2 month euro trip

[paddlebum]

The dates are confirmed and not changing April 20-June 23 2010 my brother and I had planned on leaving March 23 but had to postpone due to me having knee surgery 3 weeks ago ... but the doc says i will be good to go by 4/20 anyways i have an itinerary somewhat that i feel like i have been working on for months and not getting anywhere and was hoping for more suggestions and crituques...my brother and i love to hike and meet new people and also are going to be on a fairly tight budget staying in only hostels, maybe camping here and there, and couch surfing but here it is:

20-Apr depart sfo
21-Apr Generator Hostel LON
22-Apr Generator Hostel LON
23-Apr LON to ROME Ryan Air
24-Apr Rome
25-Apr Rome
26-Apr Rome
27-Apr Rome
28-Apr Rome to Viterbo $36 train
29-Apr Viterbo
30-Apr Viterbo to Florence $80+ train
1-May Florence
2-May Florence
3-May Florence to Cinque a Terre transportation?
4-May Cinque a Terre to Geneva
5-May Geneva
6-May Geneva
7-May Geneva
8-May Gimmelwald Interlaken
9-May Gimmelwald Interlaken
10-May Gimmelwald
11-May SZ to Munich transportation??
12-May Munich
13-May Munich
14-May Munich
15-May Munich to Prague train??
16-May prague
17-May prague
18-May prague
19-May prague
20-May Prague to Berlin maybe a day trip stop on the way?
21-May Prague to Berlin
22-May Berlin
23-May Berlin
24-May Berlin
25-May berlin to Amsterdam overnight train??
26-May Amsterdam
27-May Amsterdam
28-May Amsterdam
29-May Amsterdam to Barcelona Vueling
30-May Barcelona
31-May Barcelona
1-Jun Barcelona
2-Jun Barcelona to Granada Vueling
3-Jun Granada ?? Go straight to sevilla ??
4-Jun Granada ?? Go straight to sevilla ??
5-Jun Granada to Sevilla
6-Jun Sevilla
7-Jun Sevilla
8-Jun Sevilla
9-Jun Sevilla to Madrid bus ride 6hrs or train
10-Jun Madrid
11-Jun Madrid
12-Jun Madrid
13-Jun Madrid
14-Jun Madrid to Dublin Ryan air
15-Jun exta days
16-Jun
17-Jun
18-Jun Ireland
19-Jun Ireland
20-Jun Ireland
21-Jun Ireland
22-Jun Ireland
23-Jun depart dublin

So this is my updated itinerary my main concern is whether this is really possible or am i being to ambitious also transportation has been an issue plane tain bus? rail pass? any suggestions or critiques would be great would be great....we have thought about a eurail global pass thoughts?

[herrbert]

I think that most of this looks pretty good.

Nevertheless some thoughts:

If you arrive on the first day in Cingue Terre, and leave the others, will you have enough time to look around, and more important to hike the trails? In my view you would need at least a whole day there, instead of two half ones.

Why Geneva? and why three days? It is far to the west, and I think getting to Interlaken or Gimmelwald is nicer, but maybe you have a reason (like friends or family, we don't know) If you want to see the lake, in my opinion Montreux, would be nicer.

the time in Prague seems long for my liking, but daytrips are possible, as is adding Salzburg, and/or Cesky Krumlov on the way there. The stop between Prague and Berlin in a traditional initerary would be Dresden.

When getting to Granada, do not go straight to Sevilla. At least have a full day to visit the Alhambra, and the old Moorish part of town. The trip between Granada and Sevilla takes about 4 hours, so if you leave in the morning, you will still have time to see something in the afternoon (after lunch)

In Madrid check the daytrips to Toledo and Segovia. In Amsterdam check Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, the Hague or Utrecht as possible daytrips. (2 days are OK for Amsterdam itself)

[paddlebum]

Thanks ya i think i meant to add another day into to out cinque terre trip and thanks for the heads up on geneva, my girlfriend told me it was pretty but personally i think i would rather stay extra days near interlaken...thanks for the heads up on stops in and out of prague i had no idea really where to stop for that...as of now i have the itinerary pretty much mapped out but i am still concerned about transportation, i dont think we are going to book to far in advance so rail pass or point to point?

[herrbert]

I never used a pass, and as I am European, it would also mean different passes (Interrail vs Eurail). So I would be the worst person to ask about passes. I guess a pass would be a good bet, but take into account that on some trains you need to make a reservation (which cost extra), and if you travel by nighttrain (that will cost extra for the bed, but you save a night at a hostel)

For some places you should book in advance. London and Rome for sure, but also Amsterdam fills up pretty quickly. (at least the good hostels.)

In Sevilla the Oasis hostel always keeps (at least they did) some beds for late arrivals, without reservations. (maybe the one in Granada has the same policy.) Madrid in June will be pretty full as well. The hostels around Gran Via, are in general not the best ones.

[madamtrashheap]

WillTravel has explained rail travel a few times in different Post, so here's a link to the latest one which might help you deciding on rail passes: pretravel.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=8078