91 days in Europe...Finding...

[rodrigobrasil]

I need great ideas for my trip. 91 days in total.
My goal is to rest, think, visit and sometimes but not always go to parties
I will arrive may 23 in Madrid, from there i will start soon as possible El camino de Santiago (next day)...I plan to complete it in 31 days and from finisterre start to backpack around europe. I especially need constructive critics about my itinerary and I still got three days to spend in my trip (more time in one place? or go to a new one?...i leave that to you

I will fly from greece to czech republic...all the rest in bus or train (train from Granada to Barcelona and From Paris to Madrid)

...Any sugestions feel free to write....

And, of course, thank you very much.

Here it´s my itinerary:

23 /05 Arrival:Madrid-Pamplona (1 day )
24 / 05 Saint Jean de port. - Santiago/Finisterre (31)
24 /06 - Portugal (6)
a.Porto (2)
b.Lisboa and Sintra(2-3 )
c.Faro y/o Lagos(2)
30/06 España (5)
a.Sevilla (1)
b.Granada (1)
c.Barcelona (3)
05/07 Francia (11)
a.Niza (2)
b.Besançon(2)
c.Tolouse (2)
d.Cote d´azur (2)
e.Lyon (3) visiting friend
16/07 Italia (12)
a.Venecia (1)
b.Siena (1)
c.Florencia(3)
d.Piza (1)
e.Cinqueterre (1)
f.Roma (pompeia)(4)
g.Nápoles, Sicilia(1)
28/07 Grecia (4)
a.Atenas, Santorini...
01/08 Republica Tcheca (3)
a.Praga
04/ 08 Alemania (6)
a.Munich (3)
b.Berlin (3-4)
10/08 Holanda (2)
a.Amsterdam (2 días)
12/08 Francia
a.Paris (4)
16/08 España (4)
a.Madrid (3)
b.Toledo (1)

Return flight: 22/ august /2007
So….3 days left to enjoy in one or more places.

[madamtrashheap]

Boa vinda rodrigobrasil! (and that's the extent of my portuguese!)

91 days to explore Europe - fantastic! I have a few comments about your itinerary, for you to consider as you may need to alter the direction of your journey a little to make the destinations "flow" better and in order of geography.

1. train Paris-Madrid: consider stopping at a few places on the way south (along the west coast) to make the train worthwhile, otherwise flying this section might be a better solution. Ditto for Granada-Barcelona. For the Spain and Portugal section, in terms of best direction after your time on the pilgramage route, I'll leave to the others.

2. France
Niza (Nice) is on the Cote d'Azure so keep that section together. In fact, I'd suggest that if you want to take the train from Barcelona-Nice, why not take the train Barcelona- Toulouse-Lyon-Nice. Besancon is close to the Swiss border, and I notice Switzerland isn't in your itinerary so you could consider a few days there (good for relaxing or hiking or both!). Or skip it and travel Nice-Cinque Terre instead for eas of travel. You'll only need 2 full days in Nice/Cote d'Azur and I guess if you still want to visit Besancon (it's very pretty) then you could do a day trip from Lyon while you're with your friend.

3. Italy The order in which you travel will have to change from what you've listed in order to be efficient and eliminate any backtracking. I'd suggest Cinque Terre - Venice - Florence - Siena - Rome - Naples with side trips in between.
Cinque Terre will need a minimum of 2 full days, 3 would be better as it's a great place (any of the villages) to walk, think, relax. Travel from Nice to here.
Venice - on the way from Cinque Terre, you can stop in Pisa for a few hours, or travel back to Pisa from Florence as it is only 1 hour by train from there. Venice for 1 full day is good, but you may find that 2 days is better depending on what you are interested in seeing.
Florence - 3 days here is a good amount
Siena - 1 full day (or 1 night with an afternoon and morning either side) is good.
Rome - 4 full days is the minimum for seeing the best of Rome. You can do a day trip to Pompei from here, or if you plan to go to Naples then you can travel to Pompei from there (your train will stop in Naples and you'll have to change there for Pompei anyway.
Sicily - this is the island off the "toe" of Italy and it takes a day by boat/train to get there (flying from Rome is one hour) so I'd recommend either spending 5 days in Sicily (different cities) or skipping it this time around.

4. Greece
Perhaps look at flying from Rome to Athens rather than trekking across to Bari/Brindisi for the ferry as you don't want to visit Corfu (on the western side of Greece).
Athens - 2 full days is a good start
Santorini - 2 full days here (flying from Athens is quicker, fast ferry is 4hours or so) is a minimum
Any other islands?

5. Czech Republic
Prague - 3 days here would be good. You could fly with Sky Europe Athens-Prague direct. Have you considered any other day trips?

6. Germany - have you considered stopping in Austria on the way to Germany (a slight detour, but still worth considering Vienna and/or Salzburg).
Munich - 3 days will allow for a day trip to the castles plus time to explore the city and surrounds
Berlin - the train from Munich to Berlin is a long one so consider taking the night train unless you have somewhere you'd like to stop along the way (there are placed like Rothenburg o. d. Teuber, Bayreuth, Göttingen, etc). 3 full days in Berlin is a good start.

7. Holland/Netherlands
Amsterdam - 2 full days is a good amount of time to explore the city well. You may like to fly this section from Berlin unless you want to take the night train. Look at flights with Transavia.

8. France
Have you thought about stopping in Belgium on the way to Paris? You don't have to, but Brugge/Bruges is a pretty town.
Paris - 4 full days is the minimum for Paris, but you'll have time to sightsee well.
See above for travelling Paris-Madrid suggestion.

Are you travelling this May or in 2008?

Happy planning!

[herrbert]

Hola Rodrigo,

First question, involves the Schengen visum, for the experts, is it 3 months, or 90 days? in that case 91 days, would imply you need a visum

You will have a lot of time to the North of Spain.

To go Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona in just 5 days is too optimistic. The trip from Lagos to Sevilla, take a bit of time, because one stretch of it you needs to be done, by bus. (from the border to Huelva). So there will be not be a lot left of your day when you arrive in Sevilla. The trainride to Granada also takes a few hours. Flying Granada - Barcelona, would be the best options, try Vueling, Spanair and Iberia, for some good options. Only note that Granada Airport is about 10 miles outside of Granada, with only a couple of busconnections. (so plan well)

If you could upgrade, Sevilla and Granada by at least one day each, you will actualy see something in these cities.

I am glad you have a couple of days in Madrid at the end of the tour.

For the rest of the trip, the Madam gave you some good information already, and I have to add, that it seems like you are planning to race through Europe. It is always tempting to try to see as much as you can, but I would prefer skipping a couple of cities, in favor of more time in others. (which to skip, and which should stay is of course up to you)

Check www.bahn.de for timetable for trains (go to International Guests for the English version), and www.flightassistent.com to find out, which airlines, are flying which routes within Europe.