K-State Study Abroad Travel Book (entries by Ashley Frey)
Traveling to Rome?
- Where to stay: Hotel Lodi Rome —
This is a great place to stay if you are looking to get the most out of your money. It is a precious gem that any young college student will love.
Double or twin room, ensuite bath: 55 euros
Triple room, ensuite bath: 95 euros
Quadruple room, ensuite bath: 110 euros
Upon checking into the hotel, guests are presented detailed information on all the best places to see, eat and drink in Rome. The rooms are clean and the employees care about helping you have the best time you can while in Rome, even if it means they make you pasta at 2 a.m.
Breakfast is also included, which is incredible. It includes coffee, a large croissant and juice, leaving you energized for a long day of sightseeing.
Internet is also available for free at Hotel Lodi. Computers can be found in a common area, which is a great place to meet other students and travelers from across the globe.
The location is a bit far and not ideal, but it is definitely worth it. The staff is very helpful in telling guests the best ways to get around the city to make up for the distance. There are three bus stops close by, a few fabulous pizza places and a grocery store. Definitely worth a try.
- RomaPass: Want to see all the main sights of Rome? Looking for a cheap way to travel around the city? This pass is for you.
Roma Pass is the capital's first cultural tourist card offering discounts and services to encourage visits to the city museums: it will allow tourists and other visitors to enjoy the sights of Rome.
At only 23 euros, the RomaPass entitles holders to: free admission to the first two museums and/or archaeological sites visited, full access to the public transport system, reduced tickets and discounts for any other following museums and sites visited, as well as exhibitions, music events, theatrical and dance performances and all other tourist services.
The pass includes the follow:
- RomaPass Transport: your public transport ticket;
- Roma MAP: a map of the city illustrating the location of Tourist Information Points, Underground stations, museums/sites of interest (addresses, phone numbers, buses and underground stations, timetables);
- Roma Pass Guide: the complete list of museums/sites of interest that have joined the initiative;
- Roma News: the programme of events and tourist services that are eligible for discounts divided by area of interest: art, music, theatre, dance, entertainment and sightseeing tours.
Paris
- Paris Visite Card: The Paris Visite Card is a great way to cover Paris—the sights and traveling within the city. You can purchase the card as soon as you get into the city, which is convenient. You will find it at the information booths at the RER and Metro stations.
You select the zone for your card upon purchase—depends on if you will just stay in the city, use it for transporation to and from the airport or if you will travel to Versaille or Disneyland Paris. You can also select the number of days for the pass. The zone and number of days will determine the cost of your personalized pass. Go to this link to check out the specific prices:
The Paris Visite Card includes the following:
Transportation: Metro, RER, Buses, Trams, SNCF overland suburban trains, the Montmartre funicular, Montmartobus, Noctilien and the Optile bus network, depending on the zones you choose (Zone 1 to Zone 3 or Zone 1 to Zone 6).
Destinations:Disneyland Resort Paris (zone 5), the Château de Versailles (zone 4) or the airports at Charles de Gaulle (zone 5) and Orly (zone 4).
The pass becomes valid from the first day of use (and not when you buy it), so you can buy it ahead of time and miss out on last-minute queues.
The whole day is billed, whatever time you start to use the pass during operating hours (between 5.30 a.m. and 1 a.m.).
Once you have bought your ParisVisite pass, fill in the card with your name and first name. Take care to write the serial number of the card on the coupon and add your planned start date. The card and coupon must be kept together and produced for inspection when requested.
Jerez de la Frontera
Looking to take advantage of the great wine in the south of Spain? Jerez de la Frontera is your place to visit. With many wineries, including Gonzalez Byass, home of Tio Pepe, and many others, travelers can take their pick of which wineries to visit, or see them all!
- Gonzalez Byass —Tio Pepe: or /
Here you’ll try some of the best sherry in the world and experience one of the oldest wineries in Spain.
Wine tours are free, but pay 10 euros to have tapas with your wine tasting. The tapas include jamon y queso, a very popular Spanish snack.
The scenery alone makes the tour worth it, if you do not prefer wine or sherry.
- Staying in Jerez? Here is a quaint place that is only a short walk to the Gonzalez Byass winery.
Nuevo Hotel, Jerez:
A beautiful and old hotel located in the traditional city of Jerez de la Frontera, Nuevo Hotel offers clean and spacious rooms at an incredibly reasonable price.
Individual room: 25 Euros
Double room: 40 Euros
Triple room: 55Euros
The staff speaks little English, but is incredibly helpful. There is internet available, and a fabulous array of items for breakfast. A great, quiet little jewel.
General Travel
- Looking for great deals on flights throughout Europe?
Try
This Web site compares all major and budget airlines in Europe. This makes finding a flight much easier than searching airlines individually or going through American-owned sites, such as Expedia.
This Web site provides the most up-to-date flight prices, but be careful because they change quickly. So if you find a good deal, don’t wait on it!
It proved to be very helpful and made travel planning much easier for me. All the airlines were at my fingertips, and sometimes the major airlines had better deals than the budget airlines. This is a great time saver so that you can see Europe, instead of spending all your time researching flights on your computer.