Good afternoon everyone, here is a summary of my 2 week trip to Europe from January 2016. Here is my planning and booking process: Hotel & Flight Bookings for LHR, CDG, NCE, MUC, VCE, and DUB. Here is a visual representation of my intra-European flights. I also flew from SFO-LAX-LHR on American Airlines and DUB-SFO on Aer Lingus (not pictured).
Good evening from Dublin (and my last night in Europe). Here is a hotel review for my second to last hotel in Europe… the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice. Before I show you pictures of the hotel room and canals of Venice, I will show you how to get from the airport to the hotel. First things first, all the info I used was found here. You need to take the ATVO airport bus to the “water bus terminal” (P.le Roma). The airport bus costs €8 one way or €15 round trip per person.
Here are driving directions, but the bus takes the same route. The trip takes around 25 minutes and the ATVO bus leaves the airport and “water bus terminal” pretty frequently.
Good evening everyone, greetings from Venice, Italy. Here is a quick hotel review from my short 2 night stay at the Hilton Munich City. After we landed, we took the S8 S-Bahn train from the airport to the hotel. The Hilton is within steps of the Rossenheimer Platz station (Google Maps) and costs €10.80 for a one way trip. I used Hilton HHonors points for one night and my Hilton Free Weekend Night Certificate for the other night (thanks to the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Credit card and the $10,000+ spend I put on the card). Check-in was very easy and I was excited to see what being a Hilton Diamond felt like for the first time. I got a nice room on the 5th floor and access to the executive lounge on the 6th floor.
Good morning everyone, I’m here in Munich, Germany, today and flying to Venice, Italy, this evening. I’ve had a few chances to use Uber in Europe (UberX both times) and wanted to share my thoughts. Unfortunately, Uber is not as widespread as it is in the United States and is only available in a few European cities. I have only taken UberX rides in Nice, France, and Munich, Germany.
UberX is always cheaper than traditional taxis (excluding surge pricing) and it can sometimes be cheaper than public transportation (buses and trains). For short trips with multiple people, I would use UberX every chance I can. Unfortunately, you need WiFi/data to access the Uber app. I don’t have an international data plan, but I can connect to various free WiFi hotspots in airports, hotels, and cafes. As long as you can request an Uber pickup, you do not need WiFi/data for the duration of the trip. Your credit card will automatically be charged when your ride is over and you will receive an emailed receipt, like the one below.
Good morning everyone, happy TGI Friday! First, I wanted to thank everyone for voting in my poll (Reader Feedback Needed: Which Blog Posts Should I Write First?). I was busy this week with 2 free movie screenings in SF (13 Hours and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) and the SF Travel Hackers Meetup, but I’m finally getting around to writing about my upcoming trip to Europe. That was the overwhelming winner and since my trip starts tomorrow (1/16), I better write about it before I fly out of town.
I will share my thought process and booking experience with my flights and then about my hotels. Since I planned most of this trip back in March/April/May 2015, I was able to find award space to/from SFO very easily. Here is an overview of my paid and award flights: