European Whirl May 4

[Holiday]

I'm looking for anyone who is planning to do the European Whirl trip starting May 4th. My mother and I are going and i'm hoping to get a head start on getting to know someone from the trip now.
Also i'd like to hear from anyone who has done this trip in the past, how was it? And does anyone know what the average age is for people taking these trips cause i'm only 22. I'm sure i will have fun no matter what though.

[CoolTool]

We are planning to go on the European Whirl on June 24th but like you I am 23 and my fiance is 21 and im interested to know what is the average age for most people who take these trips?

[Euro Whirl]

I am going on the 24th of June trip alone. I am 29 and from Hawaii. My name is Stephanie. Hope to hear back from you. [/quote]

[Keith]

My wife and I went on the Whirl last summer. You will see a lot, but plan on taking a vacation from this vacation It is very draining, so be sure to get all the sleep you can before you go!

The majority of the people on our tour were over 30. I can think of about 8 that were over 50, 10 over 40, and 10 in their 30's. There were 5 in their mid 20's, and only two children (early teens). . Your group may be different.

As far as what we thought of the tour, it is a great way to get a very small taste of many different places. If you look at it from the perspective that you are learning what places you like so that you may come back for an in depth tour later, go won't be disappointed.

I would encourage you to make use of the optional excursions they offer. The tour guide will sell these hard because they make commissions on them. I originally didn't plan on doing many, but that changed and I'm glad I did. You spend so little time in most places and are so tired that it is nice to have the structure of the optional excursions. The only one that I thought was a waste was the horse and carriage ride in Austria. There was no scenery and we just went for a short ride up a hill to a bar. It was expensive and didn't last long.

I would recommend most of the other excursions, just because time is so short. If you plan on doing them and spending the money, you won't be disappointed.

Anyway, I originally found this site as I was looking for information on the General Tours trip to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, so I must keep searching now. Enjoy your trip. We were glad we did the Whirl. Just remember that it is called the Whirl for a reason

If anyone has any specific questions on this trip, I'd be glad to answer them. I'll try to check back at least once before you go.

Keith

[Beth]

On the Eurowhirl Tour, were there washer and dryers available at the hotels you stayed? Or did you have to send your clothes out to be cleaned? Since you are limited to one carry-on and one suitcase I'm a little worried about how many outfits to bring.

Please comment. Thank you very much.

[Beth]

I would love to hear from "Holiday" to see how your May 4th European Whirl trip went. Our family is going on June 17, 2004. How were the hotels? the meals? About how many hours at a time were you on the bus? Which optional sites would you recommend? Did you have to walk a long distance everyday? Were you totally exhausted at the end of each day? How early did the tour leave in the morning and what time would it arrive at the hotel at night? How would you rate the hotels compared to US hotels? Did the hotels provide hair dryers? Did you bring converter/adapters along for curling irons? Did they measure your suitcase. Did you have enough sitting room on the bus. How closely should we keep track of our belongings? Was it pretty safe or do we need to really be guarding our things all the time? Do we need to keep track of each and every souvenir that we buy for customs so that it goes smoothly on our way back. Can I buy stamps easily to send postcards home? Any advice will be very much appreciated.

[Holiday]

Hello Beth,
I just got back from my holiday and I absolutly loved it. The hotel were great, they were of a very high standard. I'm from Australia so can't compare to US hotels. I didn't think much of the meals though, breakfast was mostly continental rather than buffet like I was told. Mostly just cerials and pastries. All hotels had hair dryers, and yes I brought adaptors for charging of my video camera and moble phone. I had a stop-over in Hong Kong and picked them up really cheap. There were no wahers or dryers in the Hotel, you can send stuff out for drycleaning but it was really expensive. I just took with me some washing liquid and portable clothes line and did my washing in the bath when we had two night stopovers (Paris and Rome) I wouldn't worry too much about using a washing machine, bath tub or sink worked fine for me. I didn't take too many outfits with me and i'm glad, my mum took loads and barely wore half of it. I took 6 pairs of underwear and socks, 3 pants, 3 comfy tops, 1 outing top, 2 skirts, boots and comfy shoes and a light water proof jacket. I just mixed and matched tops and bottoms but I suppose it depends on what weather you are expecting. (I checked on the internet the 10 day forcast before I left)
Didn't spend too much time in the hotels anyway, usually we got in late afternoon to dump our stuff then we were out sightseeing and doing things till about 10 or 11pm then had wake-up call at 6am to have breakfast and be ready by about 7.30am. It is a very exhausting trip, but you only notice it when you stop moving and fall asleep at the end of the day. I felt I didn't have enough time in most places but then remembered it is a 'whirl', simply just a taste so you know if you would ever want to go back. I saw alot in the time we had in each place, but it was fast paced. I wouldn't say I did 'alot' of walking, mostly walking through the museums and around churches. Didn't do any walking from place to place, bus comes to pick you up. There was a fair bit of travellin on the bus, did't notice it much the first half of the tour, but felt like we did lots more second half. But because I did'nt sleep much in the hotels, I needed the time on the bus to sleep. (I highly recommend an inflatable pillow, couldn't have survived without mine) If I had to guess, I'd say we spent anywhere between 4-8 hours on the bus each day when travelling from one country to another. There was an alright amount of leg room in the bus, could always use more though. Trafalgar didn't measure anyones suitcase, wouldn't worry too much about that, they were pretty good. As for belongings, they were great, the bus driver is on the bus at all times so you can leave things on your seat and it is safe. I went with one of those bags you keep round your waist that no one can see, for passports and money. Never used it. Felt very safe with my stuff with trafalgar and the other people on tour. Trafalgar do warn you as well, if you are going to a place where ther is known to be pick pockets. But within the tour there was no problems.
I wasn't expecting to do many optional tours, but ended up doing them all, I thought I might not get another chance. I spent about $1000 on extra tours (thank god for the credit card) and am glad I did them. I really enjoyed the mountain accent in Switzerland but then Switzerland was my favourite place. Wouldn't bother doing the last dinner in Amsterdam, wasn't worth the money. Also I didn't enjoy any of the dinners in Italy but then I don't like pasta. I really missed food from Australia when I was away. Unlike Kieth i really enjoued the horse and carriage ride in Austria. I liked being near the alps, but then I'm from Australia and don't often see snow. The versailles tour was great also, had no idea what to expect and was blown away, but then I'm really into history and felt amazed just standing in places so old.
As for customs I was really worried cause I bought a camera while in Hong Kong, leather jacket in Florence Italy, and heaps of souvenirs but they didn't care at all. Didn't tell them about the jacket or camera, just food I bought and wooden things. I declared the none valuables and they just waved me through. I was really amazed, but the US might be different. Didn't have to declare anything in any of the countries visited in the tour, didn't even have to show my passport, only in London, Hong Kong and home. Stamps are easily bought and the hotels will send them out for you if you ask them.
Hope that helps and gives you more of an idea of what to expect. I did enjoy my holiday and I'm glad I did the whirl to start with, but if I can save up enough to go again I'd do a tour that is less fast paced. 8 countries in 12 days is alot to take in but well worth it. Though it is good to be home so I can rest!
Take care.

[Beth]

Thanks so much "Holiday" for all of your info and answers to my questions. I feel so much better about what to expect and how to pack. You really helped a lot and I appreciate all your comments and advice.

I am wondering about snacks for the long trips on the plane trip overseas and also for the 4-8 hours a day riding on the bus for 12 days. If I bring stuff like Beef Jerky, gum, granola bars, LifeSavers, very small cereal boxes, bottle of spring water, etc., for my kids to munch on, do you think that would be a problem with customs or security screening? Do they let you snack on the bus? I imagine they would allow a few snacks but thought I'd ask anyway. What about rolls of 35 mm film and disposable cameras? Do they ever get damaged by the Xray/screening machines? What do you advise? There is a bathroom on the tour bus isn't there?
Did you ever need more than a sweatshirt or very light jacket while you were at any of the places? Does Trafalgar provide little blankets or any kind of small pillow? Thanks so much for any info you can tell me. We leave in mid-June, 2004 from US to London for the Eurowhirl! Can't wait!

[Guest]

Thanks so much "Holiday" for all of your info and answers to my questions. I feel so much better about what to expect and how to pack. You really helped a lot and I appreciate all your comments and advice.

I am wondering about snacks for the long trips on the plane trip overseas and also for the 4-8 hours a day riding on the bus for 12 days. If I bring stuff like Beef Jerky, gum, granola bars, LifeSavers, very small cereal boxes, bottle of spring water, etc., for my kids to munch on, do you think that would be a problem with customs or security screening? Do they let you snack on the bus? I imagine they would allow a few snacks but thought I'd ask anyway. What about rolls of 35 mm film and disposable cameras? Do they ever get damaged by the Xray/screening machines? What do you advise? There is a bathroom on the tour bus isn't there?
Did you ever need more than a sweatshirt or very light jacket while you were at any of the places? Does Trafalgar provide little blankets or any kind of small pillow? Thanks so much for any info you can tell me. We leave in mid-June, 2004 from US to London for the Eurowhirl! Can't wait!

[Holiday]

Hello Beth,
You are just like I was before I left - worrying too much! I did get alittle cold in Paris cause it was raining and the weather was poor, but once the sun came out I was fine. I'm glad I put up with the cold for a small amount of time rather than cart around a big jacket, but thats just me. My mum feels the cold more than I do and she had a big jacket which she wore for about 1/4 of the trip. I did get cold in switzerland though but only when I went to the top of the mountain and played in snow!! As for snacks, I took candy on the plane and no one said anything. I had none left to eat on the bus during the tour but they make pit stops every couple of hours. They have 'auto grill's over there, which is just a petrol station which has snack food you can buy. To save money though, I took a small bag with me to breakfast each morning and took some fruit, yogurts ect, whatever they had on offer and ate them later in the day. It's an all you can eat buffet so eat what you can and take what you can carry! The bus does have a toilet, but only for emergency use. Everyone just went to the toilet at the auto grill. (But make sure you have some loose change cause most of the time they charge about 50c to use the toilet but your tour guide will explain all of this.) As for films and cameras, they sell them just about everywhere, and when going through the airport, there is always a sign that will tell you if it will damage your film. If your not sure, just ask, I found everyone to be really nice overseas, which is weird cause I heard from alot of people that the french are rude ect. I didn't find that to be true at all. And whatever problems you come across (I didn't come across any so you should be fine) talk to your tour guide, he gets paid to become your best friend!! Being in a tour, you becoem good friends with most on the bus anyway and everyone helps each other out if needed.
Trafalgar doesn't provide pillows or blankets, which is why I recommend you bring an inflatable pillow. Blankets you don't really need.
Glad I can help, let me know if there is anything else. Otherwise, have fun!