Hi, I’m holding a UK student VISA and going to travel Norway (Single travel ) this April. As I need to apply Schengen Visa, I must also provide travel insurance. Looking some affordable insurance deal. Any ideas? Cheers

The International Medical Group offers medical insurance for citizens of every country travelling world-wide (trips of 5 days – 5 years.)

IMG is an A rated carrier (by AM Best) and is underwritten by Sirius International (with offices world-wide, including the UK and the headquarters in Sweden.)

You can get more info and quotes online: https://www.imglobal.com/travelinsurance/index.cfm?IMGAC=224027&app_method=3&CFID=705225&CFTOKEN=2e7d82641e969a6a-3D0821AA-1372-4E40-F36BE0FE4ADD6A61

There are rail passes available depending on whether you’re a European resident or not. If you have lived here for at least 6 months, then there’s the interrail pass: http://www.interrail.net/ . If not, then there’s the Eurail pass for everyone else: http://www.eurail.com/

The passes can represent a savings depending on how much travel you do, where you’re going, and what trains you take. You need to know that even with the passes, many of the high speed trains, international trains, and night trains still require you to make reservations and pay an additional fee. There’s a lot more information about train travel here and specifically on the passes on this site: http://www.seat61.com/

If you have the time and confidence to book individual tickets from the various national railroads, then you can often save money on tickets. This is more often true if you have a specific travel plan and can book tickets in advance to take advantage of discounts offered for early purchase of tickets. This takes more effort on your part. You’ll need to go to the web sites for the individual railroads to find the schedules and book tickets. For example:

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html (Italy)
http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml (Germany)
http://www.oebb.at/en/index.jsp (Austria)

You can find others with a simple search.

I’m looking at doing a month-long tour of Europe around the end of 2009/beginning 2010. I would like to go to principally England, France, Germany, and Italy, but start off in Paris or London so I can have some free time looking around and seeing what I want to see. I’m not a big fan of guided tours and so I would like to go with a company that allows you to wander and see things at your leisure, but at the same time be on hand to help cope with culture shock, language barriers, etc. Can anyone recommend a good, affordable travel company (I am just out of university).

Hey mixterrr!

Well I am a Campus Manager for a company called EF College Break (www.efcollegebreak.com). You said you were interested in a guided tour that let’s you sightsee more than usual and can also help you with culture shock and language barriers…and I think EF College Break would be perfect for that. You go with a group of people your age and a really cool guide for the bigger, more touristy places, but you still get lots of days of free time to explore the cities.

They are the guaranteed lowest prices for college students (price includes airfare, hotels, transportation, accommodations, admission to big places/events, 1 meal a day) so pretty much all you worry about is your spending money and maybe extra money for some meals.

A tour I think you would be really interested in is the Grand Tour of Europe trip which is 30 days. It includes seeing: England (London, Stonehenge, Bath) France (Paris, French Riviera, Avignon), Belgium (Brussels), Germany (Heidelberg), Switzerland (Lucerne), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Italy (Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa), and Spain (Barcelona and Madrid). Prices start at $3,200, depending on the airport you depart from. I suggest going to the website to look around on other trips that might interest you.

If you have any questions, feel FREE to message me about it or call the company. My campus manager code is Tiu9005 and using that will help you get a $50 discount off your trip.

good luck on your future trip!
-Christine T.

Caitlin, a 9th grade People to People Student Ambassador from Bridgeport, CT, visits Aegina Island and witnesses the amazing acoustics of the Epidaurus Theater

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Technorati Tags: Aegina, Ambasadors, Epidaurus, europe, Greece, italy, P2P, People, PTP, student, to, Travel, TravelCast

Learn the benefits of escorted travel with Globus family of brands. Travel to Ireland on a Globus guided tour. Enjoy the beautiful scenery, art, history and culture of Dublin, Killarney & Limerick. Globus offers escorted tours and guided vacation packages to Ireland and other European countries.

For more information visit: http://www.globusjourneys.com

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Technorati Tags: Dublin Escorted Vacation, Escorted Tour Packages, Europe Vacations, European Getaway, Globus Trips, Ireland Tours, Killarney Tour, Limerick Guided Travel

European Travel Journal

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High spirits and vitality govern in abundance when in Barcelona, a must on your European Tour. This infectious capital of Catalonia, and second largest city in Spain, exudes soul and energy, living life to the full. Barcelona’s verve is matched by its magnificent architecture, characterised by one man’s signature, Antonio Gaudi.

1. Las Ramblas

Running from seafront through to Placa de Catalunya, Las Ramblas is a fusion of market stalls and street entertainment. Watch out for the mime artists, though keep a hand on your wallet.

2. Sagrada Familia Church

In progress since 1882, La Sagrada Familia is perhaps Antonio Gaudi’s most magnificent achievement. As yet unfinished, the ongoing construction of this gothic masterpiece is financed through tourism.

3. Picasso Museum

Born in Malaga, Pablo Picasso moved to Barcelona during his teen years. Though many of his greatest works are in private hands, the Picasso Museum on the Carrer Moncada is well worth a visit.

4. Casa-Museu Gaudi

A pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house is the setting for the Gaudi museum. Gaudi lived in this surreal location between 1906 and 1926 with his niece. Exhibits in the museum include furniture, drawings and portraits designed by the great man himself.

5. The Poble Espanyol

Completed in 1929, the ‘Spanish Village’ is a compilation of buildings representing the collective architectural characteristics of Spain. A celebration of all things Spanish, the village has become a gathering place to dine and be entertained.

6. Bishop’s Palace

After being destroyed by fire, Bishop Juan Bautista Grau i Vallespinós commissioned Antonio Gaudi to design a new, more magnificent palace in 1887. Upon the bishop’s death, and consequent interference from the diocese, Gaudi abandoned the project. It was not inhabited until 1961.

7. Gothic Quarter

On the site of an ancient Roman village, the Gothic Quarter is a contrast of contemporary and medieval architecture, incorporating the magnificent 14th century cathedral.

8. Olympic Stadium

During 1992, the eyes of the world focused on the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona as they hosted the Olympic Games. Today a popular athletics facility, the stadium was a redesigned version of the original built in 1929.

9. Passeig de Gracia

As one of the major shopping areas of Barcelona, Passeig de Gracia caters for the modest, and also those who prefer the more sophisticated boutiques. Bars and restaurants also line the thoroughfare.

10. Lover’s Day

On behalf of those looking for romance, Barcelona obliges with its own version of St Valentines, known as Lover’s Day, celebrated every April 23rd.

Technorati Tags: barca, barcelona, catalonia, gaudi, gerona, girona, iberia, montserrat, sitges, spain, spanair, tmb

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An area of the planet that I’ve always found interesting is Eastern Europe, and I’ll intermittently see travel deals to the area for reasonable costs. For me nonetheless, to tour Eastern Europe, I would need to see Russia. One of the things which most appeals to me about going to tour Eastern Europe is the proven fact that it appears so unexplored compared against Western Europe.

To paraphrase, I’ve been to Eire , Britain , France, Spain, Holland and Germany, but I have not visited Czechoslovakia, Poland or any of the previous Soviet nations in any way. I believe likely the 1st place I would like to visit on an Eastern EU tour is Prague. I’ve been told that it’s completely pretty and that it probably did not sustain quite as much damage during World War Two as some of the other great towns of Europe. In footage I’ve seen of the town, it seems very clean and the design is attractive. I might potentially continue on to Poland and Romania, just because I don’t know a lot about either country, and then it’d be on to Russia. There are several places I wish to see in Russia, and in my mind, no tour of Eastern Europe would be complete without seeing the biggest country by area in the world. With my great keenness for art, the 1st place I’d stop would be St. Petersburg to see the Hermitage museum. Some of the best Russian artistic endeavors are housed in this museum, and it’s famous commonly for being one of the best museums in the world.

St. Petersburg is an absolute must when I tour Eastern Europe for a different reason, in that from what I’ve heard, it has got a different feel than other Russian towns. From what I have come to understand, St. Petersburg is far more like an european town, and while my interest is clearly in finding Eastern Europe, I want to see for myself if that is correct. I might definitely have to go to Moscow as well and see the Kremlin and Red Square. I believe this would be one of the most engaging facets of the trip, because for all of my adolescence the Cold War was going on, and the USSR was the US’ enemy. Naturally, there’s potentially no larger symbol of the previous Soviet regime than the Kremlin.

If I were to tour Eastern Europe, these are some examples of the places I would really want to see.

From what I have read about Eastern Europe, it sounds terribly fascinating and I’d love to learn lots more about the history of the area. What better way is there to do that than by going there?

Technorati Tags: Russia, tour eastern europe

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I’ve been awfully lucky to have traveled a lot in my life, but one thing I’d never had the break to do was to holiday in Italy. I ultimately made the plunge in 2007, and I should admit that this was everything I had was hoping it’d be. My family and I flew into Rome and spent 3 days touring the town. I went and saw all the touristy stuff, like the Vatican and the Coliseum. I saw some of the old churches in the town, like the Basilica of St. John Lateran, but potentially the thing I most remember from that portion of my holiday in Italy were all of the piazzas and how relaxing it was solely to sit there and watch the people appear and vanish.

From Rome, we went up to see Florence, which is simply one of my favourite towns in the world. I think of myself as a great lover of art, and this is the place to be for art lovers. I went to the internationally famous Uffizi art museum, and that was everything that I imagined it might be. There had been a distinct difference between Florence and Rome, as well, but they each held a special place in my heart during my holiday in Italy. From Florence, our holiday in Italy took us to the extraordinarily unique town of Venice.

I loved having the ability to ride on a gondola and take in the sights, and my better half adored the trendy clothing the town has to give. I’ve been told the town is essentially sinking, and I’m happy I had the chance to see it, in case it is totally underwater in the future. After Venice, we made our way further north to the town of Milan. This was another excellent chance to see one of the destinations I’ve always needed to see, and that’s the La Scala opera house.

It is among the most respected opera homes in the world, and having the ability to see it and imagine the debut of so many Puccini and Verdi operas practically gave me chills. Besides all of the excellent sights we took in, one of the finest things about our holiday in Italy was the tasty food we enjoyed. It was nearly enough simply to go there and sample the great and various cuisine the country has to give.

Our holiday in Italy is something that I will always remember for so long as I live and something I can always look back on with great yearning. It was one of those rare occasions in life where you actually anticipate something for an extended period of time, and when you eventually get to do it, it seems better than you ever imagined achievable.

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When traveling to Paris, France, eat on a budget by going to bakery shops, or plan a picnic by buying cheap food at a grocery store. Explore traditional and Arabic food options while in Paris using this free video on European travel from an experienced travel guide. Expert: Sarah Sathmari Bio: Sarah Sathmari is an experienced travel guide in Hungary and Europe. Filmmaker: Paul Volniansky

Technorati Tags: cheap, European, paris, Tips, Travel