Finalizing itinerary.. plz help!

[ghady]

Hi all!

I started this in another thread, but this looks like it'll be my final itinerary, so I decided to post it here (where it's more relevant)...

1) Germany: Berlin (flying in from Beirut) (4 nights)
2) Holland: Amsterdam (from Berlin) (3 nights)
3) Germany again: Stuttgart (from Amsterdam) (3 nights, staying with someone i know)
4) France: Strasbourg (one day, not sleeping there, just seeing it on the way from Germany to France.)
5) France: Paris (from Strasbourg) (5 nights)
6) France: Lyon (from Paris) (2 nights, staying with someone i know)
7) Spain: Barcelona (from Lyon) (5 nights)


What do you guys think? Now the whole thing has to be around 21 or 22 days, including travel (plane and train).

Any ideas on transportation and youth hostels? I'm open to anything really. I'm also open to a change in cities even, if you think the ones I put down aren't good enough for a first-time trip.

one last note, the reason this has to start in germany is because of my friend's visa. it's this whole complicated thing. i'm british so it doesn't matter .

thanks a lot,
ghady

[herrbert]

For the trip from Lyon to Barcelona, you should check an flight from Geneva (easyjet, condor or clickair), the rest looks good, but I don't know if you have a lot of time to see something of Strassbourg.

For Berlin, the choice of the hostel is easy enough: the Circus.

For transport from Berlin to Amsterdam, check Transavia.

For Amsterdam - Stuttgart, I think you have to rely on the train, as I can't find some cheap flights (you could try Lufthansa, sometimes they offer cheap flights). But if you would go by train, you could leave early, train to Cologne, have a look around, (Cathedral, Rhine, Old Town), and go on to Stuttgart.

[madamtrashheap]

The train from Lyon to Barcelona goes through Avignon (worth a stop but makes it a longer journey) or Montpellier and Perpignan (also worth a stop) and is around 6 hours, so do as Herrbert suggests and fly that section if you don't intend to stop anywhere else (there doesn't appear to be a night train).

If you can slide it in, maybe look at spending a night in Strasbourg, just to sample their food over a long dinner. If not, at least schedule a lunch there!

For accommodation, look at the recommendations on this site (use the home back Hostel Directory) for ideas, other than those already listed. You could have a look through the Accommodation section on this site as there have been a lot of posts about accommodation in most of the cities you're visiting.