My Potential Itinerary

[davi]

Hello all! Not planning on travelling till next september/october/november. Me and a couple of friends are doing it to celebrate us finishing university and qualifying as nurses! We want to try and get alot in as generally we will struggle to get a large amount of time off again together once working.

We could maybe go for another week potentially if anyone feels we need extra days in certain places! So here's my itinerary!

27th September 2010 - Poland
Krakow (3) With a trip to Auschwitz and maybe the salt mines.

30th September 2010 – Czech Republic
Prague (3) Trip to Kutna Hora

3rd October 2010 - Austria
Vienna (3) Trip to Bratislava

6th October 2010 - Italy
Venice (1), Rome (3), Florence (2)
Im not that interested in going to Italy really but the other im going with want to and I wouldnt mind seeing Rome.

13th October 2010 – France
Nice (2) Trip to Monnaco
This is more of a 'stop' between Italy and spain for us to break the journy up.

15th October 2010 – Spain
Barcelona (2), Madrid (3).

20st October 2010 – Portugal
Lisbon (2), Porto (2)

Planning on flying from Porto to Paris.

25th October 2010 – France
Paris (2)

27th October 2010 – Germany
Munich (2), Berlin (3)

1nd November 2010 – Netherlands
Amsterdam (3)

We plan on trying to get night trains alot to save on acomodation so the evening on the last night numbered will include night travel for some areas. Also anyone know if train service on sundays is limited in europe? i.e. trains don't run as often as in the week.

any feedback is welcomed. Thanks!

[allsf]

davi,

you've got a lot of time for planning your trip.. enjoy each and every minute of it as it's all part of the journey.. I've just started planning a "backpack" trip to Europe a few weeks ago and I feel I could not have done all my prep and research if it weren't for this and a couple of other message boards I found on google.. of course.

one extra piece of great information you might take in consideration.. if you haven't yet.. is the book Rick Steve's Europe Through the Back Door - 2009 is already out.. it seems to be THE Bible for pre planning a trip.. and indeed it has lots of wonderful information.. I am not quite sure it's the best travel guide to take along with you.. but certainly offers you lots of info for your planning..

well, have fun planning your trip.. and don't forget, whatever you need come to these boards.. people here are savvy travelers and not selfish about sharing great information.. hehe

have a good one-

[davi]

thanks Allsf! Im sure ive been reading your itinerary! and from what ive read everyone seems so willing to share info! Ive used this forum LOADS to gain some info before making a plan. Im like so overwhelmingly excited about travelling. Im from England and have been around the UK so im able to miss that part out but im excited about getting an insight into other culture and trying traditional foods. I've only ever been Turkey and spain before, didn't like turkey much but loved spain so excited to go there again. Even tho I went to benidorm so its kinda like england with heat lol. But thanks for your reply!!

[madamtrashheap]

davi, welcome to GFE.

Good to see that you've been checking other Posts for ideas on your itinerary, it will help you come up with the best possible schedule to suit all of you travelling.

Just a few points on your itinerary:

You've listed the number in brackets, but I believe this is number of nights and not full days. I've taken it as nights when recommending alterations below.

Prague - you might want to add a night if you intend to visit Kutna Hora as this will take a chunk of time away from Prague and 2 full days in Prague is a good amount.

Italy - I know you're not super interested in visiting Italy, but you might want to add a day to Rome as there is lots to see. Venice - again, one full day is good, and depending on what you plan to do between Venice and Rome (eg stop anywhere like Orvieto, etc) then you can sneak a few more hours in on morning of departure, but make sure you have the equivalent of 1 full day. Florence - 2 full days would be good, but won't allow for any day trips, just sight seeing in Florence.

France - the Florence to Nice trip goes past Cinque Terre, a gorgeous part of the Italian coast line that warrants 2 day. But if you're not interested, then the night train on this route will suit perfectly. Nice in October isn't super warm and many of the beaches that rent sun lounges will be closed, just so you know. The train trip to Monaco isn't long (around 45-60mins) so you can do it during the day or a night depending on what you want to experience.

Spain - there is no night train between Nice and Barcelona, just a long 12 hour day trip, so you might want to look at Vueling or Iberia Air to fly this route as they will have cheaper tickets and you can save time. Barca needs 2 full days and Madrid 3 to 4 full days, especially if you intend to do day trips (Toledo, etc).

Paris - you may have already been here, but if not, then consider adding 2 full days to your itinerary. Lots to see, do and eat.

Germany - how are you planning to travel from Paris to Munich? Again, this is where cheap flights might work in your favour rather than trains. If you plan to visit any of the castles (Neuschwanstein) or spend half a day at Dachau, I'd suggest 2 to 3 full days in Munich. Berlin deserves at least 3 full days.

After going through destinations, I'd be inclined to suggest a slight alteration to the order if you can. From Krakow, go to Berlin, then Prague via a few hours in Dresden. From Prague, continue to Vienna, then Munich, then Venice. Continue as planned from there, then from Paris take the train to Brussels and on to Amsterdam to finish as planned.

[davi]

Ah, thank you for your advice its been really good!! I am quite interested in Cinque Terre. So its a maybe. I will defo look at flights between Nice and Barcelona. Your alterations seem quite good too as I like the idea of dipping in and out of countries like going out of germany to prague then to vienna and then back into germany again.