) comes to mind. Any others?

Bad Gastein has a train station on town. Macdonald Elmer's Court we visited the Isle of Wight and walked to the ferry !! In Madeira you don't need a car as there's loads of public transport, buses, taxis.

Also Mondi Oberstaufen. Germany

 

[nerodog]

It is so great to be dreaming of Europe travel! We have visited just about every one of the places mentioned.
Regarding Scotland, if you can stay near Edinburgh during the Tattoo, that is an experience of a lifetime.
The Alsace Wine region of France is great and you can walk or bike from village to village.
We love hiking in Austria and Switzerland where high mountain inns offer a hearty lunch and more. No need to pack a sandwich!
Hungary has much to offer from Budapest to Lake Balaton, with timeshares galore.
The Cinque Terre in Italy does not require a car, but beware of crowds, especially if cruising resumes full speed ahead.
Slovenia with Lake Bled, Croatia with Dubrovnik and Krka National park near Split are European places less traveled.
Our Baltic cruise, with highlights of Tallinn Estonia and ovenight in St. Petersburg. Also visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Warnemunde DE, Helsinki and Bruges on that 14 day itinerary.

Next on our bucket list are the Dordogne/Bordeaux/Loire regions of France, northern Spain and Portugal north of Lisbon. We have taken to combining land trips (we are fine with car rental on the Continent but avoid cities, especially in Italy after 3 "zona prohibita" violations) with cruises. I have my eye on Celebrity's France/Spain 9/30/22 cruise r/t Southampton, followed by 11 days on European soil, and then returning to the USA on a Celebrity TA out of Southampton and back to Miami.

I have a Baltic tour that was cancelled 3x this past year...its a private tour for 10 days . Looking forward.

 

[elaine]

TS trades where we didn't have a car:
RCI - Residences Diablarets - we found enough good hikes for a week and also a day on Glacier 3000, the exchange included a pass on area trains and buses.

I've seen this one come up quite a bit--good to know.

 

[elaine]

sorry to hijack this thread--but options for decent TS in Europe without a car is super! I'm putting Bad Gastein and Les D on my list. I'll add that Marriott's Ile de France outside of Paris is pretty fantastic IMHO. We've been 2X (even paying cash to stay).

 

[MULTIZ321]

Rick Steves' Europe: Binge Watch 9 Seasons ofAmerica's Favorite Traveler Free Online.

Rick Steves’ Europe: Binge Watch 9 Seasons of America’s Favorite Traveler Free Online

European travel, this is kind of a frustrating time for them,' says Rick Steves in a podcast interview with The New York Times' Sam Anderson from this past spring.

www.openculture.com

.


Richard

 

[JanT]

My gosh I don’t know how y’all plan these European trips. We would really like to do an extensive European tour but I simply don’t have the patience to plan it all out.

We are hoping we can get to Denmark to see some friends and plan on doing that as soon as we can. We’ll add some additional travel to that trip but the amount of wonderful places to see is dizzying.

 

[elaine]

. We would really like to do an extensive European tour but I simply don’t have the patience to plan it all out.

I spent as much time planning as actually on the trip! I see why people just do tours. But with a family of 6 and some late sleepers, a tour was not practical for us. however, I enjoy planning and learning about the historical places, culture, and great places to eat!