summer itinerary

[adnilemydal]

hi all! a galpal and i are backpacking this summer. we'll be leaving 15 july and returning around 15 august or so... haven't bought the plane tixs yet. but definitely leaving on 15 july. will be travelling on an eurail global pass (1 month unlimited).

here's what i've come up with so far (concerns are marked with astersiks):

-fly to london, spend 2 days (already been here before but my friend hasn't)
-fly to madrid, spend 4 days with side trip to toledo
-night train to lisbon, spend 3 days *might do 2 days madrid, then train to lisbon, and when we come back, finish 2 more days madrid*
-train to toulouse, visit friends... couple days?
-train to the french riviera *where should we visit/see??*, spend 2 days?
-train to geneva, spend 2 days
-train to chamonix to see mont-blanc, do the cable car thing *should we stay one night in chamonix or go back to geneva and then ride the golden pass line?*
-train to interlaken, spend 2-3? days
-train to zurich, spend ? days
-train to innsbruck, spend 1-2 days?
-train to salzburg, spend 2 days
-train to munich, spend 3 days (side trip to dachau is a must!)
-train to amsterdam, spend 3 days then fly back home

okay, i hope that wasn't confusing ;D i did have some problems trying to figure out my route from the french riviera to geneva in order to see chamonix... thought about going over to italy and taking the cable car from the italy side and going to geneva from the french side but i'm not sure if they would allow backpacks on the cable cars? on top of that, the train schedule didn't seem so friendly about the journey.

my problem is that i really want to see the french riviera! i know the logical thing would be to go on to geneva from toulouse, it would solve so many things but... i gotta talk this over with my friend and see what we should do! what do you guys think? THANKS in advance for your help!

[me]

why go to Madrid twice? why not fly from London to Lisbon, then train to Madrid *after* the visit to Lisbon?

adnilemydal said:

-fly to london, spend 2 days (already been here before but my friend hasn't)
-fly to madrid, spend 4 days with side trip to toledo
-night train to lisbon, spend 3 days *might do 2 days madrid, then train to lisbon, and when we come back, finish 2 more days madrid*

[adnilemydal]

oops, i forgot to mention about the madrid trip, there's a conference going on there that i want to attend. i'd skip portugal altogether but my friend has family from portugal so she wants to visit and see where she came from.

[herrbert]

The more times you see Madrid, the better ;D. But considering the time of your travel, you might want to prepared for some really warm weather in Madrid. Personaly I would try to make the travel through Central Spain once, and preferably by plane.

[me]

here's a radical idea: you two could split up for a few days. you stay in Madrid while she goes to Portugal. might that work?

i mean, if you're not interested in Portugal, why go?

you could split in London, you fly to Madrid, she could fly to Lisbon. <actually, other parts of Portugal are even better!>

you two could meet again in time to go to France. or, sooner, if she also wants to see some of Madrid.

but, if she's also going to the conference in Madrid, this idea might not work so well.

- d

adnilemydal said:

oops, i forgot to mention about the madrid trip, there's a conference going on there that i want to attend. i'd skip portugal altogether but my friend has family from portugal so she wants to visit and see where she came from.

[lia]

Hiya! well, it sounds like a fantastic trip! I just don't agree with your idea of skipping Portugal - I love it. Lisbon is a wonderful city, really, I would stay there a few days..it's very lively, good food and drink, it's cheap, and during the summer there are street events in the week-ends, that might be funny (music, dance and so on). And it's somehow "magic".. See, I'm Italian, but lived in Portugal for more than one year (in Coimbra) - I learned to say "saudade"..

[adnilemydal]

oy!!! i got offered a great 2-week summer teaching job at the school where i work at (i teach high school english) soooo the itinerary i had has been changed somewhat. the conference had a $500 entry fee... ouch! soooo now it looks like my friend and i will be flying to lisbon from london, then traveling via train to madrid. new itinerary:

fly to london, stay 2 days (already been here before)
fly to lisbon, stay 3 days
train to madrid, stay 4 days with day trip to toledo
train to barcelona, stay 3 days
train to toulouse, stay 2 days (visiting a dear friend i haven't seen in 10 years!)
train to geneva, stay 2-3 days with day trip to chamonix-mont blanc
train to interlaken, stay 2 days (and go bungee jumping!!!)
train to zurich, stay 2 days
train to innsbruck, stay 1 day
train to salzburg, stay 2 days
train to munich, stay 3-4 days
train to amsterdam, stay 3 days then fly home from there

hmm, i just realized i went overboard with the number of days... i don't have enough time. should i eliminate austria and go on to munich from zurich? (i plan on an eastern europe trip next year, so i can always visit austria then) i'm also not quite familiar with switzerland... the only place i really want to visit is interlaken. i have no idea what i could do in geneva or zurich?

also what hostel website would you guys suggest me to use? i'm a member of hostelling international but have never used hostels in europe (went twice but stayed with family friends) sooo would like to know if HI is reliable?

thanks!!!!!!!!

[herrbert]

Taking a flight from Lisbon to Madrid would be easier. (If you do take the train, and would be traveling during the day, then see if you can break-up the trip in Caceres, and have a stroll in the old city for a couple of hours).

Skipping Austria is an option, but I would also consider Amsterdam as a possibility skip, unless you need to fly out of Schiphol Airport, you can save yourself the long trip from Munich to Amsterdam. You could fly into Amsterdam on your next trip, and then continue to Berlin (flights with Transavia.com)

[madamtrashheap]

A day trip from Geneva to Chamonix probably isn't the best idea as although the trip up the mountain (Aiguille du Midi) one way takes around 20-30mins, it's summer, so the place will be busy, (esp in the morning with tour groups - just a tip) and this means you need to allow at least 4 hours for the round trip (Chamonix-Aiguille du Midi). And the trip Geneva to Chamonix is aroudn 3hr -3hr30m and it makes for an exceptionally long day on trains and cable cars. If you can stay in Chamonix a night, it's a better choice than Geneva in terms of scenery (OK, the lake is pretty, but the city isn't as fab). There is paragliding from up near the summit at Aguille du Midi, but unfortunately not when you're there, so Interlaken bungee jumping it is!

So, now you're not going to the French Riviera, I'd suggest Geneva 1night then try to get to Gyron to stay or go straight to Chamonix - Chamonix 1-2 nights - Interlaken (1-2 nights) and time in Gimmelwald (2-3 nights) rather than Zurich (not much to see/do). Not sure if the days fit, but the places do. And going from Geneva to Chamonix then on to Interlaken involves:
train Geneva - Chamonix will go through Martigny and probably another town.
train Chamonix - Interlaken Ost will be best done by going back through Martigny then on to Brig and Spiez. Try to avoid backtracking to Geneva as it's all the way on the other side of the lake and not in the direction you want. You'll have to change trains 3-4 times, but it's not hard and will take around 4hr45 to 5hrs from Chamonix to Interlaken. Look at www.sbb.ch/en the Swiss trains info as that will help with times/destinations. Oh, and you can take luggage with you on the cable car up and over Aiguille du Midi from France to Italy, but that's a moot point now your itinerary has changed.

As far as the days, yes you could skip Austria and do it next time around. Or you could reduce the places in Switzerland (Zurich & Geneva spring straight to mind) and, as much as it pains me to suggest it, skip Gimmelwald as you really want to spend time in Interlaken. But, as I've shown above, you could follow that route and enjoy the time there. Flying the section suggested by Herrbert is also going to save time. I'd also look at flying Munich to Amsterdam if you still need to be in Amsterdam as that's a time-taking journey.

As for hostels, there is a booking service on the GFE site www.guideforeurope.com/bookeurohostels.html as well as a directory on hostels (including recommendations) that are all on the home page. If you book through this site, then GFE benefits (always a good thing! ;D). You'll find a lot of HI properties are included here as they are reliable, but have a look at others on offer here as well.