My first trip to Europe

[bikesandbridges]

Me and a friend want to travel next July. This gives me exactly one year to hopefully plan a trip.

So far we have started a list of places that we want to see.

Dublin, Ireland
Scotland/Wales/England
Amsterdam
Germany
Czech Republic
Italy
France
Spain

The idea was to fly into Ireland, and out of Madrid.

Is this too many countries for a 1 month trip? Any advice on where to start in the planning process

[Eagle]

bikesandbridges,

First of all, welcome to the Boards! I have a few comments and suggestions to get things started.

It's fantastic that you're starting your planning now, a year in advance of your trip. That will give you lots of time to work out all the details! July is not the best time to travel Europe as it's peak travel season, and it will probably be hot and crowded. However, if that's the only time you have, good planning should minimize any potential problems.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading the book Europe Through The Back Door. It provides an enormous amount of information on a variety of topics, including Itinerary planning, money, languages, and probably most important Rail skills. I don't know where you're located, but it should be available in your local Library or book stores. I consider it more of a "pre-read" rather than a Guidebook to pack along.

Is this too many countries for a 1 month trip?

YES, IMO that is too many countries for a one month trip. You haven't mentioned any cities in Scotland, Wales, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, France or Spain but assuming you visit one city in each area, that's a total of 10 cities. If you spend two days in each one you're already at 20 days and travel times between cities still hasn't been calculated. The "big three" of London, Paris & Rome deserve at least four days each, as there's so much to see and of course they each have considerable historical significance.

My suggestion would be to pare down your list considerably and try to choose destinations that are relatively close geographically. Which cities are you most interested in seeing? Don't try and see everything in one visit, but rather "assume you will return". Is there any possibility of getting a bit more time for the trip?

I'm sure the other members of the group here will have some comments as well.

Good luck with your planning!

[bikesandbridges]

Jul 3, 2009 0:08:06 GMT -5 Eagle said:

bikesandbridges,

First of all, welcome to the Boards! I have a few comments and suggestions to get things started.

It's fantastic that you're starting your planning now, a year in advance of your trip. That will give you lots of time to work out all the details! July is not the best time to travel Europe as it's peak travel season, and it will probably be hot and crowded. However, if that's the only time you have, good planning should minimize any potential problems.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading the book Europe Through The Back Door. It provides an enormous amount of information on a variety of topics, including Itinerary planning, money, languages, and probably most important Rail skills. I don't know where you're located, but it should be available in your local Library or book stores. I consider it more of a "pre-read" rather than a Guidebook to pack along.

Is this too many countries for a 1 month trip?

YES, IMO that is too many countries for a one month trip. You haven't mentioned any cities in Scotland, Wales, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, France or Spain but assuming you visit one city in each area, that's a total of 10 cities. If you spend two days in each one you're already at 20 days and travel times between cities still hasn't been calculated. The "big three" of London, Paris & Rome deserve at least four days each, as there's so much to see and of course they each have considerable historical significance.

My suggestion would be to pare down your list considerably and try to choose destinations that are relatively close geographically. Which cities are you most interested in seeing? Don't try and see everything in one visit, but rather "assume you will return". Is there any possibility of getting a bit more time for the trip?

I'm sure the other members of the group here will have some comments as well.

Good luck with your planning!

Unfortunately, both me and my friend will be in school until mid june, We have july/august off and then I go to graduate school in august and he starts work so, that really is the only time we have to do it.

I will get that book as soon as possible and read it.

I think that if I really had to cut it down I would say

Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Berlin or Munich, Prague, Rome, Paris, Madrid.

8 cities, 4 days each is 32 days and if i add in some time for travel and make it a 38-40 day trip I think i could do that