italdesign
Level 2 Member
I spent the first 2 weeks of July in Europe and loved it. Want to share a little bit of the experience.
[Summary]
-4 days in Florence
-2 days in Cinque Terre
-4 days in Vienna
-1 day in Salzburg
-1 day in Hallstatt
-3 days in Stockholm
Beautiful Hallstatt
[Flights and Trains]
^Outbound - 62.5k Delta miles for Toronto to Florence via Rome (Alitalia Magnifica business class). Additional 10k UA to get to Toronto.
^Inbound - 45k TK miles + $225 YQ for Stockholm to Atlanta via IST (TK J). Additional 8k WN to get home. 55k Aeroplan for 2nd pax on same TK flight.
(this didn't work due to Turkey coup; see below for details)
^4.5k BA for Florence to Vienna on AirBerlin.
^7.5k BA for Vienna to Stockholm on AirBerlin, + $135 for 2nd pax on same flight
Trains
^Florence to Cinque Terre (RT) - $35
^Vienna-Salzburg-Hallstat-Vienna - 135 for 2 pax
Last year I suffered from not booking international intra-EU trains until T-3 days, when prices surged. This year I booked about T-5 days out for intra-country trains only and prices were normal, I believe. However, I believe intra-country trains may not have dynamic pricing like international trains.
[Hotels]
Hyatt: (12.5k + $150 + DSU) x 2 nights for Park Hyatt Vienna
Marriott: 15k x 3 nights at Courtyard Vienna Messe
Choice: 10k x 3 nights at Clarion Hotel Sign (Stockholm)
Club Carlson: free apology night at Radisson Blu Altstadt
$32 x 2 nights for Cinque Terre hostel
$65 x 3 nights for Florence Airbnb
$155 for nice Florence hotel
$155 for Hallstatt hotel
[Intro]
The hardest thing about planning a Europe trip is narrowing down the places to visit when there are so many interesting ones. I aim to combine redemption sweet spots with my desire to visit the destination. I'm happy to pay cash for a dream destination without chain hotel or mileage redemption, which I did a few times on this trip. This time I aimed to visit some "countryside" as well as cities.
For the most part, I didn't plan day-to-day activities until close to reaching the destination. It worked out OK, mostly.
I once proclaimed: "Europe is the red headed stepchild of (premium) redemption, chance to use my 2nd class programs. Saving 1st class miles for real long haul." Many programs only charge a small premium for travel to SE Asia vs Europe, when the distance (and opportunity to fly premium) is often 2x. For this trip I tapped into my Delta and TK miles - programs that are better suited for Europe than SE Asia, for which I'm saving my AA and AS miles.
Please enjoy this trip report.
Staircase @ Melk Abbey
[Summary]
-4 days in Florence
-2 days in Cinque Terre
-4 days in Vienna
-1 day in Salzburg
-1 day in Hallstatt
-3 days in Stockholm
Beautiful Hallstatt
[Flights and Trains]
^Outbound - 62.5k Delta miles for Toronto to Florence via Rome (Alitalia Magnifica business class). Additional 10k UA to get to Toronto.
^Inbound - 45k TK miles + $225 YQ for Stockholm to Atlanta via IST (TK J). Additional 8k WN to get home. 55k Aeroplan for 2nd pax on same TK flight.
(this didn't work due to Turkey coup; see below for details)
^4.5k BA for Florence to Vienna on AirBerlin.
^7.5k BA for Vienna to Stockholm on AirBerlin, + $135 for 2nd pax on same flight
Trains
^Florence to Cinque Terre (RT) - $35
^Vienna-Salzburg-Hallstat-Vienna - 135 for 2 pax
Last year I suffered from not booking international intra-EU trains until T-3 days, when prices surged. This year I booked about T-5 days out for intra-country trains only and prices were normal, I believe. However, I believe intra-country trains may not have dynamic pricing like international trains.
[Hotels]
Hyatt: (12.5k + $150 + DSU) x 2 nights for Park Hyatt Vienna
Marriott: 15k x 3 nights at Courtyard Vienna Messe
Choice: 10k x 3 nights at Clarion Hotel Sign (Stockholm)
Club Carlson: free apology night at Radisson Blu Altstadt
$32 x 2 nights for Cinque Terre hostel
$65 x 3 nights for Florence Airbnb
$155 for nice Florence hotel
$155 for Hallstatt hotel
[Intro]
The hardest thing about planning a Europe trip is narrowing down the places to visit when there are so many interesting ones. I aim to combine redemption sweet spots with my desire to visit the destination. I'm happy to pay cash for a dream destination without chain hotel or mileage redemption, which I did a few times on this trip. This time I aimed to visit some "countryside" as well as cities.
For the most part, I didn't plan day-to-day activities until close to reaching the destination. It worked out OK, mostly.
I once proclaimed: "Europe is the red headed stepchild of (premium) redemption, chance to use my 2nd class programs. Saving 1st class miles for real long haul." Many programs only charge a small premium for travel to SE Asia vs Europe, when the distance (and opportunity to fly premium) is often 2x. For this trip I tapped into my Delta and TK miles - programs that are better suited for Europe than SE Asia, for which I'm saving my AA and AS miles.
Please enjoy this trip report.
Staircase @ Melk Abbey
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