First time backpacker itinerary!!

[biomic]

Hi all!! ..

Just thought i'd get some feedback on an itinerary I put together with the assistance of others. Im planning on backpacking parts of europe for 5 odd weeks in July 2007 , very excited as its my first time off the east coast of Australia!!

London - 5 Days
--FLY--
Iceland - 6 Days
--FLY--
Paris - 5 Days
--TRAIN--
Zurich - 4 Days
--TRAIN--
Belluno (Northern Italy, Mothers family owns a Ski Chalet) - 4/5 Days
--TRAIN--
Rome - 4 Days
--FLY--
Berlin - 5 Days
--TRAIN--
Amsterdam - 3/4 Days

Iceland is a pretty personal thing for me before anyone asks, a promise I made to myself so I won't be dropping that thats for sure!! .. But yeah, any suggestions/recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[herrbert]

Hi Biomic,

Iceland, is a place I really want to go to one day, when you see the pictures it looks so cool!!!. I have a friend, that has been there, and he told me it is amazing.

All in all it looks great, the only city I would replace is Zürich (or maybe visit it for one day), maybe you could swap it for Interlaken or if you really like mountains: Gimmelwald.

Amsterdam I would keep it to 3 days, and I would cut off one day in Berlin in favour of Rome.

You can take a nighttrain Berlin - Amsterdam, but you could also consider flying with Transavia. If you book well in advance, you can get tickets for a very good price.

[pointofnoreturn]

Wow! Iceland! I hear it's supposed to be fantastic! Totally agree with herrbert about taking one day from Amsterdam or Berlin and adding it to Rome!

[me]

for Paris - Zürich, you could even take the night train. it's a direct train, and almost exactly 8 hours from its Paris Est 22.30 departure to Zürich's main station. just about perfect. (sleep while you're transported between these cities. )

there's also a good night train out of Berlin-Lichtenberg, just before midnight - getting to Köln (Cologne) at just before 7am. get off the train & check out the beautiful, historic, cathedral across the square from the train station before catching a train to Amsterdam [at 8.48 or 10.48]

[Jules80]

4 days is a lot of time for zurich. you've got maybe 2 days worth of stuff to see there. however you can use it as a base to explore other areas in day trips tho. i do recommend the lindt factory tho! lots of cheap chocolate bout the only cheap thing about switzerland

Julie

[madamtrashheap]

biomic, welcome! You'll love Iceland - totally different to anywhere, great people and worth the trip. Are you going to camp or base yourself in Reykjavik? The nights are still cool in June, but the days are v pleasant, unless that wind kicks in!

Jules' call on the Lindt factory is very valid (happiest place on earth!), and spending a minimum amount of time there is all you'll need as there are far prettier places in Switzerland (as the others have mentioned). I'm guessing that in Belluno you'll be with family so be doing a bit of sightseeing in between the eating (down to Venice, up to Innsbruck, over to Lake Garda?). I'd go with Herrbert's suggestion of spending 4 days in Berlin and giving an extra day to Rome (as much as I love Berlin, Rome has so much to see too). Or, as a variation on what David suggested (which is v good by the way), you could stop for a day in Cologne or Brussels, depending on the train connections (night train goes through Cologne and Brussels, day trains go through Hannover, Duisburg and Amersfoort). Amsterdam is a great city and 3 days will be plenty to explore, so maybe look at day trips to places like Den Haag (The Hague), Delft, Maastricht or even Groningen. While you're in London are you planning on day trips (Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor, Oxford or Cambridge, Brighton)?

Happy planning! ;D

[me]

is there much to see in Hanover? the only time i was there was for the big industrial fair. really wasn't my cup-o'-tea, but my hosts were eager to share it.

however, i've long heard that the German spoken in Hanover is excellent. [Mr. Burns drumming his fingers together as he says it, that image is often in my mind whenever i use/hear that word.]

- d