Want to plan trip. Seeking help with travel books.

[Davidius]

I am trying to plan a trip to Germany and Italy next summer as a one year anniversary for me and my wife, which will hopefully be financed mostly by one of my university's travel scholarships. Basically the idea is to rent a car and, using his diaries (known now as the Italian Journey), follow Goethe's steps on the trip he took south through Bavaria and then down through Rome, all the way to the Bay of Naples and Sicily, then back. We plan to look for cheap inns in the various little towns we plan to visit, but are unsure how to find them beforehand.

1) Have you ever traveled and just hoped that you would find a good inn upon arriving in a town? If so, how did that work out?

2) Are you familiar with books like Fodor's and Lonely Planet? Would one of these be helpful for what I'm doing?

 

[Scott1]

Careful advance research and planning will pay off.

A good overview:
Frommer's Travel Guides: The Best Trips Start Here!

You may find helpful:
Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door

Remember the fourth commandment. You may find some of your most rewarding experiences in Lord's Day worship; research churches before you go.

 

[21st Century Calvinist]

I prefer Lonely Planet and the Rough Guides to travel over Fodor's. That is probably just me. These two will usually have extensive information about accomodations ranging from the cheap/basic to the luxurious. They will also have quite a bit about places to see, things to do.
Try and buy guides to the individual countries rather than a pan European travel guide. They should be easy enough to find in your local Borders or Barnes and Noble. They will probably be a bit cheaper on Amazon.
For buying tickets I usually go with Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com I hope to never fly Luffthansa again!
This sounds like an awesome trip, particularly the Italian leg of it. My mouth waters at the thought of it.

 

[Wannabee]

Plan ahead, and allow extra time. You'll find that it can be extremely difficult to find places to stay along the way without help. The student lodging can be good, but it can also be disastrous. More than one American has found themselves divulged of their belongings, among other more unpleasant mishaps. But planning ahead takes the guesswork out of it, and leaving extra time takes away much of the stress that can be involved.

You might consider taking the train too. It's much easier, and allows you to see the country without the distractions of driving. Perhaps part of your trip you can't. But if you can do it, I would recommend it. The EuroRail is a good option when traveling throughout Europe. Search Eurorail and look at the options. You might find a pass that's perfect for what you're doing. And from what I understand, a train through the Alps is amazing. We flew over from Germany once, and Switzerland another time. Next time we hope to fly into Switzerland and take the train to Venice.

If you're church is associated with churches in Europe, or missionaries there, you might try contacting the ones along your route for assistance. This can be very profitable. We did this on our first trip to Italy and devoped wonderful friendships through it. We now have churches to attend and people to visit from just south of Venice all the way down into Sicily. It was an amazing providence.

Make sure you understand the Gypsies in the area before traveling there. They are amazingly clever. Generally speaking, if they touch you then you've been robbed. A pastor of ours felt sorry for a guy that had the subway doors close in his face, only to find that the "poor guy" had stepped back right after "borrowing" the pastor's wallet.

I'd be happy to put you into contact with folks there, if you think it would help. PM me if you're interested and have specifics in regard to your route.

 

[Davidius]

Plan ahead, and allow extra time. You'll find that it can be extremely difficult to find places to stay along the way without help. The student lodging can be good, but it can also be disastrous. More than one American has found themselves divulged of their belongings, among other more unpleasant mishaps. But planning ahead takes the guesswork out of it, and leaving extra time takes away much of the stress that can be involved.

You might consider taking the train too. It's much easier, and allows you to see the country without the distractions of driving. Perhaps part of your trip you can't. But if you can do it, I would recommend it. The EuroRail is a good option when traveling throughout Europe. Search Eurorail and look at the options. You might find a pass that's perfect for what you're doing. And from what I understand, a train through the Alps is amazing. We flew over from Germany once, and Switzerland another time. Next time we hope to fly into Switzerland and take the train to Venice.

If you're church is associated with churches in Europe, or missionaries there, you might try contacting the ones along your route for assistance. This can be very profitable. We did this on our first trip to Italy and devoped wonderful friendships through it. We now have churches to attend and people to visit from just south of Venice all the way down into Sicily. It was an amazing providence.

Make sure you understand the Gypsies in the area before traveling there. They are amazingly clever. Generally speaking, if they touch you then you've been robbed. A pastor of ours felt sorry for a guy that had the subway doors close in his face, only to find that the "poor guy" had stepped back right after "borrowing" the pastor's wallet.

I'd be happy to put you into contact with folks there, if you think it would help. PM me if you're interested and have specifics in regard to your route.

You have a PM!

 

[Abd_Yesua_alMasih]

Now I have not travelled Europe like this, but I never plan my travels. I just go and enjoy the journey. I have a rough idea of where I want to go but otherwise just take car/train/plane when ever I need it and spend time wherever there is fun and move on when things get boring. I might read up a little about what places there are ahead but mostly I keep my plans open.

I found Lonely Planet to sometimes be more of a pain than a help. Often wrong but it is a good platform from which to base your plans. I tend to take what they say with a grain of salt.

 

[Ginny Dohms]

Many years ago when my sister and I were students, we travelled to about 13 countries in Europe. We used Frommer's guide. It was invaluable. It directed us to all the locations we wanted to see; from hostels, hotels, restaurants, and tourist spots, etc. We got a EuroRail train pass, so we could travel all we wanted for the one purchase price. We could even sleep on the train to double as a hotel at times. Frommer's worked great for us, and directed us to see everything we wanted, while pointing us to the most economical way to do it.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

David -- I saw this news item about German rail tickets and thought it might be of interest:

German railway partners with eBay: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance (July 29, 2008)

 

[ColdSilverMoon]

Actually, you can find a lot of good places on-line these days. I planned my entire honeymoon in Greece on the internet. If you're looking for small inns and B&B type places, simply google for the town you're staying in and you'll probably find a lot of good, relatively inexpensive places. Fodor's is the best book overall for Italy, but they are pretty sparse on the lodging options.

In Italy, I would definitely stay in Siena. I think you and your wife will really enjoy it. Of course stay in Florence for at least 2 nights - we stayed in the Hotel Carrivaggio, which is a nice, relatively inexpensive place. Rome lodging is a bit more expensive, but you can still find some reasonable B&B type places near the Colisseum.

Train is a good way to travel in Italy. The schedule can be a little hard to decipher, but they are clean and punctual. You'll have a great time...I'm jealous!

 

[jwithnell]

Lonely Planet and travel guides by Moon publications can be great for less-obvious recommendations and cheap travel. You just have to hold your nose a lot when it comes to their discussions for "alternative" travelers.

I haven't been in the area you are discussing, but hostels can be great options both for cost and for the people you'll meet. You'll likely be able to generate many philosophical discussions.

If you haven't traveled this way before, here are some pointers. Reserve when you can. Hostels that have a curfew are less likely to be party houses. If lockers are available, use them. Keep a plastic ziplock bag with you so you can take valuables into the shower with you. Avoid looking like a tourist -- no running shoes, camera, and windbreakers. Plan out your route ahead of time so you can pay attention to your surroundings rather than burying your nose in a map (come pick my pocket!).

My folks have booked B&Bs on the go in Europe many times, so it may well be doable. In my experience, you're more likely to pay more than you want for sometimes less-than-great accommodations when you haven't planned ahead when traveling. Two points of view from one family!

In any case, keep your gear to a minimum and mobile so you spend less time worrying about your stuff and more time exploring and enjoying. Have fun!