Itinerary Help Please!

[megang]

Hello Everyone,

I am going for 6 weeks and so far we have a general idea of the countries but are having trouble picking cities. I am also wondering if we may have overkilled a bit for the amount of time we have. So far we are planning on
England
France
Germany
Switzerland
Italy
Greece
Corsica
Spain

If anyone has any suggestions for routes, cities and time any help would be appreciated!
Thank you

[herrbert]

It depends on which cities, and how many if you are going to have an overkill situation here. If you pick only one per country, then it won't happen, but I just presume, you don't want to have only one city per country.

To give you a good advise it is a good thing to tell us what your interests are. Do you want to go to the beach, or are you someone who like arts, history etc.

Also note that if you are going to Switzerland to see the mountains, than Austria is a cheaper alternative.

Just some ideas:

England: London, Edinburgh/Glasgow
France: Paris, Nice/Marseille, Strassbourg, Corsica (Bastia?)
Germany: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne/Rhine
Switzerland: Interlaken, Gimmelwald, Bern
Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terra
Greece: Athens, Santorini (or other Isles)
Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Salamanca (and a lot more), and why not Lisbon? (Portugal)

There are a lot of places to choose from. I only mentioned some of the more regular places here. The route we will figure out when you know where you want to go. If you want to investigate the matter yourself already (to get a sense of the options/times involved), then I recommend checking www.bahn.de for information on trains and timetables (go to the international guest section, for the english version, and www.flightassistent.com as a starting point to see if you can do some parts by plane.

[megang]

Thanks for the suggestions! I am having a bit of trouble deciding the most logical route for the trip if you have any suggestions they would be really helpful. We haven't really decided on cities yet so any input you have would be greatly appreciated. We do know that we want to visit Corsica and I am considering maybe not doing Greece as it is a bit out of the way so if you have any insight into that please let me know! Thank you!

[herrbert]

Normaly you would try to fit in the cities in a logical order, so leave one place for the one that is the nearest. For Greece you have to look for a flight. Most likely the ones from Germany are the cheapest, but also flights from Italy can be made to make Greece. It is out of the way, as far as miles are concerned, but it's not impossible.

But first make a list of places you want to visit, and then try to make the connections, I am sure the people here will help you to find the best options for trains, planes and other means of transport. For 6 weeks, you should be able to visit about 10-12 cities.

[megang]

Thanks for the input. Just a quick question...I think we will fly either to Prague or Greece for a few days.....which would you recommend in terms of time, money and experiances?

[megang]

Thanks for the help so far...... Here is our tentative itinerary.....any input would be greatly apreciated:)

London 3
Paris 4
Brussels 2
Berlin 2
Prague 4
Munich 2
Innsbruck 2
Bern 2
Interlaken 3
Venice 2
Florence 3
Rome 4
Corsica 3
Nice 2
Marseille 2
Barcelona 3
Madrid 3

Also we are planning on flying to Prague from Berlin and then into Munich from Prague can anyone suggest which airline would have cheap flights?
Also if anyone has been to Corsica where is best to go to and from by boat?

[WillTravel]

I'm inclined to say knock out Brussels and give the time to Berlin, but I am a Berlin fan. But it would make things a bit more relaxed, and I think most would agree Berlin has much more to see than Brussels. Or consider 1 night Brussels, 3 nights Berlin.

Check www.whichbudget.com .

Berlin to Prague is only a 5-hour train ride, I think, so that might not be worth a plane trip. Not sure about Munich to Prague, but I think something similar may apply.

[herrbert]

I am just back from a short trip.

Flying in to Prague from Berlin, and out to Munich is an impossible thing to do on a budget airline. The places are too short to eachother, to make it a commercial success for a budgetairline. (I think that only Lufthansa will fly this route, for a price, that is too expensive). For these connections you will need to use the train.

Also check: www.flightassistent.com it lists the airlines available on routes (simply choose your departure town). From Marseille, you would also need to consider Iberia (in general not considered a budgetairline, so it will not show up on whichbudget or flightassistent).

I think you need to sacrifice some of these cities, as you will be running out of time in other cities. Berlin, London, Madrid and Rome needs more time. If you want to see the Castles (and maybe Dachau) as a daytrip from Munich, you would also need more time there.

[megang]

Thanks For the input everyone!
We have since revised our trip and are now planning on:

London 3
Paris 4
Berlin 3
Prague 4
Munich 3
Lucerne 2
Interlaken 3
Venice 2
Florence 3
Rome 5
Corsica 3
Nice 3
Barcelona 3
Madrid 4

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

[herrbert]

As London will be your starting point, you should reserve one day to get over the jetlag. Presume that you are not going to do a lot the first day there. London is a big city, with all the attractions spread out of the entire city. I think 3 days is really short for a visit, especialy if you lose 1 day already (I don't know if you have counted the day of arrival or not). I would suggest making it 4 days in London.

I see you have skipped Marseille, but note that if you want to have a plane between Nice and Barcelona, then your best chance to get a plane is a morning plane in Marseille (which means heading to Marseille the day before). Another option is to get to Nice from Switzerland, then go Corsica (maybe a flight Corsica - Milan (check Elba Fly) with train to Venice, then Florence - Rome, and then take a cheap flight with Vueling to Barcelona (or Madrid depending on where you need to fly home from).

I would choose Brugge over Brussels, but you can also do Brugge as a daytrip from Brussels. They are pretty close to eachother, so both is possible, but I think Brugge is a more relaxed place to stay the night. From Brussels you can take the nighttrain to Berlin.

I am not too sure about Luzern, maybe I would give those days to London and Berlin. (or keep Luzern, and swap 1 of the days in Prague for an extra day in London, i think 3 days is enough for Prague, unless you are planning daytrips e.g. Cesky Krumlov)

[madamtrashheap]

megang, I was thinking the revised itinerary looked good ;D although herrbert's suggestion of an extra day in London is worth considering (take it from Prague or Luzern), but if you don't then it's fine as is. Good point about Nice to Barca when flying, check the time of your flight to allow enough time to get to Marseille. I'll be interested to hear what you think of Corsica too so make sure you update us when you get back.