New to Forums -- Planning trip to Europe

[Los Rekrabs]

Hi, Dan. I'm on the west coast. Don't really care where we end up; although, we'd like to go international, if possible. We have some free time in the middle of July, and probably have a max of 10 days for our trip.

[spongebue]

If it helps any, I remember Mexico had some cities that were pretty open in mid August, that could be worth considering

[harry.farmer]

As a Canadian I must interject... Canada is officially bilingual - English and French are the official languages. Provincially, the only truly bilingual province is New Brunswick. Ontario is very bilingual and along the Ontario border with Quebec you will hear more French then English. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia are majority English speaking, but have large populations that speak French. Quebec's official language is French, however English is spoken most everywhere except some of the smaller communities. Quebec City is very French, but you can get by with English (without major problems). Montreal is officially French, but it has a large English speaking population. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are English speaking provinces, but have large populations that speak French.

Travelling Standby to Canada can also be difficult in the summer, especially if you plan on flying domestically. Canadians fly south in the winter but stay home and enjoy Canada during the summer. We only have two major domestic carriers here in Canada, so you may find that your options will be limited when trying to travel domestically. Hotels and car rentals will also be at a premium. That being said… The Calgary Stampede in July is fantastic and Canada Day on July 1^st in Ottawa – The Nation’s Capital – is something that should not be missed!
In regards to Europe, I agree with everyone on here. Not a good idea, to be honest unless you feel lucky and enjoy the prospect of paying thousands of dollars to get home – then I recommend just buying a confirmed ticket right from the get go.

[BRITSKI99]

I think that you need to beware of some on the generalisations made here ... if you will only travel on your own carrier, in a premium cabin and point to point then you will find such travel difficult .. if you have access to ZED fares and are flexible with your travel plans then its far easier. You need to put a bit of effort into planning the trip, decide wher you want to go and look at what interline options are available ... then get advice about loads around specific times and then make the decisions ...

[mrs767er]

Much of continental Europe vacations in July and August--many people have an entire month off. I certainly wouldn't plan on doing much in the way of OAL standby on zeds. If you can be flexible and book LCCs to get out of Europe...I'd think in that direction. Lots of people get stuck, even in cities like AMS, where DL has some 15 flights and summer is a beast getting back to the States. I would not treat nonreving in July in europe lightly.

[smithlis]

I would agree with 'generalizations' are not great, but would say, 1st time out of the box using passes is not the best time to try Europe.. You need a very strong constitution.

I think I could the one that the Mrs. referred to about buying tickets back~ I did, to be sure to get back, but would have gotten back if I stuck with it out of BRU. I travel every year in July (including 3 Tour De France trips), but I am an Uber planner. I even travel in the summer with my sister who is a buddy, but I swear she has a horseshoe glued to her, so is not a great example.

Getting to Europe is never the problem, getting out is always a surprise and a nail biter/stressful. Saying it's impossible, if planned well, is not the case. 10 summers and counting have proven otherwise, I don't regret any of the trips.

Advice wise, I wouldn't feel comfortable not knowing someone on how they would react to the challenge, or would welcome the added stress.

[mrs767er]

Smithlis wasn't my reference but sounds like she can handle any nonrev situation with grace and clever actions. Maybe that buddy horseshoe is real!
This was FCO and I recommended getting to Pisa, based on DL loads. They would have made 2 different returns.Well, they didn't leave Rome but paid the price. The hubby had to jumpseat (how fun was that?) on OAL and mom/daughter got economy comfort seats on DL. I'm sure it was the trip of a lifetime but those conditions don't make for a pleasant ending, in my book.
I think we all agree that being able to nonrev is such a great privilege! How you make it happen easily isn't always so easy...

[Migflanker]

I even travel in the summer with my sister who is a buddy, but I swear she has a horseshoe glued to her, so is not a great example.

A horseshoe - you think it’ll work on Vegas flights?

[smithlis]

Mig- LOL, no my DH got stuck for days in Vegas. I once routed myself thru Vegas to get home from a ski trip as an empty charter flight appeared from LAS to ATL and it was 'wide-open'. I ended up being 85th on the list, and only got on because I 'hovered at the desk' and they re counted seats. I'm brave, but I would never non-rev to Vegas, LOL.

My sister is so lucky that we sat in the terminal next to someone that had been stuck for 5 days in Copenhagen. She not only got biz, but she got the seat next to me -(I had a back up plan for her on a LCC to Edinbrugh and then home but she didn't need it). I always tell her it doesn't work that way, but it always does for her. She is very go with the flow, that's why I feel OK with her coming with on a buddy pass.

[smithlis]

Mrs- Don't you love it when they don't take your advice? LOL. I agree, FCO is really hard. I routed my parents through Pisa as well. They also did not take my advice and came home from FCO in the back instead of Pisa in the front. I was even nice enough to provide the train schedules and hotel. They are troopers though and are usually pretty good non rev-ers.