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Gaza
Jul 16, 2008
Can I survive on 50 euros a day while backpacking? I have the hostels covered and euro-rail I'm just curious if 50/day is enough for food and occasional drinks/weed.

Edit: I'm young and will be eating as cheap as possible.

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Landsknecht
Oct 27, 2009
I hope this person is trolling, nobody can be so unfunny and dumb

Gaza posted:

Can I survive on 50 euros a day while backpacking? I have the hostels covered and euro-rail I'm just curious if 50/day is enough for food and occasional drinks/weed.

Edit: I'm young and will be eating as cheap as possible.


depends where you are, but that's more than enough, i've done it on 25 euros per day, and that included a fair amount of booze

Jack Flint
Dec 12, 2006
Fleece as white as snow in a city
Yeah I think 50 euros would be fine even if you included paying for hostels in that. You'll save a lot money if you cook your own food every now and then and drink in parks or dives instead of clubs.

schoenfelder
Oct 16, 2009

Grade moj...

Jack Flint posted:

I'm heading in that direction next monday for three-ish weeks so any tips are appreciated. Going to at least Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, possibly Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Interrailing with a ten travel days in 21 days -pass.
If you have any specific questions about Serbia, shoot.

HeroOfTheRevolution
Apr 26, 2008

Jack Flint posted:

I'm heading in that direction next monday for three-ish weeks so any tips are appreciated. Going to at least Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, possibly Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Interrailing with a ten travel days in 21 days -pass.

In Croatia, you're better off exploring the Dalmatian coast than somewhere like Zagreb which is just a big city without a lot of character (it's like a mini-Vienna). Zadar is nice and has some beautiful old churches and a really cool arsenal and citadel as well as some remnants of the old Roman city. Split is a beautiful coastal city that's becoming a bigger tourist destination with each passing year. Its central attraction is the gigantic Roman palace of Diocletian (which is essentially the city center, it's that big), but there's also a lot of really cool bars on the waterfront. Dubrovnik is generally considered one of the most beautiful cities on Earth (I think Mostar is the most beautiful but I'm biased :3:) and the walls of the Old City are really cool. If you can, try to get to Bosnia. Aside from the beauty of Mostar, Sarajevo is a city that's really worth seeing for its historical significance, especially if you remember seeing it on the news a decade and a half ago. However, I don't know if you can get to Bosnia on an interrailing pass so you'd have to take a bus.

In the region, I'd see the best cities to go see are probably Istanbul, Dubrovnik, Mostar, Sarajevo, and Split. Bulgaria's best sites are outside the cities, like the Rila Monastery and the natural beauty of the Black Sea resorts and the Pirin range. The best city to go see in Bulgaria is definitely Veliko Turnovo.

I'm not too well-versed on Serbia or Slovenia and I don't know Romania at all. If you have any specific questions about Croatia, Bosnia, or Bulgaria though feel free to ask!

enki42
Jun 11, 2001
#ATMLIVESMATTER

Put this Nazi-lover on ignore immediately!

quote:

DarkCrawler posted:
I'm going interrailing for a month. Planned route Copenhagen-Berlin-Amsterdam-London-Paris-Madrid. I'd love some tips on interesting things to do, (because there will be a lot) and whether there are some other cities on the way in the countries included that I would absolutely have to see. I don't want to be stuck on timetables and I'm traveling alone, so beyond the cities I'm going to, the trip is unplanned. So anything goes really.

That particular itinerary does look to be more suited to flights than trains, with the exception of Berlin - Amsterdam. The budget airport serving Amsterdam is HUGELY outside of the city, and I'd be shocked if you actually managed to save money with a flight.

Outside of that, I'd really recommend the ferry from Amsterdam to London - it's probably not hugely cheaper than a flight from Amsterdam to London, but with that flight you're paying a huge amount in both Amsterdam and London to get to the airport, and it's actually a really nice chill experience.

Good stuff in Berlin:

1. The New Europe tour: Seriously the best tour they put on. It's only a few hours, and gives you an excellent introduction to the major sites of the city. I strongly recommend going on it.

2. Sunday flea markets and brunch: A really nice way to spend a Sunday in Berlin, and gives you a pretty good feel for the city. A good one to check out is in the Mauerpark in Prenzlauer Berg. After checking out the market, find a nice brunch place. Brunch is usually a buffet style deal in Berlin, and it'll be easy to find places around there to have it.

3. Story of Berlin: This is actually a really cool museum on the Ku'damm. It's low on actual artifacts, but really well designed and tells a great story of the history of Berlin (example - you descend downstairs at the point of the Third Reich gaining power, and each set of stairs has the same picture of Jewish Berlin citizens, which with every flight has more and more stamped with "Deported", "Exterminated", etc.

4. East side Gallery: The largest intact section of the Berlin wall, and the only one worth seeing. It's not well advertised, but you can get to it from the Warschauer strasse U and S-bahn stations. That area is really cool and worth checking out anyways, so it's worth a visit.

5. Tacheles - Basically an old department store occupied by squatters after the wall fell, and converted into an art performance space, studios, and a bunch of cafes and bars. It's probably considered slightly touristy, but it's very Berlin, and I've never failed to have a good time there.

6. Museuminsel: If you're a museum type of person, you're well serviced by Berlin, particularly the Pergamon. If museums aren't your thing it's by no means an essential though.

7. Potsdam: Probably only worth it if you're in town for more than a few days, but it's a really nice place to rent a bike and tour around on a lazy day.

NihilismNow
Aug 31, 2003

enki42 posted:

The budget airport serving Amsterdam is HUGELY outside of the city, and I'd be shocked if you actually managed to save money with a flight.

Amsterdam has a budget airport? I thought it was just Schiphol and nothing else. What is the name of the budget airport in question?

duckmaster
Sep 13, 2004
Mr and Mrs Duck go and stay in a nice hotel.

One night they call room service for some condoms as things are heating up.

The guy arrives and says "do you want me to put it on your bill"

Mr Duck says "what kind of pervert do you think I am?!

QUACK QUACK

NihilismNow posted:

Amsterdam has a budget airport? I thought it was just Schiphol and nothing else. What is the name of the budget airport in question?

I assume he means Eindhoven which is where Ryanair fly to and is about 1.5 hours from Amsterdam by train. All the other major airlines fly to Schipol though.

The "take a ferry" option is.. err.. ridiculous. You need to take two trains from Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland - this will take 90 minutes. You then sit on a ferry for 7 hours (you have to turn up an hour before as well) before landing in Harwich, about 70 miles north east of London, and getting a train into the city. The boat gets in at 8am so you'll hit rush hour and won't get a seat.

You'll pay about £9 for a meal on the ferry which will consist of a few spoonfuls of re-heated "curry" and some rice. A beer will cost about £3.

The ferries are really nice though!

Luuq
Nov 27, 2007
hurrikaani
I'm going on an European road trip for a month with 3 friends, we're driving through Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, northern Italy and Swizerland. So when we come to a bigger city, like Amsterdam, we should just leave the car outside the city, even when we are going to stay for several nights? This is also what a friend told me who did something similar. Now I'm wondering is it easy to find a place to leave your car? Is it really impossible to get the car to the place we are sleeping? (Hostel/couchsurfing). If we do this we sort of need to pack our stuff in backpacks and not have too much stuff, which I guess is a good idea anyway.

Gladi
Oct 23, 2008
^Parking spot in a city? Like really? I would not hold hope. Especially a non-residental parking spot? In some places pretty much impossible. So yeah you to leave car out of the way or possible look into garages in cities.

But you should be able to get to the hostel, unpack, and only then park the car away. AFAIK. Of course the driver will then spend few extra hours on travel.

NihilismNow
Aug 31, 2003

Luuq posted:

So when we come to a bigger city, like Amsterdam, we should just leave the car outside the city, even when we are going to stay for several nights? This is also what a friend told me who did something similar. Now I'm wondering is it easy to find a place to leave your car? Is it really impossible to get the car to the place we are sleeping? (Hostel/couchsurfing).

Yes.
I'm not sure where you are staying in Amsterdam but if it is inside the ring you don't want to park your car there. Parking in the city center starts at €5 a hour, inside the ring i think the cheapest parking is about €2.50 per hour.

In Dutch cities your best bet would be to find a P+R (Park and ride). These locations have plenty of parking space and good connections to public transportation. In a lot of cities P+R parking is free but in Amsterdam it costs €6 a day.

http://www.bereikbaaramsterdam.nl/live/main.asp?subsite_id=23

Landsknecht
Oct 27, 2009
I hope this person is trolling, nobody can be so unfunny and dumb

duckmaster posted:

I assume he means Eindhoven which is where Ryanair fly to and is about 1.5 hours from Amsterdam by train. All the other major airlines fly to Schipol though.

The "take a ferry" option is.. err.. ridiculous. You need to take two trains from Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland - this will take 90 minutes. You then sit on a ferry for 7 hours (you have to turn up an hour before as well) before landing in Harwich, about 70 miles north east of London, and getting a train into the city. The boat gets in at 8am so you'll hit rush hour and won't get a seat.

You'll pay about £9 for a meal on the ferry which will consist of a few spoonfuls of re-heated "curry" and some rice. A beer will cost about £3.

The ferries are really nice though!


Take a night ferry, it'll have you in amsterdam by 1100, I've done it before an it isn't bad, the beds are decent.

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort

HeroOfTheRevolution posted:

In Croatia, you're better off exploring the Dalmatian coast than somewhere like Zagreb which is just a big city without a lot of character (it's like a mini-Vienna). Zadar is nice and has some beautiful old churches and a really cool arsenal and citadel as well as some remnants of the old Roman city. Split is a beautiful coastal city that's becoming a bigger tourist destination with each passing year. Its central attraction is the gigantic Roman palace of Diocletian (which is essentially the city center, it's that big), but there's also a lot of really cool bars on the waterfront. Dubrovnik is generally considered one of the most beautiful cities on Earth (I think Mostar is the most beautiful but I'm biased :3:) and the walls of the Old City are really cool. If you can, try to get to Bosnia. Aside from the beauty of Mostar, Sarajevo is a city that's really worth seeing for its historical significance, especially if you remember seeing it on the news a decade and a half ago. However, I don't know if you can get to Bosnia on an interrailing pass so you'd have to take a bus.

In the region, I'd see the best cities to go see are probably Istanbul, Dubrovnik, Mostar, Sarajevo, and Split. Bulgaria's best sites are outside the cities, like the Rila Monastery and the natural beauty of the Black Sea resorts and the Pirin range. The best city to go see in Bulgaria is definitely Veliko Turnovo.

As a Croat I can confirm that this is pretty much spot-on. Also I'd add Belgrade to the list of interesting cities in the region.

Laopooh
Jul 15, 2000

I'm arriving in Barcelona on Thursday as stop one on a year long backpacking trip and wanted to get some tips. I've booked my first night at a hostel for 10 euros but it looks like most cheap places are fully booked. My budget is about $30 a day so I was hoping to find more cheap places, will I be SOL?

What kind of transportation is cheapest in Spain? I don't mind night buses or uncomfortable rides at all. I figure if I can't find a place to stay cheap in Barcelona for the next night that I'll have to head towards Pamplona and hope to find a cheap place there.

Any recommendations for having fun and seeing the sights in Spain on a tiny budget? Where to eat, what to see, where to stay etc. I was planning on going along the northern coast towards Portugal and then down to Morocco to start. Basically going with no plan or idea of what to do or how to live but I figure I should at least nail down the first week.

Landsknecht posted:

depends where you are, but that's more than enough, i've done it on 25 euros per day, and that included a fair amount of booze

Tell me all your secrets! Please ^^

Dog Blogs Man
Apr 16, 2007

how are you gentlemen i am a god amongst goons

Laopooh posted:

I'm arriving in Barcelona on Thursday as stop one on a year long backpacking trip and wanted to get some tips. I've booked my first night at a hostel for 10 euros but it looks like most cheap places are fully booked. My budget is about $30 a day so I was hoping to find more cheap places, will I be SOL?


You'll find it a lot harder than in winter, that's for sure. When I was travelling around Europe earlier this year, most hostels were nearly empty (except amsterdam, london etc). I pretended to make a booking at some of the same empty hostels, and they are already booked out for August. Book a week or more in advance if you actually know where you are going, at least for the next month or 2. And a whole year, wow. Have fun!
And by the way, in most countries it will cost a lot more than 10 euros, if you go to amsterdam or berlin or places like that it will probably be double that, at least. My money saving tip is go east to places like poland, slovakia etc.

Chooka Rain Boots

Laopooh
Jul 15, 2000

Dog Blogs Man posted:

You'll find it a lot harder than in winter, that's for sure. When I was travelling around Europe earlier this year, most hostels were nearly empty (except amsterdam, london etc). I pretended to make a booking at some of the same empty hostels, and they are already booked out for August. Book a week or more in advance if you actually know where you are going, at least for the next month or 2. And a whole year, wow. Have fun!
And by the way, in most countries it will cost a lot more than 10 euros, if you go to amsterdam or berlin or places like that it will probably be double that, at least. My money saving tip is go east to places like poland, slovakia etc.

Yeah that's what I seem to be finding. I was just planning on doing Spain>Portugal> Morocco>Czech Republic>Austria>Greece in 2 months and then on to Turkey and Egpyt where it'll be cheaper. Think that'll work? Hopefully couchsurfing will keep me afloat :sweatdrop:

Destroyenator
Dec 27, 2004

Don't ask me lady, I live in beer

Laopooh posted:

Yeah that's what I seem to be finding. I was just planning on doing Spain>Portugal> Morocco>Czech Republic>Austria>Greece in 2 months and then on to Turkey and Egpyt where it'll be cheaper. Think that'll work? Hopefully couchsurfing will keep me afloat :sweatdrop:
Couchsurfing is the same as hostels in summer, it can be a lot harder to find somewhere because not only are a lot more people travelling but more local hosts are travelling or away from uni back with their family etc. That said the weekly meets, camps and events are much bigger and great fun so even if you don't get a couch try to get to them whereever you are.

I would really recommend Morocco but if you can manage it DON'T go during Ramadan (1-29 August this year). I spent three weeks there during Ramadan last year and because they can't eat or smoke during daylight hours by mid-afternoon everyone (the entire population) is really cranky. Avoid Tangier and (although I haven't been personally I've been told) Casablanca. In Fez it's better to stay outside of the medina if you can or you'll go mad after a few days. Morocco is the only place I relied on my guidebook for hostel recommendations because some of them are really, really awful.

Buses are cheaper in Spain, trains in Portugal. The buses in Turkey are the best you'll ever travel on.

More general suggestions for budget travel:
If you're ever stuck trying to work out a train trip and can't get a local English-speaker, the German train services website (db.de) has all of the trains (in English!) for most of the countries in Europe (but no prices outside of Germany). Write down the options you can get (train number, time, date, number of seats) and the local language for "How much [student]?" and give it to the person in the ticket booth and get them to write out your prices. Point to the one you want.

Someone's already mentioned New World Europe guides, they are in a lot of major cities and are really good. They do free tours where you tip at the end. The Berlin one is fantastic.

Eating out of supermarkets is the cheapest. Places that have deli counters will slice you one piece of cheese or meat, split a tomato or bag of lettuce with a friend and buy a couple of bread rolls. Curry paste and rice travel well, all you need to add is coconut milk and some veggies and if you're feeling flush some meat. You also look like a pro in the hostel kitchen because everyone else is just doing basic pasta.

International buses are sometime easier than cheap flights because they usually go to and from the centre of town not the further out airports that Ryanair etc use. Eurolines is the go to for that but each country has it's own operator under the Eurolines banner and some of the websites are really hit and miss. If you do go Ryanair or similar and are over your baggage limit just repack your bag, put on as many clothes as you can and put your books in your pockets etc.

As often as possible get to an internet cafe and back up your photos to CD/DVD and keep the discs in a different bag to your camera or mail them home. Losing a camera can mean losing all your pictures.

Jack Flint
Dec 12, 2006
Fleece as white as snow in a city
Thanks for the info on Croatia & Bosnia - I think the latter might be sort of difficult to get into, but I'll definitely try to make it to Sarajevo. I do remember the war so it would be very interesting to see the city in person.

Doctor Malaver posted:

As a Croat I can confirm that this is pretty much spot-on. Also I'd add Belgrade to the list of interesting cities in the region.

Can you give me some info on Belgrade? I'm definitely interested in going there but apart from looking up a few hostels know very little about it.

Leaving in a few hours for a ferry into Stockholm, and beelining to Prague from there. I'm very excited!

OhSnap
Feb 23, 2007

I'm heading to Rome at the beginning of September, and I love history, art and touristy things in general. So far I've got the Lonely Planet guide to tell me everything, but if any of you have any suggestions for other cool things in Rome to do besides the obvious, definitely mention it as well as some nice places to stop for food. I'm there for a week, I'm staying right by the Roma Termini.

I'm tempted to go to Florence since there are galleries there I want to check out, but it looks like it's a little pricey to get to by train from Rome. :(

I went to Paris last year in November, and I have to say that was an awesome time to go. It was cheap. It wasn't too chilly. No line ups for anything. For Versailles we just walked in.

OhSnap fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Jul 12, 2010

PhedgeThroat
Sep 6, 2004
Yo Yo
Hi there,

The little lady and I are planning and week/week and a half in the beginning of November. We're planning to fly into Barcelona, head up to Paris and hit up London before we head back to Minnesota.

We would really love to rent a car in Spain and return it when we get to Paris. We can only find places that will let us rent for around town and none that would let us return the car a couple hundred miles away (I'll switch to metric soon enough). Am I trying to find needle in a haystack? Or is this something that could happen, I'd love to spend sometime driving through the French countryside.

Jack Flint
Dec 12, 2006
Fleece as white as snow in a city
At least Europcar (http://www.europcar.com) seems to offer something. It's pretty drat expensive, though, but renting across countries tends to be I guess. It seems to be a short trip to spend that much time driving - are you sure you wouldn't want to just fly cheap from Spain to Paris, or even take a fast train?

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort

Jack Flint posted:

Can you give me some info on Belgrade? I'm definitely interested in going there but apart from looking up a few hostels know very little about it.

Try to get schoenfelder's attention, his avatar is Belgrade's coat of arms.

Belgrade is cheap, the night life is great. The Serbs in general are charming, good looking, fun loving, unrestrained and talented people. On the downside they like invading their neighbors and committing war crimes, but that part shouldn't concern you.

Also, Kalemegdan fortress and the Danube coast with thousands of boats/rafts are a must see.

schoenfelder
Oct 16, 2009

Grade moj...

Jack Flint posted:

Can you give me some info on Belgrade? I'm definitely interested in going there but apart from looking up a few hostels know very little about it.
i won't cover the things you can read on wikipedia, here's what i love about belgrade:

- it's still largely untouched and untainted by western tourists (even though the number of tourists has steadily gone up over the past few years), which means a visitor is still seen as a guest and not a walking wallet

- it's rough around the edges, i.e. expect many things like buildings, busses etc. to be a bit gritty, run-down, not in the best shape, expect near-toxic fumes from the exhaust pipes of 30-year old cars

- it's a city of contrasts: old and new, rich and poor, life is really condensed here. the contrasts are not as extreme as in e.g. african countries, though, it's still europe

- the rhythm of life is generally very laid-back. even though it's the political and economical capital of serbia you will find that the cafés are full all day long. when you "go out for a coffee" with a friend, expect to spend 2-3 hours sitting around, talking and watching people pass by

- it is cheap. expect to pay 1.30 EUR for a pack of cigarettes, 1.30-1.80 EUR for a beer at a pub/café, 0.50-0.80 EUR for a beer at the supermarket, 2-3 EUR for a huge hamburger, 8-15 EUR for a great meal at a fairly nice restaurant... you get the idea

- the night life is amazing. you have so many pubs, bars, clubs etc. to choose from, people go out every day of the week, it's just incredible

- the food is awesome (if you like meat)

- the people might seem rough at first when you don't know them, but once they open up you will find that they are very kind, warm, generous, welcoming, educated, crazy, fun

- the belgrade girls are the most beautiful in the world (but by no means easy!)

Sand Monster
Apr 13, 2008

A few Eurail pass questions:

On Rick Steves' web site, it mentions that an adult (26 or older) must purchase a first class ticket. If I look at a regional Eurail pass on the official web site, it gives me the option of purchasing 1st class or 2nd class for an adult pass. If I'm offered that choice, is it worth the savings to take 2nd class or is 1st class substantially more comfortable?

Additionally, are there any web sites where I can find the approximate travel times for train travel, as well as what stops there are along the way between major destinations? The Eurail web site just has a map of the major rail lines, as far as I can tell.

I've been debating what the smarter choice is between budget air travel versus a Eurail pass, but it seems like the train might be simplest because all of the budget air lines seem to fly out of airports that are far out of the way. The idea of 6 hour + train trips is a bit unnerving to me but I'm not sure that the hassle of getting to the airport and then flying is enough to offset it. The ideal set up seems like it would be a Eurail pass + budget air travel but I can't imagine that's all that realistic. Anyone have experience making this same decision?

Landsknecht
Oct 27, 2009
I hope this person is trolling, nobody can be so unfunny and dumb

Sand Monster posted:

A few Eurail pass questions:

On Rick Steves' web site, it mentions that an adult (26 or older) must purchase a first class ticket. If I look at a regional Eurail pass on the official web site, it gives me the option of purchasing 1st class or 2nd class for an adult pass. If I'm offered that choice, is it worth the savings to take 2nd class or is 1st class substantially more comfortable?

Additionally, are there any web sites where I can find the approximate travel times for train travel, as well as what stops there are along the way between major destinations? The Eurail web site just has a map of the major rail lines, as far as I can tell.

I've been debating what the smarter choice is between budget air travel versus a Eurail pass, but it seems like the train might be simplest because all of the budget air lines seem to fly out of airports that are far out of the way. The idea of 6 hour + train trips is a bit unnerving to me but I'm not sure that the hassle of getting to the airport and then flying is enough to offset it. The ideal set up seems like it would be a Eurail pass + budget air travel but I can't imagine that's all that realistic. Anyone have experience making this same decision?

Go to bahn.de, sbb.ch, or any other national train website to find schedules/times. It's never worth purchasing a first class ticket/pass unless you're going to be taking a train that requires it (I think the polish intercity trains, ICE sprinter might be), but in general it's better to get a second class ticket. In most cases a reservation is a very good thing to have for some trains, it's required for others, just go down to the station and make a reservation when you arrive (any ticket counter can help you).

Skam
Jan 6, 2008

Laopooh posted:

I'm arriving in Barcelona on Thursday as stop one on a year long backpacking trip and wanted to get some tips. I've booked my first night at a hostel for 10 euros but it looks like most cheap places are fully booked. My budget is about $30 a day so I was hoping to find more cheap places, will I be SOL?

What kind of transportation is cheapest in Spain? I don't mind night buses or uncomfortable rides at all. I figure if I can't find a place to stay cheap in Barcelona for the next night that I'll have to head towards Pamplona and hope to find a cheap place there.

Any recommendations for having fun and seeing the sights in Spain on a tiny budget? Where to eat, what to see, where to stay etc. I was planning on going along the northern coast towards Portugal and then down to Morocco to start. Basically going with no plan or idea of what to do or how to live but I figure I should at least nail down the first week.



Saw this a day late

but...

General Barca tips (when i get time im going to write a huge post about the city)

Check out all the Gaudi stuff, if your really broke just look at it from the outside
If you have time go to Tibidabo - train from placa Catalunya, skip the tram and walk for 20 min when you are off the train, but do take the funicular
The beach is amazing, but it is very full. When you get there walk towards the big gold fish (port Olympic) it is quieter down there - or go even further and walk for 5 min further, behold a nearly empty beach
Hostel Recommendations (although these will all be about 25€ a night right now):

Kabul (big but fun)
Barcelona Sound / Barcelona Mar (nice atmosphere, good locations)
HelloBCN (big, cheap beer)
Sant Jordi Diagnol / the whole group - great places, expensive

Avoid Sun & Moon (lock out between 3 and 5, awful staff, no atmosphere, although great location)

If you need a place to stay thats cheap then go on the ramblas one evening and ask someone who is flyering for a pub crawwl(you will see them, there is hundreds) if they know anywhere to stay

I could list good bars but there is a lot, Ryans is cheapest, Travel bar has good staff, ask your hostel.

clubs:

Opium is great and the second biggest, amazing beach terrace - however it will cost you 15-20 euro to get in most night (ask your hostel, they will know someone who can get you in for free)
Apollo - The best place on Mondays and Tuesdays - the rest of the time it sucks
Razmatazz - the best and biggest, 5 floors, live bands, DJ's - only open on Fridays and Saturdays (i think) - will cost you 15€
Catwalk - ok club, not as good as a lot of people say. - 15€
City hall - good outside area, ok club if you like house music - normally get free entry
Moog - to small, i don't like it. Quite a few people do - free entry normally
Jamboree - Good if you like r&b - free until 1
Boulevard - Tourist club on Las Ramblas, you will only like it if it is the first club in the city you have been to - free until 1

there is more but they are the main ones.

Never go to a club before 1am (they will be empty)
Never buy drinks in a club (in Catwalk a vodka and coke is 12€)

The metro system is amazing and you can get anywhere within about 15 min travel



They are the basics, any specific questions and i can answer them


edit:

4 rules of Barcelona:
Never carry anything you don't want to lose (you will get robbed)
Never sleep on the beach at night
If someone who looks a bit shady starts talking to you then back off and keep distance between you
Don't get blind drunk and walk about on your own

Skam fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Jul 16, 2010

illionaire
Apr 18, 2005

It's all about the
Yenjamins,
baby
I'm in the process of moving into a place in southwestern Spain near the ocean (a short walk to the beach). I'm new to the area and I don't know anyone and I don't speak spanish and oh god what am I doing here *hyperventilates* but if anyone lives nearby and wants to go to the beach, hit me up over PM.

e: Oh, it would probably help to add that I live near Cadiz.

illionaire fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Jul 18, 2010

Hibajubwa
Oct 30, 2003

KILL ALL HUMANS

Skam posted:

4 rules of Barcelona:
Never carry anything you don't want to lose (you will get robbed)
Never sleep on the beach at night
If someone who looks a bit shady starts talking to you then back off and keep distance between you
Don't get blind drunk and walk about on your own

These really apply to everywhere you will travel. I've yet to actually be robbed, but carrying the minimal amount possible on you will make the experience a bit less terrible I'm sure.

As for sleeping on the beach, the same goes for parks in other cities. A daytime nap is no problem though and will make a huge difference in your days when you can't sleep past 8am thanks to your 10 person dorm being blistering hot in august.

Jack Flint
Dec 12, 2006
Fleece as white as snow in a city
Hey thanks a bunch on the notes about Serbia. Heading to Belgrade from Budapest via night train today and probably spending a night, then going on to Sarajevo. Really looking forward to it and it sucks I can't spend more than one night. Trying to find Bosnian bus timetables on the internet sucks. Well, not suck as much as is impossible.

Is there anywhere in particular I should go to in Belgrade?

schoenfelder
Oct 16, 2009

Grade moj...
depends on what you want to see and do.

head to kalemegdan fortress, it's a huge park with beautiful views.

sit in a cafè on knez mihailova street for a few hours and just watch the people.

i like the nikola tesla museum (krunska street), it's not big but quite interesting.

go for dinner at "srpska kafana" (svetogorska street), awesome traditional dishes and not expensive.

grab a serbian hamburger (pljeskavica) at "loki" (kralja petra street), they are really great.

for beers, go to any of the pubs in strahinica bana street or in skadarska street.

parties: head to one of the rafts, or stay in the centre (i like e.g. "francuska sobarica" in francuska street and "kst" in bulevar kralja aleksandra).

also, in sarajevo, eat cevapi at this one place in bascarsija square. i can't for the life of me remember the name but it ends in the number 2, so "somethingsomething 2". they have the best cevapi in the balkans, everybody knows the place.

HeroOfTheRevolution
Apr 26, 2008

schoenfelder posted:

also, in sarajevo, eat cevapi at this one place in bascarsija square. i can't for the life of me remember the name but it ends in the number 2, so "somethingsomething 2". they have the best cevapi in the balkans, everybody knows the place.

I know what you're talking about, it has a soccer ball on the sign... ah poo poo I can't think of the name either. I don't know if I'd say best cevapi in the Balkans, but it is pretty good :3:

Make sure to ask for kajmak with your cevapi!

Jack Flint
Dec 12, 2006
Fleece as white as snow in a city
All right, thanks a ton - this helps a lot after wandering aimlessly around Budapest for two days (which is fine in itself and was great to have a few slower days). If any of the goons answering here happen to be in Belgrade tomorrow or Sarajevo / Dubrovnik later I'll be happy to buy you a pint or two.

King Nothing
Apr 26, 2005

Ray was on a stool when he glocked the cow.
Is there a good source for digital maps of Europe? Like what you'd get if you bought a folding map in a store but in PDF form. I found this:

http://www.cityspy.info/

In the links thread but they only have maps for a few cities.

schoenfelder
Oct 16, 2009

Grade moj...

Jack Flint posted:

All right, thanks a ton - this helps a lot after wandering aimlessly around Budapest for two days (which is fine in itself and was great to have a few slower days). If any of the goons answering here happen to be in Belgrade tomorrow or Sarajevo / Dubrovnik later I'll be happy to buy you a pint or two.
you're welcome! won't be in belgrade before 19th august, though, am in italy at the moment. have fun in ex-yu!

HeroOfTheRevolution posted:

I know what you're talking about, it has a soccer ball on the sign... ah poo poo I can't think of the name either. I don't know if I'd say best cevapi in the Balkans, but it is pretty good :3:

Make sure to ask for kajmak with your cevapi!
yeah, i guess there might be better places but anecdotal evidence tells me that place is at least one of the best: not only according to my friends from sarajevo but also according to the likes of a half-kosovar friend of mine in germany, a random vienna-serb i met at "loki" in belgrade, a friend from belgrade whose grandma lives in sarajevo etc....

kajmak is divine, of course!

schoenfelder fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jul 19, 2010

NoSpoon
Jul 2, 2004
I've got a week in Spain at the start of December - I've got flights into Barcelona, and out of Madrid.

I'm tossing up between splitting it 3 days in each, or going somewhere else in the middle with 2 days each. I've looked at Zaragoza and Valencia - and the more I look, the more I wish I had more time!

So, some opinions from people who've been there before would be greatly appreciated!

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort
You could spend the entire week in Madrid and likewise in Barcelona. Three days is very short period for those great cities and cutting it even shorter is a terrible idea.

Also, travel between Madrid and Valencia isn't instantaneous, why waste a day on travel?

hbf
Jul 26, 2003
No Dice.
I'm headed to San Sebastian, Spain for 5 days next week with nothing planned other than to hang out on the beach, surf, and eat/drink a lot. I'd like to check out some stuff outside of San Sebastian in the surrounding area, places feasible for a days trip. Any recommendations?

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort
Guggenheim museum in Bilbao? Pamplona is also near San Sebastian and they don't have bull runs all the time but I'm sure it's worth checking out anyway.

NoSpoon
Jul 2, 2004

Doctor Malaver posted:

You could spend the entire week in Madrid and likewise in Barcelona. Three days is very short period for those great cities and cutting it even shorter is a terrible idea.

Also, travel between Madrid and Valencia isn't instantaneous, why waste a day on travel?
Flights between Madrid and Valencia are pretty cheap, so close enough to instantaneous.

What you've said is basically what I was thinking - was just worried I'd totally miss the real Spain (eg if you come to New Zealand and spend some time in Auckland and some in Wellington you're kinda missing the point).

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Saladman
Jan 12, 2010

NoSpoon posted:

Flights between Madrid and Valencia are pretty cheap, so close enough to instantaneous.


When you factor in time getting to/from both airports, it's probably the same speed (or slower than) taking a train.

(E: Including going through security, checking in 30-45 minutes before takeoff, getting your luggage at the end if you checked it, etc.)

Saladman fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Jul 20, 2010

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