first time in Europe :) spending 1 month !!

[luv4benji]

Hello My boyfriend and I are both 24 years old. We are going on our first trip to Europe and we are super excited!!! This will be the first time we will even use our passports We have booked our flight. We arrive in Rome (FCO airport) September 17 th at 10 am. We are leaving on a Mediterranean cruise on the 18th at 6pm from the port in Rome, we are going on celebrity. Where should we stay until our cruise?? We don't know if it would be best to stay in downtown Rome or by the port. Once we get on our cruise we will be seeing Greece and turkey. We come back on September 28th !!!
Here are the places we would like to see once we get back from the cruise. Remember we are leaving from Rome (FCO) airport October 14th

We would like to see Rome of course, Amsterdam, I would love to go hang-gliding in Interlaken, Paris, Barcelona and the South of France if we have time.

I am wondering in what order we can see these places since we leave from Rome and we are starting from Rome.

Should we take trains?? or should i get airfare?? I am so lost... any help would be great!!! Also I am totally flexible any places we MUST SEE???.... I am on the younger side 24 so we would like to have some FUN too

Realistically how many places can we get too in our time frame?? I dont want to spend the whole time in a train...

We would like to stay in hotels that are reasonable, we wouldnt mind staying in some hostels if we have too!!

any suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!!! I think its Oktoberfest at the time we will be there?? worth going to? or not ??

thank you

[Eagle]

luv4benji,

Welcome to the Boards! I'll try to offer a few suggestions to get things started.

As you've got almost a month before you leave, my first suggestion would be to have a look at the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as that will provide a lot of information on "how" to travel in Europe. As this is your first trip, it would be a good idea to pay special attention to the "Rail Skills" chapter.

The "port in Rome" is Civitavecchia, which is a bit north of the actual city of Rome. I'd suggest that you stay somewhere in the vicinity of Roma Termini station, as that will make it easier to get out to the port. You might have a look at Alessandro Palace or The Beehive (Hostels). There's also Fawlty Towers Hostel, but I've never stayed there so don't have much information on it. For Hotels, have a look at Hotel Oceania or Hotel Aberdeen (both in the Termini area).

According to my calculations, you only have 16 days for travelling after you get back from the cruise. As you're not using open jaw flights, you'll have to allow some time to get back to Rome, which will reduce your "touring time". You'll also have to allow for travel time between destinations.

It's a bit late to get the best prices for budget flights, so you may be limited to using trains. However, given the distance between some of the places on your list, it may be better to use flights regardless (if your budget will allow). Using fast trains is a good way to travel as they arrive and depart from city centres.

There are several ways you could structure the trip. You could focus on Interlaken, Paris and Amsterdam OR Rome, Barcelona and perhaps somewhere in the south of France (possibly with a short stop in the Cinque Terre on the way back to Rome). However, IMHO it's going to be very difficult to get to all the locations you listed. If you could indicate which places are most important to you, I'll try to offer some further suggestions and provide some idea on the best/quickest way to get between cities.

One thing to note about "budget airlines" is that they have VERY strict weight limits, so be sure to pack light or you'll be paying "overweight" charges. Most of the airlines in Europe only allow ONE item of carry-on. Some of these use very "out of the way" airports so you have to factor in the time and cost to get back and forth from those to the city centres.

Good luck with your planning!