Hotels FAQ

Question:

> I was born in Alaska, no worries about the cold. > what are the average temps at night in nov and dec ?

Based on my experiences in the Netherlands, I would be more worried about the wind than the temperature. It was the land of the windmills for a good reason! Barbara

Response:

>> are cars expensive to rent in europe? i know the gas is outrageous >Please make sure to bring a driving license that has been issued at >least 6 months ago. But it may help if you offer to lick the balls of >the desk operator.

Won’t help much if it’s a female manning the desk (not having the ’special external equipment’ unique to males) Um, well, as for original poster’s question… if he’s coming from the United States, then he’ll most likely find gas *quite* expensive in Europe, at about 4 to 5 times the cost of gas in the United States. While expensive, parking may ultimately prove to be just as a expensive problem as gas is. He’ll also have to be aware of local parking regulations and how to deal with different types of parking devices, as well as be prepared to pay through the nose for parking in certain crowded areas at certain times of the day. Let’s just say, the public transportation is *very* convenient, fast, comfortable (to me, it is!), cheap, frequent, goes pretty much everywhere. So if the original poster is really determined to drive a car, be sure to budget hundreds of euros, maybe up to a thousand or so, depending on distance travelled and duration of trip. Also, when renting a car overseas, won’t hurt to have paperwork with you. We rented a car in the Netherlands earlier this year, and they wanted to see passport, proof of insurance coverage, international driver’s license translation, and one or two other things before they’d let my friend rent the car. And of course, a valid credit card in good standing. We ended up parking it overnight at a parking garage, which cost us about 30 euros for 12 hours, just because we couldn’t find a single spot anywhere downtown and were way too tired to walk with lots of bulky items a long way. Also, weeks before we came to Europe, all the agencies quoted something outrageous like 350 euros for a single day to rent a car. We said ’screw that, we’ll just deal with it once we arrive.’ Arrived, and had the front desk clerk (at the hotel) who was helpful and called the local auto rental place, and secured us a deal for 122 euros per day with all fees and taxes included. This was with nothing more than a 24 hours notice to the local auto rental agency. Driving in Europe is a lot of fun. I’d actually worry more about parking and gas fees than car rental fees And be sure your map reading skills is *very* good — you’ll be expected to know names of cities on both endpoints of a road in order to pick the correct direction, and do it quickly. (Ever had the pleasure of looking all over a map in a *big* hurry and having to pick correctly within a few seconds?) Easy for a local, less easy for an unprepared tourist As long as your wallet is bulging with cash, or with credit cards that aren’t maxed out, and you or your navigator is good with map reading, and if you can drive in a disciplined manner, you’ll do just fine in Europe. -Dan

Response:

>Why should you be worried about eating > meat anywhere in europe? What > disinformation has been spreading > across the US now? >Oh, and yes, you can drink the water > over here.

So the water is as potable as a tent??? Kara –

Response:

. > Campgrounds in Holland are quite safe, especially in Nov or Dec (no drinking > parties). Don’t worry to let your tent up several days. However for a tent + > a car + 2 persons expect to pay 10 to 20 EUR per day.

Some campsites have wooden huts in dutch they call it trekkershut http://www.appelweide.nl/Startframe/startframe2.htm this will cost 20$ a night All huts can be found at http://www.trekkershutten.nl/english/index_uk.html

Response:

> Would i not be able to leave my tent setup at the campgrounds? > if not , then hell no… im not going to carry our tent around the > city every day for a month.   Im sure we could find somewhere to store > them though, a large locker maybe? > are cars expensive to rent in europe? i know the gas is outrageous

‘gas’, or petrol as it is called in English, is a respectable price, based on using market controls to stop people destroying the planet. The tax raised obviously goes into social programmes, supporting oppressed minorities in areas of strife.

Response:

> are cars expensive to rent in europe? i know the gas is outrageous

Please make sure to bring a driving license that has been issued at least 6 months ago. But it may help if you offer to lick the balls of the desk operator.

Response:

> I was born in Alaska, no worries about the cold. > what are the average temps at night in nov and dec ?

Between 0 and 5 C with occasional frost. Sjoerd

Response:

Sjoerd, Would it be possible to find an apartment or houseboat to rent for one month?  nothing fancy at all , four walls and a bed is perfect. 0-5 C. , thats pretty cold (but i would rather be cold than hot and sticky) thank you – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I was born in Alaska, no worries about the cold. > what are the average temps at night in nov and dec ? > Between 0 and 5 C with occasional frost. > Sjoerd

Response:

> Would it be possible to find an apartment or houseboat to rent for one > month?  nothing fancy at all , four walls and a bed is perfect.

Try a cheap hotel, close to Amsterdam there are some Formule I hotels, or make an arrangment with a bed and breakfast. http://www.hotel-boerenkamer.nl gives some nice places.

Response:

> Sjoerd, > Would it be possible to find an apartment or houseboat to rent for one > month?  nothing fancy at all , four walls and a bed is perfect. > 0-5 C. , thats pretty cold (but i would rather be cold than hot and > sticky)

Don’t worry about temperature, Jeff. Holland has a maritime weather and it never goes to extremes. Further, along with your tent you will have to get decent mattress and sleeping bag. For the tent expect to spend in Western Europe 120 to 250 EUR depending on the size+comfort you want. If you don’t want to fly one here you probably won’t take it home; then durability is not a citerion. Nor lightweight. You can get a 0