We took a one week holiday to Italy passing through Switzerland on the way there and coming back via south of France on the way back.
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So the program runs like this. It's an estimate on the time of the bus rides and activities.
Every 2 hours of bus ride, there is a break.
Day 1
Meet in Paris take a 8 hour bus ride to Lucerne Switzerland, stop for 2 hours for pictures and dinner, then a short ride to a hotel near Lucerne.
Day 2
Take a 4 hour bus ride to Milan to see Duomo Cathedral, stop for 2 hours for pictures and lunch, then 4 hours to hotel near Venice.
Day 3
Short bus ride to the port and took ferry to Venice island, local guide took us around for around an hour, took the gondola ride, had an Italian lunch and some free and easy time.
Then took a 4 hour bus ride to a hotel in Rome.
Venice city tax, city entrance, ferry ride, local guide - €25/pax
Gondola - €30
Italian lunch - €25/pax
Day 4
Short bus ride to drop off point in Rome, walked with local guide to Colosseum, through streets of Rome, walked through Vatican city, Vatican City museum total around 8 hours with the local guide.
Bus to hotel in Arezzo around an hour.
Local guide, short cut through Vatican City and Museum - €90
Rome city tax - €10
Day 5
Short bus ride from hotel to Florence city, local guide brought us to walk through the streets of Florence. Steak lunch in Florence (pretty nice much better than the lunch on Day 3).
2 hour bus ride to Pisa to see the leaning tower, free an easy for around an hour for some pictures.
1 hour bus ride to hotel near Genoa.
Florence city tax - €15
Pisa city tax - €5
Day 6
2 hour bus ride to Monaco. 1 hour walk around and take pictures.
2 hour bus ride to Nice. 2 hour free and easy to take pictures and have lunch.
1 hour bus ride to Cannes. 1 hour to take pictures.
1 hour bus ride to hotel near Avignon City.
Monaco city tax - €5
Day 7
Take an 8 hour bus ride back to Paris.
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Everyday costs €78 per pax. (Total €1092)
Tips for driver and guide is €7 per day. (Total €98)
City taxes & optional activities (which we attended) in the tour €205. (Total €410)
Own meals spending €267.47.
Overall Total = €1867.47
Well... ok we decided to take this tour cos we were trying to craft a short trip, then then we realized that if we tried to make our own trip, the cost would end up at around €1000 per person anyway due to the hotel costs and transport costs.
OKAY! So this trip was pretty expensive. This was an experiment, cos we thought we would take the tour and just avoid the optional activities, but then we felt that if we avoided the other activities then we might as well not have gone for the trip anyway cos some of the activities are pretty much "have to go" since we were already there.
So anyway... in Singapore dollar terms, the cost of this trip is around S$2,900. That's pretty steep. I didn't expect that cos I thought the main cost would just be the €78/day/pax.
This I find... somewhat reasonable, cos I take it as the hotel and rental of the vehicle.
€7 tip for driver and guide... also pretty reasonable.
I think the activities were pretty expensive at €410.
We already tried to eat cheaply for the meals we were on our own and it cost us €267, and the food wasn't really nice.
Overall... I think this trip I would rate it as balanced. I won't say it's great value.
It's not a great trip with regards to the value by price, cos we really spent a lot of time on the bus.
But I think we covered a lot of Italy, which was what we really wanted to accomplish on a quick trip. Cos we want to clear most of the sights in Italy, then move on to other parts of Europe.
We decided that our goal is to do quick trips to the main European countries and see the main attractions before she gets posted back to Singapore. So unfortunately, we will probably not be experiencing how the life is like in these other countries.
Other things I've learnt on this trip...
For the 7 days... we were the only couple who were drinking tap water. After researching online, France, Switzerland and Italy pretty much have drinkable tap water for the bigger cities. So... basically, wherever we went, tap water is fine. Even unboiled. Both of us did not experience any issues for the whole trip.
The other folks on the bus... well pretty much everyone bought bottled water, and it's not cheap. We're talking about €1 per 500ml bottle at least, and at tourist attractions, they can cost up to €4 per bottle.
The thing is... it's the same as science... what do you believe vs what do you know or what have you learnt?
If you don't trust it, no matter how much info is given, it doesn't matter.
If you believe the Earth is flat, it doesn't matter about the science. You will think of some conspiracy theory on why you believe the Earth is flat. (Go read up on flat Earthers. There are people who believe the Earth is flat, and they aren't trolling.)
Similarly, if you don't trust the math for early retirement...
You see, the facts don't matter. It's what you do with the knowledge that matters.
Another thing I learnt on this trip...
Singaporeans have it easy.
Ok... so why do I say that?
You see... the whole tour bus comprised of Filipinos, Vietnamese, Sri Lankans, Indians, and a Turkish couple. BUT... ALL of them migrated or are working in the US or Canada.
And I asked myself... why?
Well... for me, I think... once they get out of their country, they just need to be average, and more or less, they will be able to travel the world and live well. Better than their own country.
BUT, if they are average in their own country... I think... they will have to save a long time before they splurge all their money to travel to Italy or Europe.
The thing is, it really depends on what country they are in when they are being "average"... cos there's so much difference.
And I think, for Singaporeans, we will never understand this. Cos we were born in Singapore. To us, it's ok to stay our whole lives and work in Singapore. Cos... we will be able to travel and go on holidays and such, our currency is strong, we earn quite a lot when we work, traveling to Europe or the US is expensive but still... fairly ok...
But think about the folks who live in Philippines, or Vietnam. Most likely, many of them won't be able to travel very far out of the Asia region. So I think for them, it makes a lot of sense to get out of their country and try to start life anew somewhere else.
So when people say Singaporeans aren't hungry... don't like to relocate...
Yea... I can get it. Cos pretty much, we don't need to. It's not in our blood, cos most of us are very comfortable. Staying in SG, we have fairly good enough pay, things are fairly affordable, most of us can buy our HDBs, we can go holiday often, we have family support. Relocating is tough, there's uncertainty, loneliness, etc...
There's nothing wrong with wanting to stay in SG. If it's good why not just stay.
It's just a revelation that was brought to my attention during this trip. Cos I see a bus full of all migrants, and I get this sense that... if they had stayed in their original countries and worked the same job, they most likely would not be able to be taking such a vacation.
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