6 Weeks in Europe

[jodiandsimon]

Hi there,

My partner and I are planning our trip to Europe starting on the 18th of May 2010.

We are flying in and out of Paris.

Early stages of planning but our proposed itinerary is as follows:

Paris: 19-22/05

Travel Paris - Bordeaux 23/05

Bordeaux 24/05

Travel Bordeaux -San Sebastian 25/5

San Sebastian 26/5

Travel San Sebastian - Barcelona 27/5

Barcelona 28-29/5

travel Barcelona - Avignon 30/5

Avignon - 31/5-01/6

Travel Avignon - Nice - Cinque Terre 02/6

Cinque Terre 3/6 - 4/6

Travel Cinque Terre - Florence - 5/6

Florencce - 6/6 - 8/6

Travel - Florence - Seina - Rome 9/6

Rome 10/6 - 12/6

Travel Rome - Naples - Amalfi 13/6

Naples - Amalfi - Capri 14/6

Travel to Venice 15/6

Venice - 16/6 - 17/6

Travel Venice - Prague 18/6

Prague 19/6 - 20/6

Travel Prague to Munich 21/6

Munich - 22/6 - 23/6

Travel Munich - Switzerland 24/6

Switzerland 25/6 - 26/6

Travel Switzerland - Paris 27/6

Paris - Auckland 28/6

We are not sure about the end of our trip - really want to get to Prague but not fussed about Munich or Switzerland - will fit in if we have time.

We are totally flexible so planning on staying longer if we want or moving on if it doesn't suit.

We have found our accomdation in Paris but planning to book as we go - is that a good idea?

We are going to travel via train pass and may book a car here and there if needed.

Any help is great!!

[Eagle]

jodiandsimon,

Welcome to GFE! I have a few comments to get the discussion started....

Your Itinerary looks a bit "busy" in some parts, but it's probably feasible. You're going to be spending a fair amount of time travelling between locations and I'm assuming you've researched the travel times.

Parts of your Itinerary were a bit hard to follow in places. For example, "Travel Rome - Naples - Amalfi 13/6 & Naples - Amalfi - Capri 14/6". Are you planning to travel from Rome to Amalfi and use that as a base, or stay in Naples and travel to Amalfi and Capri from there?

Munich and Switzerland would definitely be worthwhile if you could fit them in. Munich is one of my favourite cities. Which part of Switzerland were you planning to visit?

One thing to keep in mind regarding your Railpass, is that these DON'T include the reservation fees which are compulsory with some trains, usually the fast trains such as the TGV in France. Be sure to budget for those.

We have found our accommodation in Paris but planning to book as we go - is that a good idea?

I'm not a big fan of the "spontaneous approach" for lodgings. I prefer to pre-book accommodations, especially at that time of the year. May will be in the middle of the spring shoulder season and it will likely be "busy" in Europe. While you may not have any problems finding a place to stay, the opposite could also be true. I don't like arriving in a new and unfamiliar city and having to wander about with a 30 kG Backpack trying to find a place to sleep. That sometimes means either paying more than budgeted, staying in a part of the city that's not convenient or having to stay in a location that's a bit dodgy.

I'll be travelling from May to July this year, and I've already pre-booked most of my accommodations (just one left to confirm). I'm using mostly budget Hotels this years, although I do have one Hostel booked in Rome. The decision on whether to pre-book is certainly up to you, but given the short time until your trip takes place, you might consider pre-booking some (especially Rome as I've had trouble finding places there in the past).

Finally, if this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend pre-reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door as it will provide a lot of useful information to help you "travel well" in Europe.

Good luck and happy travels!