Europe for 6 weeks, no idea where to go

[newtraveler09]

hi i am traveling to Europe for 6 weeks with a mate of mine and we are having trouble deciding where to go

we fly into Paris on the 28th June and out of London 6 weeks later

all we really know is that we want to be in Spain for the running of the bulls, i have a mate Sweden that would be good to see and we want to go to Amsterdam, Prague and Krakow

we were planning on just playing it by ear and not booking accom etc so we can just go where we feel like but i think it would be good to have some sort of plan, any help would be appriciated

[WillTravel]

For Running of the Bulls, you really need to get accommodation in advance. It may be too late already.

For Amsterdam, getting accommodation in advance particularly during the summer season is usually a good idea - the best places fill up quickly.

So are you flying back about August 8?
If you fly into Paris, I would suggest something like:

Paris (4 nights)
Train to Amsterdam
Amsterdam (4 nights)
Fly to Spain (not sure of the best airport)
Train or bus to Pamplona - that means you arrive on July 6, the start of the festival
Pamplona (3 nights or whatever - it goes until July 14)
Now you are at July 9, and have about 30 nights left for the rest of Europe
So you could, for example, spend another 4 days in the rest of Spain somewhere.
Fly to Sweden (maybe you can get a cheap flight from Spain) - 4 nights
Fly to somewhere in central/eastern Europe and maybe spend about 14 nights (e.g. Berlin, Prague, Krakow, maybe Dresden, Vienna, Budapest, etc.)
3 nights somewhere
5 nights London (but I'm a London fan)

That's just a possible suggestion. I actually didn't do a final sum, but you get the idea.

To save time and money, you will want to have some flights in there, I think. So if you work it out that you have a few fixed flight times, then you can still have some freedom in between, like for the central Europe segment. For the Running with the Bulls, you are pretty well forced into a schedule.

Use www.whichbudget.com to find cheap flights in Europe.

[herrbert]

May 12, 2009 0:08:05 GMT -5 WillTravel said:

For Running of the Bulls, you really need to get accommodation in advance. It may be too late already.

Fly to Spain (not sure of the best airport)
Train or bus to Pamplona - that means you arrive on July 6, the start of the festival
Pamplona (3 nights or whatever - it goes until July 14)

The closest airports are those in Bilbao, San Sebastian, and just across the border in Biarritz. You can take an easyjet flight from Paris to Biarritz, and visit this area, and San Sebastian before heading to Pamplona. This would mean adding Amsterdam at the end of the trip (I can't find flights from Amsterdam, unless you want to go via Madrid of Barcelona. - both places you should visit, when you are in Spain anyway, just like Granada and although hot in summer, Sevilla as well.)

[crystal]

For the time of year that you are thinking of travelling I would think about booking some of the accomodation in advance because the main cities will get very busy and you may struggle to find a cheap bed or may have to compromise on location.
I think Will's plan looks a good way of doing things I would be inclined to go Eastern europe but this is just my personal choice Sofia, Budapest, Prague, Krakow, Dubrovnik, Bratislava but you could also use the extra time to do an Italian tour or a Greek island tour (but you are travelling at peak tourist season so things could be hectic in Greece).
What are your interests - culture, nightlife, outdoors? That may give people an idea of places to suggest.