Europe Itinerary. 5/27-6/19 Trip

[leialani831]

Hi...my best friend and I are planning a backpacking trip through europe in the upcoming months. We have already purchased round-trip tickets to Paris, and are interested in visiting the following cities (in this order).

Paris (arrive in 8AM in the morning) (4 days)
Barcelona (3 days)
Florence (2 days)
Rome (4 days)
Venice (2 days)
Berlin (3 days)
Amsterdam (3 days)
Brussels (if we have remaining time)
Paris (depart in early afternoon)

We are planning on getting the 21 day unlimited eurorail pass, but I'm not sure if what we have planned is too ambitious by rail (I must admit, I haven't looked at the train schedules yet)

I've tried to hit all of the major/interesting cities considering that our previous travel histories and starting/ending in paris. Some of my friend have cautioned me that the trips from Paris-Barcelona and Rome/Venice - Berlin are very, very long.

Any ideas/suggestions on this itinerary? Should I cut out/add on any cities? Does anyone have est. traveling time betwen Paris-Barcelona, Rome/Venice-Berlin?

Thanks

[greeneyes]

Hi leialani831,

I'm planning my first trip to Europe as well so I may not be the best person to help you, but I have been checking out distances between cities/countries through www.raileurope.com and www.bahn.de/ for trains.

Paris to Barcelona is approximately 8.5 hours for a day trip and approximately 11.5 for a night trip according to the raileurope site .. which wouldn't be that bad and allow you to add some time to your trip somewhere else. Rome to Venice is approximately 4.5 hours and then Venice to Berlin is approximately 13.5 hours so even if you were to take a night train, you'd be cutting into some of your sight-seeing time. I would suggest a flight between Italy and Berlin to save time. Others from the forum will be able to suggest some cheap airlines.

To save time and backtracking, I would alter your itinerary to: Paris, Night train to Barcelona, Fly to Rome, Florence, Venice, Fly to Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris

Cheers,
have fun planning!

[WillTravel]

The 21-day pass is probably not a great deal, although it sounds good in theory.
Most likely you might want a smaller rail pass, some point to point tickets, and some flights.

[Eagle]

leialani831, Welcome! A few comments on your proposed Itinerary.

It appears that your trip is about three weeks in length? Given the short time span, a few changes would be highly advisable!

- If you plan on travelling only by Rail, I'd recommend dropping either Barcelona or Berlin, given the distances involved. It would be much easier (and provide a more relaxed trip!) if you are able to fly from Paris to Barcelona, Barcelona to Rome and Venice to Berlin (I haven't checked flight availability - check www.whichbudget.com for further information).

- the sequence of Rome - Florence - Venice seems like a more efficient route.

Once you've finalized your itinerary somewhat, enter your destinations into www.railsaver.com and the site will approximate the best rail pass. You might be able to find a less costly alternative to the 21-day Pass.

Cheers!!!

[herrbert]

Most likely whichbudget will not you to notice airlines, like AirEuropa (you can use them for Paris - Barcelona, and Barcelona - Rome), and Condor (Paris - Barcelona, and Venice - Berlin).

I think the best possibilities are with easyjet or Vueling, for Paris - Barcelona. (avoid Ryanair for this one), Vueling, or Clickair for Barcelona - Rome, and Easyjet for Rome - Berlin. But as your date is pretty near, you might also want to check the other airlines, and even Iberia, for the trips to/from Spain. Remember ticketprices will only go up.