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Thommo

Has Anyone Booked a Holiday Yet?

By Thommo, in General Chat

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ousefox

ousefox

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Posted

Cheers for the advice - some good tips :thumbup: . I am the sort of person who has to be organised but I think having a vague idea of what I want to do and going from there might be the best option.

 

Definitely not going on my own. Don't think I could manage that, but one of my mates did it and enjoyed it - sure you'd meet a few people on your travels. Should be 3 of us if all goes to plan.

 

Might have to get to Budapest then as a lot of people have said that was one of the best places they've been to. Quite a few people have said Bratislava isn't worth visiting though.

 

lol I hadn't actually considered the train part. I've heard from a few people that sometimes you have to make reservations or pay extra. Did you come across that?

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ScouseFox

ScouseFox

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yeah there wasn't much to bratislava, like i said we literally only went cos some dutch birds were going and told us to go too. only stayed a night, got very drunk with some norwegians in some very strange pub then left in the morning haha. 

 

the trains are just ridiculously hot in the main. that's the only issue. and usually too full for everyone to sit down in a booth, which is a slight issue when some of them are like 10 hours! when you're really hungover, tired and you get on a train sweating your tits off that, it must be 40+ degrees and then find out you're sitting on your mate's knee in a pile of bags for 6 hours it's a pretty grim feeling.

 

the only one we booked was the overnight one from zagreb to split, but that's cos we wanted a bed (which was ridiculous) and i think it cost like 8 quid each or something you wouldn't bat an eyelid at. 

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Jonaldinho

Jonaldinho

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Cheers for the advice - some good tips :thumbup: . I am the sort of person who has to be organised but I think having a vague idea of what I want to do and going from there might be the best option.

 

Definitely not going on my own. Don't think I could manage that, but one of my mates did it and enjoyed it - sure you'd meet a few people on your travels. Should be 3 of us if all goes to plan.

 

Might have to get to Budapest then as a lot of people have said that was one of the best places they've been to. Quite a few people have said Bratislava isn't worth visiting though.

 

lol I hadn't actually considered the train part. I've heard from a few people that sometimes you have to make reservations or pay extra. Did you come across that?

 

I went on my own, nowhere near as daunting as it seems as you meet so many people and you have the freedom to do what you want.

 

You have to make reservations on some trains, particularly Italy and France if I remember rightly. Download the Interrail rail planner app (should be like the first one you see on the app store, it's free), it gives you the lowdown on all the different reservation rules in different countries, plus it gives you a train schedule for near enough every station in Europe. You can see how long it takes to get from place to place, the stops involved, etc. It works offline too, just incredibly useful.

 

Are you getting a rail pass?

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ousefox

ousefox

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I went on my own, nowhere near as daunting as it seems as you meet so many people and you have the freedom to do what you want.

You have to make reservations on some trains, particularly Italy and France if I remember rightly. Download the Interrail rail planner app (should be like the first one you see on the app store, it's free), it gives you the lowdown on all the different reservation rules in different countries, plus it gives you a train schedule for near enough every station in Europe. You can see how long it takes to get from place to place, the stops involved, etc. It works offline too, just incredibly useful.

Are you getting a rail pass?

Yeah my mate really enjoyed himself on his own, still think I'd much prefer it with a couple of mates. We're quite similar too so doubt we'd want to do too much different. Although one of them wants to go to Spain, which I've basically done over the years already. I'm shocked nobody seems to consider Spain when they go on these trips. I suppose it's a little out the way but it has a hell of a lot to offer. I think quite a few people just associate Spain with Benidorm etc.

I'll download that then cheers. Sounds very useful.

Yeah I imagine it'll be better value to do it that way. Will just have to decide whether to do a continuous one or not. Especially if we spend a 3 or 4 days in each place.

What are the hostels like in general? Have to admit I do like the comforts of a hotel.

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Jonaldinho

Jonaldinho

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Yeah my mate really enjoyed himself on his own, still think I'd much prefer it with a couple of mates. We're quite similar too so doubt we'd want to do too much different. Although one of them wants to go to Spain, which I've basically done over the years already. I'm shocked nobody seems to consider Spain when they go on these trips. I suppose it's a little out the way but it has a hell of a lot to offer. I think quite a few people just associate Spain with Benidorm etc.

I'll download that then cheers. Sounds very useful.

Yeah I imagine it'll be better value to do it that way. Will just have to decide whether to do a continuous one or not. Especially if we spend a 3 or 4 days in each place.

What are the hostels like in general? Have to admit I do like the comforts of a hotel.

 

Like you said it's a bit out the way unless you start or finish there, and in the main I've found that people follow a similar route: Amsterdam, Berlin, and then through Eastern Europe and into either Italy or Croatia (or the other way round.)

 

With hostels it usually depends on how much you want to pay. I wasn't particularly strapped for cash so could usually go to the decent ones recommended on hostelbookers. Eastern European ones are so cheap that you may as well, whereas Italy is hugely expensive and it could cost a fortune to stay for a few nights. If you're interrailing then you really should be staying in hostels IMO, you meet so many more people as they're a social hub and you get used to them. All the ones I stayed in had good security (ie. a place to lock your backpack when leaving the hostel, although this might not be the same in cheap ones), some offer breakfast, you get maps of the city and find out what city tours are on and where they start, the hostel might run activities like trips/rafting/canyoning etc, you get invited on pub crawls and the showers and toilets are usually okay. Plus you need some time to socialise with people other than your mates too otherwise you'll be sick of them :D

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LcFc_Smiv

LcFc_Smiv

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Me and the girlfriend are still trying to decide for June. Looking for a nice relaxing beach holiday in Europe, just want to be able to walk out the hotel on to a sandy beach and be able to walk down a lively promenade in the evenings but we're not interested in bars or clubs. We were looking at Croatia particularly Split, Hvar or Dubrovnik, but as we don't really know what we're looking at we we're unsure. People keep mentioning the greek islands but again too many options. Any suggestions, not looking for anything romantic, just nice and relaxing, good food and not particularly bustling with other Brits.

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BigMicky

BigMicky

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Me and the girlfriend are still trying to decide for June. Looking for a nice relaxing beach holiday in Europe, just want to be able to walk out the hotel on to a sandy beach and be able to walk down a lively promenade in the evenings but we're not interested in bars or clubs. We were looking at Croatia particularly Split, Hvar or Dubrovnik, but as we don't really know what we're looking at we we're unsure. People keep mentioning the greek islands but again too many options. Any suggestions, not looking for anything romantic, just nice and relaxing, good food and not particularly bustling with other Brits.

Have a word with Tripe, our resident Croatian. Great poster.

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bovril

bovril

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Me and the girlfriend are still trying to decide for June. Looking for a nice relaxing beach holiday in Europe, just want to be able to walk out the hotel on to a sandy beach and be able to walk down a lively promenade in the evenings but we're not interested in bars or clubs. We were looking at Croatia particularly Split, Hvar or Dubrovnik, but as we don't really know what we're looking at we we're unsure. People keep mentioning the greek islands but again too many options. Any suggestions, not looking for anything romantic, just nice and relaxing, good food and not particularly bustling with other Brits.

 

I really like the Greek islands, there are more sandy beaches than Croatia and it's not exceptionally expensive. Skopelos is lovely, you can fly from UK to Skiathos and get a ferry to Skopelos in about an hour. It's very green and peaceful and has some amazing beaches particularly in the north. Great food, too.

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tripe

tripe

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Me and the girlfriend are still trying to decide for June. Looking for a nice relaxing beach holiday in Europe, just want to be able to walk out the hotel on to a sandy beach and be able to walk down a lively promenade in the evenings but we're not interested in bars or clubs. We were looking at Croatia particularly Split, Hvar or Dubrovnik, but as we don't really know what we're looking at we we're unsure. People keep mentioning the greek islands but again too many options. Any suggestions, not looking for anything romantic, just nice and relaxing, good food and not particularly bustling with other Brits.

 

Can't help you with the Greek island, but can with Croatia.

 

OK, apart from the fact that Hajduk is from Split and I wish them to all the worst, I can recommend Split. :) My guys on here will hate my for writing this post :P  as I should be promoting our part of the Adriatic, the Kvarner, not Dalmatia. :D

 

You can get to Split quite easy. There are flights direct from the UK. The city's got a nice center (actually it's in a old Roman palace), a long promenade (Riva) with lot's of bars and a few good places to eat local food (Konoba - if you translate it into English it's a wine cellar, but in modern terms it's a a name used for traditionally furnished restaurant serving local food). Split is well connected to the islands. Brac, Hvar and Korcula are all beautiful. Great beaches and the night life is ok (especially Hvar), not only the clubs, but the pubs on the promenade. If I were to go with my girlfriend, I'd go to Split for a couple of days and then 4 or 5 days Brac, Hvar or Korcula. I'd rent a scooter there to get around the island. All the places on all of these islands are really small and it' worth a while to do a few trips between them. All the best beaches are a bit further from the main towns on the islands, but Brac has a beautiful sandy beach practically in the center of a place called Bol (google Zlatni Rat beach). Split's got ok beaches but they can't compare to the islands.

 

You said you are planning to go in June. That's a great idea. I presonally prefer June to July or August. It's bit cooler (25-30 degrees C) and there aren't as many tourists. We get the most Brits in July and August and mostly on Hvar and Pag Islands (twenty something and partying).

 

Dubrovnik is beautiful, but too touristy for me. And they don't have too many sandy beaches.

 

Another option is a couple of days in Zadar (a bit further north from Split) which is also a beautiful place and has direct flights from the UK as well and then 4 or 5 days on Silba or Dugi Otok islands (there are daily ferries to both the islands). In my opinion these two islands have the most beautiful sandy beaches of all the places in Croatia. But Silba is really, really small and there aren't too many tourists there and it isn't a big tourist hub. It's got just a couple of restaurants (all serving fresh fish - not too expensive even by Croatian standards, and I mean fresh fish and calamari, caught the night before, not the deep frozen kind from Patagonia) and bars. Most of the tourists are regulars so it has a homey atmosphere. I's a perfect place to relax, go to the beach and do nothing (the sandy beach a minute from the village has a nice beach bar, spent a lot of time there drinking beer :D ). In fact, there are even no cars on the island of Silba.

 

Dugi Otok is long (it actually means Long Island in Croatian) and for that you need to have a vehicle of some sort. Perhaps the most beautiful sandy beach that I've been to is on Dugi Otok (google Veli Zal beach). From Dugi Otok you also get daily trips by boat to Kornati Islands and that's one on the greatest places on our coast.

 

We spent the last two of our holidays on Silba and Dugi Otok. Loved both of them.

 

Hope this helps. If you need any other info just ask.

Edited by tripe
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