lizzs
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 2
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Post by lizzs on Apr 10, 2009 22:11:05 GMT -5
Hey, I have been browsing these forums for a while and have found them really cool and helpful!! Hopefully you guys will have some ideas/tips/feedback for my itinerary for this summer.
A friend and I are going backpacking (Both 18 years old)...we are leaving on July 30th from Toronto and Returning on August 28th.
Our itinerary is as follows (suggestions are welcome)
Barcelona-4 Days
Paris- 3 Days
Bruges- 2 Days
Amsterdam- 4 Days
Prague- 4 Days
Zurich- 3 Days
Cinque Terre- 3 Days
Rome- 4 Days
Again, itinerary totally open to criticism and any good hostels/things to do/places to see in these cities would be much appreciated.
Thanks Guys!!
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Post by Eagle on Apr 11, 2009 3:32:40 GMT -5
lizzs, to begin with, welcome to GFE! Your Itinerary looks reasonably well sorted, however there were a few points that I wanted to comment on.
I'll start with comments on each of the cities you listed:
> Barcelona - I'm assuming you've allotted 4-days there to allow for the day you'll lose in flight times? If so that seems like a good length of time for touring Barcelona. One caution though, be sure to wear a Money Belt and keep close watch on your valuables!
> Paris - I'd suggest adding one day to Paris and dropping a day somewhere else, perhaps Amsterdam. There's LOTS to see in Paris and 3-days wouldn't really do allow enough time. If you're planning on visiting any Museums, a Paris Museum Pass would be a good idea.
> Bruges - 2 days should be perfect!
> Amsterdam - depending on what you want to see and do, 2-3 days should be adequate. However, I'm sure herrbert will be able to offer some more specific comments.
> Prague - 4 days should be good as it that would allow for a day trip to Cesky Krumlov or other sites.
> Zurich - could you elaborate on your reasons for choosing Zurich? There are other locations in Switzerland that are a bit more "authentic". The Berner Oberland region outside Interlaken and specifically the small village of Gimmelwald are big favourites here!
> Cinque Terre - which of the five villages were you planning on staying in?
> Rome - it would be nice to add at least one day to Rome if possible. Like Paris, there's LOTS to see and do.
Some general comments and suggestions:
- that's not the best time of year for travel in Europe as it's peak travel season. It's going to be hot and crowded, so pre-booking accommodations would be a really good idea. Careful planning of transportation links will also be very important.
- How were you planning to get from Barcelona to Paris? That's a LONG trip by train.
- The cities you've listed add up to 27 days if my math is correct. If your trip is about 30 days, that doesn't allow much allowance for travel times between cities. I suspect some adjustment will be required, and you may have to drop one city.
- I'm assuming you're planning to use open jaw flights, inbound to Barcelona and outbound from Rome?
- I'd highly recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. It's an essential pre-read, especially for those travelling for the first time. This should be available at your local Library or larger Book Stores. The chapter on Rail skills is especially important, especially for travel at that time of the year!
- I can't offer many suggestions on Hostels, as I've use budget Hotels a lot of the time. However, you could have a look at Alessandro Palace or the Beehive in Rome and the "official" Ostello 5 Terre which is in Manarola (note that the C.T. Hostel has a strict lockout during the day). There are lots of private rooms in the C.T. that are excellent also.
- For suggestions on "things to do / places to see" in each of the cities, I'd suggest paying a visit to the Library and have a look at a few Guidebooks. Some Guidebooks that you could look for include Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Let's Go or Rough Guides.
Hopefully this will help to get the discussion started. Good luck with your planning!
Cheers!
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 11, 2009 3:35:22 GMT -5
Welcome to GFE, lizzs.
good to know you've been reading through other Posts in order to plan your trip, just a few notes from me, although I'm sure the others will have ideas to help too.
It would help if we knew what the interests of you and your friend are, as that will determine how long you might want to spend in places and also allow us to advise on any other places that might interest you. Museums, shopping, art, nightlife, specific topics, etc.
At first glance, I'd suggest that Barcelona for 4 days will really allow exploration of the city and also a day trip to, say, Figures if you're into Dali, otherwise just make it three days. Paris requires one more day, as long as you're not planning any day trips. As you have 2 days for Bruges/Brugge, why not take the morning Thalys train from Paris to Brussels and spend a few hours/lunch in Brussels before continuing to Brugge - it's only an hour trip and you'll be able to make the most of your time in Belgium. The trip to Amsterdam is short, so you can always leave after lunch and still have time. Amsterdam could do with one less day, even with a day trip to Den Haag, etc.
I'd fly to Prague and use those 4 days for time in the city as well as a day trip to Kutna Hora or an overnight to Cesky Krumlov. Not sure that I'd choose Zurich for 3 days - no doubt you've seen many recommendations on the Boards for Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald in the Berner Oberland, and not without reason. They are in the mountains and in Summer it's just gorgeous up there. Zurich has it's charms, but I'd really like to see you travel further up into the mountains for your first time to Switzerland.
Cinque Terre for 3 days is great, but you'll have t include travel time here, so you'll end up with 2 full days, which is a good start. Rome for 4 days will allow a proper explore of the city, so keep that.
From your list, I assume you're flying in to Barca from Toronto and out of Rome, is that correct? If so, that's a good plan as you won't need to backtrack just to fly out of the same destination as you started. What are your travel methods between each city?You should be looking at a combination of flights and rail. Is this the planned order of your trip?
Once you've had a chance to answer these questions, we'll be able to add more to your trip. Happy planning!
EDIT - Eagle and I must have been typing at the same time - the more infomation the better I say! ;D
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Post by herrbert on Apr 11, 2009 6:27:00 GMT -5
Don't need to add a lot:
2-3 days for Amsterdam itself is fine. (if you take the train in the morning in Brugge, you can do with 2,5 days). If you however want to see a little bit more of the Netherlands, you can make a daytrip. There are a couple of good options nearby. (Haarlem / Utrecht / The Hague or on a good day the beach at Zandvoort.)
I would suggest to fly Barcelona - Paris (not Ryanair!!), and Amsterdam - Prague. (I am not sure, if there are cheap flights to Zurich from Prague, but if you can find them, that could be an option as well.)
If you want to see something of the mountains in Zurich, you might be disappointed. If you want to spend some time in the Alps there are better destinations. Gimmelwald is a favourite here, but you could also settle for Innsbruck, which might be an easier connection from Prague.
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lizzs
Junior Travel Member
Posts: 2
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Post by lizzs on Apr 11, 2009 22:46:11 GMT -5
Thanks so much for everyones feedback!
madamtrashheap, we are young so nightlife is definitely a large part of out trip hence the longer times spent in Barcelona, Prague, Amsterdam. And although we are visiting almost all touristy areas we are very interested in the culture in each place and pretty much interacting with locals. My friend is interested in museums however I am much more interested in being outside and seeing everything.
In terms of Zurich, a friend of ours is attending school there so we are probably going to visit him...and we will have a place to stay.
As well, thank you for the travel tips. I saw there was an overnight train from Barcelona-Paris but it might be more worth it to fly. If we happen to fly from Barcelona-Paris, Amsterdam-Prague, Prague-Zurich...should we buy a Eurail pass? If so which do you guys recommend? Also are there any recommended sites for cheap flights aside from Ryanair?
Again thank you everyone and I look forward to more feedback!
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Post by herrbert on Apr 12, 2009 6:31:00 GMT -5
On the flights:
Barcelona - Paris: Clickair, Easyjet, Vueling or Iberia. They all fly from Barcelona El Prat / BCN, which is the major airport in Barcelona to one of the two major airport in Paris, either Charles de Gaulle or Orly. The reason why not to book on Ryanair is that they fly from Girona (or Reus) to Beauvais. To get to/from both airports, you need a pretty long transfer.
Amsterdam - Prague: Sky Europe
For Prague - Zurich I can only find very expensive tickets. And it's also not much better for the other airports in Switzerland.
In general edreams.com, is a pretty good website.
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