[Lali07]

Hi,

We have holidays in November and are keen to visit Western Europe. It’s not practical to use a travel agent, as we fly standby and therefore can’t pre-arrange much.

Crowd-wise, what is November like in Europe (in particular the Netherlands, Northern France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany)? Is this a generally off-peak time to travel?

As we can’t pre-book much, we’re worried we’ll get there and not be able to get decent accommodation that doesn’t cost the earth.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers, Lali

[MovingIn07]

November is typically cold and dreary in northern europe, not school holidays so you should be fine. Take warm clothes and an umbrella!

[FilipH]

I'm from Belgium (next to the Netherlands and France) and i can tell you it's definitely not peak season in November. Will be a bit cold and might be wet.

To travel within Europe check out Ryanair.com for cheap flights.

And Eurostar to travel from the UK (if you fly HK to London) to Europe itself (cheap IF you book well in advance, fast and very convenient).

[Lali07]

Thanks guys this is great..

What about travelling on Eurail? I'll definitely check out RyanAir, but for shorter trips is rail the way to go? We were thinking of getting Eurail passes but we've heard mixed reviews, including that sometimes you still need to pay a lot, and sometimes the trains are full if you don't book in advance.

Cheers, Lali

[mjk]

Train is the way to go if you stay within these countries. A Eurail ticket is convenient as you do not need to buy a ticket everywhere, but it is only worth it if you travel around A LOT. The moment you decide to spend 2 days in one place before moving on, individual tickets should be cheaper.

November is definitely off-peak. Should not be a problem to get accommodation on the spot. I also would no worry too much about crowded trains. Just buy the onward ticket upon arrival, and not 30 minutes before you depart.

[MovingIn07]

easyjet is another good one for internal travel. basic and rude but very cheap. if you are going to travel in the UK, book train tickets online (see thetrainline.co.uk, or could be .com) if you turn up at the station it will cost you a fortune. Bus is much cheaper in the UK. And often more reliable!

[braylon]

Europe - seems a great place to go for a tour.
Though it will be a bit cold , it will be more fun there.You can also find some more info on viamigo.com.Have a nice trip.