One month backpacking to Europe

[dida]

Hi,

I always want to do a backpacking in Europe. I finally decided to go for it in this coming October.

Below is my planned itinerary:

1) England
Arrive in London. 3-5 days over come jet lag and tour to scotland

2)Netherlands
1 day in Amsterdam - explore the Anne Frank house and Van Gogh Museum. Overnight train to Czech Rep

3)Czech Rep
3 days in Prague – sight-seeing

4)Austria
3 days in Vienna – sight-seeing
2 days in Salzburg – sight-seeing

5)Germany
2 nights in Munich – Sight-seeing

6)Switzerland
3 days in Zurich and Lucerne

7)Spain
4 days in Barcelona– Sight-seeing and visit to museum
3 days in Madrid – sight-seeing and visit to museum
1 day in Toledo – sight seeing

8)France
3 days in Paris – sight-seeing and museum

9)Belgium
1 day in Bruges-sigh-seeing
2 days in Brussels – sight-seeing

This is the 1st time i backpack to Europe. I have been to Italy (Rome, Milan, Pisa, etc) a year ago. I went to Munich last month but did not really have opportunity to explore city. Since this is a solo trip, i prefer a mixture of tourist actitivities and museum visits (but not too much).

Budget for this trip is about $3000 - $ 3500.

Planning to get a Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door by Rick Steves as a starter.

As this is my first time, your suggestion and recommendation are hight welcomed.

[herrbert]

Hi Dida,

It looks pretty reasonable in most place, but I have a couple of remarks. For London normaly you have to stay 3-4 days to see the main sights. So I would leave out the trip to Scotland completely on this trip. (to see and tour Scotland, lets say: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sterling, Isle of Skye and a bit of the Highlands you need a minimum of a week.) In London there is more than enough to keep you occupied for a long while.

1 day in Amsterdam is a bit short, but if it is only the Anne Frank House and the van Gogh (good choice) you are after it is doable. It would help if you would arrive the day before in Amsterdam.

I am not sure if you are planning a trip with a start and end in London, but if you are not (I guess it would depend on the kind of ticket.) you might consider to continue to Belgium from the Netherlands. I would swap the number of days for Brussels and Burgge, by the way.

The rest looks pretty OK to me, but I only wonder if you have calculated as well the travel time between some of these cities.

You don't have to do a seperate night in Toledo. From Atocha station it is only 30 minutes to get to Toledo. (or 1 hous by Bus, from Mendez Alvaro) 4 days in Barcelona seem a bit much. (maybe consider a daytrip to Gerona or the Dali museum.) Also note that some museums in Madrid, like Reina Sofia and Prado, have timeslots on which you can enter for free. Check their websites.

[dida]

Thanks, herrbert. You are right. I have reviewed my itinerary, and plan to stay longer in UK. I will start and end my trip in London.

I will kick off my backpacking in UK for about 8 nights then proceed to Belgium/Netherlands. I am considering to stay a night in Amsterdam, which allows me to go around the town and check out the red district area.

I would extend my trip as I read through many books, I would like to explore the south of France especially Provence.

As for Austria, do you think dropping by the Hallstat a good idea?

[Eagle]

dida,

Welcome to GFE! I have a few comments to add as well.

It would help to know where you're travelling from? In many cases, using "open jaw" flights is a more efficient travel method, so returning home from a different city might be better.

The Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door is a great "pre-read" book, but you might also consider some of his country-specific books as well.

Could you clarify - "this is my first time"? You indicated that you've already been to Italy and Munich, so do you mean this is your first time travelling on your own?

In your proposed Itinerary, I don't see much allowance for travel times between cities. In some cases, the trips will only be a few hours but in other cases you'll need to allow more time.

I'd also suggest dropping Scotland this time, as you won't have time. Plan to see that on a future trip.

For your visit to Austria, I'd drop one day from Vienna and add it to Salzburg. That would allow for a day trip to Hallstatt if desired. You might consider a day trip with Bob's Special Tours, as the trip to Hallstatt by rail takes about half a day (you'd need to change trains in Attnang-Pucheim and then take the boat across the lake - it's not the most ideal method for a day trip).

For Switzerland you might consider dropping Zurich and focusing on Lucerne. I was there a few weeks ago and it's a beautiful and historic city and you should have no trouble finding lots to do. Be sure to visit the statue of "The Lion of Lucerne". If you'd prefer more a "small town experience" in Switzerland, you could instead visit the Berner Oberland outside of Interlaken, and specifically the small village of Gimmelwald. The Mountain Hostel there is legendary with Backpackers and that area is a favourite with many here!

Be sure to allow for adequate travel time to and from Spain. I suspect you might have to drop one of more of the cities you plan to visit there, but I'll let herrbert comment on that as he's more familiar with the transportation options in Spain.

Finally, you might consider changing the order of your cities (depending on whether you decide to use open-jaw flights). It would make more sense to visit England - France - Belgium - Amsterdam - Prague - Austria - Munich - Switzerand - Spain in that order. If I were planning this trip, I'd probably drop Spain and focus on the other destinations this time. The transportation to and from Spain will add somewhat both to your travel times and costs.

Good luck with your planning!

[dida]

Hi Eagle,

This is the my first time to travel on my own. My last trips to Munich and Italy were group travelling.

I will be flying from Malaysia to London as I have a friend who is resided there. I will leave Scotland behind first. May be as the last destination when I am back to UK. I do consider to extend my trip to 6 weeks so that I can spend more times in some cities.

That's good suggestion to take Bob's special tour to Hallstatt.

I did research on Switzerland. Gimmelwald is beautiful. I have included Mountain Hostel in my itinerary.

Will review my itinerary and change the order of countries.

Thank you, Eagle. = )