3 months in winter 2011

[zamboni]

Hello all,
I have recently devised my rough itinerary for three months in Europe next winter. There are a few areas I could use some help with, mostly the end of the trip from Portugal back to London.
I would appreciate any advice or suggested alternatives to the places I have listed. I have been to Europe once before, all in Switzerland.
Also, I could use advice on a good backpack. I prefer to travel as light as possible but still have room for some souvenirs.

with the travel day, I have added it as a day in the destination city. Here we go,

4 days in London
travel day to Edinburgh
3 days in Edinburgh
travel to Glasgow
3 days in Glasgow
travel to Belfast
2 day in Belfast
travel to Dublin
3 days in Dublin
travel to London,on to Paris
5 days in Paris
travel to Brussels
2 Days in Brussels
travel to Bruges
3 days in Bruges
travel to Amsterdam
4 days in Amsterdam
travel to Berlin
4 days in Berlin
travel to Prague
4 days in Prague
travel to Vienna
4 days in Vienna
travel to Munich
4 days in Munich
travel to Zurich
2 days in Zurich and Bern
travel to Milan
3 days in Milan
travel to Venice
5 days in Venice
travel to Florence
2 days in Florence
travel to Rome
5 days in Rome
travel to Genoa
1 day in Genoa travel to Nice
1 day in Nice travel to Marseilles
1 day in Marseilles travel to Barcelona, hopefully overnight train.
4 days in Barcelona
travel to Madrid
3 days in Madrid
travel to Algeciras
2 days in Algeciras
travel to Sevilla
1 day in Sevilla
travel to Lisbon
2 days in Lisbon
3 days to travel to ? Madrid? Somewhere in North Portugal?
3 days in Southern France?
travel to Frankfurt
3 days in Frankfurt
travel to Paris, on to London
3 days finishing big in London.

I didn't include day trips from the base cities, for example Salzburg from Vienna, Mont Serrat from Barcelona, etc.
Upon typing this, it looks like I may be back tracking a bit in places. Should I streamline this? More or less time in places?
I added Algeciras in Spain as I was considering squeezing in a trip to Morocco. Any thoughts on the feasibility of that would be appreciated.
I plan on buying rail passes for Brit-rail and Euro-rail.
I plan on staying in Hostels for the duration.
Thoughts?
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this!
-zamboni

[Eagle]

zamboni,

Wow, that's an extensive Itinerary! It will take awhile to go through it, but I have a few initial comments.

On the trip from Dublin to Paris, why are you returning to London? My preference would be a budget flight. Although I hesitate to suggest it, RyanAir has flights from Dublin to Paris Beauvais (prices as ~ €39.99) and Aer Lingus also has flights to Paris CDG. It's important to note that Beauvais is quite a distance outside Paris, so you'll need to allow time to actually reach the city (check the airport website for details). Also, when booking with budget airlines, BE SURE to read the Terms & Conditions carefully, so that you'll have a clear idea on your costs. RyanAir especially tends to "tack on" extra charges for a lot of things (be sure to PACK LIGHT, or you'll get nicked with an excess luggage charge).

In the same circumstances, i'd probably tour Dublin first, and then travel to Belfast (via train from Connolly Station) and use EasyJet from Belfast / BFS to Paris / CDG. Of course, you'll still have to be concerned with luggage weights, but I much prefer travelling with EasyJet. I believe that flight is about 2H:45M (which is much easier than travelling via London).

Arriving at Paris / CDG is preferable to Paris / BVA as it's an easy trip via RER "B" from the airport into the city, and easy connections to the Metro at Gare du Nord, which is the first stop. Have a look at parisbytrain.com for more specific information.

I believe you stated that you're American? If so, be sure you don't spend any more than 90-days in the Schengen area, as severe penalties can result for overstays. As you'll be back in the U.K. at the end, this may not be a concern?

Good luck with your planning!

[zamboni]

Eagle,
Thanks for the response! I value your insight. I was considering starting in Ireland instead, after seeing this all typed out. I guess a good bit of polishing is in order.
Zamboni

[zamboni]

Hi folks,
I appreciate any additional feedback you might have. Still need suggestions for finishing up after Lisbon.
Thanks again!
zamboni