8 Euro Countries in 16days

[jrosco]

Hello everyone, Im new to the boards and have recently decided to backpack Europe! Im pretty excited about it, but have never done anything like this before so Im hoping Im able to soak up as much info as I can. Im thinking I will leave in June, maybe July, but haven't nailed down a date.
After donig some initial reading I found out I can get a Global Pass which is good for 22 countries, so I have mapped out the countries in the order I want to visit them, and only in this order because of the geographic location.
1. Spain
2. France
3. Italy
4. Switzerland
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Belgium
8. England

Im still in the early stages of planning this trip, so Im still not sure what part of these countries I want to visit! Im probably going to go through each country and figure out the best places to see. So if anyone has any info you would like to share, Im all ears!

[Eagle]

jrosco,

First of all, welcome to the Boards!

I'm assuming this is your first trip to Europe, so my first suggestion is to pre-read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning! That will provide lots of good information to help your trip go smoothly.

Regarding your proposed Itinerary, visiting 8 countries in 16-days is going to be VERY difficult, and perhaps not even possible in that time frame. You've chosen eight countries that are somewhat geographically distant, with no allowances for travel times between them. Each countries has numerous cities that are worth seeing. Even if it were possible, you'd spend the majority of your trip looking at Europe through a train or aircraft window, and not really "see" much of anything.

I'd suggest either reducing the number of destinations or increasing your time (or both). Which locations are you most interesting in seeing?

If you're planning to travel this June or July, you'll need to get the details sorted very quickly. Keep in mind that July and August are peak travel times in Europe.