I'm planning to go to UK/Scandinavia for Vacation. Any tips? - General

I figured this will be the place for such a thread seeing as how people had made threads similar in the past. If otherwise, mods please change to the respective forum. Thank you. My brother is going to Exeter for studies next month, so I'll be joining him soon. I have 13 days of leave left, so I'm hoping to make the full use of it. I'm planning to do it in October to November. I'm thinking of going UK for a few days, and then spend more on Scandinavia/Rest of Europe. I want to ask, will 13 days be enough for such a trip? Also, I'm going to avoid all the famous landmarks, I prefer to go to the lesser known places, to see something new besides the Big Ben etc. (Call me a hipster if you want, but I prefer lesser known gems) I have got a rough idea what I plan to do, visit my brother and travel in UK for a while, before heading to rest of Europe. But its the Scandinavia part that I'm not too sure about, I like scenic/ natural places, but at the same time, some urbanscapes will be nice as well. I'm more of a food/photo person, so I'm planning to take many shots for such a trip. And to try the local food, although I'm a little tight on money. This is my first trip venturing to Europe, and possibly doing it alone, and this being the first time I'm planning such a trip, it can be rather daunting. I'm a little tight on money, so I might find someone to couchsurf, or If any of you don't mind, to crash over. It'll be nice if some of you could help out by giving me tips on where to go, and again, if possible, be a guide. Thanks!

I can't help you with things to see in the UK, but like you said, definitely try local food and restaurants. It can be expensive but I've been told it's an amazing part of traveling. As for Scandinavia, Sweden has some astonishingly beautiful nature and landscape, I hear the far northern wilderness is quite a sight to behold but unfortunately I think that applies mostly to summertime. Same thing goes for the coasts and shores, the Stockholm archipelago in summertime is one of the most beautiful places I know of but around October it's mostly just gonna be cold and windy. I think if you wanna visit Sweden it's best done around mid June during the midsummer holiday. But with that said, Stockholm is a popular destination, Parts of it are quite old so the architecture and buildings alone are quite a sight. There are also many fantastic historical museums, some of which I've wanted to visit for a long time. Other than that it's hard to give advice for where to go, if you want nature the mid-west and northern parts of Sweden have beautiful untouched wilderness that's sure to look stunning in wintertime, but the population density is shockingly low in those parts of the country. I would honestly suggest doing your own research on places to visit, it'll be much easier than us giving recommendations since we don't know what you like.

You need to go to the better parts of the UK. Like Scotland. Jokes aside, local cuisine, architecture, museums. There's not much else. Most places in England are full of twats in my Experience. London is crap. The smaller the place you go to, the better it tends to be. Exceptions being the likes of Liverpool and Glasgow.

Recommendation for the UK? Avoid London, go to the Lake/Peak district, Scotland or Wales, lookup some tours and preplan everything. Most towns and cities ain't really that special so it's better to explore the rural areas. Also will warn you, you will run into right dickheads very quickly in the UK but to every wankstain you encounter you'll meet at least one or two nice people.

come to the holiday park my dad owns in scotland he'll give you a good rate

the fuck is wrong with London lol just because its a shit city to live in doesnt mean its a bad place to visit

Go visit some nature type shit in Devon bro, it's the best. Nothing better than going on Dartmoor and/or Exmoor, you can even climb the Tors there too as its popular with rock climbers, although 90% of them can be climbed without equipment at all. I only say this as I have been so many times it's like a second home, ps. you can't leave without having a cream tea or I will personally hunt you down. [editline]17th August 2014[/editline] I even have a granite rock as a souvenir

go to london, but don't spend ages there imo. much more to see in the rest of the UK/ireland if you're interested in scenic stuff

[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;45711794]Go visit some nature type shit in Devon bro, it's the best. Nothing better than going on Dartmoor and/or Exmoor, you can even climb the Tors there too as its popular with rock climbers, although 90% of them can be climbed without equipment at all. I only say this as I have been so many times it's like a second home, ps. you can't leave without having a cream tea or I will personally hunt you down. [editline]17th August 2014[/editline] I even have a granite rock as a souvenir[/QUOTE] Good scones are incredibly hard to find to be honest

[QUOTE=FlashMarsh;45711842]Good scones are incredibly hard to find to be honest[/QUOTE] There was this little cafe in Ashburton, sold the best cream tea ever I nearly came.

why does everyone hate london? the city is huge. there are so many great galleries, musems, restaurants, tourist attractions and locations that just take a little bit of research to find out about. like any other city in europe sounds like everyones just mad they went on the london eye and had a shit time

Going to Scandinavia means bringing LOTS of money. 375ml/12oz coke can? $4 Litre of fuel? 250 cents Combo meal at Macca's? [B]$15[/B]

fuck your mickey dees, mackers is the best shit

I live in Plymouth which isn't that far from Exeter, you should go see dartmoor or the English riviera. --- Don't visit Exeter. It's a black hole.

Bring lots of money if you are going to go my country. It's apperently very expensive to buy stuff here.

Snowdonia is worth a visit if you like walking and nice views. Camping there can be cool also and cheap.

Whatever you do don't come to sweden during fall, it's just a depressing mess. Both winter and summer are nice but fuck fall. [editline]17th August 2014[/editline] If you like hiking or camping out in the forest it's a great place. We've got a thing called "allemansrätten", or "every mans right" translated. Basically means you can go into any forest and camp there or do what you wish as long as you don't harm nature etc.

If, for some bizarre reason you decide to come to Finland, you'd better be quick about it; our current warm summer weather will not last long. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/R5s1Y9O.jpg[/IMG]

Should visit Liverpool, it's a great city. There's tons to do during the day and the nightlife is amazing besides the odd smackhead. If you decide to go I'd meet up with you for a night out.

[QUOTE=Xubs;45713854]the heck is macca's is that like macklemore's girlfriend or something oh apparently it's slang for McDonald's. I'mma keep my dumb-ass joke because I like it enough. around here we call McDonald's 'Mickey D's'.[/QUOTE] seppo cunt m8 [editline]17th August 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Thechuz1337;45715873]Should visit Liverpool, it's a great city. There's tons to do during the day and the nightlife is amazing besides the odd smackhead. If you decide to go I'd meet up with you for a night out.[/QUOTE] this

If you're tight on money then going to the UK/Scandinavia is probably going to be a bit of a challenge, travel within our countries is somewhat expensive. As for places to stay; couchsurfing can probably work pretty well. Otherwise there are hostels that aren't too expensive (I think). As a city Stockholm is very nice but if you're looking for scenery your best bet is probably the Norwegian fjords: [img]http://www.fjords.com/fjords_index_large.jpg[/img]

Choose one of the following combos: Cardiff->Bristol->S.hampton->Ps.mouth->Guernsey->Jersey Belfast->Edinburgh->Aberdeen Lakes national park->Liverpool->Manchester Leeds->York->Newcastle Cambridge->Ipswitch->Norwich Oxford->London->Brighton->Hastings

[QUOTE=Bobie;45713745]why does everyone hate london? the city is huge. there are so many great galleries, musems, restaurants, tourist attractions and locations that just take a little bit of research to find out about. like any other city in europe sounds like everyones just mad they went on the london eye and had a shit time[/QUOTE] When I went t London I went on the Eye whether I liekd it or not - dragged along by my group. Also, the sight of a fat, coloured man getting a blowjob in a shitty car on the bridge next to the eye scarred me as a child. I just don't like the atmosphere in London and it's not nice getting pushed around by everyone when you're just trying to stop and admire stuff. OP if you have the time and money, I'd suggest coming to where I live (not because I'm here, I'm out this place in 3 weeks) because while it's not a nice place to live unless you're retired, it's a bloody beautiful place to visit. I've become immune to most of it as I lived here my whole pre-university life. I'll find a good few photos for you: [t]http://www.borvemorcottages.co.uk/images/simple_img_2.jpg[/t] Was gonna say [I]"Shit son they're using my picture without my permission!"[/I] then I remembered I had. Woops. [t]http://www.hotel-hebrides.com/images/photos/tarbert.jpg[/t] [t]http://harristweedco.co.uk/img/harris_tweed_air.jpg[/t] [img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/6/12/1244811088490/Isle-of-Harris-001.jpg[/img] [t]http://beachviewcottages.eu/images/sailing%20on%20the%20Sound%20of%20Harris.jpg[/t] Where I live is in this picture (it's not the arrow, fuck knows what that is for) There's so much more I could show. It's the [URL="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Isle+of+Harris"]Isle of Harris[/URL].

Visit Wolverhampton there are great things there like......... um The Black Country Living Museum, West Midlands Safari Park, oh wait those 2 places are in Dudley and Bewdley I'm really not sure what there is in Wolves and I've been here since I finished uni Bantock House perhaps if you like looking around old grand buildings with massive gardens

For Scandinavia: Bergen->Alesund->Trondheim Stavager->Kristiansand->Oslo Aarhus->Aalborg->Goteborg->Trollhattan Kobenhavn->Malmo->Jonkoping Orebro->Uppsala->Stockholm->Norkoping Turku/Tampere->Helsinki->Tallinn If you'd like to go cheap, I'd choose Gdansk->Vilnius->Kaunas->Riga Krakov->Katovice->Prague->Dresden Viena->Bratislava->Budapest Zagreb->Ljubjana->Trieste

Wow, thanks alot guys. Really appreciate all the help, thought this thread would go down the drain. You guys have really given me alot to think about regarding my trip. But oh boy, I've never thought planning such a trip will be this frustrating. Thanks guys! Its a bit late, but I will update with more details regarding my travel plans. Gotta decide quick, because my officer is the one holding on to my leaves. And plane tickets ain't cheap. Speaking of plane tickets, is it cheaper to travel by bullet train to France from UK, or by plane? I know plane is much faster, but, can you get it budget?

you could get a budget ticket from ryan air or something but with planes you literally get what you pay for, so just get on the eurostar from france. that'll also put you right in dover, which is right on the jurassic coast, which is a fairly nice sight. on the other hand, london is pretty boring if you're not into being 100% sightseer

[QUOTE=FlashMarsh;45711602]the fuck is wrong with London lol just because its a shit city to live in doesnt mean its a bad place to visit[/QUOTE] It's a fucking nightmare getting around, even if you're just visiting.

[QUOTE=Drsalvador;45718085]It's a fucking nightmare getting around, even if you're just visiting.[/QUOTE] London is probably one of the easiest cities to get around in aside from the fact that its quite big.

[QUOTE=Cactusman;45718668]London is probably one of the easiest cities to get around in aside from the fact that its quite big.[/QUOTE] The Underground is big and confusing. In Glasgow it's a circle. If you miss your stop you could turn back at the next station or just sit for a while and wait for it to come back around.