West Europe + Morocco in 60 Days

[slippys]

Would much appreciate comments on my intinerary so far.
Details are:
Budget is no more than $9000AUD, how realistic is this..?
Me and my sister are travelling together, mainly to have fun, bond, and meet some new people!
Backpacking, hostel hopping, staying with friends and family
Sister can speak french and both can speak basic spanish.
Main aim is to have fun in new places, get out of australia, see a few sights, hit up a few clubs, take some photos, we dont want to rush through everything

Mainly need help on how to get to places and estimated time for travelling, and what is and isnt worth seeing.

Flying into Madrid 8th December - 3 Days
Flying from Madrid to London - 5 Days
Train to Bristol, staying with a friend, -7 Days
Drive to Bath with friend - 1 day

**Where to spend Christmas??!!** (suggestions, will be alone)
Bus/Train to Brighton - 1 day
Bus/Train to Portsmouth - 1day
Bus/Train to Southhampton - 1 Day
Bus/Train to London - 2 Days
**Where to spend new years, paris maybe? edinburgh?**

Fly to Paris - 4 Days
Train to Lyon - 3 Days
(is it worth stopping in at Marseille or Montpellier, tight budget in mind)
Bus/Train to Barcelona - 4 Days
Bus to Valencia - 3 Days
Bus to Alicante - 1 Day
Bus to Murcia City - 2 Days
Bus/Train to Toledo or back to Madrid- 2 Days

Train to Lisbon - 2 Days
Bus to Faro - 3 Days

Bus to Sevilla - 1 Day
Bus to Gibraltar and Ferry to Tangier (Providing ferry timetable is working in our favour, if not will trek back up to Madrid and get a flight into Marrakech or Fes)
Fes - 6 Days
Bus to Rabat - 1 Day
Bus/Train to Marrakech - 5 Days
Day trip to Essaouria
Fly to London, stay there until my flight back to sydney on the 7th.

All very budget based. Trying to see as much as I can. I hear its best to take buses for shorter trips and trains for longer trips. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. This is the first draft and rather flexible.
Also any tips on getting to Morocco would be appreciated too.

CHEERS!

[slippys]

Yeah its messy. I'm picking my sister up in paris and then we are doing the rest together. SHe isnt coming to the UK. And the budget is for myself not for my sister. Funds are no issue for her. Sorry i probably should have made that clearer.
Im flying into spain from south africa. It was aparently the cheaper flight (mum booked my flights on her credit card) and i may as well see a bit of madrid while im there incase we dont end up stopping through there on our way to lisbon.

[madamtrashheap]

slippys, welcome to GFE.

Just having a quick look at your itinerary - where to spend Christmas and NYE? For Christmas, could you stay with your friend in Bath another night? This will save you travelling at one of the busiest times of the year and will also be good to spend it with someone you know. The UK has holidays on 25 & 26 December and most shops, restaurants (except those offering Christmas lunch), etc are closed. Public transport still operates, but on a limited service, so keep that in mind too. This will mean a little forward planning in terms of city, accommodation, food, etc. If you can't stay with your friend, I'd suggest staying in the region of Brighton or Bath just to aleviate the transport issue, but either way, book ahead and inquire as to what will be open. Both cities are great and will have facilities for you during Christmas.

For NYE, both Paris and Edinburgh (and London) would be good choices, but of course these are also hugely popular places to celebrate so again book ahead as soon as possible. For sheer geographical convenience, if you are keeping the schedule you've listed above, you might consider either staying in London or travelling to Paris rather than Edinburgh. How stuck to your itinerary are you?

[slippys]

Not very stuck. Trying to make it all work around budget i guess. Im thinking its either Edinburgh or London at this point. I totally understand i will have to book ahead so im just trying to work out the best places for me to go.

[madamtrashheap]

London is OK for NYE, crowds are big in the public places and if the new Mayor decides to reinstate the fireworks on the Thames (who knows what Boris will come up with - something odd no doubt!) then that's a fun place to be, but better with a few friends. The entrance fee to Clubs is always astronomical, so keep that in mind, but at least the public transport is free that night! So, going against my geographical advice, it sounds like you'd really enjoy Edinburgh, as you'll be travelling alone but one is never alone at Hogmanay (aka "Snogmanay")! But, I'd suggest getting there by 30th December at the latest to avoid any transport delays, etc, and to consider perhaps flying from Edinburgh to Paris direct rather than going back to London. Check EasyJet (easyJet.com), British Airways (BritishAirways.com) and Flybe.co.uk and see if you can fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY, but only if CDG isn't available) as they are the easiest to access the city. Stay away from Beauvais if you can as it's just so far from Paris that transport can be a hassle.

Will two days in London (if you don't spend NYE there) be enough for you? It's a big city with a lot to see, so you might find that you run out of time.