August 09 - 4 weeks - Amsterdam to Venice

[amusedcoconut]

So me and some friends are doing a trip this August, in which we are trying to fit in a lot and I was wondering if people could give advice on where to spend more/less time!

Amsterdam - 4days (we have 22day Interail passes so we're spending quite a while at our first and last destinations)
Berlin - 3 days
Krakow - 2
Prague - 3 (Cesky Krumlov?)
Bratislava / Vienna? - 1
Budapest / Sziget Festival - 3/4 days
Zagreb - 1
Ljubljana - 3 (day/night in Lake Bled) (day in Split)
Venice - 3

We basically have 30 days to distribute around these places so... !
Suggestions/day trips/slight detours are welcome - thank you!

[madamtrashheap]

amusedcoconut, welcome to GFE.

I'm sure you're already aware that August in Europe for travellers poses some issues worth noting: it's the busiest month, it's the warmest/hottest time, many cities seem "deserted" by the locals which is because they are also taking advantage of the Summer - this means some shops/restaurants/services may be closed, and in your trip you may notice this most in Venice, along with a few other places.

For the days you have allocated, I would swap Amsterday with Berlin - ie AMS 3 days, BER 4 days. Also, depending on how much you want to see/do in Prague, you may find that a full day (or even overnight) in Cesky Krumlov will take time away from Prague. It is well worth a visit, so as long as you have 2 full days in Prague as well as the 3rd day for CK you'll have enough time.

I would be more inclined to suggest you stay in Vienna for at least 2 full days and take the hovercraft to Bratislava for lunch/an afternoon, rather than the other way around. No knowing what your interests are it's difficult to recommend, but Vienna is a city well worth the time.

You've listed Ljubljana for 3 days, but Split is still Croatia, so perhaps you could skip Zagreb, and continue to Split for 2 days, then up to Ljublijana and on to Venice.

Venice might only need 2 full days, again it's hard to recommend without knowing your interests and what you intend to see.

As long as the times you've listed are full days, and not nights only, then things look fine.

[amusedcoconut]

Yeah I have been noticing tdhat Vienna is getting a lot more mentions / recommendations than Bratislava. I would imagine that it would be quite easy to rearrange a little and go straight to Vienna, spend a day there and then go to Bratislava for an afternoon? I think I've been brainwashed a little in Bratislava's favour by a Slovakian girl I knew!

We have quite broad interests as a group but there are quite a few very musical people, and many of us are interested in art, so Vienna will probably appeal to the majority.

I think Amsterdam will probably stay about the way it is, as that includes a day of travel, but also because of our 22 day pass we have 9 days to distribute on either end of our trip to make the best use of our rail travel. (I wouldn't spend so much time in Venice if it was solely up to me, mostly because of expenses!)

That makes a lot more sense about going to Zagreb - Split - Ljlubljana, I think that that was originally the plan I just typed it wrong! If Zagreb is missable then I can certainly discuss missing it.
We would have quite liked to visit some of the smaller cities as well, eg Zagreb, and were looking for somewhere in Germany to spend a day or half a day in Germany either before or after Berlin - do you think we have time for this or would we be better sticking to the major places?
For that reason any suggestions of day trips would be welcome also!

Thank you!

[Mikul]

At the hostel I am currently staying at in Budapest, most people only recommend spending one day in Bratislava. Some people who arrived in Budapest mentioned that they were in Bratislava yesterday, and there was not much to do. Someone else is leaving for Bratislava tomorrow for one day. He was originally planning on being there for two nights, but was talked out of it by everyone else.

Have fun!