Am I TOO ambitious?

[huppster5]

Hi ALL, so im new to this whole forum thing, and just have to say IT ROCKS...anyways this coming September a few roommates and I will be flying to Europe for the 1st time (before my exchange program at the University of Essex in England!!) for 15 days. We will be flying into Madrid and from there our plan was Seville, then Barcelona, then Nice, then off to Venice, Florence, and finally Rome. I just have no idea how to partition the days between the cities, or if I am simply taking too much on. I want a sense of closure when I leave each city, not the longing feeling that I rushed through. THEREFORE, any suggestions about anything and everything from how long to stay, to hostels to shack at, to museums to tour, to clubs to hit would be EXTREMELY appreciated, I just don’t know if my itinerary is too packed to fully experience everything these great cities have to offer. (oh and if you think there are better cities to visit PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME, since I AM so pressed for time only the best cities with the most possibility for culture shock will do, YA I really am looking foreword to culture shock)Thanks a TON

OH and does anyone knows if there is a place I will be able to store my luggage (the bags with all my belongings for my semester at the university) for the roughly 2 weeks I will be traveling in Europe. I hear there are places in the airport but I also hear they are quite expensive. Any storage tips are greatly appreciated.

(ps anyone ever been to Colchester UK??)

[dumbdiety]

Welcome to the boards!
For 15 days, that seems like waaaaay to much! Just getting out of Spain and to Italy will take most of if not all of a day, so that's 14 days. Factor in travel between cities, and we're talking less than 1.5 days per city! I would first make a list of things you NEED to see, followed by things you WANT to see, then plan out from there.

[huppster5]

Thanks for your advice, to prevent wasting time traveling though i was planning on sleeping on the train. That is possible right and that would allow me allot more time.

oh and i was only going to be staying in Nice for the day to open up time for the other cities...Still seem like too much???

[me]

sometimes flights can be more efficient. to get from Barcelona to Rome, for instance, take a bus to Girona airport and fly to Rome Ciampino airport on Ryanair (i know, i know. Ryanair has a bad rep) from €30.19 if you buy in advance. this is a 90 min flight vs 17 hrs from Barcelona to Florence.

[rchua]

i agree with what others have said on this thread. 15 days is not enough to see those cities you wanted to see and the train rides in between. plane trips are a definate must if you want to go from spain to italy. this will save you a whole day of traveling. most people on here would advice you to spend about 2-3 days in most cities (more for big ones like rome and paris). this will let you appreciate and enjoy the people and culture of each city. would it be possible if you extend your trip even for 3 more days?

[huppster5]

rchua/david/bumbdiety, thanks so much for your advice. This morning i booked a flight from barcelona to venice and it was only like $60 (thanks to the website i picked up off this website www.whichbudget.com/) CRAZY! So ya thanks again, if you have any other advice i would greatly appriciate it, and one other question...so since i dont really want to drop like $250 on a travel backpack, wouldnt it be possible for me to carry all my stuff in a med size duffle bag and just bring a day pack?

[Eagle]

huppster5, First of all, welcome to the Boards! It sounds like the information here is already proving quite useful for you.

As far as suggestions, I competely agree with the others - your Itinerary is FAR too ambitious for the 15 days you have available. I would have suggested dropping Spain entirely, but since you've already bought tickets, I suppose that's not possible. I'm also assuming that you've already bought your air ticket to Madrid?

You might want to drop Madrid and Sevilla from your Itinerary, and limit your Spain visit to Barcelona. I'm not sure that Nice will be possible either? IMHO it would be better to concentrate on Florence and Rome. One possible sequence for your trip that might work is:

- Barcelona (3 days) - if flying from North America, you'll lose one day in flight and you'll also have to contend with jet lag, so your time here will be fairly short.
- Venice (2 days) - since you've already got tickets booked
- Florence (3 days)
- Rome (5 days)
(Fly to the U.K. from Rome using budget airline)

That leaves two days "free" for travel days or for unexpected events. It might have been possible to fit a one day visit to Nice if you were travelling by train, but since you're going direct to Venice, this becomes a bit more difficult.

I doubt that you're going to be able to have a "sense of closure" when you leave each city, as you're only spending a short time in each location and you won't have time to see the cities in any "depth". You might plan to return to those cities that interest you the most when you have more time available.

As far as a place to store your luggage, I'm not sure there's an "easy answer" for this? Using an Airport locker assumes you'll be returning to the airport you arrived at. I doubt that you're going to have time to return to Madrid to pick up your luggage. The only solution that comes to mind would be to pack light and keep all your Uni kit with you during your travels, perhaps using a small Duffle Bag or something in addition to your Backpack?

One point to make if you're travelling with a lot of luggage is that most of the budget airlines have quite "restrictive" rules with regard to luggage weights/sizes. You might get "nicked" with a baggage supplement charge on your flight from Barcelona to Venice? Also, the budget airlines often use "out of the way" airports, so you'll need to allow for the time and cost of getting into the city centres from these airports.

In answer to your last question, I haven't specifically been to Colchester but I've been in that area (Salisbury Plain area???). There's a large British Army base there, and if my memory is correct that's also the site of the Military prison.

Finally, you might be able to find a good quality travel Backpack for less than $250 on E-Bay or wherever? I think it's safe to say that Eagle Creek Packs are the favourite here. You might be lucky and find something "on sale" on one of the web sites. Incidentally, you can buy Backpacks and also Rail Passes from this site. Check the links on the home page. Be SURE to measure your torso length if you decide to buy a Backpack, so that you get a model that will fit you properly.

Hope this helps. Good luck and happy travels!!!

[huppster5]

Ridiculous, wow, this has been sooo helpful thanks so much all of you! If I have anymore questions I will be sure to post them.

Thanks again