Travel Guides
This is the second chapter of my mini guide on how to plan your travel to Europe. In chapter one, we have learned how to find the best time to visit Europe. For this chapter, we will continue to discuss on how to fix the length of Europe travel. To successfully plan an Europe vacation trip, fixing an optimum period of time traveling in Europe is as important as choosing the best time to fly. It is the second element of our travel plan to Europe, after timing.
Europe is a huge continent. It consists of 50 countries, 27 of which are member states of the European Union, and covers an area of approximately 10 Million Km²! If travelers were to explore the whole Europe with hundreds of cities of interest, they will need years to do so! Eventhough not all cities in Europe are tourist frequented destinations, travelers will still need at least a year or four seasons to cover them all at one time! However, this is not advisable for a budget traveler, since traveling Europe is expensive and time consuming. Likewise, there are other factors limiting your holiday period in Europe, such as the following few.
Factors deciding the maximum period of your holiday travel to Europe
- Different season, different climate. If you have decided in Chapter 1, the best time of year for you to travel Europe, it will mean that you are looking at visiting Europe in certain season of the year, which last for only 3 months. Europe is a continent with 4 distinct seasons in a year (with temperature varies as much as 30°c between Summer and Winter). That said, if you travel to Europe for more than 3 months, it will encompass 2 seasons of a year, and you will need extra sets of clothing to cope with that 2 different climate, extra burden and extra cost to your luggage. We call it uneconomical. So it would always be better to travel to different parts of Europe in a few year but in the same season of year. For instance, I traveled to Central Europe last Spring and then Western, Eastern and Northen Europe this Spring, since Spring is my favourite time to see lush greenery and colourful flowers in Europe.
- Visa validity. There are 39 countries whose nationals do not need a visa to stay in Europe for up to 3 months, which include US, Japan, Australia and others. Other nationals will need to apply for a visa before flying to Europe. Validity of Visa is normally 3 months, albeit some are 6 months. So, it is advisable to plan your Europe trip for a period of not exceeding 3 months, in order to avoid hassle in extending your visa or of being blocked in entry border.
- Annual leave. Generally, annual leaves for employees are around 2 weeks, or 14 days. Taking leaves for more than 2 weeks will need either cumulative leaves brought forward from previous years or, to apply for unpaid leaves. If you are traveling every year, with no leave being accumulated from previous years, the safest traveling period to Europe is 2 weeks or 14 days.
- Health condition. Exploring historic sites after sites in European cities by walking is absolutely possible and advisable since most of the travel attractions are within walking distance in any European city. Having said that, a considerably fit and healthy body is still required to do that much walking on Europe trip. How far and long one traveler could go depends on how fit he or she is. Traveling Europe with walking for 20 days can be quite tiring, mind you.
Even if you are fit for that long period of traveling time, accidents do happen. Travel Insurance could cover any emergency medication in overseas. However, you need to pay much higher premium for longer travel. Check with your insurance agent to see if there is maximum period of travel.
So, we know the maximum period for traveling Europe hassle free should be 3 months (or one season), but for how long would be the optimum?
Let’s answer this question: “How many days should we stay in each city?”
In general, I would suggest 3 to 7 days. For small cities, we need at least 1 day to get ourselves into the city environment, another day at least for sight seeing, and 1 remaining day to explore further and deeper into the city. The larger the city, the more days we need, normally up to 7 days per city. Since we are traveling Europe in a budget style, we try to plan our itinerary perfectly to have sufficient time to explore each city we are going, but not wasting anymore time in doing nothing, except for relaxation after a long trip.
It is not economical staying too short in a city either, since transportation cost carries a substantial percentage in our total cost of Europe travel, and it’s a fixed cost, means we must spend such money to travel from one city to another. Let’s elaborate briefly with sample equations below (more detail budget planning will be discussed in next chapter), with some assumption on fixed transportation (T), variable foods (F) and accommodations (A) costs:
1) Travel 5 cities in 5 days (1x): €625.00 (T) + €350.00 = €975.00 (1x)
2) Travel 5 cities in 15 days (3x): €625.00 (T) + €1,050.00 = €1675.00 (1.7x)
3) Travel 5 cities in 30 days (5x): €625.00 (T) + €2,100.00 = €2,725.00 (2.8x)
The above result clearly shows that with transportation a fixed cost, the longer you stay in a city, the lower average daily cost you would need to allow for each day.
So you should have your own answer for the above question by now.
Next, you can start fixing a period to travel Europe which is best suited you. Remember that what we have discussed here are merely for your reference, and I’m here to only guide you through the planning process. The final decision on the total number of days you are going to spend in Europe is all up to your needs and desire, albeit some of the following factors may justify your decision,
- Cost per city – We now know the average daily cost is getting lower when you travel longer period, but they still escalate along your stay in days until to a sum that you could afford to spend in each city, and that is the total cost per city for you;
- Time available – Check you office planner to decide how much time is possible for you to take leave off your work duty.
- Health and strength – Are you on periodic medications? Is your pregnant wife going to due soon? How long can you withstand the chilly weather in Winter? For how long could your travel insurance covers you?
- Number of cities of interest – Number of cities multiplied by number of days in that city and you will get the total period of your Europe trip. For example, you will need at least 15 days in Europe if you plan to visit 5 cities back to back.
With all the above information and tips, you should by now be able to fix a date to depart for Europe and fix a date to return back from Europe. Next chapter we will guide you to fix a budget. If you can’t decide a period just yet due to budget constraint, skip this chapter and jump to chapter 3 to fix your budget first. They are interrelated like a chicken and an egg. – Travel Feeder, your ultimate guide to Europe travel
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This is the first chapter of my mini guide on how to plan your travel to Europe. To successfully plan an Europe vacation trip, choosing a right time to fly is as important as choosing a right travel companion. It is the first element of our travel plan to Europe. As what Success Speakers always tell you, “Time is money“. Time is the key to success. I couldn’t agree more. And it applies to travel planning to Europe as well. There are 2 time factors that will deliberately affect your planning to Europe, one is the best time of year for travel in Europe, and the other is the best time to book your flights.
The best time of year to visit Europe
When we first have an intention or interest to visit Europe, we must first decide when we should depart. Of course, the easiest way is to flip through our monthly planner and check when we would be free or when would be our annual break. Unfortunately, more than often enough, we will talk to ourselves, “It seems tight this coming few months, let’s see how it goes next year…”. No way! If you think you wish to visit Europe today, start planning it now! When is the best time to visit Europe? Anytime, depends what you are looking for. Anytime of the year, there are always happy travelers visiting Europe. So first of all, you need to know what made Europe so attractive to you? Sunshine? colourful flowers? Historical architectures? Snow scene? Shopping? Eating?
Europe is a continent with 4 seasons due to its geographical location in Northern hemisphere. Hot Summer in the middle of the year, cold or snowy Winter at the end of the year, and pleasant Spring and golden Autumn in March and September. Weather temperature in any European country in a year can vary as much as 20°c. And this is the decisive factor. Each season has different weather characteristic, and present different scene with different feature. This tight back to your interest in Europe. For instance, Spring has the most pleasant weather which is neither too cold or too warm, and it is the time for flower blooming. If you love to see colourful gardens and mountain with colourful flowers then you should visit Europe in Spring. On one hand, Winter is the coldest season of the year in Europe and it is time for snowing. If you wish to plan for skiing holidays, Winter would the the best time visiting Europe. On the other hand, Summer is the hottest season with the most sunshine. Most of the travelers love to visit Europe in Summer. Beaches are full with people and access to all attractions are guaranteed to have extreme long queues. If you love people watching and the hot sun, Summer is the best months.
Rainfall in Europe is more complicated and it is the decisive factor for travel photographers. It decides the total hours of sunshine you would hope for your photo taking session. Generally, Spring to early Summer is the driest months and late Summer to early Autumn is the wettest in northern part of Europe, while late Autumn to early Spring is the wettest in southern Europe. However, it also depends on whether the city is bordering ocean. While Berlin experiences extreme cold Winter and hot Summer, Paris experience milder weather in comparison. Eventhough London is further north in Europe, it has much pleasant Summer and rarely snow in Winter, due to its unique geographical location in the UK island. I normally check Yahoo weather for the average weather of European cities and Wikitravel for features and scenes to expect in each season.
Apart from its climate condition in the year, dates for various popular festivals or events can also be the factor in fixing a traveling date for Europe. The most notable event next year is London Summer Olympics Games from 27th July to 12th August 2012. Other festival such as the Keukenhof Tulips festival in March, Munich October Fest in October or the Copenhagen Distortion street party in May can be your main objectives traveling to Europe and can decide your best time to Europe.
So with the combination of its monthly temperature, precipitation and events, you can now decide which month of the year that suit you best to visit Europe. Having said that, unexpected weather do happen in recent years, such as the long snowy winter last year and record high Summer temperature in recent years. We can plan for the best, but should always expect the unexpected.
Once you decide the month of year to visit Europe, you can now check your monthly planner and mark down the weeks that you would be on vacation. If you think next month is the best month of the year to visit Europe, book your flight tickets now! However, if you wish to plan your Europe travel in a frugal way, read on and I’m here to guide you through.
When is the best time to book your flight to Europe
If you plan to visit Europe in a budget, plan it at least 6 months in advance. This can assure you with a much cheaper trip in all senses. It would be cheaper to book in advance your flight tickets, your hotels, and your intercity trains. The most significant cost difference comes from your flight tickets to Europe. To be safe, book your flight first 1 year in advance. You can always get the cheapest airfare when airlines first open their seats booking, normally 1 year in advance. We are talking about saving of up to 50%! With this saving, you have actually cut down your overall cost of Europe travel by 10%. However, if 1 year in advance is too early or next Summer is the best time for you which is less than 1 year from now, book your flight at least 6 months ahead is your next best bet. Airlines will sometimes have another round of sales 6 months down the road if not many seat were being taken up in the first round, albeit with lesser choices of availability.
Not only flight booking, accommodation will also be cheaper if booked well ahead. If you prefer to go to Europe next Summer, book your hotels or beds as early as you could since occupancy rate are extremely high in this season and rooms are taken up really fast. Hotels and beds pricing are fluctuating. The more people book the hotel, the more expensive it would be. Of course, there is one exception. If the hotel you prefer has plenty of rooms left towards the late minute, they might offer a much cheaper last minute offer! Though bear in mind that good hotels normally will not stay empty up to the last minute. Hotelscombined gives me a general idea of how cheap hotels in Europe could be.
Same applies to intercity trains and flights in Europe. The earlier you book online, the cheaper you would get, the more options of time and availability there are. Check the Raileurope and TGV-europe website regularly to see if your date of traveling is available for booking. Normally, trains are open for booking from as early as 3 months before date.
I will touch on the transportation and accommodation planning in more details in future chapters.
With all these dates in mind, you should now be able to decide when would be the best time for your upcoming Europe trip. Don’t plan it too close from now. Traveling to Europe is travel dream for most of us and we might only be able to do it once in our lifetime. So plan it properly and make it the most memorable trip you can have.
After confirming the date to travel Europe, you have just successfully completed your first step in your travel plan to Europe. The next step is to decide for how long you should travel to Europe. Subscribe my feeds for free updates in this mini guide on how you could plan your Europe travel. Until then, see ya! – Travel Feeder, your ultimate guide to Europe travel
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Pangkor Island is a resort island situated off the coast of Lumut, a small town and the main gateway to the island in Perak state of Malaysia. Being some 200km away from either Penang in the north and Kuala Lumpur in the south, Pangkor Island is also 100km away from the nearest city of Ipoh. It still needs at least 1 hour of driving to reach Lumut via Batu Gajah after exiting the nearest paid highway intersection in Simpang Pulai. A small resort island of only 8km² in land area, Pangkor Island is on the quiet part of the Strait of Malacca in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, south of the more popular touristic Andaman Sea (also the victim of 2004 Tsunami tragedy). Thanks, but no thanks, all these factors have made Pangkor Ialand a less frequented travel destination in Malaysia. Local and international travelers will either opt for the more popular Andaman Sea facing Batu Ferringhi beach in Penang, or the much more accessible Port Dickson in the south. Coincidentally, it is also out of my Top 10 list of places to visit in Malaysia.
Having said that, after my short break to the island recently, I have had my perception changed towards Pangkor Island. I’m starting to regard it as a pearl deep in the ocean, waiting for harvesting and polishing. It is definitely in my top 20 places to visit in Malaysia! Why? Please read on…
If you wish to drive there, you need to get off the North-South Highway at either Gopeng (if you are from the South) or Simpang Pulai (if you are from the north) interchange. Then you should follow the road sign to Batu Gajah then to Lumut. It would take around an hour to reach Lumut town. After reaching Lumut, you have to park your vehicle at Lumut dedicated public parking building at RM10 per 24 hours, since visitors cannot drive their own cars on Pangkor Island. Public buses would take you to the bus station in Lumut town as well.
From the public car parking or bus station, you can then walk to the jetty or the Water Front to take a public ferry to Pangkor Island. Return ticket must be purchased before hand for RM10. There are ferries leaving jetty every 30-45 minutes and will take 30 minutes to reach Pangkor Island’s 2nd jetty, where the town is (don’t get off at the 1st jetty stop which is for local villages). If you are staying in Pangkor Island Beach Resort as where I stayed, you can call one of the many local taxi’s (a small pink coloured van) parked at the jetty and it should cost you RM20 to reach the resort in 20 minutes. I like the taxis in Pangkor Island which though without a meter, will not over charge you as a visitor. You don’t have to worry about taxi scams here in Pangkor Island. A good news for foreign travelers.
However, if you have booked your accommodation in Pangkor Island Beach Resort, there are an alternative and dedicated ferry service in Lumut Water Front, which will take you directly to the small jetty nearby the resort and a regular shuttle bus service will pick you up to the Pangkor Island Beach Resort, and at a higher ferry cost (which costs the same as you would pay for the public ferry plus taxi fares to the resort).
We finally reached Pangkor Island Beach Resort which is located at the north side of the island. Pangkor Island Beach Resort is the best hotel resort you can get on the island (Pangkor Laut Beach Resort is better and higher rated but located on another small island next to Pangkor Island). I got a steal when I found and booked this resort via my regular booking website.
Being a fresh pair of eyes, I found this 4-star rated resort is good in terms of facilities and amenities on offer, including international standard restaurants, 2 swimming pools, bar, games room, convenient store and free Wifi. The best part to me is its serenity and exclusivity with private and gorgeous sandy beach just a throw stone away.
An overview of how close is the resort from its beach, looking down from 1st floor of the lobby hall.
A photo taken from the beach on the Sea wing accommodation block which was where we stayed on our short break in the island.
After we checked into our room we hit the road back to the beach lying in front of our room. An interesting fog scene noticed on 1 side of the beach.
Since Pangkor Island Beach Resort is facing West, travel photographers have the opportunities to capture beautiful sunset at dusk, if you are lucky to have clear sky. I was’t that lucky on my visit though. This photo was the best I could get… 
Out of my surprise, the dusk scene at Pangkor Island Beach Resort is as attractive to me as the lighting creates a moody blue colour cast to the surrounding scenes.
I should have brought down my tripod to shoot some smooth water flow scene at dusk here with a much slower shutter speed. Having said that, I still love what I got in the above photo.
Above photo shows the main lobby building of the resort at dusk. In-house restaurants are busy at this time as many hotel guests prefer to have their dinner at the resort, instead of hiring a round taxi trip to have dinner at town centre for RM60.
But I still prefer to have dinner outside. I had a good chat with the taxi driver and he actually recommended a few highly frequented seafood restaurants to us. We went to the one in Pasir Bogak beach called Restaurant Pasir Bogak, or better known as “Go Lo” Seafood Restaurant in Cantonese.
My verdict of this restaurant: Seafood is fresh, cooking style is typical Chinese and the taste is above par, but not excellent. Price is reasonable but not cheap. It is worth trying. A little bird told me that there is another locally famous seafood restaurant called “Yia Lin” located on the next street, which we were told to be better. We didn’t try though.
After the dinner, we strolled down the street and shopped for local snacks found in one of the food souvenir shop. Pangkor Island town at night has really not much on offer. We returned to Pangkor Island Beach Resort, relaxed at the lounge watching live performances and had a few mugs of beer to call it our night in Pangkor Island.
I woke up early in the next morning and went out for a early stroll on beach. There were still not many patrons around except many birds were flying around. I saw many Hornbills!
There is a special scene in the resort every morning at 7:30AM. A dedicated Hornbill feeding station is set up in front of the beach next to the swimming pool. Hornbills are flying in from forests elsewhere and treat themselves with breads! Another great object scene for photography hobbyists!
Just bear in mind that strong reflection from the sea and sky could confuse your DSLR’s metering to produce under exposed pictures. If you are shooting towards the sea with Hornbill as your foreground, make sure to dial up your camera’s exposure compensation to at least 1-stop.
If you missed the Hornbills, peacocks are another wildlife you can find around the resort compound. I spot this peacock walking beside me while I was having the complimentary breakfast at the resort cafe.
Hotel guests were out for the beautiful beach once again after having their breakfast. We had another round of sun bathing on the beach before packing our luggage and checked out the resort later at noon. Shutter buses were waiting to transfer us to the ferry jetty nearby. Another 30 minutes and we were back to the mainland Lumut town.
A picture is worth a thousand words. This was my short but enjoyable break in Pangkor Island particularly the Pangkor Island Beach Resort. Since Pangkor Island Beach Resort has everything you would need for a family or honeymoon holiday, one can always enjoy their holiday by just staying in the resort alone for a day or two. Of course, if you are keen to explore more on the island, Coral Bay and Pasir Bogak are also famous for its excellent beach. Jungle trekkinga and mountain hiking trip are also popular among travelers. If you have a few hours to spare, you can always hire a taxi from your resort for RM70 to bring you round the island for 2 hours.
After leaving Lumut, if you are driving, drive straight to Batu Gajah and look for the sign to Pusing town nearby. Pusing town is just a very small town but having one of the best fresh prawn noodle soup that you must try in a small restaurant called “Ming Feong Restaurant”. After having your lunch at Ming Feong, walk across the road and buy home some of those steamed cakes and local pastries from the locally famous roadside stalls.
If you are fancy on those fresh and big prawns, drive towards Gopeng from Batu Gajah instead and follow the road sign to Tanjung Tualang. There are too many restaurants serving the famous Tanjung Tualang prawns. Most importantly, the price is still relatively cheap if compared with larger cities such as Kuala Lumpur or Ipoh. On your way home from Batu Gajah to Gopeng, you can also stop by another local travel site of Kellie’s Castle.
All in all, my recent short break to Pangkor Island Beach Resort had left me a really good and unforgettable experience, with really friendly environment and people around the town and island. Pangkor Island is definitely worth a getaway visit for any traveler locally or international. – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel guide to Malaysia
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