What should be the minimum budget for a trip to Europe from India

What should be the minimum budget for a trip to Europe from India : This blog details expenditure during our Europe tour. After extensive planning with my wife Archana and two of my college friends Rajarshi and Vishal for nearly one year, an itinerary for Europe was finalized. Vishal suggested to include one countryside location – Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic was chosen. Hostels proved cost effective while providing us an opportunity to meet other travellers on this eighteen day journey which began November 10th 2024 to November 28th 2024 respectively.

PARIS (France):

At 0830 hours (local time), on Saturday 11th Nov (Saturday), we arrived in Paris. At Charles de Gaulle airport’s immigration counters there was an unexpectedly long and unexpectedly thin queue due to only two working counters being operational at that time. After an 80 minute wait in line, we finally passed immigration, collected our luggage and began looking for the most cost-effective means of travel to our Plug-Inn Hostel hostel. After consulting tourist information centers, French Cab windows, metro help desk and Uber App we decided to take a local cab from exit gate which fit within our budget – costing 50 Euros or approximately Rs 3800; metro tickets between airport and hostel costed approx 12 Euro per head. Due to Charles de Gaulle airport being 27 km away from Plug-in Hostel and it being more convenient to store our luggage in a taxi cab than carry it with us on public transit, we decided to opt for local taxi cab service instead of taking metro trains – this decision took 35 min and we reached Plug-Inn Hostel by 1300 Hrs.

We landed in Paris at 0830 Hrs (local time) on 11th Nov (Saturday). The queue at immigration counter of Charles de Gaulle airport was really long and unexpected as only two counters were operational. Finally, after 80 min waiting in queue, we got through immigration, collected our luggage and started looking for the most economical way to get to our hostel- Plug-Inn Hostel. After inquiring at tourist information Centre, French Cab windows, metro help desk and Uber App, we decided to take a local cab from exit gate as it suited our budget. The cab took 50 Euros (Approx. Rs 3800). The cost of metro tickets from airport to hostel was approx. 12 Euro per head. Keeping in mind that the distance between Charles de Gaulle airport and Plug-in Hostel was 27 km and it will be more comfortable to throw luggage in trunk of the cab than to carry it in metros, we decided to go for the local taxi cab. It took 35 min to reach Plug-Inn hostel. We reached the hostel by 1300 Hrs.

Details of Hostel in Paris:

Stay: Two nights (11th November and 12th November.)

Name- Plug Inn hostel located at 7 Rue Aristide Bruant in Paris, France 75018.

Landmark-Near Moulin Rouge Theater and Blanche Metro Station

Cost per head- Rs 3368 for two nights, this includes 1.66 Euro tourist city tax which must be paid upon check-in in cash only.

Breakfast was included for our stay here and I shared a six bedroom dorm with an American man and an Australian traveller girl from my group. Booking this hostel through their website- http://plug-inn.fr/ was simple enough too.

Attractions to Paris on foot were easily reached on foot; we generally explored through walking. Paris boasts an outstanding network of public transportation- busses and metros- that offered similar 1.9 Euro fare per way regardless of distance travelled. You have various choices when selecting conveyance for travel; we opted for buses as it allowed us to see the beautiful city while travelling – we spent three full days exploring Paris before departing on Monday Night for Amsterdam.

Places visited in Paris:

1. Louvre Museum/ Glass Pyramid – Most well known for the Mona Lisa painting, cost of entry was 15 Euro (Approx Rs 1150). Art enthusiasts should definitely make time for this museum visit.
2. Eiffel Tower- Paris’ most iconic sight, Eiffel Tower offers breathtaking sights both day and night. After sunset, after dark the tower begins lighting up/glittering every hour for five minutes until 1 am; for just 25 Euro (roughly Rs 1900), visitors can ascend its summit for breathtaking panoramic views over Paris from there! Simply breathtaking.
3. Notre-Dame de Paris- This iconic church built in 1163 should not be missed, and the ideal way to arrive from Eiffel Tower was via boat – so we purchased a hop-on hop-off boat pass good for 24hrs.

For 17 Euros (approx. Rs 1295), visitors could visit Louvre, Pont des Arts bridge and Champs-Elysees.

4. Pont des Arts Bridge- It is a pedestrian bridge constructed across Seine river, popularly known for people attaching locks with their names written or engraved onto them before tossing their key into Seine as a romantic gesture. Recently however, Paris administration banned this activity and all existing locks have been removed from this famous bridge as part of a #LoveWithoutLocks movement.
5. Arc de Triomphe- Constructed in 1836, this monument serves as an India Gate for Parisians. Also known as Tomb of Unknown Soldiers, this Tomb stands on one end of Champs-Elysees and can be reached by climbing many stairs up its ramparts – providing breathtaking panoramic views across Paris from its summit. Visitors are charged 12 Euros (approx Rs 915) to visit its top – offering great panoramic views as they look down.
6. Champs-Elysees- It is one of the world’s most celebrated streets for shopping. Parisians view Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees like India Gate and Raj path respectively, providing Parisians 1.9 kilometers long by 70m wide shopping opportunities on either side.
7. Pantheon- Built in 1758, the Pantheon serves as a museum containing the remains of prominent French citizens who died before 1758. There’s another Pantheon located in Rome which can also be visited.
8. Montmartre- This hill in Paris is best-known for its artistic history and home of the white-domed Basilica of Sacre-Coeur on its summit.

The White-domed Basilica of Sacre-Coeur.

Montmartre can be seen from its summit.

Flixbus app had made it very convenient and economical to book late night bus tickets for Amsterdam; you could do this on the spot too, since tickets don’t use dynamic pricing. Our cost per head was Rs 1534/-. Traveling via bus in Europe can be very economical; travelling on this semi-sleeper was comfortable. From Paris we travelled for 7 hours and 35 minutes until reaching Amsterdam at 01:00 hours the following morning (departure 2355 hours and arrival in Amsterdam 01:00 hours).

AMSTERDAM (Netherlands)

Bus dropped us off at Amsterdam Sloterdick railway station at 0730 Hrs on Tuesday morning for our three-day stay (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Here, we enquired about tourist passes – different kinds were available and made our decision accordingly. As we had booked flights between Amsterdam and Prague, we purchased a weekly tourist pass valid in metros, buses, trams and also covered airport metro (pass was valid only in Amsterdam and Volendam Region). Since we had booked an indirect flight through Amsterdam to Prague from Sloterdick station by train took only 10 minutes; hostel Flying Pig Downtown was 10 min walking from Amsterdam Centraal station.

Bus dropped us at Amsterdam Sloterdick railway station at 0730 Hrs on tuesday morning. Our Stay in Amsterdam was for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). In Sloterdick railway station, we enquired about tourist passes. Different types of tourist passes were available. We bought a weekly tourist pass which was valid in metros, buses, trams and also covered airport metro (Pass was valid in Amsterdam and Volendam Region). Since, we had booked a flight from Amsterdam to Prague , we preferred to buy this pass. Cost of pass was 33.5 Euros ( Approx. Rs 2555). Our hostel in Amsterdam was near Amsterdam Centraal Station. By train it took 10 minutes to reach Amsterdam Centraal station from Sloterdick station. Hostel Flying Pig Downtown was 10 min walking from Amsterdam Centraal station.

Details of Hostel in Amsterdam:

Stay- For two nights (14th November and 15th November.)

Name- Flying Pig Downtown Hostel is located at Nieuwendijk 100, 1012 MR Amsterdam and features 32 beds.

Landmark- Near Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Cost per head- 64.5 Euro (approx. Rs 4920). This includes 0.90 Euro in tourist city tax payable at time of check-in in cash only.

Breakfast was provided complimentary in this hostel and I stayed in an 8 bedroom dorm.

Booking this hostel was easy via its website- https://flyingpig.nl/

Amsterdam was famous for being legalizing marijuana use – Marijuana could be purchased at any coffee shop near Amsterdam Centraal Station and required identity proof; any form of ID such as an Aadhar card would suffice; they simply check your date of birth to check eligibility.

Amsterdam Centraal Station

Places visited in Amsterdam: Most locations visited can be reached using trams.

1. Dam Square- This area boasts numerous restaurants and pubs.
2. Anne Frank House- The Anne Frank House is a writer’s house and biographical museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank. Ticket costs 9.5 Euro (approx Rs 720). Booking tickets online in advance will help reduce queueing.
3. Heineken Experience- This interactive journey through the world of Heineken beer provides an engaging tour. Our tour enlightens us on their brewing process, while tasting room allows us to sample two mugs per person of Heineken beer! Admission ticket costs 14.5 Euros (approximately Rs 1110).
4. I Amsterdam Sign –
5. Red Light Districts- Entrance is free unless there are any hidden agendas to explore.
6. De Gooyer Wooden Windmill- “Free”.
7. Volendam- Located 20km outside Amsterdam, Volendam is a charming coastal town famous for its colorful wooden homes and old fishing vessels in its harbor. We took a bus from Amsterdam Central Station directly to Volendam as part of our tourist pass package.

On our three day stay at Amsterdam, we enjoyed snacking on these cakes that cost approximately 6 Euro each and can easily serve two people.

Flight to Prague took place on Thursday (16/11/2017), lasting 90 minutes with Easyjet being the airline and ticket booked through their website five months prior. Per ticket cost was Rs 3731 with additional baggage costs due. If carrying additional bags, extra fees may apply – please see Easyjet website for details.

PRAGUE (Czech Republic)

Landed at 2030 Hrs, booked an Uber ride and reached our hostel by 2200 hours (Approx Rs1180). As all attractions were within walking distance, no tourist pass was necessary in Prague – instead we spent two nights before taking our bus back to Cesky Krumlov at 1900 hours on 18 November 2017.

Old Town Square was at the core of all attractions in Prague, so we booked our hostel within five minutes walking of this historical square. Czech Republic uses their own currency called Czech Koruna which people accept alongside Euros as payment.

Details of Hostel in Prague:

Stay: Two nights (16th & 17th November.)

Name- Old Prague Hostel located at Benediktska 685/2 in Stare Mesto, Czechia.

Landmark- Near Old Town Square.

Price per head for two nights was 33.75 Euro (Approx Rs 2580). It was very budget friendly. This included one Euro of tourist city tax which must be paid upon check-in in cash only and included complimentary breakfast as part of its package.

Stayed here in a four bedroom dorm and booked my stay through Hostelworld website (www.hostelworld.com).

Places Visited in Prague: I made it a point to cover most of Prague on foot.

1. Old Town Square- It’s at the core of Prague city and one of its most striking and picturesque squares.
2. Astronomical Clock- It can be found within the old town square.

This clock, installed in 1410 AD and still operational today, is considered one of the oldest astronomical clocks ever constructed.

3. Charles Bridge- Located approximately 15 minutes walking from Old Town Sqaure, Charles Bridge is an historic bridge spanning Vltava river in Prague that was constructed during 15th Century. Many scenes from Bollywood movies like Rockstar were shot here.
4. Dancing House- This simple building has managed to attract plenty of tourist interest; just 10 minutes’ walking from Charles Bridge.
5. Prague Castle- Originally dating back to the 9th century, Prague Castle serves as an official office for President of Czech Republic. Entry fees to this palace cost 140 CZK (approx Rs 450). As it’s located on a small hill, climbing stairs is necessary – taking approximately 30 min in total to reach it.

Prague boasts many outstanding restaurants and pubs that serve local beer. If you crave Indian cuisine, Dhaba Tynska near Old Town Sqaure may also provide delicious cuisine options.

Prague boasts some of the world’s finest strip clubs. My personal suggestion would be Goldfingers Prague.

On 18 November 2017 at 1900 hrs, Flixbus began their route from Prague to Cesky Krumlov at a cost of Rs 460 and in 2 hours 30 minutes covered the 180km distance between them.

CESKY KRUMLOV (Czech Republic)

Cesky Krumlov was our final destination at 21.30 Hrs and is famous for its castle. Although, because our bus dropped us a little outside the town and not exactly at our hostel – Hostel Postel- we needed to walk 20mins until arriving there.

Details of Hostel in Cesky Krumlov:

Stay- One night (18th November).

Hostel Postel can be found at Rybarska 35 in Plesivec in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia 381 01

Landmark- No landmark needed here!

Cost per head for one night- 11.4 Euro (Approx. Rs 870). Again, very budget friendly hostel that did not provide complimentary breakfast but did have its own kitchen where we cooked Maagi and “MTR Ready-eat”, brought from India, for lunch/dinner at its 6 bedroom dorm with Amazing Chinese guys who shared our room! Booked our accommodation through www.hostelworld.com website.

At Cesky Krumlov, luckily we found an exceptional Indian Restaurant called Nirvana Indian Restaurant run by an individual from Delhi – located underground in an underground bunker – that provided delicious cuisine and service.

Cesky Krumlov offers many places for visitors to explore: its pedestrianized town is perfect for exploring on foot.

Hostel hostesses were very helpful in organizing tours and activities scheduled for us the next day in Cesky Krumlov. Luckily we found a free walking tour led by an English speaking guide covering important spots of town; almost two hours long walking tour finished up at Cesky Krumlov Castle where we gave them 11 Euros (Approx Rs 850) as tip at its conclusion. The tour itself was truly captivating as our guide provided every minute detail about town architecture and culture; details can be found on this site.

Visit Wisemanfreetour.com/ for more information.

Tour guides in castles usually carry red umbrellas as their mark of identity.

Cesky Krumlov castle sits atop a small hill, so to reach it you must trek 20mins along sloped pavements – we were lucky enough to experience minimal snowfall at its summit!

On November 19th (Sunday), we booked a train ticket to Vienna from Cesky Krumlov. This train arrived at 17.00 hrs (1700 hours in Czech) and required two changes of trains en route: first Cesky Krumlov to Cesky Budejovice then Cesky Velenice before arriving at Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof station (Vienna). Cost per ticket was Rs 1153 which could be booked directly through railways websites such as Oebb (http://oebb.at/en/). Travel time between stations was 4 hours long with four stops along its route: Cesky Krumlov to Cesky Budejovice then onto Cesky Budejovice before changing train at two stations before finally reaching Vienna station (http://oebb.at/en/). Duration of train journey was 4 hours with 4 stops along its route (http://oebb.at/en/en/ ).

Duration was 4 hrs long with 4 changes along the route: Cesky Krumlov to Cesky Budejovice then Cesky Velenice to Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof station Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof station then Cesky Velenice and finally Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof station). Cost per train ticket was Rs 1153 booked directly on railway website http://www.oebb.at/en ). Duration 4hrs 45min to Vienna station). Cost per train ticket purchased directly on route (http://www.oe/). Duration 4hrs 45min to Wien Franz Joseph Josephs-Bahnhoff- JOSEFs-Bahnhoff). Cost per train journey took 4 – Josefs-Bahnhoff Vienna Franz- JOev Vienna- Franz Josefs-Bahnhoff Vienna- Velenice- VVHoff Wien Varna Vlv 15.53) cost = 1153 (www oat/at/at/at/en-Bahnhoff=

VIENNA (Austria)

At 2130 on 19 November 2017 we finally arrived in Vienna. To make the journey smoother and to reach Wombats City Hostel-The Naschmarkt from Vienna station was approximately 6km and our Uber ride took 8.32 Euro (appx Rs 640).

Details of Hostel in Vienna:

Stay – Two Nights (19th Nov and 20th Nov.).

Wombats City Hostel at Naschmarkt can be found at Rechte Wienzeile 35, 1040 Wien in Austria.

Landmark- The Kettenbruckengasse metro station can be found nearby as a Landmark.

Cost per head for two nights: 35.41 euro (approx. Rs 2710)

Breakfast was provided free of charge in this hostel and was delicious.

Stayed here in a 5-bedroom dorm, sharing my room with an awkward Iranian guy one day, then some unknown dude the next.

This hostel in Vienna was one of Europe’s finest hostels, featuring its own full fledged bar with pool table. Additionally, daily events and tour activities were organized as well as free walking tours of Vienna city. You can learn more details below about this incredible establishment.

Visit Wombat’s Hostels of Vienna: the Naschmarkt

Places We Visited in Vienna: To get around Vienna we mostly used metros, not taking advantage of any tourist passes since our goal was only to visit certain spots at which point additional metro tickets would need to be purchased when necessary.

1. Naschmarkt – Situated right outside our hostel, Naschmarkt was not particularly famous, yet we visited as it was nearby. Nonetheless, this oldest and biggest food market of Vienna deserves our consideration.
2. Belvedere Palace- This 18th-century palace complex contains art from Middle Ages through today and entry fees were charged only when viewing art collections, while no fees applied otherwise to visiting the palace complex itself.
3. Schonbrunn Palace- Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria was once an imperial summer residence and now stands out as an architectural, cultural and historical gem of Austria. Boasting 1,441 rooms of Baroque splendor, the palace houses one of its kind worldwide and holds one of the country’s greatest treasures – although with entry fees we decided against going in!
4. Hofburg Palace – Vienna’s Imperial Palace at Hofburg is one of the world’s grandest palace complexes, dating back to 13th-century parts.
5. St. Stephen’s Cathedral – Vienna’s biggest church, constructed in 1173 AD with no entry fees to enter. In fact, all churches do not charge admission.

Vienna was an exquisite city with gorgeous building architectures such as Oprah House in Vienna. However, we found the city somewhat boring because we had already visited numerous castles and palaces prior to arriving there.

As our next stop was Venice, we arranged to ride Nightjet train overnight sleeper train. This service offered tickets in 6 bed coach with breakfast service – it is equivalent to Indian 3rd AC but with cabin space instead. Each individual train ticket cost Rs 3789. Our train departed Vienna at 2130 hrs on 21st Nov and reached Venice the following day at 0830hrs at 8.30 hrs; travel duration 11 hours total. To purchase train tickets we booked them through railway websites.

VENICE

Venice was our destination on 22nd November at 8.30 Hrs, which comprises of 118 small islands connected by canals and 400 bridges – we had booked an Airbnb Apartment here. Make sure that you book accommodation on Venice’s island portion, near Venzia Santa Lucia Station. A bridge connects mainland with island portions; therefore it would be preferable to stay on Grand Canal side as vehicles are not allowed within this part of Venice. Walking or taking an ACTV boat was our only option, so we opted for 24-hour passes of 20 Euros each ($1,530 approx). As our Airbnb checkin time was 1300 hrs we left our luggage with locker room (5 Euro per bag- quite costly) outside Venzia Santa Lucia Station before setting out exploring this vibrant city.

Details of Airbnb Apartment in Venice:

Stay – One night (22nd Nov)

Name- Airbnb Apartment at Cannaregio District in Venice.

Landmark- The area surrounding Guglie Bridge.

Cost per head- Rs 2,200 per night (Rs 8,800 for whole apartment). No city tax was payable here.

Breakfast wasn’t included at this Airbnb apartment; however, we made use of its kitchen to cook Maagi and MTR Ready-to-eat dishes as well as to complete our laundry load.

At an airbnb apartment, its hostess is of paramount importance. Our hostess was friendly and cooperative – she even came halfway to take us back when we became disoriented in Venice! For more details about the apartment see this screenshot.

Things I did in Venice: Visited many areas by boat and foot.

1. Rialto Bridge- Venice boasts over 400 small and large bridges, but Rialto bridge is by far its most renowned structure.
2. Streets of Venice- This experience should not be missed when in Venice! For an authentic Gondola ride experience, reservation must be complete; each Gondola can seat six people; we reserved one for four of us at 80 Euro (roughly equivalent to Rs 6120). Throughout our ride, our Gondolier will inform us about Venice’s rich culture, history, and stories as we glide gently through Venice canals.
3. Don’t Miss: Italian Dessert Tiramisu- At Trattoria Alla Palazzina Venice near Guglie Bridge you can try an amazing Tiramisu! This restaurant provides amazing Tiramisu.

Website of the restaurant- http://www.ristoranteallapalazzina.it/en/

5. Venice at Night- We were able to gain entry to casino for free with the ACTV pass and had some luck at casino as well.

On November 23rd morning at 0900 Hrs, we booked train tickets to Pisa with one stopover at Florence en-route – first from Venice to Florence then Florence-Pisa. Ticket cost per head was Rs 1604. Ticket purchased online through trainline website: https://www.trainline.eu/

A day in Pisa

At 1330 Hrs on November 23rd we arrived in Pisa and booked our train ticket to Rome at 1900 Hrs, giving us around four good hours to explore Pisa city. For lunch we visited “Gandhi Ristorante Indiano Pisa”, run by a Punjabi man. For the first time ever in Europe we tasted “chai”, as no Indian tea could be found anywhere. He offered it without charging us any additional cost.

Leaning Tower of Pisa can be reached in about 20 minutes on foot from Pisa Centrale station, although you could also take the bus. We opted to walk and kept our luggage safe in a locker at Pisa Centrale (6 Euro per bag).

There are three things to see in Pisa:-

1. Leaning Tower of Pisa.
2. Cattedrale di Pisa
   3 Pisa Baptistery. All three monuments can be found within a single complex.

Leaning Tower of Pisa- The freestanding bell tower tilts 3.99 degrees off vertical. It stands 55.86 meters high on its low side and 56.67 on its high side; base width at 2.44m and ticket to summit cost 18 Euros (approx Rs 1370).

Fallen Angel of Pisa was part of an exhibit created by Polish artist Igor Mitoraj during a temporary exhibit held in Poland.

At 1900 hours from Pisa Centrale Station, our train headed toward Rome at 3 hours and Rs 980 per head ticket cost was purchased through trainline’s website: https://www.trainline.eu/

ROME (Italy)

Arrived Rome around 2200 hours on November 23, at Roma Termini Station and our accommodation- Yellow Hostel- was 10 minutes walking distance away from there.

Details of Hostel in Rome:

Stay: Five nights (23rd, 24th, 25th and 27th of November).

Name-The Yellow Hostel can be found at Via Palestro 51, Roma RM Italy.

Landmark- Near Roma Termini Station

Cost per head for five nights: Rs 7550 (1510 per night). This cost includes city tax of 3.5 Euro per person per night.

Breakfast was not provided complimentary in this hostel; however, their restaurant offered an excellent and economical breakfast (approx. 6 Euro per head). Rome is home to some excellent hostels like The Yellow Hostel; booking via their website offers discounts (such as on alcoholic beverages and food) plus free entry into their pub which features live performances daily – https://the-yellow.com/

This hostel organizes daily activities such as city tours and pub crawls.

Day One in Rome (24th November) –

We opted for the 4-hour city tour offered by Yellow Hostel; it included almost all important monuments of Rome. Each ticket cost 22.4 Euros.

More details available by following this link – http://theyellowguides.com/romeing-all-over/

Following are the destinations included in our walking tour- (entry tickets were not included.)

Circo Massimo, The Palantine hill and Aventine hill, The Garden of Oranges and The Mouth of Truth on Forum Boarium; Theater of Marcellus within The Jewish Ghetto Largo di Torre Argentina Pantheon Piazza Venezia Trajans Column Roman Forum and Colosseum are just a few places that make up Rome.

The Palatine Hill stands as the centerpiece of Rome’s Seven Hills and one of its oldest parts.

The Garden of Oranges can be found atop Aventine Hill and offers incredible views over the city.

The Theatre of Marcellus- Reminiscent of Rome’s Colosseum

Largo di Torre Argentina – According to legend, Julius Caesar may have been killed here.

Pantheon- This Roman temple was completed during Augustus’ (27 BC – 14 AD).

Piazza Venezia- It serves as Rome’s main intersection point, connecting various roads that lead to key destinations in and out of Rome.

Our guide was the man with curly hair (in the center). He provided outstanding explanations of every monument we visited during our tour of Rome.

Day Two in Naples (25th November)-

Naples is approximately 225km south of Rome and our trip was to view Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano which destroyed nearby Roman town Pompeii. We spent time admiring its impressive crater.

At 0900 hours on August 6, 2017 from Rome we booked train tickets to Naples at 1100 hours for two hours’ journey costing 25.26 Euro (approx. Rs 1935) each way and arrived at Napoli Centrale Station by 1100 hrs where a three-stage trip led up Mount Vesuvius.

1. Train from Napoli Centrale Station to Ercolano Scavi station- The journey took 35min and cost 4.4 Euro for both ways (approx. Rs 335).The name of this train was Circumvesuviana railways.
2. Bus from Ercolano Scavi Station to the point from which trekking must begin to reach the mouth of the crater was 20 Euro per head (this included entrance for trekking as well).
3. Finally, after 35 minutes trekking towards the mouth of the crater.

Ruined City of Pompeii. Unfortunately due to clouds we couldn’t see the crater; but nonetheless it was fun making all our trek. So my advice would be: if going up Mount Vesuvius make sure there is sunny weather ahead.

By 2130 on the same day, we had returned back to Rome.

Day Three in Rome (26th Nov)- Colosseum and Roman Forum Tour- Both these tours are must dos when visiting Rome, although we didn’t visit either one on Day 1 due to time restrictions. Tickets were 17.5 Euro each (roughly equivalent to Rs 1340), purchased online through this website.

Please visit Rome Ticketbar for more information and for home page.

The Colosseum (also referred to as Flavian Amphitheater) is an oval amphitheater situated at the center of Rome and capable of seating approximately 50,000 spectators. Constructed in 80 AD for gladiatorial contests.

The Roman Forum- The Roman Forum is a rectangular plaza located at the heart of Rome that contains remnants of several important ancient government buildings from times gone by. For centuries it was at the core of daily life there.

Day 4 in Rome (27th Nov)-
A tour of Vatican City should not be missed when in Italy. Plan for at least a full day’s tour; its nearest metro station is Ottaviano from Roma Termini station, from where any guide can offer tours for which tickets can be bargained and bought (for us it cost approximately 35 Euro, approximately Rs 2700) each way from a Pakistani guide.

This guided tour includes visits to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.

Sistine Chapel- This iconic chapel in Vatican City is well known for Michelangelo’s 16th-century painted ceiling, made of exquisite jewels by Michelangelo himself. No photography is allowed in Sistine Chapel; no photography allowed here either! Michelangelo’s 16th-century painted ceiling truly amazed viewers who witnessed all its intricate work by one artist after another who created such a masterpiece of a masterpiece! All work done to paint its remarkable ceiling was done solely by hand!

Rome 

On our final day in Europe – November 28, 2024 – our flight back home was scheduled at 1400 Hrs and the most cost-effective and economical method was taking a bus from Roma Termini Station directly to Fiumicino Airport of Rome for only 6 Euro per head.

CONCLUSION

So that was my Europe journey in brief – budget, places to visit, lodging arrangements and platform for booking tickets were some of the main topics addressed during these 18 days of travel. These will certainly remain among my most unforgettable travel memories!

Everyone should visit this captivating continent at least once to witness its vibrant culture, history and geography that spans across millennia of humanity’s existence.

If someone asked me, Amsterdam would have been my answer; two days of Vienna should have been foregone in order to spend extra time in Amsterdam.

1. Do not purchase matrix sim from India as its prices are excessive and not justified by its use. All airports, hostels, restaurants and pubs provide free WiFi connection so Whatsapp calls can easily be made using that. For the cheapest sim option possible purchase one locally in Europe from any telecom shop instead – these will likely offer much better discounts!
2. Plan ahead when booking flight tickets: the earlier, the better as prices tend to be low and always look for a refundable ticket with flexible cancellation terms and always keep an eye out for potential offers!
3. Take 70% of Euros out of India on traveller’s card and 30% in cash – it is safe and convenient!
4. Be wary of pickpockets in Paris.
5. When in India, for currency exchange or traveller’s card purposes, use www.bookmyforex.com, where rates are much more competitive compared to others.
6. Hostels can be booked via Hostelworld.com.