August 2009

[mikeurq]

Hello, my friend and I are planning a month-long trip around Europe in August.
Flying in and out of Amsterdam, we're going to work in an anti-clockwise circle.

Basically:

Amsterdam
Paris
Zurich
Rome
Venice
Salzburg
Vienna
Prague
A city in Germany, not sure which to choose...?
Back to Amsterdam

(we're flying into Amsterdam on the 29th July, so that Amsterdam doesn't take up any of our railpass time)

I realise its probably a bit too optimistic to attempt to really see all these places in 31 days, but any ideas about time allocation would be really helpful.
Plus, any tips on what to see/what not to see would be great.

Thanks!

[mikeurq]

revised itinerary:

29th July: HOME to Amsterdam
30th: Amsterdam
31st: Amsterdam
1st August: Amsterdam to Paris (5hours)
2nd: Paris
3rd: Paris
4th: Paris
5th: Paris to Interlaken (6 1/2 hours)
6th: Interlaken
7th: Interlaken to Pisa (7 hours)
8th: Pisa to Lucca (1/2 hour), Lucca to Siena (2 1/2 hours)
9th: Siena to Rome (4 hours)
10th: Rome
11th: Rome
12th: Rome
13th: Rome to Venice (4 1/2 hours)
14th: Venice
15th: Venice
16th: Venice to Salzburg (7 hours)
17th: Salzburg
18th: Salzburg to Vienna (3 hours)
19th: Vienna
20th: Vienna
21st: Vienna to Krakow (8 hours)
22nd: Krakow
23rd: Krakow
24th: Krakow to Prague (8 hours)
25th: Prague
26th: Prague
27th: Prague to Berlin (5 hours)
28th: Berlin
29th: Berlin
30th: Berlin to Hannover (2 hours)
31st: Hannover to Amsterdam (4 1/2 hours)
1st September: Amsterdam
2nd: Amsterdam to HOME

Day trips:
Hoping for a trip to Berchtesgaden from Salzburg and to Oœwiêcim from Krakow.

Notes:
Hoping to begin all train journeys around 0900hrs
EXCEPT
Hannover to Amsterdam (probably around 1600/1700hrs)

Any help, comments, criticisms would be great!

[madamtrashheap]

mikeurq, welcome to GFE.

You seem pretty prepared, just a few notes on your itinerary:

AMS-PAR: there is a Thalys train that takes 4hrs, rather than the 5 you've noted here. That will give you more time in Paris on the afternoon of arrival.

Italy - not sure that I'd be recommending staying in Pisa overnight at the detriment of another Italian city. Unless, of course, you plan to explore more of the city than the Tower. If you just want to visit the Tower, then maybe go to Lucca, drop your bags off and take the train to Pisa (it's just up the train tracks) to do sightseeing in the afternoon before going back to Lucca and giving yourselves a night there instead. Alternatively, go directly to Pisa, leave your bags at the train station luggage counter (Platform 1), sightsee, then continue to Lucca. To get to either Lucca or Pisa from Interlaken, your train will go through either Milan or Florence (or both) and trains to either place will be frequent from there. Then from Lucca, continue to Siena and stay a night before going on to Rome.

Salzburg - good that you have a full day here as you'll need it if you want to get to Brechtesgaden. But it will take a good chunk of your day, not leaving much time to see Salzburg. Were you planning a guided tour or to get there yourselves?

Prague - Berlin: consider a lunch stop in Dresden for a few hours as it's on the way between the two.

Berlin - you may find you want an extra day here if you plan to fit a lot in, but if you can't spare the day, then 2 full days plus time either side will have to do, just plan your days well.

[Eagle]

mikeurq,

As MTH mentioned, your Itinerary looks fairly well sorted. I have a few thoughts to add.

If you're just going to Pisa to see the Tower, that can be done in a few hours. My preference would be to use the time in either Lucca or Siena.

I'm assuming that you're travelling to and from Siena via train. Note that you'll want to budget for a Taxi to get from the station into town, which is up the hill. It's not too expensive but makes the trip a bit easier. On the way TO Siena, an alternative would be to take the Bus from Lucca, as that will drop you in the main part of town.

Given the fact that you're interested in a day trip to Berchtesgaden, I'd highly recommend dropping one day from Vienna (or other location) and adding at least one day to Salzburg. The easiest, stress free way for a day trip to Berchtesgaden is a day tour. I've used www.bobstours.com/?origin=sbginfo in the past, and would certainly recommend them based on my experiences.

It's great that you've only included a few one night stops in your Itinerary. They get to be very tiring after a while!

Happy travels!

[rileysb]

have you thought about flying home from a city other than Amsterdam? most airlines will let you choose multiple destinations.

[mikeurq]

It's taken me a while to get back to this, so many things to arrange, so little time!
Thanks for all your comments.

Concerning Pisa:
I think we'll attempt to see Pisa on the 7th, and then push on to Lucca and stay the night there instead.

Salzburg:
I believe we're going to remove one day from Vienna and allocate it here instead.
Eagle, the website you recommended for the Berchtesgaden tours is invaluable, thank you.

I also thought I should add the fact that we've pre-booked hostels in Amsterdam and Paris, and we're planning on doing the same for Rome.

8 DAYS TO GO!!