1st time in Europe and backpacking

[ironman]

Hi. i'm dreaming and planning a trip to Europe between Sept- Oct 2010 for 12 days. i deducted the travel time from/to Malaysia.
here are my insights and concerns.

1.Travel route - 1st stop Prague and last stop is Rome.
Prague (3days) - mostly sightseeing and less museum
Paris (3 days) - disneyland(afternoon to night), sightseeing only, less museum
Florence (2 days) - mostly sightseeing and less museum
Rome (3 days)- vatican, mostly sightseeing and less museum

Any place/town/city i can hop -in?
Itineraries and train transportation, im still doing my research.

2. Cheapest flights and route from Malaysia/Singapore/Thailand/HK to Prague and Rome back to Malaysia/Singapor. My budget is only US$1500. Any carrier or route i should avoid? I never done booking outside carrier sites nor tranfer/transit travel.
I'm taking the plane from Prague to Paris.

2. Saftety for female traveler. Im petite and too asian.

3. Weather, i have too much hot summer and autumn would be something for me to try. I am hoping to experience the Indian summer in Prague. Im not yet prepared for snow season.

4. Visa, im planning to apply July 2010. I will go by Czech embassy next week to pre check

5. Travel insurance, any trusted and reliable suggestions?

6. Travel books, my 1st time to buy ;D I always research and do print-outs or hand writting to be more specific. But i notice book/s will make me look like a travler and not lost than a carrying a bunch of papers. hehe

I think im really dreaming. with my plans to work as planned. but im hoping for the best. who know's if i ever get the chance for a 2nd time.

[herrbert]

Hello Miss Ironman

I will comment on a couple of points:

1. 12 days is short for 4 cities if you include two major cities. I would think about skipping Florence, and head straight to Rome, by plane from Paris. (skip Ryanair) If you take flights in Europe, book ahead around 3 months. In your case I would look for either morning flights or evening flights, this way you at least have half a day in either the place you are leaving or arriving in. A flight at 14.00 will mean you lose most of the day, which on a short trip is a shame.

Disneyland is outside of Paris, and I would take one of the days you can save by skipping Florence and decicate that to Disneyland, as it is best to go there for the entire day.

2. I am not an expert on intercontinental flights, but I believe that the cheapest flights would go to and from London from Asia. But that leaves you a long way from Prague and Rome. But as I said I am not an expert on this.

2b. Nothing to worry about. If there are places you shouldn't go, than they are usualy far away from the tourist sites. If you use your common sense than there is nothing to worry about, expect that fact that in all these cities, there are pickpockets active so be aware of that and take precautions, especially around major tourist sites, and on public transport.

3. September in general is good, but for October Paris and Prague are a bit of a gamble. October will have chilly nights, and the occasional rain shower.

4 and 5. depends on your country

6. If you don't want to carry around the books, make copies of the relevant pages. It saves a lot of weight.

[ironman]

Thanks for the reply.

Now i got confused on my itinerary. I'm really sure i want to go to Prague, Florence and Rome. Pairs Disneyland, i think i can skip. I just want to see and experience the city of lights.

Im trying to book before this year end the outbound from Malaysia. Im ok to fly from Singapore to take another flight to Europe. Still reviewing my entry point in Europe.

Tentative last 2 weeks of Sept 2010 is my schedule to go.

I like the ironman movie.