Hi JenLaRiv,

Farah has summed everything up perfectly, but I just wanted to add that the UEFA cup final is in Switzerland in June 2008. This is a huge soccer tournament in Europe and airfare/accommodation will definitely book early. It’s from 07 – 29 June 2008, so if you can go in late May instead you will avoid the insane prices.

If that’s the only time you can go and/or you are going there for the UEFA cup, I would definitely recommend booking airfare and accommodation in December or January.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions. I would never have known about thet UEFA cup except my husband is a Scotsman and (thus) a rabid football fan. :)

Cheers! – Francesca / cam@statravel.com / 617-576-4623

Hey JanLaRiv!
Glad to hear you are going to travel next summer!

We reccommend 4 -6 months advance purchase to get the best rates and confirm space on a flight. One advantage to buying your tickets through STA Travel, is that our student tickets have date changeable flexibilty. You can book your space for June now, and then tweak the dates later if you need to. Make sure you ask your agent what the rules are for date change before you buy your ticket. most tickets have only a $25.00 USD fee. You do not need to have a passport before you book, however i recommend applying for your Passport ASAP! Last year, the passport agencies were so backed up, they were sending passports out of state, and we had some clients wait over 4 months before their passport was returned!! Applying for it now, will save yourself a lot of stress in the future.

TIPS: are you planning to go in early June? If you have the flexibilty to leave the end of May, you can usually avoid Summer Season prices.
-You deffinnatley want to get an ISIC (international Student ID Card). It will give you so many discounts all over Europe and major cities around the world, as well as sweet deals in the US.
-Make sure you get a power converter, plugs in Europe and the UK are different than over here. you will need it to charge your cell phone, your digital camera or for using applicances from a hair straightener to a laptop.
-Is there anywhere else in Europe you would like to see? You are all the way over there, you can ask your agent about free stopovers form your airline (usually England or Germany, but see whats availible) Or you can get a railpass to take the train from Switzerland to France, Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe or anywhere you decide.

Please feel free to call or email me directly if you have any further questions!

Cheers!
Farah

203-777-5744
HVN@STATravel.com

Thanks, especially for the UFEA info! I am watching lots of those travel videos (like Rick Steve) and I think I would like to hop around Europe a bit. Is it reasonable to use Switzerland as “home base” and spend a day in Southern France, a day in Italy, etc, and go home each night?

Well, It really depends how much time you want to spend on the train. Training around Europe is not like driving through Rhode Island :)

It is about 3.5 – 4 hours from Geneva(western most Switzerland) to Marseille (south france) and another hour along the coast if you want to go eastward to Nice/Cannes etc.

It is about 3.5 hours From Luzern (central Switzerland) to Milan (north-central-ish italy) 7 hours from Luzern to Venice (eastern italy) and about 8.5 hours to Rome…

plus you may want to spend more then one day in Italy or france. There is a lot to see and the cultures are different.

If you want some help planning maybe a 3 day loop in the south of france and maybe a week in italy (Milan, rome, Naples, pompeii, sorrento, Florence and Venice are all must-sees!) Just let me know

Farah

203.777.5744
hvn@statravel.com