Which is the best route for my Itinerary

[sunshine22]

So I am backpacking for 5 weeks starting April 1st and will be using the Eurorail for my main transportation. I will be flying in and out of Munich and visiting Amsterdam, Venice, Cinque Terre, Rome, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Lisbon, Lagos, and Paris. Using the train what is the best order to see those cities in?

[Eagle]

sunshine22, first of all, Welcome!

I'll have a closer look at your questions later today, but the first suggestion that comes to mind is that using open-jaw flights would be a far better option, given the distance between some of the cities you listed. Have you booked your flights yet? It would also help to know where you're flying from?

That's quite a "geographically diverse" area to cover even in five weeks! IMHO you'll need to use some budget flights, and not just travel by rail. You'll have to allow for adequate travel times between cities.

I'm sure the others will have some comments too.

Cheers!

[sunshine22]

Thanks!!

My flight is booked to fly in and out of Munich. I will be flying from NY. Which cities would be best to fly from one to another? Ive set aside a day of traveling between each country.

[WillTravel]

I would say you definitely want some flights in there.

Take a look at www.bahn.de and test out some Munich - ? routes to get an idea of the times. Actually, you can look up any city pair on that site and get an idea of the routing and times.

By memory, Munich to Venice is about 7 hours.

Although you have 5 weeks, you have chosen a really spread out list of cities. The Spanish and Portuguese parts may not go quickly, due to the train setup there. In some instances, flights or buses may be a better choice.

Look at www.whichbudget.com .

[herrbert]

I think the more obvious route is to go: Munich - Venice - CT - Rome - Barcelona - Lagos (Faro airport) - Lisbon - San Sebastian - Paris - Amsterdam - Munich. BUT ....

... I have to agree with the others that the cities are really spread out, and I would prefer to see routes in between cities, that are not this long.

I would at least look for flights between Italy and Spain. (If you have no stop in the south of France, this is a very long haul!), the same is true for the getting from Spain to Paris. (when checking for flights to Paris, check if these go to either Orly or Charles de Gaulle, some airlines fly to Beauvais, which means a long busride to Paris.)

For the Spanish/Portugese part of this trip, I would recommend to drop San Sebastian and Lagos for the time being. Getting flights between Barcelona (or Gerona), and Faro, and between Lisbon and San Sebastian, is difficult and/or expensive. If you would be travelling more in this area, it would be easier to connect to other cities. The connections between Barcelona, Lisbon and Paris can be done by plane without losing too much time.

If you are married to the idea of going by train, I would skip Portugal, and go Barcelona - San Sebastian and then add Bordeaux to the trip.

I would at least look for flights between Italy and Spain. (If you have no stop in the south of France, this is a very long haul!), the same is true for the getting from Spain/Portugal to Paris. (when checking for flights to Paris, check if these go to either Orly or Charles de Gaulle, some airlines fly to Beauvais, which means a long busride to Paris.)

[sunshine22]

Ok this is my revised plan:

Arrive 4/2/09- Munich
4/5/09-Overnight train to Florence
4/6-4/8-Florence
4/9-4/11-Cinque Terre
4/12-4/15-Rome *Flying to Barcelona*
4/16-4/21-Barcelona *Train to Marseille 7hrs*
4/21-4/23-Marseille *Train to Paris 4hrs*
4/24-4/27-Paris *Train to Amsterdam 4hrs*
4/28-4/30-Amsterdam *Train to Brussels 3hrs*
5/1-5/4-Brussels *Train to Munich 7-8hrs*
Leave 5/6- NY


I can always add an extra day to anyone of these places

[herrbert]

Going back to Brussels from Amsterdam, means you will be backtracking a bit, as the Thalys will pass Brussels on it's way to Amsterdam. (and I would still prefer Brugge above Brussels.)

I am not that sure about the choice for Marseille above other places in that region, but I will leave it up to the France-experts to say something about that. With 11 hours of traveling between Barcelona and Paris, it would be doable to fly to another Spanish city, and from there to Paris (think Madrid, Sevilla or in Portugal Lisbon)