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Post by cmccull5 on Mar 9, 2009 16:25:05 GMT -5
I'm just working out my first trip to Europe with a good friend of mine (2 girls, mid 20's). We are planning on going for about 50 days and was wondering if we could get some feedback on what we have planned- we're rookies! We're looking to sight see, and go out and have some fun at night. We plan to get around by train but if anyone has a better, faster mode of travel that isnt too expensive I'd love to hear it. Our route is also flexible...the faster we can get around these cities the better. We know we're moving around quite a bit but our goal is to see as much as we can. Here it is so far:
Amsterdam- 4 nights
ANtwerp- 1 night
Bruges- 2 nights
Paris- 3 nights
Madrid-2 nights
Lisbon- 2 nights
Lagos- 1 night
Seville ?
Barcelona- 3 nights
Aix en Provence- 1 night
Nice- 1 night
Bern- 2 nights
Lucerene- 1 night
Milan- 2 nights
Venice- 1 night
Florence- 1 night
Rome- 2 nights
(Rome to Naples then ferry from Brindisi to Athens)
Athens- 2 nights
Crete- 1 night
Santorini- 1 night
Ios- 3 nights
Mykonos- 2 nights
(ferry back to Athens then bus to Dubrovnik)
Dubrovnik- 2 nights
Split- 1 night
Budapest- 1 night
Prague- 2 nights
(Olomouc?)
Munich 2 nights
Berlin- 1 night
Is ferrying the best and fastest way to and around Greece? Is bussing the only way to Dubrovnik? Any tips for us rookies? Any must see cities we should add or anything on the list we should drop?
Thank you for your help!
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Post by Eagle on Mar 9, 2009 21:59:25 GMT -5
cmccull5, first of all, welcome to the Boards! I'll start the discussion with a few comments.....
IMHO, your proposed Itinerary is far too ambitious, even for a 50-day trip! There are too many one-night stops and above all not enough time allowed for travel between cities. In some cases, the travel time to get to and from the cities will seriously reduce the very short time you have in those cities. A good example is the one night stop in Florence.
Before you get too much farther in your planning, I'd highly recommend that you read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as it provides an enormous amount of information on how to travel "smartly" in Europe and contains details on important things like Itinerary planning and especially Rail skills.
It would help if you could provide a bit of background on the reasons you want to visit some of the cities you've listed. Some that "stood out" when reading your list are Antwerp, Bern, Lucerne and Milan. There are other places that are notable by their absence, such as the Cinque Terre in Italy and the Berner Oberland region (Interlaken, Gimmelwald) in Switzerland.
You might want to consider dropping some of the destinations you've listed, to allow for more time in each spot and more importantly some "leeway" in travel times. As you're going to be travelling in summer, keep in mind that's PEAK travel season in Europe so it's going to be hot and crowded. Pre-booking lodgings would be a good idea! Travel to Greece and the islands will have to be especially well planned IMHO.
Rail is usually the best method to get around the main parts of Europe, but there are some "pitfalls" that you should be aware of (covered in the book I mentioned above). Whether or not to use a Eurail Pass will depend on which cities you decide on, and which order you visit those. In some cases, budget airlines are a better option, but these also come with "pitfalls".
I'm sure some of the other members of the group here will be along shortly to offer some suggestions.
Good luck with your planning!
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Post by madamtrashheap on Mar 10, 2009 21:56:19 GMT -5
cmccull5, I'm with Eagle on this - you'll find that this itinerary in it's current format will be rushed, you'll spend more time travelling that seeing and you'll need a holiday when you get back!
I understand that you want to get to as many places as possible, but this shouldn't be at the expense of actually seeing things and experiencing cities. For example, when you list nights in each place you need to remember (if you haven't already) that 2 nights equals only 1 full day. Granted you may sneak a morning or afternoon in depending on your next destination, but places like Berlin, Rome & Madrid need at least 3 nights (4 would be better), as an example. Plus if you're planning day trips anywhere along the way, you'll need more time in your "base" cities.
As Eagle has asked , if you could advise us why you want to visit each city on your list, it will help with recommending routes, regions and optimum time in each city for you and your friend.
As Eagle noted, you may want to look at a combination of rail and budget flights, but the best form of transport for each sector will depend on the final itinerary. Ferries are the cheapest way around Greece, but again on some routes you may want to look at flights with Aegean Air (eg Athens to Create, Mykonos back to Athens) as this will save time. In fact, you could even alter your route to save taking busses - Athens to Dubrovnik may be better if you went from Venice to Dubrovnik, which means altering your route/itinerary.
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