Love Some Advice!

[houli7]

I’m a nursing student, taking classes in Podova, Italy for two weeks. While I’m there, I’m going to check out Venice, Rome, and maybe Cinque Terre.

After that I’m traveling with another girl for an additional 17 days (about a month total). We have a pretty rough itinerary:

Padova, Italy
Darmstadt, Germany (for a music festival) for 3 days
Amsterdam for 2-3 days
Bruges for 1-2 days (just watched that Colin Farrell movie, but this stop can be cut out)
Paris 6 days- with day trips made from there
Barcelona 4-5 days

This might be a hefty load and maybe too much to take on. This is my first time on that side of town. Outside of the US, I’ve only traveled to Mexico and Ireland. I’m traveling with another 23 year old girl. We’re interested in having a few drinks, going to the beach, museums, and taking in the scenery. I know it’s unavoidable, but I’d like to limit my traveling time (rail, bus, plane) as much as I really can. At this point, I have an idea, but I’m pretty flexible, open to different cities or countries.

If anyone can give me advise or tips on my itinerary, places, and time, I would really appreciate the help!! If anyone has ideas about a city in France that would be easy on the budget and a fun day (or two) trip, I'd love the advice!

Thanks again!

[Eagle]

houli7,

Welcome to the Boards! Sorry for the delay in replying, but I'm getting ready to depart for Europe next week and have lots to do yet. I have a few comments to begin with.

Were you planning to check out Venice, Rome and perhaps the Cinque Terre during the two weeks you'll be in Padova? Be sure to allow for adequate travel times to each location you'll be visiting.

One thing I'm a bit curious about. If you're taking Nursing courses in Padova, do you have to be fluent in Italian?

Regarding the other destinations you listed, most are within reasonable travel time except for the Paris-Barcelona part. That's a LONG train trip, although you might consider using budget airlines. In order to get the best prices with European airlines, it's important to book as early as possible as the prices generally increase as the flight fills. Also, they have very restrictive baggage limits so if you're travelling with lots of heavy kit (ie: books), you'll pay overweight baggage charges. Most airlines in Europe have a strict limit of one carry-on bag. That doesn't mean one bag plus a purse or Laptop case, it means ONE bag only!

Also, will your flight home be originating in Barcelona, or will you have to travel back to Italy?

As this is your first time on the continent, I'd highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door, as it will provide lots of information to (hopefully) make sure your trip is without problems. Pay careful attention to the "Rail Skills" section.

At this point, I have an idea, but I’m pretty flexible, open to different cities or countries.

The cities you've listed are all good locations, so that's a good start. However, given the travel distances and times involved, I'd probably decrease the time in Barcelona significantly and perhaps add Munich. The reason I suggest that is because Darmstadt is a bit of a long train ride from Padova, so stopping at an intermediate point for one or two nights would be a good idea. I can't think of a better spot than Munich, as it's a beautiful city. As you're interested in "having a few drinks", if you drink Beer you would probably enjoy the Hofbrauhaus. Another reason to drop a day or two from Barcelona is that you'll need to allow for travel times, most of which will be at least half a day (or longer).

Your trips from Darmstadt to Amsterdam, then Bruges and Paris are all fairly easy. Getting a return flight from Paris should be fairly easy, although with the current situation with "the volcano", flights from Barcelona may be less likely to be cancelled or delayed (depending on which way the wind is blowing the ash cloud).

Hopefully some of the others will have some suggestions.

Good luck with your planning!