Updated itinerary..? Opinions please..

[cher1e]

Alright, so in previous posts I planned my first ideas of itineraries and as foretold Im changing my mind again! So I thought what if I could backpack, then work, then backpack again! Ok, ok, so not that original, but here’s what I thought…

For my first “trip”, I thought I could cut out France, Belgium and Germany (more on that later..)

So moving up from Italy (this is only a rough idea thought of by me 5 min ago), go to Switzerland, then across to Austria, Czech Republic, ?Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, (fly to) Turkey, Greece, Albania?, Serbia?, Bosnia?, Croatia, Slovenia then back to Italy (Venice and fly to London from there.

So how does that sound? That way, I’ll be able to spend more time in the Eastern-y countries, because I’m sure that when I’m in London it’ll be much easier for me to visit Western Europe…

Then once I’ve been working for a while – probably in September, backpack Germany, France and Spain.

So is that a better idea or should I stick with the first plan? Also, what about the countries with question marks? They look good in my guide book but I’m interested in what people who’ve actually been there think.

Thanks again!

[madamtrashheap]

Hi again che1e!

I have vague recollections of your original itinerary being 9 weeks - will you be travelling for that long with this revised itinerary? Again, only you can know exactly what you want to see/do - but if you could flesh out how much time you were thinking of in the cities you know you want to go to (ie the ones w/out the ? marks) that would help for suggestions from us. The trouble is, everywhere looks good! There are a million combinations you could do (eg CH, A and D together later; start in the east and work west....endless!), it's a time thing.

Places with question marks: Albania is pretty interesting, but travelling around there (by train or bus) is not as reliable as in western European countries, but if adventure is what you want then that's your place. Romania is, as I've said before, a hidden treasure, but the same goes for transport. Can't help with Serbia and Bosnia sorry, but I hear they too are worth visiting, I guess you were thinking of doing Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia all togther, yes? Poland is stunning and v interesting, so if you have the time it's worth sloting it in around Hungary, Czech Rep and Slovakia.

AS you'll be working in London, you'll find that you'll probably make weekend (or long-weekend) trips to place, esp in France and Belgium, depending on the work you're doing, so you could possibily see more of these places than first planned - which can only be a good thing! ;D And don't forget there are lots of cheap flights to be had from London to most places in Europe, so again depending on the type of work you'll be doing (ie time off you'll get), you can do city trips to fill in the blanks and make the most of the time you have for your first trip in other places, rather than spending it travelling to each place if they are out of the way.

Oh, one thing, if you're thinking of Germany in September, especially if your planning on Munich, don't forget the Oktoberfest is on at the end of Sept/early October so accommodation gets booked out fairly early in the year - something to remember for the start of 2007 as your trip draws closer.

And please tell me you'll still get to visit your friend's castle in France (that was you who said that wasn't it?) ;D

[cher1e]

Ok, to compare, last itinerary looked like this:

Rome-Florence-Siena-CT-Nice or Aix-Avignon-Paris-Rouen-Belgium-Rhine-Berlin-Munich-Salzburg-Innsbruck-Interlaken-Lucerne-Venice-Piran-Ljubjana-Zagreb-Dubrovnik-Budapest-Brasov-Bucharest-Istanbul-Bodrum-Rhodes-Athens-London


The new one looks like this:
Fly from Melbourne to Rome (4 or 5 days)
Florence (3) - Siena (2) - Cinque Terre (3) - Interlaken (2) - Lucerne (2) - Insbruck (2) - Salzburg (3) - Vienna (2) - Prague (4) - Krakow? (3) - Bratislava (3) - Budapest (2) - Brasov (3) - Bucharest (3) - Istanbul (4) - Antalya (2) - Kas (2) - Rhodes (3) - Athens (1) - Tirana? (3) - Belgrade (2) - Sarajevo (2) - Dubrovnik (3) - Split (2) - Zadar (2) - Zagreb (1) - Ljubjana (3/4) - Bled/Bovec (2) - Piran (2) - Venice (2) - Fly to London..

Obviously things will change and thats just a rough guide but does it seem alright? I'm really not sure about the Greece to Venice part of the trip.. looking at a map it looks a bit strange..

Time isn't really a constraint, I just want to finish before July... but money is! I figured it wouldnt matter if I went for 11 weeks (and this is a bit more than 11) because logically Eastern Europe would be a bit cheaper..

[cher1e]

The first trip was for about 10 weeks, second about 11/12 weeks... Again I realise its very ambitious!


Yep Im the castle girl! I was thinking of going over for a weekend to France for the castle =) errr the people who live in the castle!

[WillTravel]

Just commenting on the last point - there are some castles that have been made into hostels. I don't recall exactly where they are, but those might fit your plans perfectly.

[me]

couple of hints:

1 - reverse Siena & Florence. Siena is closer to Rome, and CT is closer to Florence.

2 - do either . . . Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest . . . or . . . Salzburg, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest . . . it just flows better.

cher1e said:

Fly from Melbourne to Rome (4 or 5 days)
Florence (3) - Siena (2) - Cinque Terre (3) - Interlaken (2) - Lucerne (2) - Insbruck (2) - Salzburg (3) - Vienna (2) - Prague (4) - Krakow? (3) - Bratislava (3) - Budapest (2) - Brasov (3) - Bucharest (3) - Istanbul (4) - Antalya (2) - Kas (2) - Rhodes (3) - Athens (1) - Tirana? (3) - Belgrade (2) - Sarajevo (2) - Dubrovnik (3) - Split (2) - Zadar (2) - Zagreb (1) - Ljubjana (3/4) - Bled/Bovec (2) - Piran (2) - Venice (2) - Fly to London..

[/b][/quote]

[Kim]

Here's our section on castle/unusual hostels:

www.guideforeurope.com/castlehostels.html

[madamtrashheap]

Oh yeah - you could make a castle themed trip! Nice one! ;D

So, David's suggestion of route(s) is a good one, geographically speaking, so you just have to work out what suits best.

As for the Greece to Italy bit, I see what you mean about the route - are there any places you would miss out? And again, remember the transport aspect between these cities. What were you thinking instead of what you've posted about Greece-Venice?

Days in each city are fine, but again it's up to you and how many things you want to see/do in each, eg 3 in Tirana might be too many, but it depends on your plans there; ditto for Brasov and Bucharest, perhaps 2 nights in Brasov would be better (it's only a small town) unless you have day trips planned (to Cluj); 1night in Athens won't really allow you to see the sights, 2 might be better so you have 1 full day (I know I've called it the armpit of the earth, but it's still an interesting city and shouldn't be passed over too quickly).

[cher1e]

Thanks for the rearrangement help David... I was unsure about it to begin with... Do you think Krakow is worth seeing?

Thanks for the castle idea, I will look into it maybe in Switzerland... Lol, while doing my exchange, all the castles began to look the same... sure some stod out, but it started to get a bit like "oh just another castle!", so maybe a castle themed trip wouldnt work that well for me afterall... :/

I'm not into morning travelling so Id probably fly from Rhodes to Athens in the evening, so eventually I would end up having a full day there (stay there tha t night... lol did I just contradict myself?) and leave that next morning for Tirana... I was thinking trains, however I'm aware that rail travel isn't included in the normal rail pass, so perhaps I could get a Balkans flexi pass? Or individual tickets?

I guess I dont really want to go to Tirana and Belgrade apart from the fact that they are in countries which I would be passing through, however I would like to see Sarajevo and all the places after it...