Pre travel itinerary

[rbrettg]

Hey there, we have an itinerary now. Can you tell us how it is, it looks fine to us. What are your opinions.

Arrive Iceland, 2 nights
Arrive Amsterdam, 2 nights
Arrive Bruges, 1 night
Arrive Brussels, 1 night
Arrive Berlin, 3 nights
Arrive Prague, 3 nights
Arrive Vienna, 2 nights
Arrive Budapest, 3 nights
Arrive Geneva, 1 night (only b/c of flight from budapest)
Arrive Nice, 3 nights (with daytrips to Cannes & Monaco)
Arrive Lyon, 2 nights
Arrive Paris, 4 nights
Depart back home from Paris


We were wondering what would be some appropriate nighttrains. Maybe Brussels to Berlin? Berlin to Prague? Geneva to Nice? where else would it be possible? What do you guys think? Any advice?


All help is appriciated.

[herrbert]

Hi rbrettg,

I think it looks a little packed. Berlin in three night will just do it, but it would be better if you allow yourself one extra day. Vienna really needs 4 days. (in order to make that possible I would skip Lyon, but that is personal), Don't forget you also need time to travel.

Iceland is more than just Reijkjavik, and a place to be outdoors, to see something of the amazing landscape. Are you sure two nights is all you want to spend there?

Brussels - Berlin as a nighttrain connection will work out fine, however you could also choose to fly this part.
Berlin - Prague is a 4 and a half hour trainride, so I don't think there is a nighttrain (the only ride at night, that I found has a stop of 2 hours in Halle (between 2.30 and 4.30 in the night).

The nighttrain Geneve - Nice is possible but, if you stick to Lyon, Then I would do Lyon first, and then get on to Nice, and take an easyjet-flight Nice - Paris, to get back to Paris.

[me]

as Brussels has a night train to Berlin (provided you can sleep on night trains - pack earplugs!) you could easily spend two nights in Brugge, take a daytime train to Brussel and see what there is to see before a 23:41 departure from Bruxelles-Midi for Berlin.

i also agree with HerrBert that you need more time in Vienna. i suppose it's reasonable to take time from Lyon, but i found the people i dealt with in Nice to be less than pleasant. [as i've said before, the French took a cue from the Vikings: Just as Greenland isn't green, and Iceland isn't ice, the people in Nice aren't particularly nice!]

rbrettg said:

Arrive Bruges, 1 night
Arrive Brussels, 1 night
Arrive Berlin, 3 nights
Arrive Prague, 3 nights
Arrive Vienna, 2 nights
Arrive Budapest, 3 nights
Arrive Geneva, 1 night (only b/c of flight from budapest)
Arrive Nice, 3 nights (with daytrips to Cannes & Monaco)
Arrive Lyon, 2 nights
Arrive Paris, 4 nights
Depart back home from Paris

[madamtrashheap]

me said:

[as i've said before, the French took a cue from the Vikings: Just as Greenland isn't green, and Iceland isn't ice, the people in Nice aren't particularly nice!]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...sometimes you're the funniest person I know David!

Good points on Vienna (and Nice!), but I must say that Lyon is worth a stop, even if it's just for 1 night and a good (and cheap) dinner in the Old Town. 3 nights in Nice will allow for those worthy daytrips, and if you end up not flying on the route Herrbert suggested, then you'll enjoy Brugges and Brussels too. You'll be rushing Berlin, but better to see a little than not at all in this case.

It's not worth taking the Berlin-Prague nighttrain as it's a short trip and you could even have a few hours in Dresden if you felt like it on the way. Don't forget the TGV trains in France (esp the Lyon - Paris route), although there will be a reservation fee so up to you.

I remember posting something to you earlier about Iceland - great to see you're still going as it's awesome (just a note, food is expensive, so if you have breakfast included in your accom then eat well, plus some people take packet soup, noodles, etc for dinner to save money - up to you). If you can spend that full day on a trip that goes to Vatnajökull, Gulfoss, The Blue Lagoon and Geysir you will have seen a lot more of the country and experienced some pretty cool sights - well worth it. Then you can wander Reykjavik in the evening (it's not big!).