Escape plan to France, Italy, Greece and Britain March 2011

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to France, Italy, Greece and Britain 2011:

Total duration 16D15N
Europe is 6hrs behind Singapore.
Flight time is 13hrs 25mins on Singapore Airlines direct to Heathrow Airport.

Flight was on Singapore Airlines on 27th March at 12:45pm and arrival in London at 7:10pm.
Return flight was on Singapore Airlines on the 11th April at 11:10am in London and arrival in Singapore at 7:20am.

Day 1 – Arrival in London
Day 2 – Eurostar to Paris, Sainte Chapelle and Paris city walk
Day 3 – Palace of Versailles and flight to Rome
Day 4 – Pompeii and flight to Athens
Day 5 – Ferry to Mykonos and explore Mykonos
Day 6 – Delos and ferry to Santorini
Day 7 – Roam around Santorini and visit Fira
Day 8 – Oia in Santorini
Day 9 – Return to Athens and explore Athens
Day 10 – Day trip to Delphi
Day 11 – From Athens to Kalambaka, visit the monasteries
Day 12 – 2nd round of visit to the monasteries before heading back to Athens
Day 13 – Explore the ruins in Athens
Day 14 – Day trip to Manchester for a Manchester United soccer match
Day 15/16 – Bicester Village outlet shopping, Oxford visit & Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was initially one that was plan for a visit to Japan but Fukushima happened and we had to change our plan to a return to central Europe with specific places of interest, such as Versailles and Pompeii, a visit to Greece and a “pilgrimage” (as a Man United fan) to Manchester to catch a football match “live” and tick off my bucket list.

Budget nature: Not cheap.

As there were multiple flights in the journey, we tried to exchange Krisflyer miles for partner flights, such as Aegean air for the journey to Athens. The greek islands were on a low season and therefore more affordable but overall, we had to save up for this trip.

Complexity: With planning, it would be manageable.

We managed to get from city to city via public transport and while on the greek islands, rent a car to get around. The temples at Kalambaka were accessed via motorcycles.

We had missed the train to Mont St Michel due to fumbling at the DIY kiosk and we couldn’t retrieve our tickets, as we had purchased earlier online. It was a waste of money and a lesson for us to just proceed to the ticketing counters next time.